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France Collaborates with 13 Nigerian Universities to Research into Plastic Waste Management

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France Collaborates with 13 Nigerian Universities to Research into Plastic Waste Management

By: Michael Mike

France in order to help Plastic Waste Management in the country has entered a sponsorship agreement with 13 Nigeria universities to develop research centres and build micro plants.

The agreement which €753,000 is part of the French Embassy Fund (FEF) Project 2024 and the benefiting institutions are Alex Ekwueme University, Bayero University Kano, Nile University, Covenant University, Babcock University, University of Jos (UNIJOS), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), University of Ibadan, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Yaba College of Technology, University of Calabar, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and University of Delta.

This FEF project is an initiative of the French Government as part of the global dynamic to fight against plastic pollution. Funding under this programme is intended to support Young Nigerian researchers from the partnered Universities in order to develop innovative adaptive ideas for a healthier and safer environment, where Plastic Waste has less to no impact, especially in the educational environment.

The French Embassy Fund is a programme under the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs designed to help French representations abroad to carry out innovative actions on the ground that have a rapid impact and are highly visible for the benefit of local populations.
The project will be deployed within the next 18 months, through three components: Funding and delivery of micro plants co-designed by and for two universities (UNILAG and Nile University), equipped with adapted machineries to tackle plastic collection, processing and eventually transformation; Funding five to six research projects in innovative solutions with high added value with regards to sustainable development, circular economy, qualitative value chain, gender inclusivity and strong entrepreneurial potential; Boosting capacity building with focus training programmes to support the research projects, scientific exchange between Nigerian and French researchers and mobility programmes at a Higher Education level.

Funded projects are expected to be fully implemented and sustainable by December 2025.

Speaking at the event which held on Thursday night at the French Embassy in Nigeria in Abuja, the Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of France to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Jean Francois Hasperue said: “We are witnessing climate change effects, whether in the form of extreme weather events, rising sea levels, loss of biodiversity or severe droughts. Nigeria is a sad example of this, as it is one of the 10 countries in the world most sensitive to climate change. Climate change is no longer a distant threat, but a present reality, contrary to what the climatoseptics would have us believe.”

He noted that: “These issues are global and we need to find global solutions together as air pollution does not stop at the border nor plastic pollution in the oceans.

“The rise of youth activism is one of the most significant developments in the fight against climate change in my view. All along the events I have seen and met the young people and also the public committed to tackle these issues. We owe it to them to listen to their voices and to provide them with answers that are sometimes incomplete, but also to always leave room for discussion.

“It’s with a great deal of humility that we need to listen to each other and recognize that we can no longer continue to act as we have in the past. Combating climate change and building climate resilience require international collaborative and cross-generational solutions.”

The envoy said: “This means investing in renewable energy, protecting natural ecosystems and developing adaptation strategies to cope with the inevitable impacts of climate change.”

He said the French Embassy Fund entitled “Plastic waste management in Nigerian campuses” project will be deployed within the next 18 months.

He added that at the French Embassy in Nigeria, and as with every event, we are going the extra mile to reach out to researchers, civil society, artists, students and activists to make our events exceptional and to put the experts and professionals in each field at the centre of all discussions.

The envoy revealed that through scholarship programmes, “we support five bachelors students currently attending the “French+Sciences” Sustainable Development short training programme in Montpellier during one month. And today, seven more candidates have been selected as laureates of the France Excellence scholarship programme to continue their studies in Environmental sciences for a two years Master programme.

France Collaborates with 13 Nigerian Universities to Research into Plastic Waste Management

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DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo

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DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo

By: Zagazola Makama

A wave of coordinated security offensives in Imo State has barbecued the Eastern Security Network (ESN), the militant wing of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), with the killing of key kingpins and the dislodgement of notorious terrorist camps in forested parts of Njaba and Isu Local Government Areas.

Zagazola Makama understand that The offensive, which began on June 29, was spearheaded by the Department of State Services (DSS) in close collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, special forces, and local tactical units.

It was launched after the arrest and detailed confessions of two ESN commanders Uchenna Opara, popularly known as Ntanta Miri, and Ozioma Ihedoro, a.k.a OZ, both natives of Umuaka community in Njaba LGA.

Acting on actionable intelligence, the joint team raided and obliterated several terrorist enclaves, including Umuele Umuaka, Ezioha, and Ugbele Umuaka, known safe havens of the separatist group.

A fierce gun battle ensued as operatives stormed the camps. Three ESN fighters were neutralised during the confrontation, while others reportedly escaped with bullet wounds. Their bodies were later recovered along the Ugbele Umuaka axis.

What followed was a methodical clearance operation targeting the B44 camp cluster, long considered one of ESN’s strategic base networks. The camps, codenamed B44 Tangle 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9, were all successfully dislodged by the joint force.

A caterpillar operator working with the team was tragically killed in the line of duty when the group came under sudden fire while approaching the B44 main camp. He was rushed to the Federal University Teaching Hospital (FUTH), Owerri, but later confirmed dead by a medical officer on duty.

Items recovered from the operation included:
One AK-47 rifle, 15 rounds of live ammunition, pump-action shotgun, two locally made IEDs, one human skull and a Biafran flag

In addition, two suspected ESN members were arrested during the combing of nearby bush paths. The duo Emeka Ogene Sabinus of Ezi Isu in Isu LGA and Nnabuike Emmanuel of Ohofia Oduma in Aninri LGA, Enugu State were said to bear tribal incisions associated with the proscribed militia.

The collapse of the B44 cluster was significant in the counterinsurgency drive in the South-East, where pockets of armed resistance have posed growing threats to residents, security personnel, and national assets.

“The terrain is difficult, but our operatives are relentless,” a senior official close to the operation said. “We are targeting leadership figures, supply chains, and safe havens.”

Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to apprehend fleeing fighters, with mop-up operations continuing in adjoining forest belts across Orlu, Njaba, and Isu corridors.

The Imo offensive adds to a growing list of successes by joint intelligence-led operations aimed at stabilising regions grappling with armed separatist violence, kidnappings, and the weaponisation of local grievances.

DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo

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FCT police arrest three wanted kidnappers linked to killings, mass abductions

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FCT police arrest three wanted kidnappers linked to killings, mass abductions

By: Zagazola Makama

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested three most-wanted bandits and kidnappers operating across Abuja and neighbouring parts of Kaduna State.

According to a police sources, the arrests were carried out on June 29 between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., by operatives of the Scorpion Squad led by ACP Victor O. Godfrey, following actionable and digital reconstructive intelligence.

The sources told Zagazola Makama that the suspects were identified as: Abdulkadir Abubakar, a native of Mpape, FCT, Mohammed Tasiu Sani, of Rigina, Kaduna State, Suleiman Jibrin, 27, of Sabon-Gayan, Kaduna State.

The three suspects, all Fulani by tribe, have been on the command’s most-wanted list for
their roles in multiple kidnapping and banditry operations, particularly in Jere, Kajuru, the FCT and its environs.

During interrogation, the suspects confessed to abducting victims and moving them to detention camps in Kachia and Rigina forests in Kaduna State. Some victims, they admitted, were held for months, while others were killed at will.

The sources revealed that one of the suspects, Abdulkadir Abubakar, provided disturbing details of internal executions within the gang, in which some members were killed by their own leaders over mistrust and betrayal.

An operational motorcycle, popularly referred to by locals as the “Boko Haram Motorcycle,” was recovered during the raid. The suspects are currently assisting operatives in ongoing efforts to recover arms and ammunition, and to track down other gang members still at large.

FCT police arrest three wanted kidnappers linked to killings, mass abductions

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Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun

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Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun

By: Zagazola Makama

A 20-year-old farm labourer identified as Solomon (surname yet unknown) has been found dead with gunshot wounds after he was allegedly shot by a member of the Western Nigeria Security Network, also known as Amotekun, along the Ilesa/Iperindo Road in Osun State.

The incident, which occurred on June 29, followed the reported confrontation between a local security operative and a group of five farm labourers on their way to a farmland.

According to Temidayo Olowookere, the employer of the deceased, the labourers were accosted around 11:00 a.m. by an Amotekun operative, one Ajayi Ibukun, who accused them of extorting money from passersby. Two members of the group were apprehended, while the remaining three fled into the bush.

Olowookere said the detained workers were later released to him in the afternoon. However, later in the evening, when two of the three fleeing labourers returned, Solomon remained missing.

A search party was immediately organised. His body was discovered in the bush with gunshot wounds on his back, raising suspicions that he may have been shot during the initial confrontation.

His remains were evacuated to Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, where he was confirmed dead and deposited at the morgue for autopsy.

Police say efforts are currently underway to trace and apprehend the security operative allegedly involved in the shooting, while the community continues to call for justice.

Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun

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