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120 vultures poisoned by poachers in South Africa – Official

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By Francesca Hangeior

At least 120 endangered vultures died after eating an elephant carcass poisoned by suspected poachers in South Africa in one of the single largest such spikes in the region, wildlife officials said Thursday.

Another 84 vultures were evacuated by road and helicopter for treatment and monitoring after the poisoning in the Kruger National Park early this week, the park and Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) said in a statement.

“The scale of the tragedy is staggering: 123 vultures were found dead at the scene,” the statement said.

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The dead birds of prey included white-backed vultures, Cape vultures and a lappet-faced vulture, which are all listed as endangered or critically endangered species.

Poachers had laced the elephant carcass with highly toxic agrochemical pesticides in a method increasingly being used to target species such as vultures and lions, whose body parts are in demand for traditional medicine, the statement said.

It was the biggest single such poisoning since 2019, when more than 500 endangered vultures died in Botswana after eating elephants whose carcasses were poisoned by poachers, EWT birds of prey programme manager Gareth Tate told AFP.

Poachers who use poison either lace a dead animal with a toxin or snare one to use as bait, he said.

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“We have seen a massive spike in poaching for lion parts, for which sometimes vultures are the unintended victims,” Tate said.

In some cases, birds of prey are “maliciously targeted” by poachers because they are natural sentinels and can give away the location of the poaching of other animals, he said.

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Speaker Abbas Urges Unity, Compassion as Muslims Mark Eid-el-Kabir

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By Gloria Ikibah

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has extended Eid-el-Kabir greetings to Muslims across Nigeria, encouraging them to strengthen their devotion to Allah and remain hopeful about the nation’s future.

In a message released on Monday through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Musa Krishi, the Speaker emphasised the importance of compassion and generosity during the festive period, particularly towards the poor and vulnerable members of society.

Abbas noted that caring for the less privileged remains a central teaching of Islam and urged citizens to use the occasion to deepen the spirit of support, sacrifice and communal harmony.

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The Speaker also reflected on the spiritual significance of Eid-el-Kabir, describing it as a symbol of complete obedience to the will of Allah, as demonstrated by Prophet Ibrahim.
He further called on Nigerians to offer prayers for peace, unity and progress in the country as Muslims celebrate the festival across the nation.

He said: There are several lessons to learn from the life of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), including faith in Allah (SWT) and submission and obedience to constituted authorities, this period calls for a deep reflection”.

Speaker Abbas urged Nigerians to remain selfless and sacrifice their lives, time, and resources to the worship of Allah (SWT) and humanity.
“As the country approaches the general elections next year, the Speaker called for special prayers for peaceful polls. He equally urged Nigerians to pray for the country, the government at all levels, unity, prosperity, and political stability”, he added.

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African PR Scholar Ibietan Backs ‘The Insecurity Triad’ Framework

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By Gloria Ikibah

The Insecurity Triad, an analytical model created by scholar and journalist Dr Max Amuchie, has received strong backing from respected African public relations academic Dr Omoniyi Ibietan, further cementing the framework’s growing relevance within scholarly debate.

Dr Amuchie, who leads Sundiata Post and writes the syndicated “Sunday Stew column”, recently explored the concept in the latest edition of the weekly publication carried by Premium Times. In a subsequent review, Dr Ibietan described the framework as a significant contribution to contemporary African political and security discourse.

Ibietan, who serves as Secretary-General of the African Public Relations Association and lectures on the Rome Business School DBA Programme, situated ‘The Insecurity Triad’ alongside the works of leading thinkers in African political economy and post-colonial studies, signalling its emerging place within serious academic engagement.

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“The first part of this took me back to Achille Mbembe, one of Africa’s leading representations of activistic scholarship,” Dr. Ibietan stated.

“Amuchie offered me a refreshing, lovely insight of the works of Mazrui, Ake, Bayart, (William) Reno — especially his treatise on the ‘Relocation of Authority’ — and of course Mbembe. It was a meta-analytical enterprise. So compelling was it that it shaped my theoretical framing for a new paper I just submitted on Crisis Communication in the Agatu Crisis. Needless to say, this is also beautiful.”

Ibietan, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, made his views known in a message sent to Ololade Bamidele, editorial page editor of Premium Times in response to the May 24 edition of Amuchie’s The Sunday Stew Column titled ‘The Insecurity Triad: Azikiwe, Awolowo, and Chinweizu — Nigeria’s Elite Class of Framework Builders’.

“Thank you Ololade Bamidele. Please tell Dr. Amuchie to keep it coming. The first part of this took me back to Mbembe (one of Africa’s leading representation of activistic scholarship). Amuchie offered me a refreshing, lovely insight of the works of Mazrui, Ake, Bayart, Reno (not Omokri, please but William Reno, especially his treatise on the ‘Relocation of Authority’) and of course Mbembe. It was a meta-analytical enterprise. So, compelling was it that it shaped my theoretical framing for a new paper I  just submitted on Crisis Communication in the Agatu Crisis. Needless to say this is also beautiful,” Ibietan wrote in the message to Bamidele.

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A Paradigm Shift in African Security Analysis
Amuchie’s The Insecurity Triad framework moves away from recycled, surface-level security paradigms, offering a structured, indigenous lens to examine African conflicts through three converging pillars: Money, Land, and Mind. By mapping the interplay between illicit capital flows (Money), territorial sovereignty disputes (Land), and weaponised radicalisation or identity manipulation (Mind), the framework makes highly chaotic ecosystems of violence legible to researchers and policy-makers alike in Nigeria and the Sahel region.

The Insecurity Triad is now disseminated across six global academic repositories — the US-based Social Science Research Network (SSRN); Harvard Dataverse, owned by Harvard University; Zenodo, operated by the European Council for Nuclear Science; SocArXiv, managed by the Open Science Framework, based the University of Maryland in the United States; ResearchGate, the global networking platform for scholars based in Germany and Academia.edu. On April 26 The Insecurity Triad formally received the endorsement of the Rotary Action Group for Peace, Nigeria chapter after Amuchie’s keynote speech as guest of honour at the Group’s bi-weekly fellowship.

Amuchie has also developed a companion model, the Trinity of State Decay, which theorises the structural condition produced when the Insecurity Triad operates unchecked — a decoupling of authority into the Institutional Mirage and rival Shadow Orders.

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Police nab six over Killing of Ebonyi monarch, recover AK-47

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Operatives of the Ebonyi State Police Command have nabbed six suspects over the alleged killing of the traditional ruler of Ishinkwo Community, HRH Eze Josephat Nnanna Ikegwu.

The arrests followed an intelligence-led investigation into the murder of the monarch, which occurred at his residence on April 2, 2026.

The development was disclosed in a press statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ebonyi State Command, SP Joshua Ukandu, dated May 26, 2026, and made available to journalists in Abakaliki.

According to the statement, the suspects arrested are Ucha Johnson, Ogobuchi Igwe, Nkpuma Nwankwo, Edwin Onwoshi, Itumo Joseph, and Emmanuel Nwaoba.

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Police said that during the operation, officers recovered one AK-47 rifle loaded with eight rounds of live ammunition.

Speaking on the arrests, the Commissioner of Police, Ebonyi State Command, CP Hope Urunwa Okafor, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to ensuring justice in the case.

“No individual involved in criminality will be allowed to evade justice,” Okafor said.

She further assured residents of the state that the command would sustain efforts to combat violent crimes and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice.

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It was gathered that the suspects are expected to be arraigned on Tuesday at the Magistrate Court in Abakaliki.

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