News
Your Romance With Terrorists Pushing Us To Join Boko Haram, IDPs Tell FG
The Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from Kuchingworo and Durumi camps in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, have threatened to join Boko Haram should Federal Government continue to romance with repentant terrorists and ignore them who are the victims of terrorists’ attacks.
They issued the threat at the public presentation of the report, “Managing Internal Displacement Crisis in Nigeria”, held in Abuja, yesterday.
One of the IDPs from Kuchingworo camp, who pleaded anonymity, accused the Federal Government of being biased for prioritizing rehabilitation of the repentant Boko Haram insurgents, and abandoning their victims to nurse the wounds.
The IDP, who said he lost his father, mother and all his siblings to the blooding tasty Boko Haram before his escape, said IDPs in his camp are not only abandoned but discriminated against by the society, wondering why the government would stop free medical treatment and other provisions made available to them in past only to turn attention to the same Boko Haram that had and still causing the country so much pains.
‘‘I am worried that government would start rehabilitating what they called repentant Boko Haram and abandon us their victims in the IDP camp to suffer hunger and deprivation. If that is how it wants it, we will be compelled to join Boko Haram so that government can pay attention to us.
‘‘I lost my father and all members of my family to Boko Haram before I escaped to this camp and see my life, the government can’t pay attention to me but it can rehabilitate repentant Boko Haram.
‘‘The society is also our problem because they discriminate against us. A German offered to take me abroad, but I was denied visa at German embassy because I am an IDP. Some of us have skills and are hardworking but because we found ourselves in IDP camp, the society treats us as if we are nobody,’’ he lamented.
Apart from the obvious deprivation and hunger in the camp, Yohanna said IDPs in his camp no longer have access to government medical facility as they were made to sell their food items to raise fund for their medical bills.
He warned that most IDPs would be compelled to join Boko Haram, if the government does not change its approach and cater for them.
Another IDP from Durumi camp, who also preferred not to be mentioned, said most IDPs in the camp had been recruited into drug trafficking because they were vulnerable and neglected by government.
Meanwhile, the Senator representing Southern Borno and Chairman Senate Committee on Army, Ali Ndume, has said the report credited to him that 70 elders were killed in his community in Gwoza Local Government Area by Boko Haram sect happened more than five or six years ago, and not a fresh attack as being insinuated in some quarters.
Ndume made the clarification to newsmen, yesterday, in an interview in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital.
It would be recalled that the senator was among his colleagues (Senate Committee on Special Duties and North East Development Commission) who visited Maiduguri, last Wednesday, where they paid a courtesy visit to Governor Babagana Umara Zulum, in which Ndume, in the process of memories, told the gathering that “there was a time when Boko Haram slaughtered 70 of his elder-statesmen at one of the abattoirs in Gwoza within one day”.
He expressed worry that some newspapers misquoted him and made the statement breaking news.
Ndume said, “I am surprised to see some national dailies reported today (Thursday) or misquoted me as if it’s a new attack that happened to my elders.
“Yes, during our visit to Borno State, and in one of our fora/gatherings, I told them that there was a day, even before Gwoza was made a Caliphate of the Boko Haram sect, 70 elders in Gwoza alone were slaughtered.
“I want to clarify that this statement on the attack is not a fresh one, but belated as it happened a few years ago.
“In fact, I can recall vividly that you were among those who published report of the 70 elders killed which is more than five years ago now, and so is not breaking news as being erroneously reported, but I will reiterate it is belated”, Ndume clarified.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted 1.63 million pills of tramadol concealed in two long trailers heading for Kano as it intensified efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria corridor.
The agency also arrested an 80-year-old suspected drug dealer in Rivers State, a businesswoman linked to cannabis shipments from Canada, a Chadian woman, a couple and other suspects in coordinated operations across Lagos, Edo, Kogi and Rivers states.
The NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement, yesterday.
According to the statement, the latest intelligence-led operation came barely one week after NDLEA operatives recovered 558,900 pills of tramadol concealed in the false-bottom compartment of a truck that entered Lagos through the Togo-Benin Republic route.
Babafemi said, “Ongoing efforts to dismantle a transnational drug trafficking syndicate smuggling tramadol from Togo, through Benin Republic into Nigeria have yielded another success with the interception of two long trailers used to move One Million Six Hundred and Thirty (1,630,000) pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in fabricated compartments of the trucks across multiple borders into Lagos.”
He added that one of the two trailers was intercepted on July 2 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where operatives recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor.
Babafemi said, “One of the two trucks already heading to Kano was tracked and located on 2nd July 2026 along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway where NDLEA officers recovered 853,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the trailer and arrested the 22-year-old driver Jabir Kabiru.”
He further disclosed that another trailer was intercepted two days later on the same route.
“Two days later, 4th July, NDLEA operatives acting on processed intelligence successfully tracked and recovered the second trailer from the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway while heading to Kano. A total of 777,000 pills of tramadol 250mg concealed in a fabricated compartment beneath the cargo floor of the truck were evacuated and the 22-year-old driver Muhammed Nuhu arrested,” the statement read.
According to Babafemi, investigations established a link between the three intercepted consignments.
He said, “Investigations revealed that all three trucks and consignments intercepted on 21st June, 2nd July and 4th July belong to the same transnational drug trafficking syndicate operating along the Togo-Benin Republic-Nigeria axis.”
The agency also intercepted 4.70 kilograms of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.
Babafemi said, “Two consignments of Canadian Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, with a combined weight of 4.70 kilograms have been intercepted at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. The cargoes, which arrived the Lagos airport from Canada in cartons with ‘Odugwu’ boldly written on them, came aboard British Airways and Ethiopian Airlines flights on 24th June and 3rd July respectively.”
He said two cargo agents, Ali Rotimi Samson and Orimolade Oluwagbenga, were initially arrested in connection with the shipments, while another suspect, Edeh Onyeamachi Stanislus, was apprehended after arriving at a logistics company to take delivery of the consignments.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has denied claims that it has commenced registration for a purported ?50,000 National Support Allowance.
The ministry, in a public notice posted on its official X handle, yesterday, described messages, links and websites advertising the alleged programme as fraudulent.
It urged Nigerians to disregard such claims and verify information only through official government channels.
“The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction has NOT commenced registration for any ?50,000 National Support Allowance,” the ministry said.
It added, “Disregard fraudulent messages, links and websites claiming otherwise. Verify any info only through official govt channels.”
The alert is in response to a circulating scam flyer that falsely claims the program is ongoing under President Bola Tinubu’s directives.
The fake advertisement, which includes text in Hausa and English, directs victims to a suspicious website (kluspz.com) for applications.
The ministry’s warning comes amid heightened concerns over digital fraud targeting vulnerable populations seeking social support.
Similar scams have previously surfaced around programs like N-Power, prompting questions from citizens in replies to the official post.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its preparedness for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, hinted at this while making his remarks at the commissioning of the Comrade Godwin Abumisi Pensioners Legacy House and Multipurpose Hall in Abuja.
Ajaero said it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
He advised workers and pensioners to get prepared for the ideological and economic battles that lie ahead.
According to the NLC president, “The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) is one of the proud affiliates of the Nigeria Labour Congress. Therefore, your struggle is our struggle, and your welfare remains a priority for the organised labour movement.
“We are currently in the preparatory stages for a major national struggle for a comprehensive review of the national minimum wage.
“However, let me state unequivocally that it is no longer acceptable to discuss the welfare of workers without also discussing the welfare of those who have completed their active years of service.
“Accordingly, the Nigeria Labour Congress will not only push for a new national minimum wage but will also demand the establishment of a national minimum pension. It is a historical injustice that men and women who devoted their youth, strength and productive years to the service of this nation should be condemned to live below the poverty line after retirement.”
Ajaero noted that the cost of living has risen astronomically as food, healthcare and transportation have become increasingly unaffordable.
“We cannot continue to allow our senior citizens to survive on pensions that have become poverty wages. Every retiree deserves to live with dignity after decades of faithful service to the nation,” he said.
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He urged pensioners across the country to remain united and prepared as the process begins, adding: “This Legacy House should not merely be seen as a physical structure; it should become a centre for mobilisation, strategic engagement and solidarity as we prepare for the struggles ahead.”
The NLC president pointed out that the working class has always understood that “those who exploit workers are united in advancing their interests. We too must remain united in defending our collective interests and ensuring that government fulfils its obligations to both serving workers and retirees.”
He said the completion of the project should serve as a clarion call to all workers and lovers of the masses.
“We must not only build physical structures but also build a strong movement capable of compelling government to honour its commitments,” he said.
Ajaero further stated: “We will continue to demand the immediate payment of all outstanding pension arrears and the implementation of a pension regime that guarantees every retiree a life of dignity and security.
“Together, we shall continue to fight until every Nigerian worker and pensioner receives the justice, respect and welfare they deserve.”
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