Trans-Border Security: Zulum travels to Niger Republic Community

By: Michael Mike

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum on Wednesday, undertook a working visit to Diffa Region of Niger Republic on Wednesday.

The visit, which included a high-level security and economic delegation, focused on strengthening the existing collaboration between Nigerian and Nigerien forces in the ongoing fight against insurgency, particularly around the shores of Lake Chad.

Diffa is a community 17 km from Damasak town in northern Borno where thousands of Nigerians displaced by Boko Haram insurgency are currently taking refuge.

Zulum was received by the Governor of Diffa, Brigadier General Mahamaduo Ibrahim Bagadoma, and other senior officials. The leaders held closed-door meetings centered on joint patrols, intelligence sharing, and sustaining the recent gains that have pushed insurgents out of many of their former strongholds.

Zulum outlined plan to leverage the improved security situation to facilitate the return of thousands of displaced farmers to the vast and fertile agricultural lands around Dutchi town within the Lake Chad basin.

Part of the Governor’s entourage are Engr Bukar Talba, a member of the House of Representatives, Speaker, Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, and otheir senior government officials.
[10/2, 6:35 PM] Mike Olugbode: Maiduguri: For Over a Month, MSF Responds to High Numbers of Children Suffering from Malnutrition.

Since late August and early September, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams have scaled up their medical response in Maiduguri, northeast Nigeria, following a sharp rise in malnutrition cases that overwhelmed MSF-supported facilities. Although admissions have slightly decreased now, the number of children receiving treatment remains very high.

“A month ago, we witnessed a worrying increase in admissions, compounded by a surge in measles cases,” said MSF Project Coordinator Daniela Batista. “Our isolation units for measles patients were quickly filled, and even the additional space we opened reached capacity. Now, those units remain around 70 percent full.”

Since 8 September, MSF’s Inpatient Therapeutic Feeding Centre (ITFC) at Nilefa Kiji Hospital (NKH) has nearly doubled its bed capacity to accommodate the influx of malnourished children. By the third week of September, the emergency facility was recording an average of more than 85 new admissions daily.
In a context of reduced global humanitarian funding, some organizations in Maiduguri reduced their support for – or even left – nutritional outpatient nutrition programmes, causing a significant drop in access for first line care fir malnourished children.
 
At MSF’s extension facility in Shuwari, teams treated 3,265 children for malnutrition and referred 1,521 others for continued care between August and early September, when the upsurge began. More than 625 malnourished children have also been treated for measles — a disease which can contribute to malnutrition and whose complications can result from malnutrition.
 
The situation is further exacerbated by shortages of essential supplies. Therapeutic milk — critical for treating severe acute malnutrition — is in short supply, while access to ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) remains a chronic concern. Some partner ITFCs have indicated they can only accept referrals if MSF provides additional medical supplies such as antibiotics, admission kits, and therapeutic milk.
MSF teams also reported regular admissions of patients from Zabarmari — a community they are currently unable to access due to security and logistical challenges. MSF is engaging with the Borno State Ministry of Health to assess and potentially support the local Primary Health Centre (PHC) to ensure residents can access care.

Borno State continues to face the effects of a decade-long insurgency, with recent reports of violence in areas surrounding Maiduguri.

This surge in Maiduguri mirrors an alarming trend seen in all MSF nutrition facilities across Kebbi, Sokoto, Kano, Katsina, and Bauchi in recent months. According to UN estimates, 2.5 million children across northeast Nigeria are at risk of acute malnutrition.

MSF called on health authorities and humanitarian organizations to urgently address the shortages in medical supplies and staffing, and to strengthen community-level health systems to prevent further deterioration.

Trans-Border Security: Zulum travels to Niger Republic Community

Tear gas canister explosion injures four siblings in Kano

By: Zagazola Makama

Four siblings have sustained injuries following the explosion of a tear gas canister at Bakin Kwata, Sharada area of Kano metropolis.

Zagazola report that the incident, which occurred at about 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday, was confirmed by the Kano State Police Command in a statement.

It said the explosion produced heavy smoke, burning sensation, and choking irritation, prompting the Bomb Disposal Unit to cordon off the area for safety and conduct post-blast investigation.

One of the victims, Khadeeja Rabiu, 17, sustained serious injuries on her right hand and other parts of her body, while her siblings Fatima, 15, Alamin, 11, and Suleiman, 3 sustained minor bruises. All were taken to Murtala Muhammed Hospital for treatment.

During investigation, police recovered the handle, safety lock pin and rotating guard of a tear gas canister, with strong peppery odour still perceived at the scene.

Findings revealed that the canister had been scavenged from a nearby refuse dump and brought home by one of the children, where it later exploded in the hand of Khadeeja.

Authorities said the garbage site was further screened for possible hazardous materials, and the community sensitised on the dangers of picking unknown objects from refuse dumps.

The post-blast investigation ended peacefully at about 12:15 p.m.

Tear gas canister explosion injures four siblings in Kano

KACRAN president says oil boom led Nigeria to neglect agriculture

By: Yahaya Wakili

The National President of the Kulen Allah Cattle Rearers Association of Nigeria (KACRAN), Hon. Khalil Mohammed Bello, has revealed that the oil boom led Nigeria to neglect the agricultural sector, of which livestock is an integral part.

Hon. Khalil Bello started this at the National Conference on the Farmers-Herders Conflict History. Causes and context:How it can be amicably resolved, organized by Lje Nigeria at the Yar Adua Center, Abuja. Which was made available to Newsng in Damaturu.

He said historically, our pastoralist traditions have been rooted in social harmony, and even before the colonial era and up to this day, wherever a Fulani pastoralist moves in search of animal feed and water, first we visit the traditional ruler of that area to seek permission to move on.

Khalil maintained that Fulani people are highly social and intermingle freely with any community, and they are ready to accept any person in the country, regardless of their tribe or religion, and they make a conscious effort to learn the languages of the communities they live with.

“The historical roots of the conflict between the farmers and herders and the challenges we face today are a stark contrast to our past. In the pre-colonial and past colonial eras up to the first republic, pastoralism was at its highest peak, and during this nostalgic period, there were ample grazing areas and water points across the northern region,” Bello said.

Hon. Khalil Bello further said the last administration’s policies, which closed our borders and distributed billions of naira to farmers, led to the blind and furious encroachment on and blockage of almost all cattle routes, and this painful action has endangered the livestock sector and is the primary cause of the current conflict.

“The current conflict, however, is a result of broken and grazed reserves converted to farmland, and herders have been left with no option but to move to states like Benue and Plateau, which cannot contain them, and then to the Southern part of the country, and this movement, where there is no availability of land, forces them to enter and destroy people’s farms, leading to fighting and the loss of lives and properties.

Hon. Bello enumerated solutions based on their research to bringan end to this conflict. Reclaim and revitalize grazing reserves: Northern governors must face reality by reclaiming all reclaimable grazing reserves. Restore blocked cattle routes. Northern governors must reclaim all blocked cattle routes that were blocked for farming expansion and not for development projects.

Others include enforcing accountability and justice; pastoralists must stop destroying people’s farms and must compensate farmers for any accidental destruction. Similarly, farmers must stop encroaching on grazing reserves and blocking cattle routes. To promote dialogue and forgiveness, the cycle of violence must be broken through dialogue with all herders, and the government should also confiscate all guns and weapons from both bandits and vigilantes.

 Empower Affected Communities: Paying ransom to those who have lost their loved ones, livestock, and business is crucial to helping them start a new life. The Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support project (L-PRES) and the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development should be encouraged and supported by our government to revive the 417 grazing reserves in the country.

KACRAN president says oil boom led Nigeria to neglect agriculture