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Zulum Advocates Youth Empowerment, Skills Acquisition, and Scholarships to End Youth Restiveness

Zulum Advocates Youth Empowerment, Skills Acquisition, and Scholarships to End Youth Restiveness
By: Our Reporter
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has called for the implementation of robust skills acquisition programmes, enhanced educational opportunities and scholarship schemes as strategic measures to combat youth restiveness and unemployment in society.
Speaking at the 7th National Council on Youths Meeting (NCYM) held at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the Government House in Maiduguri on Thursday, Governor Zulum emphasized the need for governments to prioritize youth development. He described the youth as “future leaders” who require adequate support to fulfill their potentials.
Themed “Transforming and Repositioning the Nigerian Youth to Thrive and Catalyze Economic Development,” the meeting provided a platform for dialogue, innovation, and collaboration aimed at advancing youth development in Nigeria.
Governor Zulum, the Chief Host of the event, expressed pride in Borno State’s role in hosting the significant gathering.
He highlighted his administration’s unwavering commitment to youth empowerment since assuming office in 2019, despite the challenges posed by the prolonged Boko Haram insurgency.

Governor Zulum also underscored the immense potential of Nigeria’s youth population, noting that recent statistics reveal that 70% of the country’s population is under the age of 30. “This demographic is a significant asset, offering the potential for a highly productive economy in the near future,” he remarked.
He noted that since inception into office in 2019 to date, the present administration which has been battling with over a decade old Boko Haram crisis has been very committed to supporting youths through implementation of various initiatives aimed at empowering the youths, which include; provision of vocational training skills programmes, education, scholarships, distribution of Keke Napep, electric motor vehicles, establishing mechanical village at Molai and other entrepreneurship support programmes across the 27 local government areas of the state.

“In our society, the youths have faced numerous challenges, ranging from economic uncertainties, educational barriers and insufficient opportunities among many others.
“However, it is inspiring to see how many of our young people are stepping up, driving change and becoming the architects of their destinies and our tomorrow.”
“It is on record that youths in Borno have greatly contributed to peace and security and the overall socio-economic development of the state. The emergence of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) has brought a great
respite to the security architecture of the state.
“Borno indeed has reclaimed its glorious position of Home of Peace and Hospitality. So please feel at home and enjoy the centuries long hospitality of the good people of Borno State.
“As a government, we recognize that our youth are the backbone of our society and it is our responsibility to provide you with all the necessary support and resources to thrive and develop to your full potentials.
“We believe that investing in our youths is investing in our future and we are committed to creating opportunities for you to grow and be successful”, the governor stated.
He therefore commended the Federal Minister of Youth and Sports Development (FMYD), Mr. Ayodele Olawande, Borno Commissioner for Youths, Sports and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Saina Buba, and all other stakeholders for choosing Borno as venue of the meeting, even as he urged participants to feel free and brainstorm critically towards complementing efforts of the government in revamping the future of youths in society.
In his address, the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, expressed deep appreciation to Borno State government for hosting the NCYM.
“This meeting reflects President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s collective commitment in advancing the interest of Nigerian Youths in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda,” Olawande said.
He called on other state governors to emulate and follow the good steps of Governor Zulum in revamping the future of youths for the best.
Commissioner for Youths, Sports and Poverty Alleviation, Hon. Saina Buba highlights the importance of youth in national development.
He said Governor Zulum, who has passion for the youths, has spent billions of naira in establishing 17 skills acquisition centres, sponsored thousands of indigenous students on scholarship in various tertiary institutions within and outside the country, with empowerment and jobs creation for the teeming and vulnerable youth groups across the state.
During the event, the National Youth Workers Association (NYWA) decorated Governor Babagana Zulum with fellowship award and renamed its national headquarters after the governor.
Zulum Advocates Youth Empowerment, Skills Acquisition, and Scholarships to End Youth Restiveness
News
DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo

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

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
News
Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun

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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