General
Anti-terrorism Group Lauds Buhari, Military Counter Insurgency Efforts
By Olufemi Lawson Akindele
As the Federal government intensifies its efforts towards finding a lasting solution to the insurgencies and violent clashes in some part of the country, an amalgamation of 42 Civil Society anti-terrorism campaign groups under the auspices of the Coalition of Civil Society Groups against Terrorism in Nigeria, has lauded the effort of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in achieving noticeable landmarks in the war against terrorism and other violent activities across the country.
The group stated this in Lagos today, while releasing its quarterly report for the first quarter of year 2018, which reviewed the progress of the war against Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast and incidents of farmers/herders clashes in the North central part of the country.
Speaking at the presentation of the reports to the general public, Convener of the Coalition, Comrade Odeyemi Oladimeji, commended President Buhari for the untiring commitment towards ensuring the security of lives and properties of Nigerians, and the commitment of his administration towards promoting peace and national cohesion.
Commenting on the report, on the performance of the Nigerian Military, the Coalition lauded the neutrality of the military in the conduct of its operations, while specially appreciating officers and men of the Nigerian Army for their patriotism and professionalism, in the line of discharge of their duties.
The report took a swipe at those it described at political ‘Boko Haram’, whom it accused of emboldening the activities of the remnants of the now decimated Boko Haram terrorist group, through their utterances, mostly politically motivated statements, aimed at destabilizing the incumbent administration.
The report also frowned at situations where some states chief executives have failed to take appropriate actions to promote peace among ethnic nationalities in their states. The group also condemn the activities of some state governments arming militias who are culpable in most of these heinous crimes.
The group said it carried out independent assessment of the security situation in selected states of the Northeast and the north central, where it assessed issues of clashes between herdsmen and farmers.
It said its investigation revealed that many of those clashes have become escalated due to the inability of some governors, particularly of Benue and Taraba States, to separate the sanctity of lives of their citizens from politics, thereby rather than cooperating with the security agencies resorted to sponsoring and recruiting armed militias in their states.
The report also noted that some desperate politicians have been exploiting the security situation in those areas as a cash cow to further exploit their people rather than take steps to mitigate the crisis in order to derive both political and financial benefits.
The group further stated that against the erroneous impression being created by certain persons in the country, it discovered that the federal government has ensured a consistent deployment of the military and other security agencies in the crisis areas across the states assessed.
These deployments, it said, have yielded commendable gains of restoring peace and orderliness with the arrest and neutralization of several criminal elements responsible for the violent clashes being witnessed in the affected areas.
“We want to specially acknowledge the impact of the various intervention activities of the Nigerian Army, which include but not limited to the Operations Python Dance, Ayam Akpatuma, Lafiya Dole in the troubled parts of the country, which has led to great improvement in the security and stability for the development in those areas.”
On the alleged connivance between suspected herdsmen militias and the Nigerian soldiers in some states where there have been violent attacks on communities, the group said its finding showed that only criminal elements and their agents in power who nurse the ambition of using the military for personal duties and were rebuffed, nurse such conspiracy theories in their reasoning.
It advised Nigerians to disregard such beliefs, as it only existed in the imaginations of the accusers of the Nigerian Military.
The report demanded thorough action from the federal government in ensuring that the armed militias operating across several parts of the country are immediately disarmed and arms thoroughly mopped up, since all indications have shown that some highly placed individuals have continued to thwart efforts by the Nigerian military to mop up these criminal elements.
It also condemned some politicians, who have consistently linked the Nigerian military with inability of the government to arrest the ugly situations.
In conclusion, the group urged the military to increase its presence and sustain its various special military exercises in the troubled parts of the country, especially those areas where ‘ethnic champions’ and criminal elements have continued to create tensions.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Saturday confirmed the killing of a senior ISIS leader, Mr Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, in an overnight operation carried out by the United States and Nigeria.
President Donald Trump had earlier announced the elimination of the notorious terrorist via a post on his Truth Social.
Later, in a statement today, Mr Tinubu praised the action, describing it as “a significant example of effective collaboration in the fight against terrorism.”
“Our determined Nigerian Armed Forces, working closely with the Armed Forces of the United States, conducted a daring joint operation that dealt a heavy blow to the ranks of the Islamic State,” he said in the statement.
According to him, early assessments confirm the elimination of the wanted IS senior leader, Abu-Bilal Al-Manuki, also known as Abu-Mainok, along with several of his lieutenants, during a strike on his compound in the Lake Chad Basin.
He commended the partnership between Nigeria and America in waging war against terrorists, thanking his US counterpart “for his leadership and unwavering support in this effort.”
“I commend the personnel involved on both sides for their professionalism and courage, and I look forward to more decisive strikes against all terrorist enclaves across the nation,” the Nigerian leader added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is set to strengthen its defence architecture by deploying artificial intelligence-powered surveillance systems and advanced anti-drone technology as part of efforts to modernise the country’s military capabilities, according to the Minister of Defence, Mr Christopher Musa.
He disclosed this during a high-level visit to Monaco, where he led a Nigerian delegation to conclude discussions on the multi-domain Hybrid Intelligence Shield (HIS) project.
According to Mr Musa, the initiative is designed to enhance border security, protect urban centres and improve the country’s response to emerging security threats.
The project is expected to introduce AI-driven surveillance systems capable of identifying threats rapidly through smart algorithms, while anti-drone technology will be deployed to intercept and neutralise unmanned aerial threats.
The government also plans to establish national and regional command-and-control centres to improve real-time coordination and response to security incidents across the country.
Mr Musa said the initiative would place strong emphasis on technology transfer and local capacity development through the establishment of a military Centre of Excellence in Nigeria.
He added that the federal government would leverage partnerships with international firms, including Marss UK Ltd, while simultaneously building indigenous capabilities to address insurgency, illegal mining, piracy and other security threats.
Nigeria has continued to battle multiple security challenges in recent years, including insurgency in the North-East, banditry and kidnappings in the North-West, farmer-herder clashes in the North-Central region, crude oil theft in the Niger Delta and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
Nigeria is stepping up its defence as the border region of Nigeria, Benin and Niger on the southern edge of the Sahel region is becoming a new stronghold for jihadists, as militants turn forests and pastoral networks in West Africa into bases for recruitment and international attacks.
Attacks in Nigeria have also risen, with data from the website of the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), a conflict-monitoring group, affirming that the number of suicide bombings in Nigeria by March already matched the annual average over the past six years.
The Nigerian military has also been dealt a blow to its military bases and senior figures targeted. In April, Brigadier-General Oseni Omoh Braimah was killed when Islamist fighters attacked a base in Borno State.
To also meet the defence goal, Nigeria is stepping up efforts to build domestic arms-manufacturing capacity.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria and Morocco are set to sign a major intergovernmental agreement later this year to push forward the long-delayed Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project, a multi-billion-dollar energy corridor expected to reshape gas trade across West Africa and Europe.
The agreement, expected to be signed in the fourth quarter of 2026 by President Bola Tinubu and King Mohammed VI of Morocco, follows the completion of preliminary technical studies for the ambitious project, according to officials from both countries.
The pipeline, also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, is projected to stretch about 6,900 kilometres along offshore and onshore routes across West Africa, making it one of the largest gas infrastructure projects on the continent.
With an estimated cost of $25 billion, the pipeline is designed to transport up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually once completed.
Discussions on the project gained fresh momentum during a telephone conversation between Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and her Moroccan counterpart, Mr Nasser Bourita.
The project would not only strengthen energy cooperation between the two countries but also improve regional economic integration and expand Africa’s access to European energy markets.
According to Morocco’s hydrocarbons and mining agency, ONHYM, part of the gas supply will support Morocco’s domestic energy demand, while large export volumes will be directed to Europe.
The project, first proposed about a decade ago, is seen as a strategic alternative gas supply route amid rising global energy security concerns and Europe’s search for more diversified energy sources.
Beyond the pipeline, Nigeria and Morocco are also exploring broader economic partnerships, particularly in fertiliser production and distribution to support food security across Africa.
Both countries also agreed on the need to revive the Nigeria-Morocco Business Council to strengthen trade and investment relations under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework.
Analysts noted that the project could significantly boost gas monetisation opportunities for Nigeria, expand regional infrastructure development, and deepen economic ties between West African nations and Europe if successfully executed.
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