The Defence Headquarters has refuted the claims by Amnesty International (AI) that the Nigerian military failed to prevent the abduction of 110 schoolgirls in Yobe State despite being alerted. The Nigerian Army on Tuesday said this claim by Amnesty International is outright falsehood and misleading.

The management of Arik Air says operations were disrupted on Sunday after an aircraft was hit by a truck at the Lagos airport while another aircraft could not take off in Owerri.

Arik said it has since reported the incidents to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) in line with standard operating procedure.

“Arik Air has reported incidents involving two of its aircraft on Sunday, March 18, 2018, to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). This is in line with standard operating procedure and the airline’s high safety standards,” the statement read.

Nigeria’s military was on Tuesday accused of ignoring repeated warnings about the movements of Boko Haram fighters before they kidnapped 110 schoolgirls in the country’s restive northeast.

The students — the youngest of whom is aged just 10 — were seized from the town of Dapchi, Yobe state, on February 19 in virtually identical circumstances to those in Chibok in 2014.

Then, more than 200 schoolgirls were taken in an attack that brought sustained world attention on the Islamist insurgency and sparked a global campaign for their release.

President Muhammadu Buhari has called the Dapchi abduction a “national disaster” and vowed to use negotiation rather than force to secure their release.

The Reformed Niger Delta Avengers and 10 other militant groups have threatened to attack oil installations in the Niger Delta if Paul Boroh, sacked coordinator of the amnesty programme, is not reinstated in four weeks.

Last week, President Muhammadu Buhari removed Boroh from the position and appointed Charles Dokubo, a professor, in his place.

According to NAN, Johnmark Ezonbi, leader of the Reformed Niger Delta Avengers, said the federal government would “hear from them” if Boroh is not reinstated.

He said the sacked coordinator of the amnesty programme plays a significant role in prevailing on the militants to end attacks on oil installations.

The Inspector-General of Police ( I-G), Mr Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the immediate withdrawal of all policemen attached to Very Important Personalities (VIPs), political and public office holders in the country.

Idris gave the order at the monthly meeting with Commissioners of Police and above on Monday in Abuja.

“A directive for the withdrawal of all police officers deployed to VIPs, political and public office holders, with immediate effect, is hereby given,” he said.

He said that the order became expedient in view of the current security challenges in the country, adding that it was aimed at enhancing effective and efficient policing of the country.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the UN Security Council and its members to declare herdsmen attacks across the country as acts of terrorism.

In a statement signed by its Deputy Director, Timothy Adewale on Sunday, the group said it wrote the UN, urging them to: “Urgently hold a special session on Nigeria and to visit the country to press the authorities to end continuing killings and destruction of property by suspected herdsmen across Nigeria, particularly in the North-Central of the country.”