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Terrorists, Army Clash Claims 19 Insurgents, Three Soldiers In Borno
The Nigerian Army said its soldiers engaged in the counter-terrorism operations in the North-East have thwarted terrorists’ attempt to attack one of its military bases at Damboa in Borno State.
The Army said the soldiers killed 19 of the terrorists, wounded several others and recovered several arms and ammunition from them.
The Media Coordinator in charge of Nigerian Army Operations, Col Aminu Iliyasu, however, said that three soldiers lost their lives during the encounter while four others were injured in the battle.
Illiyasu said the wounded soldiers had since been evacuated to a military medical facility for where they were being treated.
In a statement, Iliyasu said: “A misguided attempt by some criminal Boko Haram elements to attack the troops of 25 Task Force Brigade (Army Super Camp 2) located in Damboa LGA of Borno State has met a crushing defeat in the hands of the resilient troops.
“The marauding criminals mounted on gun trucks and with a number of their foot soldiers attempted to infiltrate the troops’ location from three different fronts in the early hours of 4 March, 2020. The troops responded swiftly, bringing to bear superior firepower against the criminals in conjunction with the Air Task Force Operation Lafiya Dole.
“The encounter, which lasted over an hour, witnessed one of the most debilitating defeats of the Boko Haram criminals in a single encounter since the turn of the year. So far, 19 Boko Haram criminals’ corpses have been recovered while many more were observed escaping with various degrees of gunshot wounds by the troops who are on vigorous exploitation of their initial success along the criminals’ withdrawal route.
“Interestingly, the gallant troops captured from the Boko Haram criminals’ five AK-47 rifles, one general-purpose machine gun and one rocket-propelled gun tube. Regrettably, three valiant soldiers paid the supreme prize while four others were wounded in action.
“However, the wounded in action soldiers have been evacuated to a military medical facility for immediate and effective management.
“To this end, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen Tukur Buratai hereby congratulates the troops of Operation Lafiya Dole for their decisive victory against the enemies of our country. He further urges them to remain steadfast, loyal and resolute in the discharge of their professional responsibilities.
“He further reassures the residents of Damboa and indeed the North-East at large of the unflinching resolve of troops of Operation Lafiya Dole in protecting the lives and properties of all law- abiding citizens.”
In a similar attack in Yobe, gunmen suspected to be members of Boko Haram, overran Dapchi last Wednesday, killing seven Mobile police officers and one unidentified person.
The insurgents stormed the town at about 6:00 pm in four Toyota hilux shooting sporadically.
It would be recalled that Dapchi is the town in Yobe State, where over 110 schoolgirs were kidnapped in 2018, including Leah Sharibu, the Christian girl who refused to renounce her faith in exchange for release by her Boko Haram captors.
However, the coordinator of terrorism de-radicalisation programme Operation Safe Corridor, Maj-Gen Bamidele Shafa, said, yesterday, that 606 ex-Boko Haram fighters are set to be reunited with their families after undergoing rehabilitation under the federal initiative.
Shafa made this known at the opening of a stakeholder meeting to work out modalities for transferring the former terrorists to their national and state government authorities for reintegration held at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
According to the general, 25 Nigerians, including 14 male adults, three female adults and eight children, who voluntarily laid down their arms in Niger Republic had been repatriated in February and awaiting reintegration.
The Coordinator, noting that Operation Safe Corridor was established by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 to create a means for repentant Boko Haram fighters to surrender and go through a well-structured de-radicalization and rehabilitation programme, said since its inception, 893 repentant Boko Haram fighters referred to as ‘clients’ have been admitted into the programme, out of which 280, including two Chadians have been transferred to their respective national and state authorities.
On rumours making the rounds that ex-terrorists were being recruited into the Nigerian Armed Forces, Shafa said: “I wish to categorically refute the claim and assure Nigerians that none of the rehabilitated Nigerians from Operation Safe Corridor De-radicalization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration has been recruited into the Nigerian military or any sister security agencies as stringent measures have been put in place to prevent such from happening.”
Meanwhile, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Gabriel Olonisakin, has dismissed reports that repentant and rehabilitated Boko Haram members were being recruited into the Nigerian military.
Olonisakin, who was represented by Chief of Defence Policy and Plans, AVM Nurudeen Balogun, stated this at a Stakeholders’ Meeting of Operation Safe Corridor, yesterday in Abuja.
At the meeting convened by the Defence Headquarters to work out modalities for the transfer of rehabilitated ex-Boko Haram terrorists to their national and state governments, Olonisakin said, “I wish to assure Nigerians that none of the rehabilitated Nigerians from OPSC Deradicalization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration has been recruited into the Nigerian military or any of its sister agencies.
“Stringent measures have been put in place to prevent such from happening.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.