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23 Nigerian Soldiers Declared Missing After Boko Haram Attack

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Twenty-three Nigerian soldiers are missing after Boko Haram jihadists ambushed a convoy in the remote northeast of the country, said military and civilian vigilante sources on Saturday.

“Up until now 23 troops have not been accounted for. They include five officers and 18 soldiers,” a military officer in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state, told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“They came under attack from Boko Haram terrorists in Balagallaye village in the Boboshe area outside Bama,” the officer said.

The officer said that on Friday afternoon the soldiers had received a report that “around 100 terrorists” had gathered in Boboshe and that the “troops mobilised to fight them”.

“Only three vehicles have made it back to Bama, the remaining eight and scores of soldiers are still missing. Their fate is still unclear,”
 he said.

“We lost eight vehicles. That’s a lot,” the officer added.

A member of the civilian militia confirmed the officer’s account, saying that “dozens” of soldiers are still missing.

“It is not known if they escaped into the bush, were killed or captured,” he said.

“You know it is now rainy season and the roads are water-logged. The convoy got stuck in the mud and Boko Haram opened fire. It was a perfect ambush and the soldiers were on the defensive,” he said.

“So far three vehicles have returned. The other eight have either been destroyed or captured by Boko Haram.”

The group’s Islamist insurgency has devastated the region since 2009, leaving at least 20,000 dead, displacing more than two million others and triggering a humanitarian crisis.

Despite persistent attacks, President Muhammadu Buhari maintains that Nigeria is in a “post-conflict stabilisation phase”.

The former military ruler came to power three years ago on a promise to defeat Boko Haram, which is aligned to the Islamic State group and threatens security in the Lake Chad region.

But while there have been clear military gains since a counter-insurgency was launched in 2015, suicide bombings and raids remain a constant threat, particularly to civilians.(AFP)

Crime

Guinea-Bissau former president’s son, Malam Bacai Sanha Jr jailed in US for trafficking drugs to fund coup

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The son of a former president of Guinea-Bissau was sentenced to more than six and a half years in prison for involvement in a transnational heroin trafficking conspiracy, the US Justice Department announced Tuesday.

Malam Bacai Sanha Jr, 52, planned to use the proceeds to finance a coup in the West African country that would lead to his eventual presidency and establishment of a “drugs regime,” according to the statement released by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.

“Malam Bacai Sanha Jr. wasn’t any ordinary international drug trafficker,” said Douglas Williams, special agent in charge of the FBI Houston Field Office. “He is the son of the former president of Guinea-Bissau and was trafficking drugs for a very specific reason – to fund a coup.”

Sanha was a leader and organizer in the heroin trafficking conspiracy and was involved in its importation from Europe to the United States, according to the statement.

He was arrested along with a co-conspirator after arriving in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, in July 2022. They were extradited to the United States shortly afterwards.

In September 2023, Sanha pled guilty “to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance for the purpose of unlawful importation,” according to Tuesday’s statement.

Guinea-Bissau has had a history of military coups interspersed with periods of democratic rule – though elected leaders managed to serve a full term since the country gained independence from Portugal in 1974.

Sanha’s father, Malam Bacai Sanha, was initially installed by a junta as interim leader in 1999 before he lost the election the following year.

He won the presidency in a 2009 election but died while seeking medical treatment in Paris in January 2012 before completing his term.

His son, known as “Bacaizinho” in Guinea-Bissau, has served in several government roles, including as an economic advisor to his father.

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Crime

Court sentences Chinese to death for killing Nigerian girlfriend

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The Kano State High Court has sentenced a Chinese national, Frank Geng-Quangrong, to death by hanging for the murder of his girlfriend, Ummukalthuum Buhari.

Recall that Quangrong allegedly killed his erstwhile girlfriend, Buhari, following a misunderstanding.

We had reported that Quangrong was accused of culpable homicide in the death of his girlfriend, Buhari, but denied killing her intentionally and pleaded with Justice Sunusi Ado Ma’aji of the Kano State High Court to temper justice with mercy.

In his testimony on Tuesday, Quangrong claimed that he stabbed his girlfriend in self-defence after she allegedly grabbed his testes in September 2022.

“I didn’t kill Ummulkhulsum intentionally but stabbed her in self-defence after she grabbed my testes,” Ouangrong said.

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Crime

Four arrested as police raid fake drinks factory in Lagos

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Policemen attached to the Isokoko Division of the Lagos State Police Command have raided a house in Agege where fake drinks are being produced.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed this in a video shared on his X handle on Thursday.

According to Hundeyin, during the raid, four persons believed to be the masterminds behind the illegal distillery were arrested, and fake drinks were recovered among others.

His caption read, “Officers of Isokoko Division, acting on credible information, raided a house in Agege where fake alcoholic drinks were being produced.

“The police arrested four people behind the illegal distillery and recovered fake drinks, empty bottles, and labels of different brands. Investigation is ongoing.”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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