Headlines
Why We Bombed Kaduna Villages – Army
The Defence Headquarters says the drone attack on Ligarma community in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Sunday was borne out of information about untoward activities of terrorists in the area.
The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, said this on Tuesday in Abuja.
Buba said the Nigerian Army Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) detachment had at about 2200hrs on Sunday, observed movement of terrorist at Ligarma, known to be a terrorist-infested area of Kaduna State.
He said the aerial surveillance captured movement of groups of persons synonymous with the terrorist tactics and modus operandi.
Buba explained that the observed advance of the terrorist that were gathered, posed a threat to key infrastructure within reach of their activities.
According to him, the threat was eliminated to stop the terrorist from unleashing terror on innocent civilians.
“It should be noted that, terrorist often deliberately embed themselves within civilian population centres for civilian population to bear the consequences of their atrocities.
“Nevertheless, the Nigerian military does its best at all times to distinguish between civilians and terrorist.
“The military views every civilian death in the cause of operations as a tragedy as such tragedies are needless and unwanted, which causes the armed forces to take extensive measures to avoid them,” he said.
One such measures taken by the military, he further said, is to continually gives precise instructions to communities.
“For instance, communities are to always alert troops of their activities particularly when such a community is known to be infested with terrorist and their sympathisers.
“These instructions are intended at enabling the military distinguish between friendly and untoward activities,” he said.
Buba said the armed forces would continue to operate in line with international laws and would also continue its determined and cautious progress in eradicating terrorist from the land.
He said the terrorists often disguised as civilian to perpetrate terror as part of their tactics, adding that the military would continue to find innovative solutions to the challenges faced in the conduct of its operations.
NAN
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.”
