Author: AbdulRahman Tahir, Maiduguri

BORNO State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has expressed shock over the use of drones by Boko Haram terrorists to attack soldiers, saying that despite well-circulated intelligence that the Mafa area of the state would be attacked, troops could not prevent it from happening. News Point Nigeria reports that Zulum disclosed this on Friday in Mafa town when he paid a post-assessment visit to areas attacked by Boko Haram in the early hours of Thursday. The governor, while briefing newsmen, expressed his grave concern over the emergence of this new threat, stating that the successful use of a drone by the terrorists…

PASSENGERS at the Maiduguri International Airport on Monday witnessed unexpected drama after a Max Air pilot allegedly refused to operate a scheduled flight due to unresolved financial disputes with the airline’s management. The incident, which left more than 100 passengers stranded for hours, threw the terminal into confusion as anxious travellers demanded explanations from airline officials. According to eyewitnesses who spoke to News Point Nigeria, the passengers had already boarded the aircraft and were preparing for departure when the pilot reportedly declined to proceed, citing unpaid entitlements and unsettled debts owed by the airline to its flight crew. An eyewitness,…

HUNDREDS of travellers were left stranded for hours on Friday morning along the Maiduguri–Damaturu Highway, following a late-night Boko Haram attack on a military base near Ngamdu, a strategic town less than 50 kilometres from Damaturu, the Yobe State capital. News Point Nigeria reports that the incident, which occurred late Thursday night, forced the Nigerian military to temporarily shut down the busy highway, a crucial link between Borno and Yobe states and one of the most vital economic and humanitarian corridors in the insurgency-ravaged North-East. Eyewitnesses and motorists told News Point Nigeria that the attack led to heavy gunfire and…

BORNO State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has directed an immediate investigation into allegations that some Muslim women were harassed for wearing the hijab in certain hospitals within Maiduguri, the state capital. The directive follows a recent statement issued by the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), claiming that several Muslim women seeking medical care in some public health facilities were subjected to harassment and discrimination on account of their hijab. Reacting to the report on Thursday, Governor Zulum expressed deep concern, noting that his administration had not previously received any official complaint on the matter. However, he emphasized that the allegations…

THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that Nigeria lost an estimated $10 billion to the prolonged armed conflict in the country’s North-East region over the last decade. News Point Nigeria reports that UNICEF’s Country Representative, Wafaa Saeed, made the disclosure on Wednesday in Maiduguri, Borno State, during the formal launch of a socio-economic reintegration programme for children affected by armed conflict. Represented by UNICEF’s Child Protection Manager, Shah Mohammad Khan, Saeed said the prolonged insurgency had not only crippled the region’s economy but also undermined the income and earning potential of millions of families and young people. “According…

THE Maiduguri community was thrown into grief on Tuesday following the discovery of the lifeless body of a young hawker, believed to be about 12 years old, in the Gamboru River, located in the Customs area of the city. Residents told News Point Nigeria that the child was first spotted floating along the riverbank before being pulled out by community members, who then alerted the authorities. Incidents of drowning are sadly not uncommon in Maiduguri and across Borno State, particularly during the rainy season when rivers and canals swell beyond their banks. Many vulnerable children, especially Almajiri pupils and young…

IN a landmark ruling aimed at cleaning up Nigeria’s military ranks, a Special Court-Martial of the Nigerian Army sitting in Maiduguri has convicted and sentenced four soldiers for their roles in a dangerous arms trafficking syndicate that supplied weapons and ammunition to terrorists and criminal groups. News Point Nigeria reports that the judgment, delivered on Monday at the Officers’ Mess of the Theatre Command Headquarters, Operation Hadin Kai, sent a stern message to security personnel aiding the enemy. Brigadier General Mohammed Abdullahi, who presided over the court-martial under the chairmanship of Brigadier General Ugochukwu Unachukwu, Acting General Officer Commanding 7…

FOUR months after the government evacuated more than 22,000 people and dismantled its water supply, Muna displaced persons camp on the outskirts of Maiduguri is now a shadow of its former self, a silent, skeletal relic of war on Boko Haram. But Maryam Suleiman, a 50-year-old widow, has refused to leave. Suleiman and her 12 children continue to sleep beneath rusting, leaking roofs as the walls of the camp slowly crumble around them. “They gave us options to stay or return home,” she says, standing in what remains of the camp that has sheltered her family for a decade. “But…

TROOPS have recorded a major battlefield success in the fight against insurgency, killing three top ISWAP commanders and eight of their fighters during a failed ambush along the Baga–Cross Kauwa supply route in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. The slain commanders were identified as Modu Dogo Munzir of Dogon Chukun, an unidentified Munzir, and Abu Aisha, the Qaid of Tumbun Mota. The encounter occurred on Monday, September 15, 2025, around 8:00 a.m. when terrorists attempted to spring a deadly ambush on troops of Sector 3 of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) using a Command Improvised Explosive Device (IED). According…

GOVERNOR Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has confirmed that 63 people, including five soldiers and 58 civilians, were killed in a fresh Boko Haram attack on Darajamal, a community in Bama Local Government Area. News Point Nigeria reports that the attack, which occurred on Friday night, marks one of the deadliest incidents in recent months as the insurgency continues to ravage communities in Nigeria’s northeast. Governor Zulum, visibly shaken, visited the community on Saturday to condole with grieving families and meet with local leaders. “We are here to commiserate with the people of Darajamal over what happened last night…

BORNO State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has approved the provision of free daily meals and ₦300,000 incentives for pupils and their parents to tackle low school enrollment in northern Borno. News Point Nigeria reports that Zulum announced the measures on Friday in Gajiganna town, where he also inaugurated the Higher Islamic College, designed to blend the traditional Almajiri education system (Sangaya) with formal learning. “We must establish deliberate measures to promote education in northern Borno. In this town with a total population of about 50,000 people, only 90 students were enrolled in a secondary school. It is imperative to ensure that…

AT least five farmers were brutally murdered by suspected Boko Haram terrorists in Gwoza local government area of southern part of Borno State on Saturday. News Point Nigeria gathered that the terrorists attacked farmers while working on their farms near the remote village of Ngoshe in Gwoza LGA of the state. According to a local who spoke to this newspaper the five farmers were found in the pool of blood as their attackers slit their throats. “Five precious lives were cut short, continued,: A dark cloud has once again fallen on Ngoshe community in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno…

IN a remarkable display of honesty and integrity, a cleaner in Maiduguri, Faiza Abdulkadir, has returned ₦4.8 million mistakenly credited to her bank account, despite surviving on a modest ₦30,000 monthly salary. Faiza, a mother of five, works at a healthcare center in Maiduguri. She told journalists that her decision was guided purely by the fear of God and the need for peace of mind. “The money does not belong to me. I returned it to have peace of mind and avoid God’s punishment on the Day of Judgement,” she said. Faiza explained that the process of returning the money…

THE Nigerian Air Force (NAF) said it has killed more than 35 Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters during precision airstrikes on Saturday, targeting militant assembly points in Borno State, near the Nigeria–Cameroon border. The operation followed an attempted assault on ground troops by the insurgents. According to the Air Force, multiple intelligence reports guided the offensive, which hit four identified gathering areas of the terrorists. “Acting on multiple intelligence from several sources, the Air Component executed precision strikes in successive passes, engaging the terrorists and neutralising more than 35 fighters,” the NAF statement, obtained by News Point Nigeria,…

TWO notorious Boko Haram commanders and eleven other fighters have been eliminated in a fierce counteroffensive launched by troops of the Northeast Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai, following failed attempts by the insurgents to overrun Bitta and Wulgo communities in Gwoza Local Government Area, Borno State. The slain commanders were identified as Abu Nazir (Munzir of Juye) and Abu Fatima (Munzir of Koloram), both long-standing field leaders of the terrorist sect. News Point Nigeria gathered that they led coordinated midnight raids on the two communities on Thursday, August 21, and Friday, August 22, but met stiff resistance from Nigerian…

FOUR security personnel, including members of the military and police, have been killed in a deadly ambush by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State, heightening fears of renewed attacks in farming communities across the state. The attack occurred on Monday morning when security operatives were providing protection for local farmers on their way to their farmlands in the outskirts of the state capital. According to eyewitnesses and security sources, who spoke to News Point Nigeria on condition of anonymity, the insurgents, riding motorcycles and some on foot, advanced stealthily before engaging the security escort team in a fierce gun…

THE Borno State Police Command has uncovered and safely neutralised a dangerous missile unexploded ordnance (UXO) discovered on a farmland in Dikwa Local Government Area, averting what could have been a major tragedy. The discovery was made after a farmer, Mr. Babagana Kachalla, reported sighting a strange object partially buried on his farmland. Acting swiftly on the alert, the Commissioner of Police, CP Naziru Abdulmajid, deployed operatives from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Base 13, Maiduguri, to the scene. In a statement issued on Monday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Nahum Daso, confirmed the recovery and explained that…

THE Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has recorded sweeping successes in its counter-insurgency campaign in the North-East, clocking more than 1,500 operational flight hours and eliminating at least 592 terrorists in just eight months under the Air Component of Operation Hadin Kai. According to NAF spokesperson, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the figures were disclosed by the Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, during a courtesy visit to Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, on Tuesday in Maiduguri. Abubakar revealed that the air campaign involved 798 combat sorties, destroying 372 enemy assets, including 206 technical vehicles and 166 logistics…

THE International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has revealed that over 24,000 Nigerians have been reported missing by their families since 2015, with a significant number still unaccounted for, especially in the country’s conflict-ridden North-East region. Speaking at a media workshop held in Maiduguri on Wednesday, María Toscano, the ICRC’s Protection of Family Links Team Leader, shared that Borno State alone accounts for about 9,000 missing persons, out of the total 16,000 registered in the North-East. According to Toscano, 65 per cent of the missing were children at the time they disappeared, a staggering statistic that underlines the humanitarian…

GOVERNOR of Borno State, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has moved to calm growing public anxiety over rising water levels at the Alau Dam, assuring residents of Maiduguri that the situation remains under control and that proactive measures are already in place to mitigate any risk of flooding. The reassurance follows days of heightened concern among residents, especially those living in flood-prone neighborhoods of the state capital, after persistent rainfall raised alarm over potential overflow from the dam. Speaking to journalists on Sunday shortly after inspecting the ongoing reconstruction and reinforcement work at the Alau Dam site, Zulum acknowledged the public…