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Nigeria: UN releases additional US$ 5 million to ramp up flood response in Bauchi, Borno and Sokoto states

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Nigeria: UN releases additional US$ 5 million to ramp up flood response in Bauchi, Borno and Sokoto states

By: Our Reporter

The UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has released US$5 million to scale up the flood response and address critical needs in three of the most flood affected states in Nigeria – Borno and Bauchi in the north-east, and Sokoto in the north-west.

The announcement follows the increasing impact of floods on people’s lives, livelihoods, and food security across Nigeria at the peak of the rainy season. More than 300 people have lost their lives. At least 1.2 million people are affected in 31 states, according to Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA). Thousands of hectares of cropland have been damaged ahead of harvests.

“Floods across Nigeria have created a crisis within a crisis,” United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, said. “Millions of people were already facing critical levels of food insecurity before the floods because of economic hardships that have made it exceedingly difficult for the most vulnerable to feed themselves and their families. The floods have compounded people’s suffering.”

As of mid-September, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that crop losses due to floods in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) states were equivalent to an amount of food that could feed 1.4 million people for six months. Nationwide crop losses could feed 8.5 million people for six months. To mitigate the flood impact, there is a need for extended lean season support and a scale up of emergency agriculture activities, where possible.

The CERF funds will help humanitarian partners reach 280,000 people in Borno, Bauchi and Sokoto states with food, clean water, sanitation, and shelter support. The funds will also help to rapidly mobilise resources to bolster access to healthcare, including efforts to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera. The response will include the use of multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) and cash for work programmes to help affected people earn an income.

The funding will also enhance protection services, including support to women and girls and services for gender-based violence (GBV), as well as support to people living with disabilities.

“This CERF allocation is a much-needed boost to the joint efforts of humanitarian partners in Nigeria in support of the Government-led response. However, the CERF funds and the previous allocation from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund (NHF) are insufficient to meet the scale of needs. What is required right now is the immediate mobilisation of additional resources by donors, development partners and the private sector as the emergency response transitions to the recovery phase in some affected areas.”

The CERF funds complement a $6 million allocation from the NHF for the BAY states, where more than half a million people have been affected by floods. In addition to the flood impact, the BAY states are experiencing cholera outbreaks that have claimed dozens of lives at the height of a food security and malnutrition crisis that is projected to affect five million people through October. The NHF funds and resources from the US funded Rapid Response Fund, managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), are supporting interventions in water and sanitation hygiene, shelter, and non-food items as well as MPCA in Borno. Other ongoing UN assistance includes food and nutrition assistance, emergency healthcare (including mass cholera vaccination campaigns and sexual and reproductive health services), emergency shelter and family tracing and reunification.

In Borno, which is the State most impacted by flooding, more than 400,000 people, many of them vulnerable internally displaced persons (IDPs) were displaced at the peak of flash flooding in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) and Jere local government areas (LGAs). A section of the Alau Dam collapsed in the middle of the night on 9 September forcing people to flee their homes with few if any belongings. This was in addition to displacement due to torrential rains and windstorms starting in August that affected tens of thousands of IDP shelters.

While the flooding has receded in MMC and Jere, there is an urgent need for protection services and sustained lifesaving assistance especially food, and clean water, and sanitation support amid cholera outbreaks for people who remain in emergency shelters. Recovery and livelihood support especially for farming households are required for those returning to their homes. Many areas experiencing ongoing flooding, such as Dikwa LGA in Borno, also need an immediate emergency response.

Nigeria: UN releases additional US$ 5 million to ramp up flood response in Bauchi, Borno and Sokoto states

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Rivalry: Dogo Gide Eliminates 20 Sadiku Boko Haram terrorists in North West

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Rivalry: Dogo Gide Eliminates 20 Sadiku Boko Haram terrorists in North West

By Zagazola Makama

In a complex and evolving battle for supremacy in Nigeria’s North-West, notorious bandit leader Dogo Gide has reportedly killed 20 Boko Haram fighters from the Sadiku faction and seized a cache of weapons.

A recently surfaced video shows Dogo Gide addressing his rivals, claiming victory after an ambush attempt by the Sadiku faction. In the video, Gide displayed seized items, including ten AK-47 rifles, RPGs, mobile phones, and an identity card allegedly linked to members of the faction.

“Sadiku and his group ambushed us, but we prevailed. Only one of our men was injured, while at-least 20 their men were killed,” Gide stated. He further accused the Sadiku faction of hypocrisy, condemning them for killing women, children, and innocent people under the guise of jihad.

This development spotlight the shifting dynamics of extremist activities in the region, where alliances and rivalries among criminal and terrorist groups continue to complicate security efforts. The rivalry between Dogo Gide and Boko Haram factions, particularly the Sadiku-led group, appears to stem from deeply personal and strategic reasons.

Credible intelligence suggests that Gide, once an ally of Boko Haram, turned against the group after his brother Sani was killed in 2023. Since then, Gide has vowed to avenge his brother’s death and has worked to expel Boko Haram elements from his area of influence.

Gide’s recent operations have focused on the Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) in Niger State, where he reportedly dismantled Boko Haram roadblocks along the Kuruba-Uduwa highway. Addressing local communities, Gide pleaded for forgiveness and pledged to restore normalcy, encouraging displaced villagers to return home.

Observers believe Gide’s actions are driven by a combination of personal vendettas and a desire to consolidate control over lucrative criminal enterprises, such as cattle rustling and kidnapping, in the region.

The dynamics in Nigeria’s North-West are increasingly influenced by the infiltration of Boko Haram and its splinter groups, such as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) and Ansaru. These groups operate alongside local bandit kingpins, forming temporary alliances and engaging in fierce competition for dominance.

JAS factions, led by figures like Sadiku and Umar Taraba, maintain headquarters in Niger and Zamfara states and are reportedly proficient in manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs). These factions have expanded their operations into the North-West and North-Central regions, employing brutal tactics to enforce compliance and raise revenue through taxes on local populations.

Ansaru, on the other hand, has established a stronghold in Niger, Kogi, and Kaduna states, focusing on ideological propaganda and recruitment. The group has maintained links with al-Qaeda affiliated groups in the Sahel, raising concerns about the potential for regional spillover of extremist activities.

The rivalry between Dogo Gide and Boko Haram factions presents both opportunities and challenges for Nigeria’s security forces. On one hand, internal conflicts among extremist groups could weaken their overall operational capacity. On the other hand, the fluid alliances and shifting loyalties complicate intelligence gathering and counterterrorism operations.

In conclusion, the ongoing conflict in Nigeria’s Northwest is a multifaceted crisis that requires a nuanced understanding of the local dynamics at play.

Dogo Gide’s rise as a key player in the fight against Boko Haram signifies the complexities of power, revenge, and the quest for control in a region plagued by violence.

As the situation continues to unfold, the need for comprehensive strategies to address the root causes of extremism and foster peace remains paramount.

Rivalry: Dogo Gide Eliminates 20 Sadiku Boko Haram terrorists in North West

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Governor Buni commended for selecting Maigari for appointment as Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission

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Governor Buni commended for selecting Maigari for appointment as Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission

By: Yahaya Wakili

Yobe state Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni CON, and Chiroman Gujba have been commended for doing the best thing for selecting Hon. Jibrin Maigari, Commissioner, Federal Character Commission, representing Yobe state.

The commendation was made by the executive chairman of the Nangere local government council, Hon. Samaila Musa FICN, while receiving the commissioner of the federal character commission, Hon. Jibrin Maigari, who was on a sensitization visit in his office.

He said Hon. Maigari is performing excellently because since this commission was created, we have never gotten the federal commissioner who has brought something tangible to Yobe, because in the past five years we have seen the result when he assumed office.

Musa maintained that, “His Excellency, Governor Mai Mala Buni CON, has done the right thing by appointing the right person in the right place, because I was a director in the federal service. I know how difficult it is to secure employment for the teeming youths.

He advised that His Excellency, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, should continue to put the right people in that place so that the right people will be employed. Adding that, before I came here, I had something in mind that we have youths who have completed their secondary education, and they could not secure admission into tertiary institutions.

According to the chairman, these youths performed; they had gotten the requirements to be admitted, but because of the family background of the family, they could not, and they feel that the local government should bring a package whereby the youth will compile their CVs and go to university, polytechnic, or college of education to secure admission for them.

“We have graduates who are diploma holders, NCE, HND, and degree holders. There is nothing doing; I had to believe that we are going to adopt entrepreneurial activity within Nangere, training them three months after training them. We come up with different varieties of skills for them to engage in different businesses and activities,” he said.

“So by doing that, we are able to train 500 youths, and at the end of the day, every youth will be able to engage four people, so plus him, there are five. So you multiply five times five hundred, and you have 2,500 employed, and we called it a blue-collar job because what a cola job these days is too easy. So we have to develop a plan or strategies whereby the youth must survive.

The chairman said we have a work plan already, and very soon we are going to develop it, because we have adopted that in the 2025 budget, and very soon, by the second quarter, we are going to embark on it. He noted that I have already discussed with the consultancy services of Yobe State University in that regard.

Governor Buni commended for selecting Maigari for appointment as Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission

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World Medical Relief donates healthcare equipment to Yobe State

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World Medical Relief donates healthcare equipment to Yobe State

By: Yahaya Wakili

The Yobe State Executive Council has noted the delivery of healthcare equipment to the state donated by World Medical Relief in the United States. These equipment include hospital beds, infusion pumps, patient monitors, surgical instruments, and tools, amongst others.

Governor Mai Mala Buni CON disclosed this yesterday while chairing the first State Executive Council meeting held at the Government House in Damaturu.

The governor spoke about his administration’s human capital development effort, adding that in 2024, many people across the state were reached with various forms of support, particularly the students sent to India for undergraduate studies.

Briefing the newsmen on the outcome of the Exco meeting, The state Commissioner of Home Affairs, Information, and Culture, Alhaji Abdullahi Bego, said the governor reflected on the preceding year, noting it as one in which the state government was able to execute many projects and programs that have positive impacts on the lives of the people of the state.

He said the government has also built four modern sesame seed processing factories in Machina, Nguru, Potiskum, and Damaturu, and all of them have been completed 100% and will be commissioned soon.

In addition, all local government areas cut off by last year’s rains, especially in the northern part of the state, have been repaired and vehicular traffic restored, and the state government is also currently constructing a road from Potiskum to Ngojin and from Fadawa to Daya in the Fika local government area.

World Medical Relief donates healthcare equipment to Yobe State

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