Army Chief urges troops to think outside the box to end the insurgency war

By: Bodunrin Kayode 

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, has said that he was in Maiduguri last week to ginger his officers and men to change the narrative of the war by thinking outside the box to get positive results.

General Oluyede said that for too long the Army has been thinking after the same old pattern of fighting asymmetric warfare, adding that it was time to think differently so that the enemy would be flushed out completely.

General Oluyede said he was not unaware of the strengths and weaknesses of his troops, which is why the entire management team in the Army Headquarters will make sure that more sophistication is added to their existing platforms to enable them to increase their strengths and overcome the enemy on all fronts once and for all.

In a jam-packed interview after he had toured critical areas of the theater, the Army chief went on: “I’m here to speak to my officers and soldiers and to appraise their operational readiness, and that I have done. What is going to be new here is that we need to reappraise our operations so that we can get a different result. 

“We don’t want to continue with operations whereby we’ll be doing what we’ve been doing before and getting the same results. Now, we want different results. So we’ve sat down. We have strategized. We’re going to bring in more importance into our challenges, bringing more platforms to support the soldiers so that they can do their work well. 

“I think we have achieved that aim. So we’re going back to Abuja to see how we can add more to their platforms to support them in the operations, and I’m sure we’ll get better returns.” Said the army chief. 

Responding to questions on challenges affecting the Commanders and men on the ground, the Army chief went on: “I’m very aware of these challenges, but I want to take one moment to make you realize the fact that there will always be challenges. 

“Now, the most important thing is how we react to those challenges. If you recall, I was in Sokoto when the issue of the Lakurawa people came up. I was prompted to go to Sokoto then, and the essence of me going was to see what we could do to make things better. 

“And for the past two months, you must have seen that something is being done there. I’m talking about Zamfara, and you know, North West in general; we are also going to be backing up the operations with technology to see how we can make things better.”

Army Chief urges troops to think outside the box to end the insurgency war

Governor Zulum bags Honorary Doctorate by Federal University of Technology, Owerri

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has been awarded an honorary Doctorate Degree of Technology by the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Imo State.

The conferment took place during the institution’s 36th Convocation ceremony on Saturday, which also conferred the Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma, and Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, honorary degrees.

Professor Zulum, a distinguished academic and professor of Irrigation Engineering, holds fellowships from several esteemed institutions and is a recipient of numerous awards for his contributions to education and public service.

Expressing his gratitude, Governor Zulum acknowledged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the institution’s Visitor, for the honor bestowed on him.

“On behalf of my family, the government and good people of Borno State, I extend my sincere appreciation to the Visitor, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Chancellor, the Pro-Chancellor, the Vice-Chancellor, and the management of this great university for conferring this degree on me,” Zulum said.

The governor commended President Tinubu’s establishment of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund), which is providing critical support to students in tertiary institutions.

He assured that state governors across the country would support the initiative to ensure its success.

“This fund is one of the most important initiatives established by the administration of President Bola Tinubu. I assure you that all 36 state governors will support its noble objectives,” Zulum emphasized.

Governor Zulum urged FUTO to introduce job-creating courses tailored to meet the demands of the modern economy, stressing the decline in traditional white-collar job opportunities.

“As an academic, I advise the university to offer courses that prepare graduates for entrepreneurship and self-employment,” he noted.

The governor also announced plans for a partnership between Borno State Government and the Government of Imo State to support FUTO in advancing teaching, learning and research.

He congratulated the graduating students, wishing them success in their future endeavours.

Governor Zulum was accompanied by a high-profile delegation, including Senators Mohammed Ali Ndume, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, and Kaka Shehu Lawan. Others were the APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Hon. Ali Dalori, Hon Bukar Talba, Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Abdulkarim Lawan, and APC State Chairman, Hon. Bello Ayuba.

Governor Zulum bags Honorary Doctorate by Federal University of Technology, Owerri

Engineer in NDLEA Custody Iver Illicit Drug Consignments in Pressure Machines

…As Operatives Arrest 65-year old Grandma with Apiods in Lagos

By: Michael Mike

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a suspected drug trafficker, Egwu Inya who claims to be a building engineer, while attempting to take delivery of illicit consignments concealed in pressure machines imported from South Africa.

According to a statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, the 42-year-old Egwu was arrested last Monday at Okeyson motor park Enugu when he showed up to collect three units of pressure machines inside which were hidden parcels of Loud, a synthetic strain of cannabis, weighing 7.4 kilogrammes.

Babafemi said the consignments had arrived the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos import shed on 29th November 2024, and following credible intelligence, officers of the MMIA Strategic Command of the agency had monitored the shipment pass through clearing processes up to a logistics company’s warehouse outside the airport where it was to be collected by the consignee.

He noted that the importer however changed the point of collection to Enugu at the last minute, and as a result, NDLEA operatives in a follow up operation in Enugu arrested Egwu when he showed up to collect the consignments.

In another clampdown, no fewer than 511,000 pills of tramadol were recovered from a Siena vehicle at Hildi, Askira Uba way in Adamawa state by NDLEA operatives on patrol along the road in the early hours of last Friday. The occupants of the vehicle were said to have made a detour on sighting the NDLEA team and after a distance abandoned the vehicle with the consignments after noticing the operatives were on their heel.

In Ekiti state, two suspects: Olanrewaju Alale, 48, and Babatunde Ijadahun, 55, were arrested along Ise- Emure road in a J5 bus marked EPE 958 XJ while transporting 108 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1,323 kilogrammes to Owo, Ondo state from where they claimed the consignment will be moved to the North for distribution.

Another suspect, Adekunle Yusuf, 33, was nabbed by NDLEA operatives with 704 kilogrammes of the same psychoactive substance, concealed in white sacks last Friday at Idere road, Igboora, Oyo state.

In Lagos, a grandmother, 65-year-old Ramata Adeyemo was on Friday arrested by NDLEA operatives at 62 Odunfa street, Lagos Island, where 20.6 litres of codeine-based syrup were recovered from her. Also arrested in Lagos was Alhaji Lawan Manga who was picked at Ogundana Street, Ikeja last Thursday while 4.7 kilogrammes cannabis and 1.3 kilogrammes tramadol were recovered from him.

Babafemi said with the same vigour, commands and formations of the agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization lectures to schools, worship centres, work places and communities among others in the past week.

Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd), while commending the officers and men of MMIA, Adamawa, Ekiti, Lagos, and Oyo commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures, stated that their operational successes and those of their compatriots across the country especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts are well appreciated.

Engineer in NDLEA Custody Iver Illicit Drug Consignments in Pressure Machines