The United States government has pledged to work with the Nigerian authority to protect its financial system from being used to support terrorism. The U.S. Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary, Eric Meyer, disclosed this today in Abuja during a media roundtable discussion with some Nigerian security stakeholders. Meyer is part of a team drafted from the U.S. that is currently in Nigeria to interact with the country’s security and financial institutions on how best his country will come in to counter terrorism in the Nigeria and the African continent at large.

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. General Mohamed Buba Marwa (Rtd), said the agency will deploy its personnel across the 774 local government areas of the country as part of the effort to strengthen the fight against illicit drug trafficking especially in the local communities.

The Defence Headquarters on Thursday revealed that troops in the past two weeks intercepted stolen crude worth N1.2 billion even as Nigeria’s oil production capacity increased in September. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba said this while briefing journalists in Abuja, on Thursday, on the activities of the Military in recent times. The Defence spokesperson promised to incapacitate terrorists from conducting small-scale attacks on soft targets. Buba said troops, during their operations, killed 73 terrorists, arrested 182, and rescued 68 hostages in one week.

The newly appointed Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, has ordered all staff of the anti-graft agency to immediately declare their assets which is in line with civil service regulations and procedures.

Some armed men invaded a mosque at the Ga Allah Babba villages near Sabon Layi, Kakagi in Birinin-Gwari Local Government Area of the Kaduna State in the wee hours of Tuesday, killing the Chief Imam and a worshipper identified as Kabir, while others sustained various degrees of injuries during the attack. It was gathered by one of the community leaders, Zubair Abdurrauf, that the bandits were returning from Zamfara State via the Kamuku forest near the village when they ran into the Muslim faithful observing their morning prayers. The gunmen, he said, immediately closed the mosque and opened fire on the worshippers, killing the chief imam and two others. Abdulrauf further disclosed that two other worshippers who sustained life-threatening injuries were rushed to the Jibrin Maigwari General Hospital for treatment.

The Federal Government on Sunday evening, reopened the Third Mainland Bridge barely 24 hours after closure for palliative work. The Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Olukorede Kesha, yesterday, expressed satisfaction with repairs done on the Bridge, assuring motorists of a smooth ride till the commencement of comprehensive rehabilitation in January 2024. Ms Kesha gave the assurance during an on-the-spot assessment of the repairs on the bridge. On Thursday, the controller announced a 24-hour closure of the bridge to allow for repairs of some critical portions.