Fresh concerns have emerged suggesting that Nigerian authorities received advance intelligence regarding a potential insurgent movement towards Benisheikh in Borno State, prompting worry about how early warnings are processed and acted upon within the current counter-insurgency framework under Operation Hadin Kai.

 The Defence Headquarters confirmed on Thursday that terrorists and military personnel alike suffered casualties when insurgents launched a coordinated attack on the 29th Task Force Brigade Headquarters in Benisheikh, Borno State. The military, however, did not confirm or debunk reports that the commander of the 29 Brigade, Brig. Gen. Oseni Braimah, was among those killed in the incident alongside his soldiers.

The federal government has slammed claims by some Civil Society organizations, (CSOs) that Nigeria is on the brink of collapse, describing such assertions as exaggerated and misleading. A coalition of CSOs had on Tuesday warned that the country was “on the brink of collapse", citing worsening insecurity, rising poverty, and what it described as a breakdown in governance as culminating indicators.

*Pledges continued Support to State Security Apparatus*

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has commended operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) for the arrest of high-profile kidnappers and gunrunners in the state. He gave the commendation during a visit to the Agency's State Headquarters on April 5, in Enugu.

The United States Department of State has condemned the recent Palm Sunday killings in Jos, Plateau State, describing the attack as unacceptable, while calling on the Nigerian government to wake up to its responsibility to strengthen security, particularly ahead of the Easter celebrations. The principal advisor for global religious freedom, Mark Walker, in a statement shared on Facebook yesterday by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, urged Nigerian authorities to act swiftly in the interest of the country.

Motorists were stranded in traffic yesterday as Edo State youths staged a peaceful protest along the Benin-Lagos highway over what they described as hardship in the country. The youths said they were protesting over several issues, ranging from a hike in petrol pump price, epileptic power supply, poor state of roads, and high cost of food items, among others.