Category: Defence/Security

FG woos foreign investors, pledges to overcome insecurity
Insecurity
By Yahaya Isah
Abuja, June 6, 2024 (NAN) The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to improve the security situation in the country for the better.
The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji Ojo, said this when the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mrs Annika Hahn-Englund, led a delegation to pay him a courtesy visit on Thursday in Abuja.
“We are gradually winning the war against terrorism and violent extremism going by the various measures put in place so far to tackle the menace headlong.
“Nigeria is the best-kept secret on global investment hence your investment is safe and secured in Nigeria.
“We look forward to more mutually beneficial collaborations in areas such as economics, business and migration control”, the minister told his guests.
Tunji-Ojo commended the historic relationship between both countries, saying Nigeria’s trade volume with Sweden was now valued at $183 million.
He said that Sweden was one of Nigeria’s important trade partners.
“We value our relationship with Sweden. Trade relationship from 1995 has been on the increase from $29.6million. At the moment it is US $183m which is a 6.7% annual increase in terms of trade volume.
“This shows that the collaboration and partnership are working because when your growth rate goes to about 6.97 per cent which is almost 7 per cent per annum, it shows that the relationship is working well”, he said.
The minister emphasised that the Federal Government was making a efforts to ensure that the security situation of the country improved tremendously to stimulate for more foreign investment and co-operation
Earlier, Hahn-Englund said the purpose of her visit was to know more about the priorities of the Ministry of Interior, get updates on the security situation in Nigeria and discuss Swedish investments in Nigeria.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Modupe Adeloye/Uche Anunne

Training

By Desmond Ejibas

Port Harcourt, June 6, 2024 (NAN) The Nigeria Army has commenced specialised training for finance officers and soldiers within its 6 Division to enhance finance management proficiency.

Maj.-Gen. Adetokunbo Fayewimo, the Chief of Accounts and Budget, said at the opening of a two-day capacity training for personnel in Port Harcourt on Thursday that the essence was to boost performance.

The training is with the theme: “Personnel Capacity Development: A Panacea to Proactive and Efficient Financial Service Delivery”

Represented by Group Managing Director, Nigeria Army Welfare Limited, Maj.-Gen. Samson Jiya, Fayemiwo said that the training was organised to enable finance officers to function optimally within the ambit of the law.

He said: “The training is designed to address the training needs of finance officers and soldiers at the division level.

“This training will enhance personnel understanding of contemporary government financial policies, financial best practices and their impacts on accounting for Nigerian Army funds.

“We organised this training understanding that the duties of the Nigeria Army Finance Corps are central to the army’s performance and effectiveness both in war and peace times,” he said.

Fayemiwo reiterated the importance of providing prompt financial services to troops across various units and formations when and where needed.

“Finance officers must conform with extant regulations and maintain professionalism in their conduct as military personnel.

“I have mandated all Nigeria Army finance personnel to be proactive and proficient to ensure effective performance of their duties at all levels,” he added.

Maj.-Gen. Jamaal Abdussalam, the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 6 Division, said that the training was essential for military professionalism because it would serve as a foundation for discovering potential.

According to him, the frequent training programmes organised by the army headquarters have significantly enhanced efforts to address the daunting security issues in the South South region.

“Recently released data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission indicated growth in the nation’s crude oil output.

“This growth was made possible through our reinvigorated operations to eliminate illegal crude oil activities and our focus on personnel training,” he said.

Abdussalam said that the finance corps, as the nerve centre of the division, should actively improve and demonstrate greater proficiency in fulfilling its responsibilities.

“Financial personnel must continue to learn and adapt to the many financial policies introduced by the Federal Government to handle the dynamics of current financial revolution,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Azubuike Okeh

Scholarship

By Sumaila Ogbaje

Abuja, June 6, 2024 (NAN) Gov. Umar Bago of Niger, has called for reactivation of government scholarship programme for public schools to give hope to the less privileged children in the society.

Bago made the call at the inauguration of General Ibrahim Attahiru Foundation Tertiary Education Scholarship Scheme, on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that many of the leaders of the country today passed through public schools with scholarships, adding that he enjoyed free education from primary to secondary school.

The governor promised to support the foundation’s scholarship programme, with additional 50 beneficiaries to make up the initial 100 beneficiaries for the maiden scholarship programme, into any Nigerian Federal University.

“As Bago, I have a foundation and I will collaborate with you and I am raising the number from 50 to 100 because we value education.

“It means our school and scholarship system must be reactivated to give people hope,” he said.

Bago, who charged the youths to have dreams, added that it was the dream of the late Attahiru that made the family to keep his legacy moving by supporting the needy.

According to him, it is not enough to come and just live like that, make your mark that you would want to be remembered for.

He commended the Chief of Army Staff, Lt -Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, for agreeing to collaborate with the noble initiative, assuring that the Nigerian Governors Forum would also support the initiative.

“So, we will continue to collaborate with these kinds of initiatives not just Nigerian army but even beyond.

“We must give the children of the deceased and retired military officers’ reason to live,” he added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the scholarship scheme is an initiative of the family of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, who died in a plane crash on May 21, 2021.

The scheme is to assist children of serving and veterans of the Nigerian Army in their quest for education.

Already 50 students drawn from the Command Secondary Schools across the six geopolitical zones have been offered scholarship at the inaugural launch foundation on Thursday in Abuja. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ifeyinwa Okonkwo and Abiemwense Moru

Anti-Corruption: EFCC, ICPC secure 3,412 convictions, forfeiture of N366.9bn

Anti-Corruption

By Sumaila Ogbaje

Abuja, June 6, 2024 (NAN) The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) secured 3,412 convictions, forfeiture of N366.97 billion through judicial process and recovered N161.6 billion within one year.

The Director Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known during the joint briefing by Security, Defence and Response agencies organised by the Strategic Communications Interagency Policy Committee under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on Thursday in Abuja.

Buba, while reading the text of the brief, said the anti-corruption agencies played a significant role in maintaining law and order through their anti-corruption initiatives.

He said that the money recovered by the agencies within the period included N161.6 billion, 43.8 million dollars, 25,365.00 pounds, 186,947.10 Euros, 51,360.00 Rupees, 3,750.00 Canadian Dollars, 740.00 U.S dollars, 74,754.00 Yen and 35,000.00 Rands.

Others according to him are 42,390.00 UAE Dirhams, 247.00 Riyals, and 21.5 million Crypto Currency Units.

Buba said the EFCC secured 50 convictions in the fight against internet fraudsters and currency racketeers.

According to him, the ICPC also in the period under review recovered N66 billion in cash and rent on forfeited assets.

“Meanwhile, the ICPC in the period under review the recovered N66 billion in cash and rent on forfeited assets.

“The commission also secured restraining order on assets worth N5.8 billion, while N366.9 million was forfeited through judicial processes.

“Furthermore, the ICPC secured 18 convictions.

“Investigations and prosecutions saw 131 investigations and 18 convictions,” he said.

In his opening remarks, Head of Strategic Communications, ONSA, Zakari Mijinyawa, said that robust interagency collaboration had been pivotal to the successes recorded so far by the Security, Defence and Response Agencies in Nigeria.

Mijinyawa said the achievements were the result of the coordinated efforts to enhance national security and protect the lives and property of citizens.

He said that ONSA had facilitated the UK-Nigeria security and defence dialogue, bringing together security and defence chiefs from both countries.

According to him, ONSA had in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, initiated a series of economic security measures against currency manipulators and speculators.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola

Attacks
By Sumaila Ogbaje
Abuja, June 6, 2024 (NAN) Ayudantes Empowerment Initiative (AEI), a civil society advocacy group, has called on Nigerians to stop deliberate attacks on and killing of military personnel.

The Executive Director of AEI, Mr Amechi Oyema, made the call at news conference on Thursday in Abuja.

Oyema extended condolences to the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Chris Musa, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja and families of the personnel who had in recent time, paid the supreme price while defending the nation.

He said that the group had strongly condemned what he described as  gradually becoming a norm, noting that attacks on members of the armed forces by citizens must stop.

According to him, it has been going on, but it is time Nigerians speak out against this barbaric attitude of some of our citizens towards members of the armed forces.

“Just recently, a commanding officer, two majors, a captain and 13 others, were ambushed and murdered on March 14 while responding to the crisis between Okoloba and Okuama communities which had allegedly been engaged in an aged-long land dispute.

“On May 18, there was a mob attack on personnel of the military at Banex Plaza in Abuja and we saw on national television how soldiers were being manhandled.

“Just last week, terrorists of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), in Abia, killed five personnel at Obikabia Junction Checkpoint in Obingwa Local Government Area.

“Troops of Operation UDO KA were deployed to enforce peace in the area and protect the citizens.

“Also, on June 4, reports had it that suspected phone snatchers murdered a soldier, identified as Lt. IM Abubakar in the Unguwan Sarki area of Kaduna State.

“We are here to say today that this is unfortunate, inhuman and undeserving for people that have laid their lives for our country,” he said.

Oyema said it was wrong for citizens to continue to engage in demoralising activities, especially against troops that had been making sacrifices for the peace and stability of the country.

He quoted Maya Angelou as saying, “How important it is for us to recognise and celebrate our heroes and she-roes”.

He also quoted Gen. George S. Patton (Jr.), as saying, “The soldier is the army. No army is better than its soldiers. The soldier is also a citizen.

“In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country,” he said.

Oyema commended the nation’s military for showing restraint in the face of blatant provocations by not embarking on reprisal in the senseless killings of its personnel in different parts of the country.

“We, however, call on the military authority to go to whatever length possible within the ambit of the law to ensure that those who committed these heinous crimes do not go unpunished.

“Nigerians must learn to respect and honour men and women in uniform especially military personnel.

“This because there is no higher honour than serving in the military.

“These are men and women that sacrifice their lives in defence of our territorial integrity. An attack on them is an attack on Nigeria,” he added.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
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Edited by Kayode Olaitan

We’ll make police hospitals best in Nigeria – Minister

Hospital

By Monday Ijeh

Abuja, June 6, 2024 (NAN) The Minister of State for Police Affairs, Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, says the Federal Government will make police hospitals the best in the country.

Sulaiman-Ibrahim said this on Thursday in Abuja, during an assessment tour of infrastructure and welfare facilities of police hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“From the tour, what I see is a drive for excellence and dedication to duty among personnel of the police hospitals we visited.

“I can assure them that under the present administration of President Bola Tinubu, help will come and we will make police hospitals the best in Nigeria,” she said.

The minister described the tour as a key component of the Renewed Hope Police Agenda of Tinubu administration.

The minister commended the personnel for their dedication and resilience in the face of challenging circumstances.

“Our government recognises the critical role that quality healthcare plays in the well-being of both our serving and retired officers.

“We are committed to enhancing the quality of these facilities to ensure they meet the highest standards of care.

“This will be done by upgrading equipment, improving infrastructure and providing the necessary resources to support healthcare professionals in their noble work,” she said.

In her remark, the Managing Director of MD Abubakar Police Hospital in Dei-Dei, Dr Ruth Okunbo, thanked the minister for the visit.

Okunbo, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, said the hospital had been useful in the advancement of healthcare delivery, for both families of police officers in the barrack and neighboring communities.

She called for the intervention of the minister in the correction of the leaking roof of the hospital and provision of an ambulance for emergency cases.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister, during the tour, visited MD Abubakar Police Hospital, Dei-Dei, Police Hospital, Area 1, Police Hospital, Utako and Mohammadu Buhari Police Hospital, Area 11. (NAN)

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Edited by Remi Koleoso and Abiemwense Moru

50 students benefit from maiden Gen. Attahiru education scholarship scheme

Scholarship

By Sumaila Ogbaje

Abuja, June 6, 2024 (NAN) The Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru Foundation (GIAF), on Thursday in Abuja, inaugurated an education scholarship scheme to sponsor 50 students annually in any Federal University in the country.a

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the scholarship scheme is an initiative of the family of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru.

Attahiru had died in a plane crash on May 21, 2021.

The scheme is to assist children of serving and veterans of the Nigerian Army in their quest for education.

Already, 50 students drawn from the Command Secondary Schools across the six geopolitical zones have been offered scholarship, at the inauguration of the foundation on Thursday in Abuja.

In his remarks, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, said the scholarship would be ran in partnership with the Nigerian Army.

Lagbaja said the inauguration of the GIAF Tertiary Education Scholarship Scheme, was another commendable initiative that would benefit the army community, which was the late General’s primary constituency.

He said that this was in spite of the army having an established scholarship scheme for the children of its deceased personnel.

According to him, collaborating with the foundation is considered a viable option to complements the existing efforts of the army by covering a gap in its scholarship and welfare schemes.

”Our existing scholarship scheme focuses on children of deceased personnel only and not those of serving and retired personnel, as is the case with the Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru Foundation’s scheme being inaugurated today.

”While the Army Headquarters is aware that funding is not a challenge for the foundation, we have chosen to help with the funding of this inaugural scholarship scheme for 50 carefully selected beneficiaries as a mark of respect for the late General.

”We believe that this gesture will assist the foundation in properly taking off for subsequent scholarship awards.

”As part of our commitment, the Army Headquarters Department of Army Administration and the Nigerian Army Education Corps will continue to assist the Foundation in identifying and screening suitably qualified candidates to benefit from this noble gesture,” he said.

Lagbaja, however, charged the beneficiaries of the maiden scholarship to reciprocate the noble gesture by focusing on their studies and shying away from societal ills.

He noted that the tertiary institution environment was filled with vices that could derail them and truncate their life aspirations.

He, therefore, challenged them to take the gesture as a challenge to becoming the best in whatever career path they chose to follow and ultimately give back to the foundation and the larger Nigerian society in the future.

The army chief also said that the late COAS implemented significant policies that had a profound and lasting impact on army’s counter-terrorism operations; particularly in the North East within the short time he held sway.

He thanked Mrs Fati Attahiru, wife of the late COAS for her wisdom, courage, and doggedness to pull resources together to celebrate the late General’s life, bravery, energy, and most importantly, his identity as a detribalised Nigerian.

According to him, this aspect of his character is a testament to his belief in the unity and inclusivity of our great nation.

”I once again most sincerely, thank Mrs Attahiru and the Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru Foundation, for this scholarship initiative and for keeping the name and legacy alive and shining brighter and brighter,” he said.

The founder of the GIAF and wife of the late COAS, Mrs Attahiru, said her late husband’s background propelled him to work hard and had big dreams.

Attahiru disclosed that her husband shared with her his dream to become the army chief when he was a Lieutenant Colonel, urging the beneficiaries never to stop dreaming and look beyond the challenges they would face in life.

She urged them to develop the will power to respond to the happenings around them so as to be able to control what happened in life.

According to her, there are challenges we face, the trials, the tragedies and so on, but what we can control is how we react.

”Only you have the power to choose to be a victim or to rise above the tides, to maintain your composure, and to keep moving forward with unwavering commitments and determination.

”Telling you a bit about my late husband and his background, is to challenge you to choose not to be a victim of your circumstances, but to build the strength and resilience to overcome any challenge that comes your way,”she said.

She added that the scholarship programme would not only sponsor their education, but would also provide mentorship and roommate scholars to think big, overcome their challenges, and hopefully make a difference in the world.

She expressed happiness that the foundation started with the Nigerian Army through the command secondary schools.

”It is also great that the scholars will be drawn from six geopolitical zones, making sure people benefit strictly on merit, irrespective of gender, ethnicity or creed.

”It is great that there will be an alumni association. So we will hopefully see future doctors, engineers, pilots, tech gurus as alumni of the foundation’s scholarship programme” she added. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Deborah Coker and Abiemwense Moru

9,303 terrorists killed, 9562 fighters surrender in 1 Year – SCIPC

Terrorists

By Sumaila Ogbaje

Abuja, June 6, 2024 (NAN) No fewer than 9,303 have been killed,  6,998 arrested and 9,562 Boko Haram/ISWAP combatant fighters and their families surrendered to security forces in the last one year.

The Director Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known during the joint briefing by Security, Defence and Response agencies organised by the Strategic Communications Interagency Policy Committee under the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on Thursday in Abuja.

Buba said the troops also rescued no fewer than 4,641 hostages, while 1,437 suspected oil thieves were apprehended within the period under review.

According to him, troops killed 363 criminals and rescued 245 kidnap hostages in the Niger Delta Region within the period.

Buba said the the Nigerian Police Force within the year apprehended 4,796-armed robbery suspects, 3,068 kidnap suspects and 2,474 suspects for rape/sexual crimes.

He added that 1,213 suspects were apprehended for unlawful possession of firearms, 3,523 suspected cultists, 3,381 suspects for murder/homicide, and 13,382 suspects for other offences.

According to him, the Police rescued 1,713 kidnap victims and recovered 1,465 vehicles/motorcycles, 2,566 firearms and 19,310 rounds of ammunition.

Buba said the Police prosecuted 29,052  cases within the year and secured conviction of 16,200 suspects.

He gave the breakdown of prosecuted cases as “7,675 cases conclusively dispensed, 11,376 suspects are currently undergoing trial, 51 cases are under appeal in appellate courts, and 16,200 cases resulted in the conviction of suspects who have received various punishments for their criminal acts.

Buba said the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) on the other hand foiled 48 attacks/kidnap attempts on schools and dismantled over 1,975 illegal mining sites across the country.

He added that 165 illegal local refineries were uncovered and dismantled within the period under review.

“Relatedly, the Nigeria Customs Service generated exceptional revenue of about N4 trillion.

“National security and anti-smuggling efforts led to significant seizures of contraband goods, illegal arms, and narcotics.

“The agencies recovered over 21,000 pump action cartridges, 440 pump action rifles, and 228,741 rounds of ammunition and, prevented potential attacks by recovering suicide jackets and lethal weapons.

“Criminal activities involving illicit petroleum products were disrupted, with 50,000 illicit liters impounded,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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edited by Sadiya Hamza