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Touray: Unity of ECOWAS Member States Key to Ending Security Threat in West Africa

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Touray: Unity of ECOWAS Member States Key to Ending Security Threat in West Africa

By: Michael Mike

The President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray has said unity of all member states of the regional bloc is key to achieving maximum success in the battle against the pervasive threat of insecurity.

The President made the call in his message on the commemoration of the 49th anniversary of ECOWAS with the theme: “Strengthening Regional Unity, Peace and Security”, adding that everything must be done to preserve the unity of the region.

Touray, in a statement, said the theme of this year was chosen to reflect the current challenges and also to remind the Community of the need to work to preserve regional unity and peace, two cherished objectives set by ECOWAS Founding Fathers.

He noted that: These are goals that the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government work to safeguard every day through their efforts to ensure the security of our people and protect the integrity of our territories”.

He recalled that the Heads of State and Government of fifteen West African Countries established ECOWAS when they signed the ECOWAS Treaty on the 28th of May 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria.

He said neither the founding fathers nor the present or future generations would understand or forgive any breakup of the Community.

Touray said: “Precisely 49 years ago, the Founding Fathers signed the treaty creating the Economic Community of West African States. Since then, ECOWAS has served the region and continues to unite our peoples around the common ideals of shared prosperity.

“It is clear that we must stay united if we want to be successful in the fight against insecurity. But it is our unity which now stands threatened. We must do everything to preserve our unity “because to quote General Yakubu Gowon, one of the founding fathers of ECOWAS.

“We are convinced that in unity, we will preserve peace and strengthen our actions for the security of our Member States and our people”.

He added that through unity, we will preserve regional stability and the harmonious political and socio-economic development of our community Dr Touray said that in face of insecurity and other challenges the region has achieved tangible and positive results.

“ECOWAS may have realized many achievements, but the Community continues to face a number of challenges. As we celebrate our 49thanniversary, insecurity continues to threaten our region. Some of our member states are battling terrorist groups on a daily basis and large number of our population face displacement and food insecurity

“As we celebrate ECOWAS 49th anniversary, let us recall some of the tangible and positive results the Community has to its credit. These achievements can be seen in many areas including free movement of our people, Intra Community trade, regional energy, and transport infrastructure, governance as well as in peace and Security”

According to Touray, “We remain convinced that together we can build on these achievements and attain the objectives in our Vision 2050 “of a fully integrated Community of peoples in a peaceful and prosperous region with strong institutions that respect fundamental freedoms and work towards inclusive and sustainable development”.

Touray: Unity of ECOWAS Member States Key to Ending Security Threat in West Africa

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Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval

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Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval

By Aisha Gambo

The Centre for Girls’ Education (CGE) has commended the Kaduna State Executive Council for approving the Kaduna State Life Skills Policy and the State Policy on Gender in Education (SPGE 2026–2030).

The Executive Director of the organisation, Habiba Mohammed, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday in Kaduna.

She said the approval marked a transition from donor-supported, time-bound interventions to a sustainable, government-led framework for delivering life skills education and promoting gender equity in schools.

According to her, the Life Skills Policy will equip young people with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required to succeed in education, employment and life, while the Gender in Education Policy providzbves a framework to promote equity, inclusion, participation, retention, completion and improved learning outcomes.

“The approval moves life skills and gender equity from the margins of the classroom into the core of Kaduna State’s education system,” she said.

Mohammed said CGE contributed to the development and validation of the policies through its system-strengthening project supported by Co-Impact, OASIS Initiative and the Malala Fund, in collaboration with the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) and the Kaduna State Ministry of Education.

She said the policies built on more than 18 years of the organisation’s Safe Space model, which independent evaluations showed had helped reduce child marriage, increase school enrolment and delay early marriage.

According to her, the AGILE programme in Kaduna has reached more than 127,319 girls and 6,250 boys between the ages of 14 and 18, while over 1,400 female and male teachers have been trained as mentors.

She added that institutionalising the model through public policy would ensure that life skills education became a permanent component of the state’s education system.

Mohammed said the policies would address barriers to school access, retention and completion, particularly for girls and other vulnerable learners.

She added that they would also institutionalise life skills as a co-curricular programme, strengthen evidence-based decision-making across the state’s 23 local government areas and guarantee continuity beyond donor-funded programmes.

The executive director commended Gov. Uba Sani for providing the leadership that made the policy approval possible.

She also appreciated the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Abubakar Sani Sambo, the Kaduna State Ministry of Education, the AGILE State Project Implementation Unit, the World Bank and other stakeholders for their contributions to the process.

Mohammed reaffirmed CGE’s commitment to supporting the Kaduna State Government with technical assistance during the implementation phase, including teacher training, gender-responsive education sector budgeting and monitoring.

She said the ultimate goal was to ensure that every girl and boy in Kaduna State had the opportunity to learn, develop and thrive.

Centre lauds Kaduna Govt over life skills, gender education policies approval

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Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base

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Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base

By: Zagazola Makama

Six fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) were reportedly killed and seven others seriously wounded during a failed attack on a Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Logomani in Borno State, credible intelligence sources have disclosed.

The sources told Zagazola Makama that the terrorists launched the attack on the military position in the early hours of July 7 but suffered significant casualties after troops mounted a fierce resistance.

According to the intelligence assessment, the attackers had assembled at Garal before advancing on the military base.

Following the failed assault, surviving insurgents were reportedly seen regrouping at Chukun Gudu, where they buried six of their fighters killed during the encounter.

Among those reportedly buried was a senior fighter identified as Munzir, also known as Ba Alayi, who was said to be an indigene of Wulgo.

The development comes as troops of Operation HADIN KAI continue sustained clearance operations aimed at dismantling terrorist enclaves and disrupting insurgents’ logistics and mobility across the Lake Chad region.

Troops Kill Six ISWAP Fighters, Wound Seven in Failed Attack on Borno Military Base

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Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle

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Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle

By: Zagazola Makama

A cholera outbreak has reportedly claimed the lives of nine fighters of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Timbuktu Triangle, a known terrorist stronghold in Borno State, intelligence sources have disclosed.

The sources told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the outbreak had spread through the group’s enclaves, highlighting deteriorating sanitary conditions and limited access to medical care within the insurgents’ camps.

According to the intelligence, two additional ISWAP fighters infected with the disease were allegedly executed by fellow terrorists after attempts to manage their condition at Kimba village proved unsuccessful.

The sources said the development pointed to the worsening health conditions within the terrorist hideouts, where sustained military pressure has disrupted logistics, including access to medicines and treatment facilities.

The sources added that commanders had also been urged to intensify efforts to intercept medical supplies and pharmaceuticals intended for terrorist camps in order to further degrade ISWAP’s treatment capability and operational resilience.

The reported outbreak comes amid sustained offensives by troops of Operation HADIN KAI, who continue to target terrorist enclaves and logistics networks across the Lake Chad region in a bid to degrade the insurgents’ fighting capacity.

Cholera Outbreak Kills Nine ISWAP Terrorists in Timbuktu Triangle

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