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Zulum Signs Agreement Ceding General Hospital Hawul to Orthopedic Hospital

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Zulum Signs Agreement Ceding General Hospital Hawul to Orthopedic Hospital

… Calls for More Federal Medical Centres in Borno

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, has urged the Federal Government to establish additional medical centres in the state to tackle emerging health challenges resulting from over a decade of insurgency.

Governor Zulum made the appeal on Thursday during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cede the General Hospital Azare to the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Abuja.

Zulum had last year during a visit by the Director Hospital Services of the Federal Ministry of Health announced the ceding of General hospital Azare for the establishment of the Orthopedic hospital and over 400 million naira for the rehabilitation of the facility.

Governor Zulum commended the Federal Government for establishing the orthopaedic hospital, noting that it would significantly improve healthcare access for residents.

Our people often travel to Kano for orthopaedic treatment, but with this hospital, they will now have access to affordable and specialised care,” he stated.

The Governor emphasised the need for more medical facilities in Borno, given the lingering effects of insurgency.

“I want to commend the federal government for the establishment of the hospital. Our people often travel to Kano for Orthopedic cases but with the establishment of this hospital, our people would now have access to affordable healthcare delivery, especially on orthopedic cases”, Zulum stated.

“We still have cases of insurgency ongoing in the state, however, the matter is critically being looked into. Due to the conflict, we are having many health challenges, so the need to establish more medical health centres in Borno State need not to be overemphasised,” he stressed.

Governor Zulum further revealed that Borno remains the only state in Nigeria without a Federal Medical Centre (FMC) and announced plans by his administration to construct a state-of-the-art hospital for eventual takeover by the Federal Government.

“Federal medical centres are vital to strengthening healthcare at the sub-national level, particularly in a state like Borno which is recovering from prolonged insecurity. If we can secure five more hospitals, I assure you that we will provide all necessary facilities for their immediate operation,” he pledged.

He also expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for facilitating the establishment of the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Azare.

In his remarks, the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, described Governor Zulum as “Nigeria’s foremost health-friendly governor” in recognition of his transformative investments in the sector.

He announced that the federal government have created additional 12 new tertiary health institutions across the country in the last two years including national Orthopedic Hospital, Azare.

“I consider you as the foremost health friendly governor in the country. That was affirmed when you hosted the 65th National Council on Health where you announced the increment in Salary of medical doctors to match what the federal government is paying, in addition to other transformation you have embarked on in the health sector,” Salako remarked.

Governor Zulum was accompanied on the visit by the Commissioners for Health, Professor Baba Malam Gana; Finance, Alhaji Umar Lawan Dalorima; representative of the State Attorney General, Chief Adviser and Coordinator for Sustainable Development, Partnership and Humanitarian Support, Dr. Mairo Mandara, and the Chairman Borno State Social Investment Agency, Hon. Yuguda Saleh Vungas.

Zulum Signs Agreement Ceding General Hospital Hawul to Orthopedic Hospital

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DSS-led joint operation crushes ESN strongholds, kills top kingpins in Imo

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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

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

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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

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Young farm labourer shot dead while fleeing Amotekun in Osun

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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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