63 terrorists’ bodies recovered after failed attack on Malam Fatori

By: Zagazola Makama

Troops of Sector 3 Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), supported by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), have recovered no fewer than 63 bodies of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists following a failed infiltration attack on Malam Fatori in Abadam Local Government Area of Borno.

Military sources said the insurgents launched the attack in the early hours of Wednesday, advancing on foot and deploying armed drones in an attempt to overrun the 68 Battalion position.

The sources disclosed that the attack, which originated from the Duguri axis through the frontage of Bravo Company, was met with overwhelming resistance from troops, backed by precision air strikes.

According to the sources, the coordinated response led to a decisive defeat of the terrorists, who suffered heavy casualties during the engagement.

“Following the engagement and subsequent clearance operations, a total of 63 terrorist bodies were recovered within and around the general area of Malam Fatori, indicating the scale of losses inflicted on the insurgents,” a military source said.

He added that the Air Component conducted multiple interdiction missions, delivering accurate strikes on identified enemy concentrations, which significantly degraded their fighting capability.

“The synergy between air and ground forces ensured that the terrorists were fixed and neutralised in large numbers, forcing the remnants to withdraw in disarray towards the Arege axis,” he said.

The sources further revealed that allied Nigerien forces also carried out supportive strike missions, increasing pressure on the fleeing insurgents, although full battle damage assessment from those operations was still ongoing.

On own casualties, the sources confirmed that four soldiers sustained minor injuries during the encounter and have since been treated and stabilised.

They noted that the general security situation in the area remained calm but unpredictable, with troops maintaining high alert and dominance of the general area to forestall further attacks.

63 terrorists’ bodies recovered after failed attack on Malam Fatori

AT 2ND TERM INAUGURATION: VP Shettima Lauds Governor Soludo’s Contributions To Nation Building

Says, Anambra people have renewed covenant with competence, consolidation

By: Our Reporter

The Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has applauded Anambra State Governor Charles Soludo’s contributions to nation building, saying he has helped in fostering unity, and strengthening Nigeria’s political, economic, and social institutions with his practical commentaries on the state of the nation.

He described Prof. Soludo as a man of ideas and honour who, despite coming into office at a time many politicians had started mortgaging integrity for relevance, and sowing seeds of discord, has remained committed to national growth and development.

Senator Shettima, who stated this on Tuesday when he represented President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the inauguration and swearing-in of Governor Soludo and his deputy, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim, for a second term in Awka, the Anambra State capital, noted that the President’s policies have benefited immensely from Soludo’s constructive advice.

“The policies of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, have benefited from the candour, specialist insight, and patriotic counsel of this distinguished economist, this restless thinker, this public intellectual of uncommon range, both in open fora and in private conversations. And that is how it should be.

“That is what it means to be in the business of nation-building. It means placing the welfare of the federation above the vanity of partisan fences. It means understanding that Nigeria is too precious a vessel to be abandoned to the storms simply because the rowers wear different colours,” he stated.

Observing that Prof. Soludo’s convictions transcends seminar halls, VP Shettima said the Anambra Governor is “a reminder that leadership can unify without shouting, persuade without humiliating, and stand firm without surrendering its soul,” especially in a season of needless divisions.

“It is therefore no surprise that his people have welcomed him again and entrusted him with another term to hold the rudder of this great state and guide it farther into safe and prosperous waters,” he stated, declaring that “the people of Anambra are today renewing not just a mandate, but a covenant with competence.

“And as Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim takes this oath once again beside him, the state is also affirming that leadership is not only about the brilliance of the man at the top, but also about the steadiness, loyalty, and discipline of those who help translate vision into order, and order into progress,” the VP added.

The Vice President identified some of the lessons learnt from Prof. Soludo, including “that differences in political parties need not be invitations to hostility” but opportunities for collaboration.

“Professor has shown, too, that it is possible to see beyond the dangerous shenanigans that so often pass for politics in our clime, and to keep faith with the higher calling of public life,” he said.

On the Governor’s “practical commentaries on the state of the nation,” VP Shettima noted that whether on the economy or political matters, they “have become such permanent tenants in the media space that, once the Professor clears his throat, half the country reaches for a pen and the other half braces for impact.”

He pointed out that Prof. Soludo’s maturity of purpose has nurtured a “cordial and productive relationship between Anambra State and the Federal Government.”

He said the outcome had been a stability of engagement that has allowed the Governor “to demonstrate that he came not to be consumed by the old habits of power, but to prove that genuine change is possible in a land where many others only gamed the language of change.”

Under Prof. Soludo’s watch, according to the Vice President, deliberate effort has been made “to restore order to public life, strengthen security, and confront the criminality that had cast a shadow over parts of the state.”

He expressed confidence that Governor Soludo’s second term would be a return to consolidation and building higher on foundations already tested, even as he assured that the “Federal Government remains committed to partnering with states led by men and women who understand that the ultimate meaning of power is the improvement of human life.”

In his inauguration speech, Governor Soludo expressed determination to serve the state with all seriousness, promising that his team will build on the achievements made in his first tenure, with transformation and development as the main agenda.

He said Anambra State has witnessed a lot of progress in the health, education, financial, agricultural and many other sectors under his leadership, just as he thanked the people of the state for their overwhelming support during the gubernatorial election last year.

“The unprecedented 73 percent of the votes you cast in our favour was more than ordinary votes but an affirmation of love, patriotism and partnership of rebuilding our homeland. We will never take your historic support for granted,” he said.

The Governor thanked President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima as well as their wives for their support.

“Progressives are working together,” Governor Soludo said, thanking members of the APC in the state for supporting him, just as he pledged to work for all in order “to build the Anambra of our dream”

He also said the state has a clear destination, and that “by 2030, Anambra will transit into an African Dubai, Taiwan and Silicon valley.”

Dignitaries who attended the inauguration include former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan; former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku; former Governor of Anambra State, Dr Chris Ngige; Deputy Governors of Delta, Kaduna, Enugu and Abia States, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, among others.

AT 2ND TERM INAUGURATION: VP Shettima Lauds Governor Soludo’s Contributions To Nation Building.

Security forces arrest suspect with 800 rounds of ammunition in Zamfara

By: Zagazola Makama

Security forces in Zamfara State have arrested a 25-year-old suspect, Mannir Adam, for allegedly transporting 800 rounds of AK-47 ammunition concealed in the fuel tank of a motorcycle.

Security sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspect, a resident of Yankuzo village in Tsafe Local Government Area of the state, was intercepted at about 7:50 p.m. on Tuesday along the Gusau–Funtua highway.

He was arrested at a security checkpoint in Yankara while riding a red Boxer motorcycle.

According to the sources, a search conducted by the operatives led to the discovery of 800 rounds of live ammunition for an AK-47 rifle, which had been carefully hidden inside the motorcycle’s fuel tank.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect allegedly picked up the ammunition from the Bawa area in Saminaka Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

He was reportedly transporting the ammunition to Kucheri village in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, where it was suspected to be destined for armed bandits operating in the area.

Security sources described the arrest as a major breakthrough in efforts to disrupt the supply of arms and ammunition to criminal groups terrorising communities in Zamfara and neighbouring states.

The suspect is currently in custody while further investigations are ongoing to identify and apprehend other members of the network involved in the illegal arms supply chain.

Security forces arrest suspect with 800 rounds of ammunition in Zamfara