Gist Coven

Nigerian troops in Borno have killed five Boko Haram insurgents and captured a top commander of the group in the ongoing operation in Sambisa Forest and the Lake Chad basin. Col. Onyeama Nwachukwu, Deputy Director, Army Public Relations of Operation Lafiya Dole, in a statement in Maiduguri, said troops also rescued three civilians, recovered vehicles and high calibre ammunition in various operations in the past two days. Nwachukwu said on Thursday, the troops engaged and neutralised a number of fleeing insurgents while attempting to escape the military blocking position in one of the cleared enclaves ‘Sabil-Huda’, deep in Sambisa Forest. He said that the troops also recovered one G-III rifle magazine, one life jacket, a light Machine Gun metal link, four rounds of Anti-Aircraft ammunition, four rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition and three rounds of 7.62mm (Special) ammunition. “Unfortunately, two soldiers were injured in the process; they had been evacuated by the Nigerian A...

Security agencies in Nigeria have alleged that the Islamic State in West Africa network operating within some North Central and South-South sections of Nigeria may be responsible for the recent killings recorded in Benue State and other parts of the country, PUNCH reports. This information is said to be contained in an intelligence report presented to President Muhammadu Buhari by security agencies, including the Department of State Service. A top government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told journalists on Sunday that the security organisations told the President that the ISWA network is using foreign terrorists and recruiting young men to fight and kill innocent persons “ostensibly to exacerbate tensions along the county’s ethnic, religious and regional fault lines.” He said the discovery was made following the arrest of several suspected attackers made up of Fulani herdsmen, government-sponsored militias, militants and other miscreants in Benue State. A...

There is widespread tension and apprehension in Taraba as a helicopter allegedly loaded with  a large cache of arms and ammunition  last night landed in Jibu village along river Benue in Ibi local government area of the state. Senior Special Assistant to Governor Darius Ishaku on Media and Publicity, Mr. Bala Dan-Abu told our correspondent that the arms and ammunition are allegedly meant for a militia group that may be planning attack on Taraba villages. “This system of arms delivery was used prior to the tragic attacks in Agatu communities in Benue State last year which led to the killings there. “When it was reported, nothing was done to trace and arrest the owners of the helicopter. The strategy worked for them in Agatu and they are using it again today. This may be another planned militia attacks on the people of Taraba in the offing,” he said. In a phone interview on Sunday, Member representing Wukari II Constituency in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Josiah ...

The video shared by The Sun, shows the senior pastor of the Living Faith Church aka Winners Chapel, speaking on the herdsmen issue. According to him, he received a communique from a group known as the Fulani Nationality Movement saying God has given them the land Nigeria and that there will be no peace unless the cattle colonies are established. ”just last night I got this believe from the Fulani Nationality Movement saying that God has given them this land and that they have the right to live anywhere, and until the colony is established, there’ll be no rest in Nigeria” he said LIB cannot verify if this video is a recent one... Watch the video below

Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial district, Shehu Sani has lampooned Benue elders for visiting President Muhammadu Buhari at Aso Villa over herdsmen killings in Benue. In his contribution at the plenary on Tuesday, he blamed the elders saying, President Buhari ought to have visited Benue State over the incident during which the State lost over 73 indegenes and not otherwise. “As regards to the crisis where over 73 lives were lost in Benue, it is enough for Aso Rock to travel to the scene of the crisis, not Benue elders coming to Aso Rock. To do what?”, he quipped. The lawmaker added that politicians and leaders who have 2019 on their mind do not tell Mr. President the truth. He was emphatic that some Senators out of 109 of them were hiding the truth, a situation he posited, did not augur well for the nation. Sani further stressed that the three arms of government were not living up to their expectations. “Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, the executiv...