The Nigerian Army said its soldiers of 8 Division operating in Zamfara and adjoining states have fighting bandits in the North West have neutralized 48 of them and rescued 18 persons held hostage in the first phase of its newly launched Operation Tsare Mutane, to flush out the criminals. Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier-General Mohammed Yerima, made the revelation, in a statement yesterday. According to Yerima, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Ibrahim Attahiru had directed the Division to stabilize the security situation in the zone to facilitate the return of socio-economic activities. He said the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Division, Usman Yusuf, launched the first phase of the operation that lasted from March 23 to April 2 in Maradun Local Government Area of Zamfara.

National chairmanship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Salihu Mustapha has warned against inciting comments capable of plunging the country into another civil war and instead seek peaceful means of resolving conflicts. As Mustapha argued, only peaceful Nigeria will make possible the conduct of the 2023 general elections to birth a new government.

The Federal Government said it has begun profiling towards prosecution of a large number of well-placed Nigerians suspected of being financiers of terrorism in the country. Authorities said that the arrest of an undisclosed number of suspects recently came following the conviction of some Nigerians on terrorism financing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While addressing newsmen on Friday in Abuja, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami said that investigations conducted have established reasonable evidence of the involvement of the highly placed individuals, businessmen, and institutions across the country in financing the Boko Haram terrorists.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday commensurate with the family of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), on the sudden demise of his son, Pastor Dare Adeboye. Son of the revered cleric reported passed on in his sleep on Wednesday, shortly after ministration. President Buhari in a statement signed on Thursday by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina commiserated with members of the RCCG on the demise of the Assistant Pastor in charge of Region (Youth) 35.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said that the success of linking SIMs to National Identification Numbers, NIN, would determine the success of the ongoing war against insecurity. “Linking SIM with NIN will help Nigeria to easily identify people, including the crooks,” President Buhari said during the launch of National Policy for the Promotion of Indigenous Content in the Nigerian Telecommunications Sector and Revised National Identity Policy for SIM Cards registration in Abuja. He said “The NIN will cover one of the weaknesses in our security structure. We will be able to easily identify and know the personality of Nigerians. We will identity people easily, including the crooks.” He said the launch of the Revised National Digital Identity Policy for SIM Card Registration was quite timely and will support efforts to enhance security and develop the economy.

The house of representatives has asked the federal government to suspend the planned national census over Nigeria’s security challenges until the country stabilizes. At Tuesday’s plenary session, the green chamber said the census scheduled for this year should be put on hold until the country’s security situation improves. The lawmakers also invited Nasir Kwarra, chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), to appear before them over the feasibility of conducting the census in the face of insecurity. The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Shehu Beji from Niger state. Beji said the current insecurity had displaced numerous citizens, dwellers of various communities, to be
captured in the exercise.