Headlines
Commanding Officer of 158 Battalion, Soldiers Killed in Boko Haram Attack
The Boko Haram insurgents have attacked a military location at Kareto village in the Mobbar Local Government Area of Borno State, killing the Commanding Officer of 158 Battalion, and an undisclosed number of soldiers.
The acting Director, Public Relations, Nigerian Army, Col Sagir Musa, had yet to reply a text message sent to his phone on the incident as of press time on Friday.
There are fears that the terrorists are still within the local government area planning more attacks on troops and civilians.
The attack on the 158 Battalion and the killing of its commanding officer came about one month after the terrorists planted an Improvised Explosive Device which killed the Commanding Officer of 154 Task Force Battalion, Lt Col Yusuf Aminu.
The officer and two soldiers were on May 13 killed along the Borgozo-Mauli Road in Borno State, an incident which was confirmed by the army days later, after the Chief of the Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, attended the burial of the soldiers at the Maimalari Military Cantonment Cemetery, Maiduguri.
Our correspondent learnt on Friday that in the latest spate of attacks, the terrorists attacked the 158 Battalion’s location on Democracy Day, carted away military weapons and later relocated to neighbouring Fuchimiram village.
The commanding officer, whose name had yet to be confirmed, and some soldiers, were reported to have been killed by the terrorists.
“The troops in the entire local government and beyond are still vulnerable. We need more reinforcements to be able to curtail the terrorists’ attacks. Some of the terrorists are presently in Fuchimiram village,” a military source said.
A day before the June 12 attack, the military authorities confirmed that terrorists had invaded Darak in northern Cameroon, killing 10 soldiers of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, while 64 of the insurgents were also neutralised during the fire fight.
The MNJTF Chief of Military Public Information, Col Timothy Antigha, in a release later said that about “300 heavily armed Boko Haram terrorists invaded Darak,” but claimed that they were repelled by troops.
The Punch
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.”
