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By Gloria Ikibah

The Federal Government has facilitated the safe return of former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma to Freetown, bringing to a close more than two years of his temporary stay in the country under a regional peace arrangement.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who accompanied Koroma back to Sierra Leone on the directive of President Bola Tinubu, said the move marked the successful conclusion of a diplomatic process aimed at fostering peace, stability and political understanding in the West African nation.

Koroma relocated to Nigeria in January 2024 following engagements led by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ease political tensions and promote national reconciliation in Sierra Leone.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the sustained efforts of regional leaders helped create an atmosphere of trust and understanding between President Julius Maada Bio and the former president, paving the way for Koroma’s stay in Nigeria and his eventual return home.

“His conduct throughout this period reflected restraint, statesmanship, and commitment to a peaceful outcome,” the minister said.

She noted that continuous consultations involving ECOWAS, the Nigerian Government and other stakeholders played a crucial role in addressing issues that had necessitated Koroma’s relocation.

The minister commended President Bio, former President Koroma and the people of Sierra Leone for embracing dialogue and demonstrating commitment to peace and national unity.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu reaffirmed Nigeria’s dedication to regional harmony, constitutional governance and democratic stability, expressing confidence that Koroma’s return would further strengthen reconciliation efforts in Sierra Leone.

She said Nigeria would continue to support initiatives that promote peace and stability across the West African sub-region.

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo also joined Odumegwu-Ojukwu in escorting Koroma back to Freetown, underscoring Nigeria’s enduring role in regional diplomacy and conflict resolution.

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By Gloria Ikibah

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, has called for greater religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among Nigerians, saying religion should never become a source of division in the country.

Enikanolaiye stated this on Thursday, when the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Bishop Stephen Adegbite, paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja.

The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with countries hosting Nigerian pilgrims while ensuring that people of all faiths receive equal treatment in the discharge of the Ministry’s responsibilities.

He expressed concern over occasional religious tensions in the country, attributing them largely to a lack of proper understanding of the essence of religion.

Enikanolaiye said the administration of President Bola Tinubu will continue to promote religious harmony while prioritising the safety and welfare of Nigerians, both within the country and abroad, regardless of their religious affiliations.

Calling on Nigerians to embrace tolerance, the minister drew from his own family experience to demonstrate that religious differences should not prevent people from living together peacefully.

He said: “Although I am a Muslim, my wife is a Christian, in fact a pastor. In those days when we had only one car and there were no mobile phones, I would drive her to church and wait or return to take her home after the service. Religion has never been a barrier in my family and it should not be a cause for division in our national life.

“It is an individual responsibility. Whatever we do here on earth, we will give account in the hereafter. If your wife is pious and you are not, her piety will not take you to heaven, and vice versa. It is a matter of individual and personal responsibility. Everyone will be judged by his own works.”

The minister also assured the NCPC of the Ministry’s continued support, stressing that the government’s involvement in pilgrimage activities extends beyond conventional consular responsibilities.

“Be assured of our support at all times. We want to see you succeed. Our work has gone beyond mere consular duties; it is a diplomatic exercise,” he said.

Earlier, Bishop Adegbite thanked the minister for the warm reception and spoke about his own family’s interfaith background.

The NCPC Executive Secretary disclosed that his maternal grandmother was a Muslim and that he still bears a Muslim name, describing the experience as another example of how religious harmony has long existed among Nigerians.

“Like you mentioned, religion should not be an issue in Nigeria. Many people, especially from the South-West, understand this. My Muslim name is Abdulmaroof, and whenever I visit home in Oyo in my cassock, that is what they call me. Every Ileya, I must provide rams for them,” he said.

Adegbite said the mandate of the NCPC goes beyond organising and facilitating successful Christian pilgrimages, noting that the Commission also has a responsibility to contribute to national unity.

He added that President Tinubu had consistently demonstrated commitment to peace, unity and religious harmony in the country.

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The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has challenged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), and other senior government officials to travel by road without armed security escorts if the administration’s claim of improved security reflects the reality across Nigeria.

The opposition party made the challenge on Saturday in Abuja while reacting to recent comments by Musa that the government had “defeated terrorists” and that kidnapping had increasingly become a social problem rather than a broader security threat.

The APM, through its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, accused the Federal Government of downplaying the country’s security challenges and being disconnected from the experiences of Nigerians facing killings, abductions, displacement and ransom demands.

“If the security situation has truly improved as the administration claims, the APM challenges the President, the Minister of Defence and other senior officials of the Tinubu Presidency to travel by road without armed security details as other Nigerians must do,” the party said.

Musa had, during a television interview earlier in the week, said the government had made significant progress in its campaign against terrorism, arguing that attacks by Boko Haram, ISWAP and other terrorist groups were no longer as frequent.

“Frankly speaking, we have defeated terrorists because now, like I said, the attacks are not as rampant and it is now kidnapping,” the minister said.

He also described kidnapping as a separate form of criminality, citing instances in which family members allegedly abducted one another.

“Like I said, kidnapping is a social ill where you now see wives kidnapping husbands and husbands kidnapping children,” Musa said.

The minister maintained that the security situation had improved, saying the government’s strategy had forced criminal groups down the security spectrum from terrorism and insurgency towards abductions and kidnapping for ransom.

“I can tell you there is improved security. Maybe if you noticed, you don’t hear so much of Boko Haram attacks, ISWAP attacks and all these things here and there, maybe one-off,” he said.

According to Musa, the government’s military and security operations had disrupted the activities of terrorist groups.

“Now, I say, the trajectory is this: from criminality to kidnapping to terrorism, insurgency; once you are able to hit them, it goes back downwards.

“So, we are now back into the stage of abductions and kidnappings because that is the easiest way for them to try and raise money,” he added.

The APM, however, rejected the minister’s assessment, describing it as a “dangerous distortion of reality.”

Yusuf cited the Global Terrorism Index 2026, which he said ranked Nigeria fourth among the world’s most terrorism-affected countries, compared with sixth position in the previous edition.

He argued that the ranking, coupled with continuing reports of abductions and attacks, contradicted the government’s claim of significant improvement in national security.

“It is deeply disappointing that a minister of the Federal Republic could appear on national television to make such claims at a time when millions of innocent Nigerians are being killed, kidnapped, displaced and terrorised in various parts of the country,” Yusuf said.

The APM spokesman also accused the government of being insensitive to families affected by killings, rape, maiming, ransom-driven abductions and prolonged captivity.

He cited the reported abduction of hundreds of residents from communities in Niger State as an example of the continuing security challenges confronting Nigerians.

“Only last week, 600 Nigerians, mostly women, children and the elderly, were abducted from Dekera, Gidan-Zana and Sabon Gida villages in Niger State and are still languishing in captivity,” Yusuf said.

The party also referenced figures attributed to SBM Intelligence, claiming t