News
17 SOLDIERS: CHILLING DISCOVERIES AT OKUAMA
17 SOLDIERS: CHILLING DISCOVERIES AT OKUAMA
By: Zagazola Makama
Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu vowed to ensure justice on the brutal killing of 17 soldiers at Okuama community, Ughelli Local Government Area, Delta State, and his consequent matching order to the Nigerian Army to thoroughly investigate and fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act, facts revealed by every passing day firmly point at the entire community as complicit, not just the group of militants who actually carried out the execution.
In response to the President’s directives, the military high command ordered the extension of the search for suspected killers of the 17 soldiers in the Okuama community. Before the Operation, leaders of the community alleged that soldiers had begun targeting innocent civilians in the community rather than going after the miscreants who committed the crime.
Further searches fan across the community and sink deeper into the affairs and proclivities of its residents have revealed, with firmer confirmation, that the entire Okuama, from its traditional and community leaders and other elites down to the lowest residents in socioeconomic and political status is a community of militants thriving on terror.
But even before the Operation to find the culprit began, leaders of the community had orchestrated an allegation in the media that soldiers were targeting innocent civilians in the community rather than going after the miscreants who committed the crime. This move which some observers saw as being contrived to cast the military in bad light and to demonize its operation, did not deter them from going after the killers of the soldiers and masterminds of the crime.
Military investigations, which have, all through, been conducted in the finest and most-careful fashion to guard against incriminating innocent citizens, according to the presidential directive, findings have been revealing the most-chilling set up of Okuama and its surrounding communities.
First, all expressions of sympathy and commiseration by the traditional rulers, tending to exonerate themselves from the act, as well as their commitment to aid the military in the search for the perpetrators, are all feigned. The wider the search, and the deeper the investigation, the more glaring the complicity of the community’s elites and traditional rulers.
Second, and most-chilling, the deeper the military’s search across the community to disarm the residents, in compliance with directives, the more it is discovered that the entire community is sitting on an expansive cache of arms, which the youthful militants deploy to unleash terror on the behest and command of their elders and elites.
On April 10, 2024, troops of 63 Brigade conducted a raid/ cordon and search operations at Olota Community of Ugheli South LGA of Delta State confirming all these facts about Okuama and its surrounding communities with regard to their stockpile of arms for terror activities.
During the Search of the residence of one Mr Kenneth, who escaped on sighting the troops, the team discovered one G3 rifle, 853 rounds of 7.62 MM Nato and 19 rounds of 7.62 Special MM.
A further search of other locations within the community led to the discovery of 4 G3 rifles and Magazines, one pump action gun and 3 Sub Machine Guns, Magazines and 476 carriages. Additionally, the troops recovered 5 dane guns and one big plastic containing substances suspected to be Carbis satin.
Armed with robust intelligence effort, the military were said to have stormed a number of hideouts and homes of individuals suspected to be complicit in the heinous crime. The operations, however, paid off with the arrest of three leaders of the Olota community in Ugheli South LGA of the state.
The arrest of the three identified individuals followed a painstaking effort of the military to track down the masterminds and killers of the soldiers. The manhunt of the perpetrators has compelled the military to look beyond Okuama community as they are said to have extended their dragnet to surrounding communities and across the creeks of the Niger Delta region where they suspect that the killers might be hiding.
The troops are also in search of weapons which they believe are stockpiled in many homes within the general area.
One Intelligence source who spoke to Zagazola Makama, said the communities where the troops have conducted searches were full of weapons and the directive handed over to the troops was to mop up the arms and ammunition and disarm the communities.
According to him, the troops will not relent until that particular order has been carried out to the letter. He said the domination of the general area is in progress while the search for weapons belonging to the slain military personnel and culprits in the dastardly act continues. “All these communities have what they call, ‘community weapons’ ‘ which they use to cause havoc here”, he said.
Recall that on the 14th day of March, Lt. Colonel A. H. Ali, the Commanding Officer of 181 Amphibious Battalion, led three other officers and 13 soldiers to the Okuama Community to mediate in the lingering dispute with Okoloba Community, and were killed by members of the Okuama community.
They went as peacemakers and peacekeepers, respectfully seeking to bring an end to the hostilities between the two communities. They did not go with tanks, machine guns, and other weapons. They were on a mission for peace.
*Zagazola Makama, is a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region
17 SOLDIERS: CHILLING DISCOVERIES AT OKUAMA
Crime
ISSP Establishes Cross-Border Corridor Linking Mali to Lake Chad Axis, Claims Lakurawa Group As its Operational Wing
ISSP Establishes Cross-Border Corridor Linking Mali to Lake Chad Axis, Claims Lakurawa Group As its Operational Wing
By: Zagazola Makama
The Islamic State in the Sahel Province (ISSP) has officially recognized the Lakurawa Group as its clandestine operational wing, formalizing a strategic corridor between its two major factions EIGS (Islamic State in the Greater Sahara) operating in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) active around Lake Chad.
The announcement, made in the wake of two deadly attacks on May 4 in Niger, marks a significant shift in the regional security landscape. On that day, armed militants attacked Dogonkiria in Dosso region, killing at least 30 security force personnel, and Danga in Tillabéri region, where six volunteer fighters for the defense of the homeland (VDPs) were slain.
Zagazola Makama believes the operational link now established between the Sarma Forest in Nigeria and Anderamboukane in Mali via central Niger will enable increased mobility for fighters, arms trafficking, intelligence sharing, and hostage transfers. This corridor, long suspected by observers, has now been confirmed as a key axis for extremist logistics.
Sources say the emergence of ISSP reflects a new phase in Islamic State operations in the region, marked by greater coordination, territorial fluidity, and strategic exploitation of Niger’s governance and airspace gaps particularly since the withdrawal or downsizing of key international security partners.
Zagazola reports that the central strip of Niger already marked by repeated attacks, pipeline sabotage, and mass civilian casualties is increasingly falling under the shadow of ISSP. Many of these incidents had previously gone unclaimed but are now attributed to the group’s covert campaign to secure this critical transit route.
Zagazola warn that if the current trend continues unchecked, the entire security architecture of West Africa may be destabilized, with spillover effects extending beyond the Sahel to Nigeria.
He called for renewed multilateral cooperation and intelligence-sharing, transcending political divisions and post-coup dynamics.
In recent months, Zagazola had raised alarm over the quiet expansion of Lakurawa, cautioning that the group was a proxy for EIGS. The confirmation by ISSP now validates those concerns, signaling an urgent need for proactive counterterrorism measures and regional solidarity.
ISSP Establishes Cross-Border Corridor Linking Mali to Lake Chad Axis, Claims Lakurawa Group As its Operational Wing
Naval rating, civilian arrested for assaulting Police officers in ogun
By: Zagazola Makama
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a serving naval rating and one civilian for allegedly assaulting police officers and unlawfully possessing military accoutrements during an incident in Ifo Local Government Area of the state.
Police sources told Zagazola Makama that the incident occurred on May 3, 2025, at about 10:30 a.m. when a police surveillance team enforcing the Inspector-General of Police’s directive on third-party motor insurance intercepted a Toyota Camry with registration number GGE 242 EE along Alamenda–Sojolu Road, Ifo.
The driver, identified as Oladipo Damilola, was unable to provide vehicle particulars, prompting the officers to conduct a search of the car. During the search, the police recovered several military accoutrements, including a naval belt, military cap, and a naval vehicle sticker.
Following the recovery, the vehicle was taken to the police station for further investigation. The driver told the police that the vehicle and the military items belonged to his uncle, Oladipo Adeniyi, a naval rating serving at the Nigerian Navy College of Accountancy and Finance, Owerrinta, Abia State.
After the police intervened, Damilola was released while the military accoutrements were retained, pending the arrival of the claimed owner.
On May 9, 2025, at about 4:30 p.m., Oladipo Adeniyi arrived at the station in company of Oladipo Damilola and another civilian, identified as Popoola Adegoke.
Upon arrival, the naval rating allegedly became aggressive and demanded to know which officer had the “effrontery” to impound his vehicle. According to police reports, he and his civilian accomplice were both heavily intoxicated and refused attempts by officers to calm the situation.
In the process, they allegedly assaulted Inspector Osungboye Olanike (female), Inspector Onwudinjor Sylvester, and Inspector Abdulkareem Andu, who is the Station Officer (S/O) at the Area Command, Ifo.
The two men were immediately overpowered and arrested. They were taken before the Area Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ifo Area Command, who ordered their detention and directed the commencement of a thorough investigation.
The Divisional Police Officer later contacted the Regulating Officer of the Nigerian Navy College of Accountancy and Finance, Owerrinta, Lt. Peter Ogbe, who confirmed that Oladipo Adeniyi is indeed a naval personnel currently on four days’ compassionate leave, having reported the death of his father to the school authorities.
The police said the civilian suspects would be charged to court upon completion of investigations, while the naval rating would be handed over to naval authorities for disciplinary action.
Naval rating, civilian arrested for assaulting Police officers in ogun
NDLEA officer arrested for attempted armed robbery, shooting bolt driver in Abuja
By: Zagazola Makama
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested a serving officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for attempted armed robbery and shooting a Bolt driver in Abuja.
Police sources told Zagazola Makama that the incident occurred in the early hours of May 9 at about 12:10 a.m., when a distress call was received from City View Estate in the Galadimawa area reporting an armed robbery attempt.
The sources said that the suspect, identified as Felix Emmanuel, an Inspector with the NDLEA FCT Command, allegedly attempted to rob and hijack a Toyota Corolla with registration number KWL 736 SZ from a Bolt driver, Mr Israel Emeka, while the vehicle was in motion.
During the struggle, the suspect reportedly shot the driver with a locally fabricated pistol. The victim was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, where he is currently receiving treatment.
According to the police sources, its operatives from Galadimawa Division, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), swiftly responded to the distress call and arrested the suspect at the scene.
A locally made pistol and two live cartridges were recovered from him.
NDLEA officer arrested for attempted armed robbery, shooting bolt driver in Abuja
NGF SUPPORTS STATE POLICE TO CURB SECURITY CHALLENGE
ISSP Establishes Cross-Border Corridor Linking Mali to Lake Chad Axis, Claims Lakurawa Group As its Operational Wing
Naval rating, civilian arrested for assaulting Police officers in ogun
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