Militants in the Niger Delta region under the aegis of Bayan-Men have blown up an oil facility operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, (NAOC) in Ogba-Egbema-Andoni Local Government Area, Rivers State. The angry militants, who destroyed oil well, OB5, (Obiavu-5) in the area, accused the oil firm of failing to deal directly with the host communities insisting that they were fighting for justice for their people. The Commander of the Bayan-Men said the company refused to allow the people to benefit from their operations in the area, adding that the firm was neck-deep in divide and rule.

Security forces have rescued no fewer than 544 abducted persons in the last two months in the state. Among those rescued were women, children, the aged, two students of Federal Government College Birnin Yauri in Kebbi, 18 students of College of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Bakura and 75 students of Government Day Secondary School, Kaya, in Maradum LGA.

There was wide jubilation in Damboa LGA in Borno state this morning when the Nigeria security forces dealt with the Boko haram insurgents in an early-hours shootout today. According to the report, the insurgents storm the Damboa town in the early morning hours about 6:35 am shooting sporadically into the air from all directions throwing people into panic for safety. However, in a swift response, the security forces engaged them in a shootout that lasted for nearly an hour forcing the insurgents into retreat.

About 11,000 workers of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) have begun a nationwide three-day warning strike to demand improved welfare. On Wednesday, the NRC employees under the aegis of the Senior Staff Association of the Railway and the Nigerian Union of Railway Workers (NUR) stated that on Thursday they would stop train services across the country including the popular Lagos-Ibadan, Abuja-Kaduna, and Warri-Itakpe train routes.

The Department of State Services (DSS) has urged the media to consider the peculiarity of Nigeria based on ethnic and religious diversities in news reportage. The Public Relations Officer of the DSS, Dr. Peter Afunanya said this at a one-day seminar on the Media and National Security organized by the DSS in partnership with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) for members of the DSS press corps. Afunanya presented a paper titled, “Fake News and National Security”, where he urged journalists to ignore fake news because it was designed and distributed with the intent of misleading people into believing falsehood.

The Federal Government (FG) has issued a response to an allegation by US-based non-profit organization, Global Advocates for Terrorism Eradication (GATE) that the Nigerian government was sponsoring terrorism. The response was issued in a statement on Sunday by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed. The statement reads in part, “Is it not curious that this organization has chosen this particular time, when terrorists are either surrendering in droves or running helter-skelter, as a result of a renewed offensive against them by the military, to orchestrate a distraction? What could be GATE’s motive if not to weaken the fight against terror and banditry?