News
Group Tells Sylva to be Objective about Diri
Group Tells Sylva to be Objective about Diri
By: Michael Mike
The Bayelsa Mandate Group (BMG) has advised a former governor of the state, Chief Timipre Sylva, to be objective in his assessment of the administration of Governor Douye Diri, advising him not to allow partisan politics to becloud his sense of judgment.
The group, in a statement signed by its leader, Chief Nazuan Godfrey, asked Sylva, who is also the immediate past Minister of State, Petroleum, to act as a true statesman by acknowledging the giant strides of the Diri administration in the last four years instead of the baseless criticisms he has embarked upon.
According to Nazuan, what interests the people of Bayelsa, the only homogenous state in the country, is its development and the ability of the leaders to make life better for the citizens, this the group insisted is what Diri has been doing.
Taking a swipe at the performance of Sylva when he was the governor of the state and when he served as a minister, BMG noted that it was nothing to write home about when compared with the tenure of Governor Diri.
The group lamented that Sylva left Bayelsa underdeveloped and littered with abandoned projects.
“We are all witnesses to what happened in the recent past, during the Sylva era. The Glory Drive Road for which over N9 billion was earmarked, what came out of it? The Kolo Creek Electric Power Station switch gears project which was varied from an initial sum of N486 million to over N1 billion, only has an abandoned control room to show for it. What about the revocation of our prized jewel, OML46, otherwise called Atala Oil Field, who stole it through the back doors?
“For the records, we gathered that Sylva is talking about some gas turbines, when we all know who sold as scraps, the turbines bought by the late Melford Okilo. The Olympus Rolls Royce Gas Turbines were bought and installed by Okilo, while the other turbines were the Russian made Salut bought by the late Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha and the Rolls Royce RB211 bought by former President Goodluck Jonathan during his brief stay as governor of Bayelsa State. What happened to them?
“Let Sylva mention the year, model and capacity of the turbine he claimed to have bought that was sold by his successors,” the group stated.
They berated Sylva for obliterating a major legacy of Okilo by selling the power turbines for peanuts.
BMG also accused Sylva of inaugurating projects that were not completed and recalled how the late President Umaru Musa Yar’dua was invited to inaugurate an uncompleted plant with a stand by generator, adding that it was in fact the last official engagement of the late President.
Godfrey stated that Sylvia’s desperation and obsession to get back to Creek Haven with claims that Bayelsa is owing him four years of governance is misplaced and provocative.
“Goodluck Jonathan as a Governor of Bayelsa State procured the RB211 Rolls Royce Gas Turbine which was haphazardly installed under the Sylva’s administration. Due to lack of proper project management, that project suffered serious structural defects that was extremely difficult to salvage. Professional technical evaluation indicates that the contractors engaged had little or no background to execute such a project,” he said.
The group stated that the 500-bed hospital started by Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha at Imgbi Road was turned into a cash cow by officials of the Sylva administration under the guise of remodeling and Public, Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
“After wasting so much money, the project was abandoned with the excuse that it was too bogus to manage, so nothing was done.”
Godfrey said the group would dust its file and would make public its findings on some other misadventures of the Sylva administration.
“Under his watch as the immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum, over N750 billion was allocated for road construction nationwide for the NNPC, yet he couldn’t attract a single kilometre of road to Bayelsa, but wants to return as governor. Four years after initiating COVID-19 referral hospital with fanfare, the project remains an eyesore.
“All Sylva knows in politics is violence, bribing of security and electoral umpires which we are keenly watching. If anybody or group attempt to subvert the will of the people through intimidation, harassment and declaration of fake results as the Sylva group is planning like the Adamawa case they will know the true resilience of the Bayelsa people.”
Group Tells Sylva to be Objective about Diri
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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