By Francesca Hangeior

Nigerian troops have killed eight notorious terrorist fighters and rescued 16 kidnapped hostages in sweeping operations against terrorists and insurgents in different parts of the country.

The Nigerian Army, in a post on its official X-Handle on Monday, said the troops recovered a haul of firearms during the operations.

The post said that troops had on Sept. 22, thwarted an attempt by terrorists to raid some villages in Borno for supplies and logistics and eliminated three assailants.

According to the army, troops recovered one light machine gun, one AK-47 rifle, two hand grenades, five AK-47 rifle magazines, 200 linked Rounds of light Machine Gun and other materials, including money and phones.

The army also revealed that in another clash, while acting on credible information, troops cornered terrorists escorting abducted victims through Uvaha village in Gwoza Local Government Area.

“Despite heavy rainfall, the troops went after the terrorists and eliminated one of them, forcing the others to flee, leaving behind 16 hostages.

“Among the freed victims were 10 men and 6 women. A follow-up search of the area uncovered two grenades, a bag of fish and sundry items.

“Meanwhile, in Yobe, troops set up a well-planned ambush while acting on intelligence about a group of terrorists receiving supplies from their collaborators.

“This led to the neutralization of 4 terrorists in Madza and Azare villages of Gujba Local Government Area.

“The soldiers captured two AK-47 rifles and two empty Ak-47 rifle magazines, as well as other sundry items,” it said.

The post revealed that troops deployed in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in synergy with other security agencies activated a stop-and-search operation on suspected vehicles and apprehended suspects at Kugbo, Abuja.

According to the post, a search conducted on the suspect led to the recovery of 178 rounds of 7.62 mm (Special) ammunition concealed in a bag of flour.

“Also recovered from the suspect is a mobile phone and the sum of ₦29,000.

“All these efforts underscore the Nigerian Army’s unflinching dedication to wiping out terrorism, insurgency, and sundry crimes.

“The public is encouraged to keep sharing tips and useful information with security forces for prompt action,” he said.

***Says, he has been vindicated

The deputy governor of Edo state, Philip Shuaibu, has reacted to the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in last Saturday’s governorship.

Speaking on Arise Television, Shuaibu said he has been vindicated with the outcome of the polls which saw the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo, become the governor-elect of Edo state.

“I feel vindicated and I thank God for it. I am water, I don’t have an enemy, unfortunately, those who decided that they are enemies, I have always prayed for them to live long and see how God’s miracle continues to work in my life,” he said.

Describing himself as a team player, the deputy governor who has had a long-running battle with the incumbent governor of Edo, Godwin Obaseki, said he likes to deliver on his responsibilities at all times.

The deputy governor said, “I am a team player, I am somebody who likes to do my work the way it should be and if I make a mistake, it is a human mistake not out of envy or wickedness.

“Yesterday, I was so excited and happy that I was counted among the numbers that have helped APC take power in Edo state, I have also cancelled that blackmail and negative impression flying, that Philip Shuaibu does not win his ward.

“I have never lost my ward, I have never lost my unit.”
Also claiming to have garnered the highest vote from his unit, Shuaibu chided Obaseki for failing to clinch his local government area.

He said, “Even the governor couldn’t win his local government. I won my unit, ward and local government.

“Where are the governor’s results? He has never won; we always assisted him. I insist, unfortunately he got the power and he decided to start kicking us and removing the ladder.

“Hope he learns his lessons.
What is left now is for him to go back and start begging and apologising to the people of Edo and he has a lot of them that he needs to apologise to,” the deputy governor stated.

***Says, he weep for Nigeria’s democracy

By Francesca Hangeior

The Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, has raised serious concerns over the conduct of Saturday’s Edo election, describing it as a blatant attack on Nigeria’s democracy.

Fintiri condemned the alleged irregularities, “including vote buying, voter intimidation, and the manipulation of election results,” which he claimed “undermined the integrity of the electoral process” in a post on his X platform on Sunday.

The governor also accused the ruling All Progressives Congress of violating democratic norms, citing incidents where APC officials, including the party’s national chairman, flew into Edo on election day despite movement restrictions.

On September 22, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared the All Progressives Congress candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, victorious in the recently concluded Edo State governorship election.

Okpebholo triumphed over his main challengers, Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party.

The Returning Officer, Prof. Faruk Kuta, announced Okpebholo as the winner at the collation centre in Benin City, the state capital, on Sunday.

The APC candidate secured 291,667 votes, defeating Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes. Akpata of the LP finished a distant third with 22,763 votes.

Reacting to the outcome of the election, Finitiri further criticised the INEC for reportedly favouring the APC, warning that the country’s democracy was at risk if such practices continued unchecked.

The statement read, “I weep for Nigeria’s democracy after witnessing the shameful Edo Gubernatorial poll. The @OfficialAPCNg’s desperate attempts to discredit me by falsely claiming I announced results won’t distract from the real issue. I merely shared results from INEC’s Irev portal, as collated by INEC from the various Local Government Areas.

“What’s truly shameful is APC’s national chairman flying into Edo with a private jet on election day, defying movement restrictions, while their Governors used armoured escorts to intimidate voters. This blatant disregard for democratic norms is the real brigandage. Nigerians are outraged, slamming @inecnigeria for compromising and favouring APC.

“The reported vote-buying, disruption of collation processes, and suspicious results with more votes than accredited voters undermine trust in our democracy.

Democracy indeed is under attack. We must condemn this rape of democracy and demand accountability. The world is watching, and Nigeria deserves better.”