News
DSS Reportedly Arrests Hadejia, Former Aide To Tinubu’s Minister, Matawalle For Treason, Gun-Running
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Bashir Hadejia, an ex aide to Nigeria’s Minister of State, Defence, Bello Matawalle, has been reportedly arrested on charges including treason, subversive activities, gun-running, and transnational crimes.
It was gathered that the arrest was carried out in a joint operation by the Nigeria Police Force and by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Hadejia was former aide to Matawalle when he served as Governor of Zamfara State.
It was learnt that Hadejia who specialises in money laundering and other transnational crimes was over the weekend arrested for treason, subversive activities against the Nigerian government, trans-border gun-running, heist, and other crimes.
The former Director of Strategy and Communications to former President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Jackson Ude, made this known on his X handle on Wednesday, while disclosing that the arrest was prompted by intelligence reports indicating Hadeja’s involvement in smuggling large quantities of weapons and gold bars, reportedly stolen from the Central Bank of Libya orchestrated by Matawalle.
According to the report, Hadejia is alleged to have used dangerous goods as a cover for aiding terrorism and other criminal activities in Nigeria’s northern states.
According to Ude, in August 2020, then Governor, Bello Matawalle, accompanied by his aide, Bashir Hadejia, went to Aso Rock and presented then President Muhammadu Buhari with Gold Bars mined from Zamfara State as part of the Presidential Artisanal Gold Mining Development Initiative (PAGMI).
“In 2024, the security agencies arrested Hadejia on the orders of Matawalle and, then accused him for possessing bars of gold carrying Gaddafi’s statue worth one tone believed to have been stolen from the Libyan Central Bank.
He said Matawalle’s antics were a clear case of how politicians in government used security agencies to arrest and charge citizens of crimes they never committed.
“Matawalle is accusing Hadejia who was once his close ally of leaking information about him to me. It is not a case of treason, terrorism or stolen Gold Bars. This is just a war of two former friends with one who is in government, using his position to intimidate the other.”
Further investigation uncovered incriminating documents, including tracking files of high-profile individuals and an international passport from the Republic of Vanuatu, which expires on September 14, 2030.
However, a video surfaced showing Hadejia with gold bars and a statue of Gaddafi, believed to be stolen from the Libyan Central Bank.
Hadejia is reportedly cooperating with authorities, revealing the names of his sponsors and associates, including a former director of the Department of State Services (DSS).
In a video posted on Thursday by Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in the Lake Chad region, Bashir Hadejia can be seen in a video call with someone identified as “Ade Vanuatu,” evaluating a consignment before its delivery
It would be recalled that Bello Turji, the notorious bandit kingpin in Zamfara, recently made serious allegations against Matawalle and others, claiming that the issue of insecurity plaguing the country had the full backing of the Minister—an allegation which Matawalle has denied through the media.
Turji stated that the failed Amnesty programme, supervised by the Minister, had led to the escalation of crises in the North West.
He also alleged that some of the bandit leaders involved in the peace truce moved to Sokoto metropolis after handing their arms over to their subordinates, who were then involved in kidnapping for ransom.
According to Turji, these subordinates were making returns to their leaders residing in Sokoto town. He named some of these leaders as Bashari Maniya, Kabiru, and Buhari.
“Dan Maigari is the younger brother of Bashari Maniya; he has 150 guns. His hideout is in the Maradun riverine area, and he is responsible for attacks in the Maradun axis,” said Turji.
Efforts by SaharaReporters to reach the DSS spokesman, Peter Afunanya, and the Nigerian Police Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, for confirmation through calls and text messages were unsuccessful.
.. declare enough is enough
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has given herdsmen in Enugu State a 48-hour ultimatum to leave the area declaring that enough is enough.
The coalition, in a statement issued on Wednesday by its President-General, Goodluck Ibem, expressed concerns over alleged killings and rapes by suspected Fulani herdsmen in Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo LGA of the state.
Ibem described the activities of the alleged herdsmen as wicked, nefarious, and satanic, saying the coalition “condemns it in its entirety.”
According to him, the so-called Fulani herdsmen are not herdsmen but terrorists who are on a land-grabbing mission,” stressing that there is no correlation between the rearing of cattle and “the killing of innocent human beings in their own town.”
“For these terrorists to be raping our women and inserting sticks into their private parts after raping them is the worst wickedness against humanity, and it must not go unpunished.
“The good people of Enugu have complained enough about these killings and rapes, and it is time for the governor, Chief Peter Mbah, who is the Chief Security Officer of the State, and the Chief of Defence Staff to arrest these perpetrators and prosecute them accordingly.
“We call on the youths of Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo LGA, and other communities in Enugu State and the South East states to wake up from their slumber and sack killer Fulani terrorists parading as herdsmen from their communities
By Gloria Ikibah
First Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament, Senator Jibrin Barau, has reiterated the bloc’s determination to achieve regional economic integration and a single currency, despite recent challenges, including the withdrawal of three Sahelian nations.
Addressing journalists at the 1st Extraordinary Session of ECOWAS for 2025 in Lagos, Barau emphasised that uniting the region economically remains a top priority.
He dismissed colonial-era borders as artificial divisions, insisting that West Africans have always been one people. He highlighted the region’s shared linguistic and cultural ties as a natural foundation for economic unification.
Barau pointed to existing infrastructure projects facilitating regional economic integration, such as cross-border highways, healthcare systems, and aviation connections.
Drawing parallels with Europe’s economic model, he expressed confidence that the single currency initiative would eventually become a reality.
Chidebe Ibeakuzie (aka Mighty), a youth leader in Obosi community, Idemili North Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State, has been shot dead.
Multiple sources said he was shot dead by security agents in a tussle over the ownership and control of a tricycle park near the military cantonment in Onitsha.
During the clash, two Obosi youths were reportedly abducted, others injured, while an unspecified number of Keke Operators and passersby sustained gunshot injuries.
The unrest stemmed from a heated dispute between the families of late Tochukwu Anyaoku, an Obosi native, and Edward Ibuzo, a former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly representing Onitsha North 1 Constituency.
The late Anyaoku had leased the tricycle park before his death last year, with his wife taking over its management after his demise.
However, Ibuzo allegedly laid claim to the land, sparking a bitter standoff.
Obosi youths accused Ibuzo of orchestrating the attack by engaging operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS), who they claim were responsible for the fatal shooting of Mighty.
In response, Ibuzo denied any involvement, stating via a WhatsApp call to journalists that he was in Germany at the time of the incident, while he also has a court judgement authorizing him to take over the park.
He alleged that DSS operatives had intervened after witnessing a suspected kidnapping, which led to an exchange of gunfire.
A prominent Obosi stakeholder, Omezie Chukwurah, also known as “Governor Obosi,” lamented the escalating violence, revealing that previous police interventions had led to another Obosi youth being shot in the head.
Immediate Avonex
He further alleged that the operatives who killed Mighty arrived in vehicles linked to Ibuzo.
The Sun
Angry South-East Youths Give Fulani Herdsmen 48 Hours To Vacate Enugu
ECOWAS Integration Unstoppable: Barau Reaffirms Commitment to Single Currency
Popular Youth Leader Shot Dead Over Tricycle Park Dispute By Security Operatives
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