Commissioner Maigari speaks on the security situation in Yobe

By: Yahaya Wakili

The Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission representing Yobe State, Hon. Jibrin Maigari, has revealed that within the 6 years of His Excellency, Governor Mai Mala Buni’s CON, the issue of security has become a history in Yobe; therefore, His Excellency deserves a salute on this very important aspect.

Maigari disclosed this to newsmen shortly after presenting federal permanent and pensionable appointment letters to indigenes of Yobe State at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Potiskum.

He said, When the governor took over, the issue of security was very glaring and very threatening, but now you can go around in all 17 local governments without any challenges or hindrances.

“But he said, He didn’t stop there; he will continue to make sure that the flashpoint in the Geidam area, Tarmuwa, and Gujba are addressed properly through the collaborative effort of our army, police, civil defense, and the community vigilante people,’ Maigari said.

According to Maigari, the federal character was established to create fairness, equity, and transparency in the conduct of employment in federal MDs and also to monitor and add the second mandate in terms of federal government development projects across the country.

On his achievements, Maigari said, Actually, the tenure of a commissioner is five years, and we are now winding off, but the actual number of appointees cannot be exactly said because at the initial stage there was no proper record keeping, and the number of employees also included the military and paramilitary.

Jibrin Maigari further said, In the military, there is almost an annual program of engaging almost 200 young Yobeans to be recruited into the Nigerian Army; likewise, the police recruit a similar number, but in the MDs, the recruitment is based on which MDs have the approval and which MDs have the space and budgetary space to recruit.

We have challenges because most of the institutions that are recruiting are teaching hospitals, federal medical centers, and such institutions, likely because of the effort of the federal government to expand both primary and tertiary health care, and sometimes we get a limited number of Yobeans who are studying medicine, pharmacy, nursing, dentistry, and other health-related programs.

“The substantial number of Yobeans that apply for a space in the MDs are considered during the period of 5 years, but our consideration across the 17 local government areas is that almost in all the 17 local governments, the reasonable number of their citizens were employed and were heavily working in the various states,” Maigari added.

Commissioner Maigari speaks on the security situation in Yobe

Two ISWAP Top Commanders Ya Muhammad and Abou Dawuda Confirmed Killed in Damboa Encounter

By: Zagazola Makama

Two top commanders of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), identified as Ya Muhammad and Abou Dawuda, have been confirmed killed in an operation by Nigerian troops in Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State.

Zagazola Makama gathered from impeccable sources that the terrorists were neutralized during a recent attack on Damboa town, which was foiled by the ground troops and the Nigerian Air Force’s (NAF) aerial bombardments.

The terrorists, who were leading fighters in the attack, were hit during the NAF’s strike targeting their position. Ya Muhammad, recognized as the Ameer Fiya of Garno, was among the five ISWAP commanders reportedly leading the assault.

Following the airstrikes, it was gathered that he initially escaped with two General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), which he hid in the Bula Bukarti forest after two other fighters were neutralized under his command.

However, attempts by Ya Muhammad to regroup with more fighters were cut short when he was struck by another airstrike from the Operation Hadin Kai’s air component. His corpse was reportedly found later by fellow terrorists, marking a significant blow to the insurgent group.

The late commander was closely associated with other notable ISWAP leaders, including Abu Ayuba, Abu Khalid and Ameer Sarki. His death has reportedly plunged the terrorists into mourning, signifying his prominence in orchestrating attacks within Borno and Yobe states. Ya Muhammad was believed to have masterminded several attacks on locations such as Wajiroko, Sabon Gari, and Damboa.

In related developments, intelligence reports indicate that other ISWAP fighters, including Modu Sullum and Abdul Kaka, may have regrouped at the fringes of the Gaidam axis, raising fears of reprisal attacks.

In addition, sources revealed the presence of other ISWAP commanders such as Abu HAFSAT, a senior commander based in Mangusum; Suleimana Suwurti, who is tasked with bomb-making in Gorgore; and various Ameer Fiye, including those in Gorgore and Borgozo, as well as an Ameer Jaish Huzaifa operating in Gargash, have all been regrouping.

Nigerian security forces have maintained heightened alertness, with ongoing day and night air and ground surveillance to nutrialised any threat in the North East especially Lake Chad Basin and Sambisa Forest.

Two ISWAP Top Commanders Ya Muhammad and Abou Dawuda Confirmed Killed in Damboa Encounter

EXCLUSIVE: Army Operations Restore Peace as Over 25,000 Villagers Return in Sokoto but Questions Linger Over Government Neglect

By Zagazola Makama

The Nigerian Army’s intensified counter-terrorism operations along the Sokoto–Niger Republic corridor have led to the safe return of more than 25,000 internally displaced persons to their ancestral communities, many of whom fled their homes due to persistent attacks by motorcycle-riding bandits disguised as foreign jihadists known as Lakurawa.

After tears and trauma, peace has finally returned to Tsauna, Tandaza, and other parts of the Gudu–Tangaza axis in Sokoto State, thanks to sustained operations by troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA. Yet, while villagers trek home to their communities, a haunting question persists: where was the state government when bandits reigned?

From 2021 through late 2023, these remote communities bordering Niger were held hostage not by foreign fighters with grand ideologies, but by loosely organized, heavily armed criminal gangs on motorcycles. They murdered, looted, and raped at will, while the state and local governments watched from a distance, often offering conspiracy theories instead of meaningful governance. It was the Nigerian Army’s boots-on-the-ground young men and women who braved forests and perilous terrain, defying the attackers and gave residents the courage to return.

We Were on Our Own

“We were on our own,” said Malam Usman Gidado, a returning farmer in Tsauna. “We ran because there was no protection. Even our traditional leaders fled. But today, we are back, thanks to the Nigerian Army.” Gidado described how soldiers told villagers to farm freely, assuring them they could do so without fear.

Despite repeated intelligence reports of remnants of foreign-trained militants radicalized during the Libyan crisis slipping through the porous Sokoto–Niger border, the government of Sokoto State responded mostly with empty press statements. At one point, officials and some security agencies promoted the narrative that a new extremist group called Lakurawa had taken control of parts of Sokoto.

However, extensive investigations by Zagazola Media Network revealed that this was largely politically motivated posturing designed to attract federal attention. There was no evidence of a structured Lakurawa presence, no camps, no flags, just wandering motorcycle gangs of five to ten armed criminals, often exaggerated and inflated in social media and political discourse.

In Tsauna, a village they claimed was Lakurawa’s headquarters, we found nothing but 15,000 displaced residents struggling to survive. Just 15 kilometers from Illela, Tsauna had never seen a hospital, tarred road, police post or any form of government presence. The only school in the area had been shut down long ago, and the local government chairman had never visited. Yet, when violence erupted, officials and community leaders declared it a terrorist enclave.

“Since the Army Came, Peace Has Returned”

According to Magaji Garba, the Maigari (community leader) of Tsauni, who spoke through an interpreter, the village had been deserted long before the military’s intervention. “Since they came to Tsauni, peace has returned. No attacks have occurred here or in neighboring communities. We are grateful to the Nigerian Army,” he said. Garba added that the community lacked basic social amenities no school, no road, no hospital, no mosque and pleaded with the state government to implement meaningful development.

Alhaji Bashir Mai Adashe, a local resident, described the situation: “Most border villages are cut off from governance. The only government here is the soldier who sleeps in our bush.”

The Turning Point: Women and Brave Action

At the height of the violence, communities were so terrified that just two armed bandits could force hundreds to flee. Men initially refused to resist out of fear. However, a remarkable turn came when the troops instructed women to confront the bandits. They told them, “If any bandit comes again, throw stones at them.”
The women took the advice seriously. When two bandits later tried to infiltrate Tsauna, they mobilized, pelted the attackers with stones, killing one and injuring the other. Soldiers later recovered the bandits’ weapons, and the entire village erupted in celebration. Since then, Tsauna has remained peaceful.

Military Campaigns Continue

Few days later, the troops of Operation FANSAN YANMA led by one Col. Abdullahi Umar, Commanding Officer of the 248 Task Force Battalion and head of the Defence Headquarters’ Special Operations Brigade, supported by the COAS Special Intervention Battalion led the troops in a decisive operation and cleared several camps supposedly occupied by the Lukurawa terrorists. Since then, the troops had conducted at least 32 clearance Operations within Tangaza general area. The operation, code-named “Chase Lakurawas Out,” is a continuation of the military’s Operation Forest Sanity III initiative. It aims to consolidate earlier successes recorded in dismantling terrorist strongholds.

The Operation yielded positive results

Military forces destroyed 22 bandits camps, neutralized several sect members, and seized an array of weapons and ammunition.
Key areas targeted in these operations include Rumji Dutse, Sarma, Tsauna, Bauni, Malgatawa, Gargao, Magara, Kaideji, Nakuru, Sama, Sanyinna, Kadidda, Kolo, and Dancha Villages across Illela, Tangaza, and Binji Local Government Areas.

According to Col. Umar, despite recent military successes, he warned that lasting peace remains elusive unless concerned stakeholders especially at the state and local levels steps up to provide solutions to the historical mistrust between Hausa and Fulani communities in the Tangaza–Gudu–Sauna belt, which often complicates military operations. Locals sometimes give false intelligence, leading to near-disasters.

“Someone tells us there are terrorists in a house. We storm in and find women cooking. If we were not cautious, we could have killed innocents,” he said. A young Fulani girl encountered during an operation ran away in fear, assuming the military would harm her. When they caught up with her, she explained: bandits had killed her family, and now the community blamed her for surviving. These are the children at risk of radicalization not because of ideology, but because of abandonment.

“Sources also sometimes exaggerate numbers of the terrorists. Sometimes they tell us that there are about 800 Lakurawa but when we get there we will found out that they are 8 bandits and not even 80. But their initial claims would be everywhere in the media,”said Umar.

During an exclusive tour to the enclaves around the Tangaza–Gudu–Sauna, Binji and Silame, it was discovered that every time troops pass through, children, youth, and elders pour into the streets shouting ‘Inda Rabana’ Ba Wahala” meaning If there is God, there will be no problem.

For these people, the only government that they know is the troops the Nigerian Army.

“We are grateful to the Nigerian Army. They didn’t just fight, they lived with us, protected us, and gave us hope,” said Hajia Hauwa, a Tsauni resident, as she added that “What we face here is not just military. It is social collapse. Ethnic distrust, no schools, no clinics, no leadership. That’s the problem.

Zagazola Makama therefore warn that unless the governments begin to invest in infrastructure, education, and reconciliation, the fragile peace may crumble. You can’t win peace with bullets alone. You need teachers, roads, local leaders, and dialogue. If these people feel the government doesn’t care, they’ll make alliances with whoever promises protection.

The restored peace in Sokoto’s border communities is a hard-won success one built not on myths or exaggerated threats, but on ground-level courage, soldier-civilian collaboration, and a growing belief that home can once again be safe.

Despite the restoration of peace, the border remains dangerously porous, facilitating the movement of armed groups, weapons, and ammunition between Nigeria and Niger. Experts warn that without enhanced surveillance and deterrence, cross-border infiltration will continue. The government would do well to leverage technology by equipping the military with drones, long-range surveillance cameras, and additional platforms capable of monitoring vast, unmanned terrain. These tools will help cover operational gaps in areas where troops cannot be physically present.

The military has done its part by restoring peace, rebuilding trust, and enabling return. Now, it is the turn of government. But gratitude is not enough. Sokoto’s border communities deserve more than just momentary relief from terror. They deserve roads, schools, hospitals, and governance that shows up in peace not only in war. Until then, the silence of the state will remain louder than the bullets of the bandits.

Zagazola Makama is a Counter Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad Region

EXCLUSIVE: Army Operations Restore Peace as Over 25,000 Villagers Return in Sokoto but Questions Linger Over Government Neglect