NEWS
Benue Profiles over 1,800 Forced Bandits, Identify over 400 for Rehab
From Attah Ede, Makurdi
The Benue State Government on Monday said it has conducted a shadow assessment on over 1,800 individuals who were captured and forcefully recruited into criminal groups in some parts of the State.
It further stated that as a result of the ongoing peace engagements embarked upon by the present government, over 400 of these victims had already surfaced in Katsina-Ala, expressing willingness to abandon criminal life and embrace rehabilitation.
Director General of the Benue State Peace and Reconciliation Commission, Josephine Habba, who disclosed this at a press conference held at the commission headquarters in Makurdi, maintained that the state government has concluded plan to establish a Demobilise, Deconstruct, and Reconstruct(DDR) centre in Anyiin, Logo local government area to cater those category of people in the State.
She discarded what it described as “mischievous misrepresentations” of the issues surrounding the planned rehabilitation facility in the state, explaining that the centre is designed to restore victims of forced recruitment into criminal groups rather than rehabilitate hardened terrorists.
According to her, the initiative must be understood within the broader context of Benue’s prolonged insecurity owing to the fact that Benue became almost a theatre of conflict as there was a clear need to ensure that these conflicts are nipped in the bud, which was why the commission was established.
Haba explained that the commission’s work in the last years has focused on identifying and disentangling the multiple layers of violence affecting communities across the state, noting that while the herder and farmer crisis often dominates public discourse, it does not fully explain the complexity of Benue’s security challenges.
“There is confusion around conflict in Benue State. When you mention conflict, the big elephant people think about is the herder–farmer conflict. But that does not address the root causes of insecurity in the state”, Haba stated.
The DG pointed specifically to the Sankera axis — comprising Katsina-Ala, Ukum, and Logo — an area long plagued by armed banditry, kidnappings, and communal violence.
“We all know the story of Sankera,” she said. “The conflicts in that area are not a complete representation of farmers and herders. These are our children — young people drawn or forced into banditry.”
She recalled that in early 2024, Hyacinth Alia visited Katsina-Ala following disturbing reports presented during a meeting with the Catholic Diocese of Katsina-Ala.
“At that meeting, it was revealed that many of our children were abducted from markets, homes, and even while riding their motorcycles,” Habba recounted. “They were taken into the creeks to work for criminal gangs.”
She said these abductees were often used as foot soldiers or compelled to carry out dangerous errands for those hiding deep within forest enclaves. They were made to do the dirty jobs for those who could not risk coming out,” she said. “Sometimes women, including pregnant women, were also taken to serve as cooks or errand runners.”
Following assessments conducted by the commission and other stakeholders, Habba disclosed that over 1,800 individuals were initially profiled as persons affected by forced involvement in bandit networks.
“These were the categories of persons presented to the governor,” she explained. “They are not the total criminals in the state, but people whose circumstances required careful evaluation.”
Based on this, Governor Alia adopted what she described as a “carrot approach. He said if these individuals are truly repentant and were not criminals before being taken into the bush, he would consider amnesty. A committee was subsequently set up to carry out discreet background checks of the victims and “shadow assessments”.
“You cannot simply conduct open assessments in such situations and we have to verify their histories carefully. From the exercise, the commission identified more than 1,170 individuals who reportedly had no prior criminal records before being coerced or recruited. Our goal“is to break the chain of recruitment into criminality. If those hiding in the bush have no foot soldiers, their operations will collapse”, Haba said
She revealed that as a result of ongoing peace engagements, over 400 individuals had already surfaced in Katsina-Ala, expressing willingness to abandon criminal life.
The DG added that the operationalisation of the centre is expected to attract international collaboration, enhance security presence, and provide participants with start-up kits upon completion.
“They said they wanted to return to farming,” she said. “But we insisted they could not just go back like that. Communities might still see them as criminals, and their mindset needed correction. “We must first deconstruct what they have been through and then reconstruct them into productive members of our society”, she said.
This, she explained, informed the decision to establish a DDR process — Demobilise, Deconstruct, and Reconstruct, stressing that DDR is a recognised global framework operated by the military, funded and certified by the United Nations, adding that other states with lesser security challenges already host such centres.
“When I saw DDR centres in other regions, I told the governor and Bishop Dugu that Benue needed one tailored to its peculiar realities.
“Rather than sending participants to the North East, where insurgency dynamics differ, Habba argued that Benue required a locally grounded intervention, adding that the problem there is different from ours, saying “We are not dealing with ideological terrorism but with criminal banditry involving our own displaced and abducted youths. The proposed centre, she disclosed, will be located in Anyiin, in Logo Local Government Area.
“We are not talking about anybody from Nasarawa or Taraba,” she said. “We are talking about our children who were taken into the creeks. The misrepresentation is unfair.” she said.
“At that stage, they would have been demobilised and restored as human beings again. Justice Mechanisms would not be compromised, that is why the involvement of the Attorney General’s office became necessary.Those who must face justice will face justice,” she said. “Rehabilitation does not erase accountability”, Haba noted.
She announced that the commission’s comprehensive peace framework would be formally unveiled at a peace summit scheduled for February 25, 2025.
According to her, the plan integrates rehabilitation with community resilience programmes, mental health support, restoration of livelihoods, and rebuilding of essential services such as schools and hospitals.
“We want seamless reintegration,” Habba concluded. “Not just for those leaving the bush, but for communities that have suffered trauma and destruction.”
The Benue State Government maintains that the initiative is a long-term investment in stability, aimed at dismantling cycles of violence by transforming vulnerable recruits into agents of recovery rather than returning them to stigma and suspicion.
The vision is for Ethiopia’s smart police stations to be unmanned – but giving more people access to police services. Computer tablet screens glow inside a row of partitioned booths at a new-style Ethiopian police station. There is no commotion. There is no front desk, no bench of anxiously waiting civilians, no officer calling out names.
It is a pilot project of what is being called a “smart” – or unmanned – police station in the Bole district of the capital, Addis Ababa, is the latest chapter in Ethiopia’s bid to catch up with the digital revolution.
A large monitor on the wall cycles through welcome messages as well as images of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
But at the moment there are uniformed officers standing by to demonstrate how the system works, which makes it feel more like a tech showroom.
Recently opened, the staff “is here to help people get used to it”, the police’s head of technology expansion department Demissie Yilma said.
Inside a booth, he taps a screen and goes through the steps to make a report.
Demissie selects the type of incident – a crime, a traffic report or a general concern – enters the details and presses a button to submit the comment.
Then, an officer – who is a real person in a remote location rather than a chatbot – pops up on the screen and begins to ask questions and take down information.
“If there is a problem, officers respond immediately and patrol the area mentioned by the reporter,” Demissie says.
In its first week last month, the smart police station (SPS) received just three reports – a lost passport, a financial fraud case and a routine complaint.
But Demissie believes the number of reports will grow as locals become more aware of it.
“The future police service should be near the citizens,” he says.
The use of a computer tablet to communicate with officials may mean less human-to-human contact but the authorities believe that the SPS could increase access to the police in places where there may not be enough personnel to man a fully fledged station.
At the project’s launch on 9 February, the prime minister was quoted in state media as saying that it was aimed at making “law enforcement institutions competent and competitive” and he framed it as part of a wider digital reform drive.
Users of the smart police station enter details on a tablet before a real person appears on the screen
The smart police station is part of a broader move to change how citizens interact with the state.
The national strategy launched last year – known as Digital Ethiopia 2030 – is the government’s blueprint for digitising public services, from identity systems and payments to courts and public administration.
The proportion of Ethiopians who have access to the internet remains quite low, meaning that the country has lagged behind others on the continent in terms of digital transformation.
Also, conflict and political upheavals in recent years have led to internet blackouts.
But as the telecoms sector has opened up, the country is embracing mobile phone digital payments in birr, the local currency.
The government has also introduced a national digital ID system and put several government services online.
Supporters of the moves argue that these changes are long overdue in a country with rapid urban growth and a young population.
Birhan Nega Cheru, a senior software engineer in Addis Ababa, is pleased with the shift.
“When they work well, they reduce paperwork and visits to offices,” he tells the BBC.
But he also recognises security and privacy issues and the dangers that those “who are not digitally literate can easily be scammed”.
“Urban users, younger people, businesses, those with smartphones and skills, benefit most,” the software engineer says.
“Older people, rural communities and low-income groups are at risk of being left out.”
And the numbers support his assertions.
In a report last year, the UN’s educational organisation, Unesco, found that 79% of its citizens were not connected to the internet.
But Zelalem Gizachew, a technology policy analyst, argues that the government’s strategy has been chipping away at the digital divide.
“Digital literacy remains a challenge,” he says. “That is why the Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy puts emphasis on training and skills, not just technology.”
He points to measurable changes over the past five years.
“Digital payments have boomed with trillions of birr now moving through electronic transactions. Broadband access has expanded sharply, and more than 130 government services have been digitised.
“These are foundational investments,” Zelalem says. “You cannot modernise public services without infrastructure, policy and skills.”
For now, the smart police station remains a pilot.
It is in a controlled environment where officers guide users through a system which is still finding its footing. Traditional stations continue to operate, and most citizens still rely on in-person reporting.
Whether the model expands will depend less on how sleek the technology looks, and more on whether people choose to use it when no-one is there to explain the screens.
In that sense, the quiet room in Bole is not a finished product. It is an experiment, and a small window into how Ethiopia’s broader digital ambitions may play out in everyday life.
The UK government will stop issuing study visas to people from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan from this month, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has said, as well as stopping skilled work visas to Afghans.
The Home Office said the action was being taken due to what it said was widespread visa abuse.
According to official figures, people from the four countries were the most likely to make an asylum claim after originally coming to the UK to study.
“The government is clamping down on visa abuse so the UK can maintain its ability and proud tradition of helping those genuinely in need,” a government spokesperson added.
In its release, the government said asylum claims from people who had originally travelled to the UK legally – to do something like studying – had more than tripled between 2021 and 2025.
Home Office figures showed that people claiming asylum off the back of a study visa make up 13% of all claims currently in the system.
Mahmood said she was “taking the unprecedented decision to refuse visas for those nationals seeking to exploit our generosity”.
“I will restore order and control to our borders.”
The Home Office said a higher proportion of people than average from the four specified countries cited destitution as part of their asylum claim, and there were 16,000 people from the four countries currently being supported.
About 95% of Afghans who arrived in the UK on a study visa then applied for asylum since 2021, while applications by students from Myanmar increased 16-fold and claims by students from Cameroon and Sudan more than quadrupled.
In its reasoning for ending work visas for Afghans, the Home Office also cited the large numbers claiming asylum in the UK once their visas expired.
It said that this posed “an unsustainable threat to the UK’s asylum system”.
The security situation is volatile in Afghanistan and recent tensions between the country and Pakistan have resulted in violent clashes in border regions.
There has been a civil war in Sudan since 2023, forcing millions to flee their homes in what the United Nations has called the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
There is separatist unrest in Cameroon, where militia are fighting for the independence of the country’s two Anglophone regions in what is a mainly French-speaking nation.
In Myanmar, there is a civil war following a military coup in 2021.
Mahmood will introduce new legislation to stop the issuing of visas through an Immigration Rules change on Thursday 5 March.
In November, the home secretary threatened to shut down all UK visas for Angola, Namibia and the Democratic of Congo unless their governments agreed to take deportations, which led to a resumption of return flights with all three countries.
The measures follow the prime minister’s decision to adopt a more hard-edged approach to diplomacy in response to pressure to reduce immigration from those on the political right, including the Conservatives and Reform UK.
Last week, the government announced protection for refugees would be halved to 30 months in an attempt to reduce small boat crossings.
In 2025, a total of 41,472 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats, which was almost 5,000 more than the previous year.
The UK has resettled the sixth largest number of refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the world, which the Home Office said demonstrated the government’s commitment to helping those genuinely in need.
The home secretary will give a speech this week on making the “progressive case” for immigration control.
Last month, about 40 Labour MPs raised concerns about the impact of the proposals to change permanent settlement rights for migrants already living here, describing the retrospective approach as “un-British” and “moving the goalposts”.
They have warned it could worsen the UK’s skills shortage, particularly in the care sector.
Max Wilkinson, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said it was “right to say student visas are for students and asylum routes are for refugees”.
“The problem is there are still no controlled, safe routes for refugees to reach the UK and no meaningful returns agreements with other countries for those whose claims are rejected,” Wilkinson said.
Ethiopia Experiments Smart Police Stations without Officers
The vision is for Ethiopia’s smart police stations to be unmanned – but giving more people access to police services. Computer tablet screens glow inside a row of partitioned booths at a new-style Ethiopian police station. There is no commotion. There is no front desk, no bench of anxiously waiting civilians, no officer calling out names.
It is a pilot project of what is being called a “smart” – or unmanned – police station in the Bole district of the capital, Addis Ababa, is the latest chapter in Ethiopia’s bid to catch up with the digital revolution.
A large monitor on the wall cycles through welcome messages as well as images of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
But at the moment there are uniformed officers standing by to demonstrate how the system works, which makes it feel more like a tech showroom.
Recently opened, the staff “is here to help people get used to it”, the police’s head of technology expansion department Demissie Yilma said.
Inside a booth, he taps a screen and goes through the steps to make a report.
Demissie selects the type of incident – a crime, a traffic report or a general concern – enters the details and presses a button to submit the comment.
Then, an officer – who is a real person in a remote location rather than a chatbot – pops up on the screen and begins to ask questions and take down information.
“If there is a problem, officers respond immediately and patrol the area mentioned by the reporter,” Demissie says.
In its first week last month, the smart police station (SPS) received just three reports – a lost passport, a financial fraud case and a routine complaint.
But Demissie believes the number of reports will grow as locals become more aware of it.
“The future police service should be near the citizens,” he says.
The use of a computer tablet to communicate with officials may mean less human-to-human contact but the authorities believe that the SPS could increase access to the police in places where there may not be enough personnel to man a fully fledged station.
At the project’s launch on 9 February, the prime minister was quoted in state media as saying that it was aimed at making “law enforcement institutions competent and competitive” and he framed it as part of a wider digital reform drive.
Users of the smart police station enter details on a tablet before a real person appears on the screen
The smart police station is part of a broader move to change how citizens interact with the state.
The national strategy launched last year – known as Digital Ethiopia 2030 – is the government’s blueprint for digitising public services, from identity systems and payments to courts and public administration.
The proportion of Ethiopians who have access to the internet remains quite low, meaning that the country has lagged behind others on the continent in terms of digital transformation.
Also, conflict and political upheavals in recent years have led to internet blackouts.
But as the telecoms sector has opened up, the country is embracing mobile phone digital payments in birr, the local currency.
The government has also introduced a national digital ID system and put several government services online.
Supporters of the moves argue that these changes are long overdue in a country with rapid urban growth and a young population.
Birhan Nega Cheru, a senior software engineer in Addis Ababa, is pleased with the shift.
“When they work well, they reduce paperwork and visits to offices,” he tells the BBC.
But he also recognises security and privacy issues and the dangers that those “who are not digitally literate can easily be scammed”.
“Urban users, younger people, businesses, those with smartphones and skills, benefit most,” the software engineer says.
“Older people, rural communities and low-income groups are at risk of being left out.”
And the numbers support his assertions.
In a report last year, the UN’s educational organisation, Unesco, found that 79% of its citizens were not connected to the internet.
But Zelalem Gizachew, a technology policy analyst, argues that the government’s strategy has been chipping away at the digital divide.
“Digital literacy remains a challenge,” he says. “That is why the Digital Ethiopia 2030 strategy puts emphasis on training and skills, not just technology.”
He points to measurable changes over the past five years.
“Digital payments have boomed with trillions of birr now moving through electronic transactions. Broadband access has expanded sharply, and more than 130 government services have been digitised.
“These are foundational investments,” Zelalem says. “You cannot modernise public services without infrastructure, policy and skills.”
For now, the smart police station remains a pilot.
It is in a controlled environment where officers guide users through a system which is still finding its footing. Traditional stations continue to operate, and most citizens still rely on in-person reporting.
Whether the model expands will depend less on how sleek the technology looks, and more on whether people choose to use it when no-one is there to explain the screens.
In that sense, the quiet room in Bole is not a finished product. It is an experiment, and a small window into how Ethiopia’s broader digital ambitions may play out in everyday life.
By Mike Odiakose, Abuja
Leading engineering construction company, Julius Berger Nigeria PLC has joined forces with the Renewed Hope Climate Change Awareness Tour, a national initiative aimed at promoting climate resilience and sustainable development across Nigeria to further the goals of the project.
The initiative was inaugurated inside the State House Conference Centre, Abuja Tuesday.
Speaking at the event, President Bola Tinubu who was represented by the Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, urged governors, Organised Private Sector actors and fellow stakeholders to lead Nigeria’s climate transition, transforming awareness into practical action at all levels while calling on governors, private sector leaders, and stakeholders to accelerate Nigeria’s transition to a resilient, low-carbon economy.
Tinubu said climate change was not only a risk but also an opportunity for innovation, growth, and national development.
“Today we inaugurate a movement, the Renewed Hope Climate Change Awareness Tour. It is a national call to action, a call to innovation, opportunity, and sustainable development for all Nigerians,” Tinubu said.
Stressing that Nigeria stood at a defining moment as the global transition to low-carbon development accelerated, the President said, “Capital is shifting, markets are evolving, and technology is transforming industries. Nigeria intends to lead tomorrow.”
He explained that the tour would take climate awareness beyond conference halls into communities, engaging governors, traditional rulers, students, innovators, entrepreneurs, farmers, and financial institutions nationwide.
By doing so, he added that bankable projects will be identified, local solutions unlocked, climate finance capacity strengthened, and partnerships between the public and private sectors mobilised.
To the stakeholders, the President said that nationally determined contributions were commitments to reduce emissions, enhance resilience, and safeguard communities, saying, “Commitments must be matched with action, supported by investment, and this tour bridges that gap.”
He further tasked young Nigerians to take ownership of the climate transition, stressing that their ideas, technology, and entrepreneurship would shape the nation’s future while aligning with the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Said he, “climate resilience is national security. Leadership is not a budget; it is a result we must accept with confidence. Nigeria chooses leadership over hesitation,”
Also, the Director of Forestry in the ministry, Halima Bawa, stressed the urgency of confronting climate change, noting its effects, including desert encroachment, flooding, coastal erosion, and erratic rainfall affecting farmers.
Lawal lauded the Climate Change Act 2021 for establishing a legal framework for coordinated climate governance, carbon budgeting, and a pathway to net-zero emissions by 2060, institutionalising climate action across sectors.
Special Assistant to the President on Climate Change Matters, Yussuf Kelani, said the tour represented a national movement grounded in leadership, collaboration, and commitment to Nigeria’s environmental and economic security.
Kelani, Chairman of the REHCCAT Committee, said the initiative sought to democratise climate knowledge, align federal and state-level action with Nigeria’s NDCs, and mobilise partnerships, green jobs, and climate finance.
Guest Speaker, Prof. Babajide Alo, emphasised that climate resilience required locally led adaptation, community empowerment, and capacity-building to actively manage climate risks and implement sustainable solutions.
“Securing Nigeria’s climate future requires revisiting priorities and lifestyles, embracing responsible consumption, reducing carbon footprints, and embedding sustainable development in every sector,” Alo said, calling for action at all levels.
For Julius Berger Nigeria PLC, the Chief Risk Officer, Shakira Mustapha said the target of well-wishers of Nigeria is a net zero emission.
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