Headlines
Army Holds COAS 2023 First Quarter Conference in Abuja
The Nigerian Army is set to hold the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) First Quarter Conference 2023. The Conference is expected to commence from 3rd and last till 6th April 2023 at the Army Command Officers’ Mess 1, Asokoro, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Reeling out the purpose of the conference in a statement he signed, Director Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, announced that “Customarily, the COAS Conference will offer an avenue for reappraisal of the administrative affairs of the Nigerian Army as well as evaluation and comprehensive review of ongoing operational engagements of the NA in all theatres of operations across the country, within the first quarter of the year. This will provide the NA an in-depth insight to enable far reaching decisions towards achieving its set objective of addressing the multifaceted security challenges confronting the country.
“The conference will also create an opportunity for the COAS to have a face to face interaction with General Officers Commanding (GOC), field commanders and other senior officers to provide possible guidance on enhancing NA operations and other activities.
He noted that the COAS, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya will declare the conference open on April 3, 2023.
“On the first day of the Conference, the COAS will present fourteen new Toyota Hilux vehicles to Army Warrant Officers who have attained the peak of their soldiering career. Similarly, the COAS will commission the newly constructed Faruk Yahaya Historical Park located at Asokoro Abuja. The conference will also showcase some research and development effort of the NA in an exhibition,” the statement read.
The statement further assured that three days conference will be very eventful, as it will witness a review of the conduct of troops during the recently concluded Operation SAFE CONDUCT 2023 and other operations across the country.
“The NA wishes to seize this opportunity to reaffirm its commitment and resolve to continue to discharge its constitutional mandate professionally. We will also be resolute in upholding our values of courage, selfless sacrifice, respect, discipline and unalloyed loyalty to constituted authority,” the statement concluded.
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
