Author: AbdulRahman Tahir, Maiduguri

ABOUT thirty persons, mostly women and children, have been killed as a result of Boko Haram activities in Chibok and Kala Balge on Monday in Borno State. Seven mourners were shot dead in a Community in Chibok while holding a third-day prayer for a late community leader in the evening, same day, commuters died after stepping on an IED planted by terrorists. Several others sustained varying degrees of gunshot injuries from the attackers, believed to be Boko Haram terrorists. The mourners were gathered for the final prayers of their community leader around 6 pm when the Boko Haram terrorists attacked…

THE Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has refuted reports of an alleged bomb explosion at the Medium Security Custodial Centre (MSCC) in Maiduguri, describing the claim as “false and misleading.” In a statement dated 21st April 2025, signed by the Service’s Public Relations Officer, Deputy Controller of Corrections, Umar Abubakar, the NCoS clarified that there was no security breach at the facility or any other custodial centre across the country. “The attention of the Nigerian Correctional Service has been drawn to an online report of a purported bomb explosion in Maiduguri Custodial Centre. “This report is not true and is highly…

THE Police Command in Borno State has arrested eight suspects for allegedly killing and secretly burying a new born baby at a private hospital in Kwatam on Baga Road, Maiduguri. The command’s Public Relations Officer, Nahun Daso, disclosed this in an interview with some journalists in Maiduguri, yesterday. Daso said the incident occurred on April 18, 2025 at about 1:00 p.m., following a distress call received by the police from concerned residents who witnessed the suspicious act. He explained that the police operatives from Ite Division responded swiftly, cordoned off the hospital premises and arrested the suspects at the scene.…

THE Borno State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has reaffirmed its loyalty to President Bola Tinubu and endorsed him to run for a second term in 2027, while calling on him to retain Vice President Kashim Shettima, as his running mate. This declaration was made in a communiqué issued on Sunday following a critical stakeholders meeting held at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the Government House, Maiduguri. The communique of the meeting was shared on X on Sunday by the Senior Special Assistant to Borno State Governor on Information, Dogo Shettima. According to the communique, the high-level gathering brought together…

GOVERNOR Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has reacted to a news report which suggested that Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, dismissed the recent concerns he raised regarding the security situation in the state. Zulum had said Boko Haram has renewed its attacks and kidnappings in the state with little pushback from security forces, suggesting that authorities in the region are losing ground to the insurgents. Zulum stated this during a meeting with security forces in Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, on Tuesday. This newspaper reports that Boko Haram militants and its offshoot, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP),…

SEVEN travellers have been killed by an explosion along the Maiduguri-Damboa Road. The explosion followed an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by Boko Haram terrorists on the dilapidated and deserted road which passes through the Sambisa forest. According to several sources, the explosion happened while cars on a scheduled military-escorted convoy were transporting passengers from Damboa to Maiduguri on Saturday leaving several others with varying degrees of injuries. The Maiduguri-Damboa Road links Maiduguri to several local government areas in Southern Borno and has been a hotspot for Boko Haram terrorists for over a decade. The road was closed to vehicles…

GOVERNOR Babagana Zulum has broken his silence, insisting that the renewed Boko Haram attacks and kidnappings in many communities almost on daily basis without confrontation signalled that Borno State is losing ground. The governor stated this on Tuesday at a Special Expanded Security Meeting (ESM) attended by the General Officer Commanding 7 Div, Major General Abubakar Haruna, Sector Commanders, Commissioner of Police, heads of other security agencies, Shehu of Borno, Alh. Dr. Abubakar Garbai Al-Amin El-Kanemi, Shehu of Bama, Emirs of Biu, Uba, Askira, Gwoza, while Shehu of Dikwa- and Emir of Shani were in absentia. He said his administration…

A DEVASTATING fire ripped through the Kalari settlement in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State on Saturday, killing three people and displacing more than 3,000 residents. The inferno, which started around 1:00 PM, swept across three villages and destroyed over 1,500 thatched homes. The Nigerian military, alongside the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), swiftly responded to the emergency. Zagazola Makama a counterterrorism expert in the Lake Chad, reported that Soldiers from the 222 Battalion provided first aid on the scene and evacuated the injured to the Maiduguri Specialist Hospital using Army ambulances. “Local authorities, including the Chairman of Konduga…

TROOPS of Operation Hadin Kai have rescued 75 civilians from Sambisa Forest in Borno State. Addressing newsmen on Monday during the victims’ handover to the Borno State government in Maiduguri, the General Officer Commanding 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj. Gen. W. Shaibu stated that the rescued individuals comprised seven adult males, 34 women, and 34 children. The GOC, represented by the Deputy Theater Commander, Brig. Gen. A.L. Akpodu explained that the civilians were rescued during a clearance operation conducted by the 21 Special Armored Brigade and the 199 Special Forces Battalion under Operation Desert Sanity IV in Sambisa…

THE case of missing children in Borno State has sparked public outcry, following a disturbing video of a young boy confessing to undergoing military training in a forest alongside dozens of other children. Some residents who spoke with this newspaper recounted the agony of their missing loved ones and expressed the fear that the rise in child disappearance cases in the state may be linked to insurgent recruitment efforts. The development comes as the #BringBackOurGirls movement renewed calls for the Nigerian government to release the findings of the fact-finding committee on the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction. With 78 girls still…

THE Federal Government has repatriated 7,790 Nigerians from the Republic of Chad, where they fled to amidst the conflict of Boko Haram insurgency for almost a decade. Dauda Illiya, the Special Adviser on Media of Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno, made this known in a statement on Thursday, in Maiduguri. According to the statement, Zulum led the Federal Government’s delegation to Chad in company of Dr Yusuf Sununu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction and Aliyu Ahmed the Chief Executive Officer, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI). It stated that the delegation was received…

THE wife of the President, Oluremi Tinubu has donated N100 million to the families of 70 victims of tanker explosion in Niger state. Speaking at the Niger State Government House during her private visit to the state, Tinubu said the money is to alleviate the sufferings of the families so that they would not feel the impact of the disaster. “We usually write a condolence letter to the Governor each time we are aware of any challenges in the state, but this recent one, I know I had to do something. We are donating N100 million to rehabilitate the families.…

VICE Principal of Dugja Bayan Tasha Junior Secondary School in Biu Local Government Area of Borno State, his wife and three children have been killed in a fire outbreak in their home. Details are still sketchy on the cause of the fire which occurred on Sunday, but neighbours narrated how the deceased family struggled to escape from the raging fire to no avail. One of the sources said the inferno ignited in the living room, blocking all avenues of the family to access the exit door. “We suspect it was caused by an electric spark in the living room, which…

TWO days after the killing of 20 fishermen in the Gadan Gari fishing community of Bama Local Government Area, Borno State, on Wednesday, another attack by armed terrorists, suspected to be Boko Haram/ISWAP, has reportedly claimed the lives of a military commander, two senior officers, and 17 soldiers at a military base in Malam-Fatori, the headquarters of Abadam Local Government Area. Bama is located in Borno Central, while Malam-Fatori, in the northern part of the state, lies near the border with the Republic of Niger. A similar incident occurred a few weeks ago when terrorists invaded a military base in…

THE Chief Of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa on Friday debunked claims that the military was involved in forceful abortions of babies fathered by Boko Haram insurgents in Northern Nigeria. A Reuters report in February 2022 stated that the military ran a secret abortion programme in its fight against armed groups in the northeast, adding that the military abortion programme involved terminating at least 10,000 pregnancies among women and girls. However, General Musa, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria, slammed the allegations, indicating that they were machinations of NGOs who don’t wish…

THE Minister of State for Defense, UK, Lord Vernon Coaker, has said that terrorism cannot win, as it undermines the rule of law, international treaties, and borders across the globe. According to him, Nigeria and the United Kingdom should continue to stand together as strongly as they have done now and in the past. Coaker made the declaration yesterday (Wednesday) when he visited the Theatre Commander, Joint Task Force, Northeast, Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), Maj-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, at the Maimalari Cantonment, Maiduguri, Borno State. He said the British government regarded Nigeria as extremely important in terms of alliances and friendship,…

THE Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Abdullahi Baba-Arah, has provided an update on the tragic tanker explosion that occurred in Diko, Niger State. As of 12pm on January 20, 2025, the death toll has risen to 98, while 69 people have been injured. The explosion also left 20 shops completely burnt, causing significant losses to business owners in the area. In a statement issued by Baba-Arah, he described the incident as a catastrophic tragedy that has thrown the state into mourning. He confirmed that rescue operations are ongoing, with emergency responders working tirelessly to ensure…

THE Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has commiserated with families of the victims of the tanker explosion along the Dikko/Kaduna Road, in Niger State but called for stricter enforcement of safety measures. Seventy-seven persons died and scores were injured during the incident that has thrown the country into mourning. In a statement, the chairman of the Forum, Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, extended the heartfelt condolences of the NGF to the government and people of Niger State, as well as families who have suffered the unimaginable loss of their loved ones. “This heartbreaking incident has cast a shadow of grief across the entire…

IN a devastating incident, seventy-seven lives were lost in a tanker explosion at Dikko Junction, Niger State. News Point Nigeria reports that the tragic event, which occurred on Saturday, has plunged the community into mourning and raised concerns about safety measures in the area. The Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Abdullahi Baba-Arah, confirmed the death toll to this newspaper through a telephone conversation. According to Baba-Arah, 25 injured victims were rushed to various hospitals in Suleja, Wuse, and nearby health facilities for urgent medical attention. Following the incident, the Niger State Government directed that no…

UNSPECIFIED numbers of Nigerian military personnel have been missing in a recent ambush by Boko Haram terrorists in Baga, at the fringes of the Lake Chad. Personnel of the armed forces, who spoke to News Point Nigeria on condition of anonymity, said soldiers were ambushed while trying to recover dead bodies of 40 residents killed by the insurgents and several soldiers were shot dead in the gun battle that ensued. “Our troops went in search of dead bodies of civilians killed by the terrorists, we went too far in search of them and the terrorists played ambush on us. A…