Author: AbdulRahman Tahir, Maiduguri

PANDEMONIUM broke out on Thursday in Bulunkutu area of Maiduguri when an immigration officer accidentally shot himself thrice on the foot while blocking protesters. The sound of the gunshots further provoked the protesters who went wild with the thought that one of them was shot but became calm on discovering that it was an immigration personnel that was shot. This newspaper reports that joint patrol team of the police, military, immigration, DSS, Civil Defence barricaded the Bulumkutu Railway Junction to prevent the hardship protesters from heading to the main city of Maiduguri. The self-wounded officer was part of the security…

AT least 19 people were killed after an Improvised Explosive Device(IED) suspected to be planted by Boko Haram insurgents went off at a local eatery in Kawuri village, Konduga Local government area of Borno State, on Wednesday. The incident happened three days after insurgents attacked a police station at Jakana town in the same Konduga LGA. A policeman and one woman were killed in that attack while two patrol vans set ablaze. A government official from the village said the bomb went off around 8:05pm at a local tea joint where the villagers gathered for a night chat, adding that…

A LANDMINE exploded under a Nigerian military vehicle killing seven soldiers in a northeastern area  of Borno where Islamic State-affiliated insurgents are active, civilian JTF sources told AFP on Friday. The soldiers were heading for Kukawa early Thursday when their vehicle drove over an improvised explosive device, two different sources said. “All the seven soldiers in the van died in the explosion at Bawarti village,” civilian JTF leader Babakura Kolo told News Point Nigeria. The incident was confirmed by an army source, who pleaded anonymity. Both sources blamed Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), the dominant insurgent faction in the…

THE Senator representing Borno South, Mohammed Ali Ndume, says he would continue to be a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) as long as Borno State governor, Prof Babagana Umara Zulum, remains in the party. Ndume stated this on Thursday at his residence in Maiduguri, while addressing some groups of women supporters, who vowed to stage a peaceful protest naked at the national assembly against his removal as Chief Whip of the Senate. He said: “On the call by APC National Working Committee (NWC) that I should leave the party and join any other political party, let me…

ALI Ndume has broken the silence on his removal as the Chief Whip of the Senate, saying, having reviewed the conversation that prompted his ouster, his action did not warrant his sack. Ndume was removed as the senate chief whip after his criticism of the President Bola Tinubu government’s handling of the nation. About two days after the decision, the lawmaker said he has also declined the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Tourism, arguing that he lacks the experience and exposure to lead such a sensitive group. The Borno South lawmaker said this in his country home of Maiduguri…

A  JOINT operation between the troops of 21 Armored Brigade of the Nigerian Army  and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully intercepted a large consignment of illicit substances destined for Boko Haram camp in Konduga Local Government Area of Borno State. Intelligence sources told this newspaper that acting on intelligence, the joint team launched a swift and decisive operation to disrupt the supply of illicit substances to the terrorist groups. The operation, which was carried out following a tip-off, resulted in the recovery of 163 bags of the substance, equivalent to 2.5 tons in a warehouse in…