Headlines
Report Says 78 Killed, 12 Kidnapped in Tinubu’s First Week As President
At least 78 Nigerians have been killed and 12 abducted in violent attacks across the country since President Bola Tinubu took the oath of office.
The incidents happened in Rivers, Zamfara, Kaduna, Ogun, Sokoto, and the Federal Capital Territory.
This was contained in data obtained from the Nigeria Security Tracker, a project of the Council on Foreign Relations.
The reported noted that gunmen killed four and beheaded two persons in Rivers on May 29.
On May 30, bandits killed a vigilante leader and 24 others in Zamfara. Also, on May 30, two APC women leaders were kidnapped after attending the Kaduna governor’s inauguration.
On the same day, bandits killed a man and kidnapped his wife, and four kids in Kaduna. Also, on May 30, suspected cultists killed six persons in Rivers communities.
On May 31, gunmen in camouflage attacked an Ogun farm, killed three and abducted two. In Abuja, gunmen kidnapped four on June 4, 2023.
On Sunday, bandits killed 37 over refusal to pay levy in Sokoto.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Defence Headquarters, Maj. Gen. Musa Danmadami, did not pick up his calls.
He had yet to respond to a text message sent to his line by our correspondent.
A security expert, Timothy Avele, said the recent killings and abductions in the country were a call for the President to act fast to address the menace,
Avele said, “It simply means he is running out of time. The security structure must be immediately reset and the head of the security agencies must be kept on their toes.”
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.”
