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Terrorists Surrender, Others killed In N/East – Defence Hqtrs
By Gom Mirian, Abuja
Boko-Haram terrorists (BHTs) and those of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) have surrender to the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole across the North East, the Defence Headquarters has said.\
The Military High Command also said over 19 of the terrorists were killed by the troops in a deliberate ambush operation against the enemies at Lawanti River line, while others escaped with gunshot wounds.
Coordinator Defence Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, Major General John Enenche, in a statement on Friday in Abuja, said the operation was carried out by troops of Army Super Camp 6 Konduga, Borno State in conjunction with Borno State Civilian Joint Task Force on Wednesday.
Enenche said the laying down of arms by the terrorists was due to the sustained artillery bombardments and ground assaults against their hideouts by the gallant troops.
He gave the name of the terrorists who surrendered to troops of Delta Company at strong Response in Gwoza local government areas as Mohammed Babagana, Modu Jugudun and Alhaji Usman.
According to him, the trio confessed to have escaped from their camp in Dabulari village, Bama local government area of Borno State after a heavy Artillery bombardments of the camp by troops, which led to the death of many of their erstwhile colleagues.
He said during interrogation, they confessed regretting their actions and called on their former colleagues to give up the struggle and save themselves from unprofitable death.
He said on June 2, the combined troops of 19 Brigade and 401 Special Forces Brigade conducted a robust clearance operation at Doron Naira and Magaji.
He added that the troops recovered one 120mm Mortar base plate, one religious book, metal links for-Aircraft ammunition and a roll of copper wire abandoned by the Boko Haram criminals before the arrival of the own troops.
” Also, at Daban Magaji, troops had an encounter with some Boko Haram Terrorists hibernating in the area.
” The valiant troops, through superior fire neutralized 9 of them.
“Additionally, the troops destroyed one Boko Haram Gun Truck as well as captured one Anti-Aircraft Gun, 2 AK 47 Rifles, and a large cache of Anti-Aircraft ammunition. However, one officer paid the supreme price while one soldier was wounded in action,” he said.
The Coordinator said soldiers wounded in action were receiving treatment at the military medical facility.
He further disclosed that on June 1, 2020, troops of 144 Battalion deployed in Madagali, Adamawa State briskly cleared BHT Staging Area and Crossing Points at Lemu, Gajinji and Tsakiraku.
He said during the encounter at Gajinji, troops neutralized one terrorist and arrested 2 adult females namely: Aishatu Manye and Kelune Mate identified to be the local BHT commander’s wives.
“In the North West Region, on 3 June 2020, troops of Operation WHIRL PUNCH acting on credible information raided a bandits’ Camp at Kurmin Dande in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.
“During the operation, troops made contact and neutralized 2 of the bandits while others escaped with gunshot wounds,” he stressed.
Enenche said items seized by the troops include ;2 Dane guns, 2 motorcycles, one locally fabricated short gun, 4 cutlasses, 3 cell phones, 2 small solar panels and some clothing items before destroying their camp.
“Consequently, the Chief of Army Staff, congratulates the gallant troops for their resilience, courage and dedication to the noble cause of defending our fatherland. The High Command of the Armed Forces of Nigeria also encourages the troops to continue to be steadfast and focused as they sustain the onslaught against the enemies of the Nation” he said.
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Bandits Invade Niger Local Market, Village Head, 20 Others Killed
From Dan Amasingha, Minna
After relative peace since the start of the Ramadan fast,daredevil Bandits invaded a Niger local market and killed the Village head and 20 traders in Madaka, Rijau local government areas of Niger State.Rijau Local Government which borders neighbouring Kebbi State, has experienced consistent banditry attacks in the past one year.
Eye witnesses inform our Correspondent that the suspected bandits riding on motorcycles stormed the market on Thursday afternoon around 3. 30- 4pm when activities at the market were at its peak.According to the source, the invading bandits who shot sporadically into the air to scare away traders later started ransacking big time traders by carting away food stuffs and Cash.Villagers who had the pandemonium at the market square fled into nearby bushes to take cover and the Village head who attempted to find out what was happening was shot dead at close range.”At the end of the confusion, we discovered that twenty one persons including our Village head were wasted,The Source maintained that, the bandits before leaving later set about 50 houses including commercial shops on fire, and a number of cars and motorcycles were burnt down during the incident.”After killing innocent victims and burning down the market they also went away with an unspecified number of the villagers to an unidentified destination”Confirming the incident, Madaka District Head, Alhaji Isah Bawale said it was a black Thursday evening in a telephone interview on Friday morning.He further recounted that the Community had come under similar attack some times ago when his predecessor was killed without any resistance from security agencies.When contacted, Niger State Command of Police Public Relations Officer PPRO SP Wasiu Abiodun assured to verify and get back but he couldn’t revert at the time of filing in the report.Meanwhile, the Niger state government, especially the commissioner for security, General Bello Abdullahi Mohammed (retired) is yet to speak on the incident.Uncategorized
Women Are Nation Builders, Bayelsa NAWOJ
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
The Nigerian Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Bayelsa State chapter has described women as society builders hence they should be empowered to harness their potentials for nation building.
Chairperson of NAWOJ Bayelsa, Mrs Grace Orumieyefa handed down this during a one day program to commemorate the 2024 International Women Day held at the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ Press Centre in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Mrs Orumieyefa noted that NAWOJ has over the years been at the forefront of advocacy for women rights as the empowerment of women brings empowerment for everyone around her which makes a better society.
Also speaking, Chief Executive Officer, Eunice Nnachi Women Advocacy Foundation, ENWAF, Lady Eunice Nnachi urged women to take advantage of technological advancement to improve their learning and training in order to empower themselves.
“You can learn almost anything using the internet, through YouTube, women should use this medium to learn many things and train themselves.”
While responding to questions, she said, women should not be desperate to get life partners but should ensure that they have partners who can help them to achieve their dreams.
The Keynote Speaker, Mrs Ebi Kakandar who delivered a lecture on “Harnessing the Prospects and Potentials of Women” called on women to shun all forms of laziness, be determined and courageous to pursue their life ambitions.
Mrs Kakandar pointed out that factors such as building a growth mindset, improving your emotional mindset, developing willpower, cultivating strong social support, aspiring for greatness and setting achievable goals are some of the keys to achieving success as a woman.
She encouraged women to seek more knowledge and inspire themselves to be self-reliant.
Various organizations such as NUJ, FIDA, NLC, MWAN, Starzz Initiative, DO Foundation, POWA and other women organizations as well as NGOS delivered Goodwill messages for women advising to aspire for higher achievement.
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Students Loan: FG Explains Delay in Take-off, Sets New Date
The Federal Government has set the month of March for a definite opening of the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund) portal for eligible students.
Dr Akintunde Sawyerr, Execute Secretary NELFund, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen on Thursday in Abuja urged eligible students to register to access the fund.
President Bola Tinubu on June 12, 2023, signed the Access to Higher Education Bill into law to enable indigent student access interest-free loan to pursue their education in any Nigerian tertiary institutions.
The scheme was slated to commence between September and October 2023, but because of unforeseen circumstances, there was a revised timeline to January.
Giving reasons for the delay in starting the scheme as earlier scheduled, Sawyerr explained that the process is technically driven and necessary measures needed to be put in place for proper execution.
“The take-off date is this month (March) and the reason for the delay is that we are trying to get it right.
“This is not a political programme where we say, oh! we are just going to do it, it doesn’t matter how it works.
“This is a programme that will, probably run beyond me as a human being, not even as a Secretary. This is something that we want to run adequately, so we have to get it right,’’ he said.
Sawyerr, reiterated President Tinubu’s commitment to ensure that lack of finance should not be a reason for any student in Nigeria to halt education at a tertiary level.
According to him, the scheme was designed for indigent Nigerian students in tertiary institutions and applications would be done online.
“We have decided that, all applicants should be able to access this scheme regardless of where they are, who they are and who they know.
“We want this to be a process that is fair to all and we will advertise the portal widely so that applicants will be able to go to the website to fill series of forms and answer certain questions.
“Base on the data they input and their answers to the questions, the system will be able to determine appropriately, whether they are eligible to apply or not,’’ Sawyerr explained. (NAN)