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Abducted Kaduna, Sokoto pupils release excites Tinubu

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Abducted Kaduna, Sokoto pupils release excites Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu, on Sunday, welcomed the news of the release of the Kuriga schoolchildren in Kaduna State.

He also welcomed the release of pupils of a Tsangaya school in Sokoto State, commending all the parties involved in the feat for their valiant effort.

Tinubu’s message is contained in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, titled, ‘President Tinubu welcomes release of Kuriga school children, said schools must be safe and secure for learning.’

The Nigerian military on Sunday said it rescued students of LEA Primary School and Government Secondary School Kuriga in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

On March 6, at least 287 pupils were kidnapped when terrorists on motorcycles stormed their school, whisking them away in an operation that drew condemnation and outrage from the Presidency and the global community, including the UN children’s welfare agency UNICEF.

However, a statement issued Sunday by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, said 137 pupils were rescued, contrary to reports of 287.

According to Buba, the pupils rescued through a joint effort of the military and local authorities in Zamfara State in the early hours of Sunday.

They comprised 76 females and 61 males, aged between eight and 15.

The military said the pupils would be handed over to the Kaduna State Government.

Reacting to the development, Tinubu emphasised the importance of collaboration between the Federal Government and states for expected outcomes, especially on matters of security.

“The President commends the National Security Adviser, the security agencies, and the Kaduna State Government for the dispatch and diligence with which they handled this situation, noting that incipient urgency, meticulous attention, and tireless dedication are critical to optimal outcomes in cases of mass abductions,” read the statement.

The President assured Nigerians that his administration is deploying detailed strategies to ensure that “our schools remain safe sanctuaries of learning, not lairs for wanton abductions.”

Despite the announced kick-off of the Federal Government’s Safe Schools Initiative in August 2023, gunmen have continued to terrorise schools in Nigeria’s north.

At the time, the National Coordinator of the Safe Schools Initiative under the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Halima Iliya, said the N144.8bn programme expected to begin in 18 states, covering at least 48 schools in each state.

Iliya said states would budget for the Safe Schools Initiative from 2024 to support the Federal Government, which said it had earmarked N15bn to finance the Initiative in 2023.

Senegal elects new president Sunday

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Senegal elects new president Sunday

Senegal began voting Sunday for a new president in an unpredictable race following three years of turmoil and political crisis.

Around 7.3 million voters are registered in the West African nation where two favourites have emerged – the governing coalition’s former prime minister Amadou Ba and anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye.

They were both once tax inspectors but now appear to have little in common. Ba, 62, offers continuity while the 43-year-old Faye promises profound change and left-wing pan-Africanism.

Both say they will claim a first-round victory — but a second round looks probable with 15 other candidates in the field, including a sole woman, at a date yet to be decided.

Former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, 68, is considered to have an outside chance.

“It’s a symbolic and historic day for me because it wasn’t easy to hold these elections, it was gained through a great fight,” voter Mohamed Bop, 42, told AFP in Dakar.

“So, I’m very relieved and proud,” he added.

The eventual winner will be tasked with steering traditionally stable Senegal out of its recent troubles and managing revenues from oil and gas reserves that are short to start production.

Voting will end at 1800 GMT and provisional results could be known overnight. The first official results are expected during the coming week.

Senegal has traditionally been considered a beacon of democracy and stability in the coup-hit region, where Russia is strengthening its influence.

– Raucous campaign –

Hundreds of observers will be out representing civil societies, the African Union, the ECOWAS regional group and the European Union.

A raucous campaign, lasting just two weeks after being shortened, followed a dramatic last-minute delay to the election date, originally scheduled for February 25.

President Macky Sall’s intervention to delay the presidential vote sparked unrest that left four people dead.

Sall, who won praise abroad last year by renouncing a possible third-term bid, said he called off the vote over fears it would not go smoothly.

After weeks of political crisis, the country’s top constitutional body stepped in and forced him to reset the date to March 24, despite clashing with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Sall’s hand-picked would-be successor Ba has positioned himself as a last bastion against “bandits” and urged people to vote “for experience and competence instead of entrusting the reins of the country to adventurers”.

“We don’t need officials who need two years of apprenticeship,” Ba said at his final campaign rally on Friday.

“We need to consolidate what we have. We need to go even faster and further,” he said, with a vow to create one million jobs in five years.

But he must also face the darker side of Sall’s legacy which includes mass arrests, persistent poverty and 20 percent unemployment, and thousands of migrants setting off on the perilous voyage to Europe each year.

– Radical reform –

The recent unrest in Senegal was the latest chapter in episodes of violence since 2021, triggered partly by the stand-off between the firebrand opposition figurehead Ousmane Sonko and the state.

Economic and social tensions, as well as concerns that Sall would run for a third term, also fuelled the unrest that left dozens killed and hundreds arrested.

The election has also been fired up by a rapidly passed amnesty law that led to the March 14 release from prison of opposition leaders Faye and the charismatic Sonko.

Although Faye is Sonko’s deputy, he is only on the ballot because Sonko has been barred from standing and in voters’ eyes, they are a package deal.

Both have attacked Ba as “the greatest danger facing Senegal today”.

They have also questioned where his wealth came from, branding him a “billionaire civil servant” who “will be the president of foreign countries”.

Faye on Friday pledged to bring “radical reform” to Senegal, including renegotiations of mining, oil and gas and defence contracts, while at the same time offering assurances to foreign investors.

“Henceforth we will be a sovereign state, independent, which will work with everyone, but in win-win partnerships”, he said.

The pair are hoping to harness Sonko’s charisma and popular appeal in a country where half of the population is under 20.

Sonko has drawn a passionate following with Senegal’s youth through his rhetoric on sovereignty, as well as attacks on elites, multinationals and colonial ruler France.

Experts have warned of the potential for tensions to flare on Sunday and after — particularly if Ba wins in the first round, or Faye fails to reach the second.

AFP

Three feared killed in Delta auto crash

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Three feared killed in Delta auto crash

No fewer than three persons were feared killed, and many others were injured when a truck rammed into pedestrians along the Asaba, Delta State end of the River Niger bridge on Saturday.

It was gathered that the truck had brake failure and while the driver was struggling to control it, the vehicle skidded off the track and rammed into the walkway, hitting some passengers and other bystanders.

Eyewitnesses said the accident, which occurred late on Saturday, left a woman and her children dead instantly, while others sustained varying degrees of injuries.

One of the eyewitnesses, who narrated the incident to our correspondent on Sunday, said, “It was a horrific accident yesterday evening (Saturday) at the Onitsha head bridge. A truck travelling towards the Asaba end of the bridge experienced brake failure and rammed into the walkway.

“The truck crushed bystanders and individuals waiting to board Asaba-bound vehicles. Among the victims were a mother and her children, as well as several other pedestrians.

“About three persons died instantly, while several persons sustained injuries ranging from minor to critical.

“Security officers who swiftly responded to the incident worked to restore order and assisted with emergency operations.”

When contacted on Sunday, the acting Sector Public Education Officer, Federal Road Safety Corps, Margaret Onabe, could not confirm the incident as she requested to contact FRSC officials at the head bridge before getting back.

She has yet to revert as of the time of filing this report.

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Plateau committed to developing SMEs

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Plateau committed to developing SMEs

The Plateau State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ephraim Usman, says Governor Caleb Mutfwang-led administration is poised to develop small-scale businesses through massive support.

Usman said this while delivering a keynote speech at an entrepreneurship and stakeholders meeting in Jos, the state capital, on Saturday

He said already, the state government had invested commitment covering appropriate profiling of businesses and community-based organisations with the view of developing a pool of reliable data from government intervention and other positive uses;

He also pointed out that the state government had committed investment in minimising business risks with firefighting equipment and expansion of markets and parking lots, introduction of smart tax system to reduce multiple taxes and make the process flexible and convenient for payment.

The commissioner said, “In Plateau State, the relevance of small and medium enterprises for the growth and development of our people especially from the community and/or rural areas is of utmost concern to the governor.

“It is thus the priority of the government to address poverty, unemployment and social vices amongst the population through constructive re-engineering of the state’s economy.

“Infrastructure that supports small and medium businesses are being fixed, conflicts that hitherto threatened businesses including agro-sector enterprises are being addressed, while major re-organisations in the transportation and entrepreneurship sectors are becoming part of key indicators in the policy direction of the government in addressing socio-economic challenges of the people in the state.

“The government is aware that there are under-represented and marginalised entrepreneurs across the 17 local governments. These are vulnerable groups such as women, minorities and individuals from low-income backgrounds who are involved in one small business to the other.

“But one of the questions that this engagement and discussions must address is: how can we establish alliances with community organisations and non-profits to support the under-represented and marginalised entrepreneurs on the Plateau?”

The commissioner added that “as a government, we are poised via the seven-point agenda of H.E., the governor to address the challenges associated with the business environment and focus towards improving ease of doing businesses on the Plateau.”

He also called on small business owners to form alliances and cooperatives to enable them to easily access government intervention.

Prioritise TB treatment, foundation urges govt

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Prioritise TB treatment, foundation urges govt

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has urged leaders at all levels of government to prioritise the prevention and treatment efforts of Tuberculosis.

The foundation said this in a statement on Sunday signed by its Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Steve Aborishade to commemorate the 2024 World TB Day themed ‘Yes! We Can End TB.’

World Tuberculosis Day is marked on March 24 every year to create awareness about the impact of the disease.

According to the World Health Organisation, TB is a disease caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that often affects the lungs. TB is spread through the air when people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit. A person needs to inhale only a few germs to become infected.

WHO said a total of 1.3 million people died from TB in 2022 (including 167,000 people with HIV). Worldwide, TB is the second leading infectious killer after COVID-19 (above HIV and AIDS).

The global health body stated that an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with TB worldwide in 2022, including 5.8 million men, 3.5 million women and 1.3 million children.

It said multidrug-resistant TB remains a public health crisis and a health security threat, as only about two in five people with drug resistant TB accessed treatment in 2022.

The AHF Nigeria Country Programme Director, Dr Echey Ijezie, was quoted as saying, “It is important for stakeholders to create greater awareness about TB and ensure that people get tested for TB and HIV. TB is treatable while the treatment is quite accessible and free across Nigeria.

“It is in this regard that AHF Nigeria is happy to contribute to the existing efforts of the Nigerian TB programme through awareness creation and driving greater community involvement and participation through the strategic engagement of community-based organisations and their civil society counterparts.”

AHF Nigeria noted that it is partnering with other stakeholders, particularly the TB programmes in its states of operation – Abuja-FCT, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Cross River, Kogi and Nasarawa states to honour the millions of lives lost to TB while urging leaders at all levels of government to prioritise TB prevention and treatment efforts.

“Through dedicated radio awareness effort, AHF Nigeria with officials from the office of TB focal persons in these states shall be educating the public on TB prevention and creating awareness about the availability of free TB treatment, across Nigeria.

“Through this effort, all the TB Directly observed Therapy centres across AHF Nigeria states of operations shall be popularised so that people can be aware of where to seek help for TB treatment and be knowledgeable about identifying cases and referring them to care and treatment,” it added.

Holy week: Obi seeks divine intervention for Nigeria

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Holy week: Obi seeks divine intervention for Nigeria

The 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has urged Nigerians to use the final stretch of the Lenten season to seek divine intervention for the country.

His message was contained in a series of posts on his X account on Sunday.

He wrote, “As the global Christian Lenten season enters the final lap known as the Holy Week today, I like to wish them, especially Nigerian Christians, a very edifying week.

“The week-long activities of the Holy Week, mark the deep remembrance of the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ which is the core of the Christian faith. Since February 14, 2024, when the Lenten season started, Christians have continued to fast, pray and show brotherly love to one another through almsgiving to the poor.

  • The 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has urged Nigerians to use the final stretch of the Lenten season to seek divine intervention for the country.

“The activities of the Holy Week, thus, present us the opportunity to soberly reflect on the many challenges facing us individually, and those facing us collectively as a nation, an opportunity to ask for God’s divine intervention.

“Even as we make our human efforts, as a people, to move our nation forward, we must leverage the solemnity of this season to pray for divine intervention in our nation.

“The hearts of many are heavy with pain, grieving the loss of their dear ones due to the high level of insecurity in the nation. Families are hungry, not knowing where their next meal will come from because they can no longer afford the basic necessity of food.

“Many of our fellow Nigerians have died in their struggle to find food to eat. The unity and love in diversity, for which our dear nation was known, have been sacrificed on the altar of tribal and religious division.

“Let us, therefore, present our nation to God for healing and restoration, in this Holy Week, so that as we labour, as humans, for New Nigeria, it will become even more possible. I wish us all a fruitful and impactful Holy Week commemoration.”

Obey court ruling, stop pension to ex-govs, deputies, SERAP urges Tinubu

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Obey court ruling, stop pension to ex-govs, deputies, SERAP urges Tinubu

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged President Bola Tinubu to stop the payment of pensions to former governors and their deputies.

The organisation recalled that in 2017, it filed a suit seeking the repeal of pensions for former governors and their deputies across all states of the Federation.

In 2019, Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo of a Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos State, ordered the Federal Government to recover pensions collected by former governors serving as ministers and members of the National Assembly.

The ruling, SERAP said, was “blatantly” turned down by former President Muhammadu Bahari-led administration.

However, the organisation stated in a letter dated March 23 and signed by the deputy director,, Kolawole Oluwadare; a copy of which was made available to According Online on Sunday, March 24, that Tinubu should follow the footsteps of Abia State Governor, Alex Otti.

On March 21, Otti signed the Abia State of Nigeria Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Repeal Law of 2024, which prohibited former governors and deputies in the state from receiving pension payments.

On his  Friday visit to the governor’s country home in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area of the state, former President Olusegun Obasanjo described the pension payments as outrageous and a daylight robbery.

In its statement, SERAP urged Tinubu “to emulate the good example of Governor Alex Otti of Abia State by immediately obeying the judgment ordering the Federal Government to recover pensions collected by former governors, and to challenge the legality of states’ pension laws permitting those involved to collect such outrageous pensions.”

The organisation said, “We urge you to emulate the good example of Governor Otti by urgently obeying the judgment, something which former President Muhammadu Buhari blatantly failed to do.

“The judgment, dated 26 November, 2019 was delivered by Honourable Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo following a suit by SERAP.

“Unless the judgment is immediately obeyed, former governors and their deputies including those now serving as ministers in your administration and members of the National Assembly who receive pensions would continue to evade justice for their actions.”

SERAP noted that “immediately obeying the judgment would show the sovereignty of the rule of law in Nigeria and go a long way in protecting the integrity of the country’s legal system.

“Obeying the judgment would also show you as a defender of the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended), the rule of law, and public interest within government.

“Nigeria’s democracy needs courts so that public officials and private actors including former governors and their deputies collecting life pensions, exotic cars and other allowances from their states can be held accountable for any infraction of Nigerian laws.”

“Mr. Buhari turned a blind eye to the judgment. State governors have failed to provide names of former governors and their deputies who have collected and continue to collect pensions from their states and the amount so far spent on these ex-officials.”

The organisation noted that the court judgment had “pointed the way for your government to provide the leadership to ensure the reform of pension laws allowing former governors and their deputies to collect lifetime salaries and allowances. It is now time for your government to restore the rule of law systemically.

“Like pension laws of several states, the repealed Abia state pension law stipulated that former Abia governors and deputies are entitled to 100 per cent of the annual basic salaries of the incumbent governor and deputy; their cooks, stewards, drivers, and gardeners are to be paid by the state; and are entitled to three police officers and two operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).”

SERAP recalled Justice Oguntoyinbo saying, ‘I remember with pride my landmark judgment in SERAP vs. The Attorney-General. Regrettably, that order is yet to be obeyed. I find it very disappointing that Court orders are often not obeyed. If there’s anything I wish to change, it is the impunity towards judicial decisions and the disrespect for the bench.”

“Immediately obeying the judgment would demonstrate your oft-repeated commitment to the rule of law, and respect for the judiciary as the guardian of justice in this country. A democratic state based on the rule of law cannot exist or function, if the government routinely ignores and/or fails to abide by court orders,” it urged Tinubu.

SERAP said it was concerned that “while many Nigerian workers and pensioners have not been paid by state governors for several months and struggle to make ends meet, former governors continue to collect double emoluments and enjoy opulent lifestyles.”

The statement added, “According to our information, those who are reportedly receiving double emoluments and large severance benefits from their states include: Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (Kano); Kabiru Gaya (Kano); Theodore Orji (Abia).

“Others are Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa); Sam Egwu (Ebonyi); Shaaba Lafiagi (Kwara); Joshua Dariye (Plateau), and Jonah Jang (Plateau).”

“At least 22 states starting from Lagos State have reportedly passed life pensions laws for former governors and other ex-public officials. Other states include Akwa Ibom; Edo; Delta; Ekiti; Kano; Gombe; Yobe; Borno; Bauchi; Abia; Imo; Bayelsa; Oyo; Osun; Kwara; Ondo; Ebonyi; Rivers; Niger; Kogi; and Katsina,” it added.

Naira at N400 to dollar unrealistic – Moghalu

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Naira at N400 to dollar unrealistic - Moghalu

A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, has faulted the position of those expecting naira to stabilise at N400 to the dollar, describing it is unrealistic.

He made this known in a series of post on his X account on Sunday.

He wrote, “Those who want the Naira to be N400 to the $ are living in a dream world. Even discounting for the negative impact of speculative attacks on the value of the Naira, the exchange rate will (and should) reflect its market value in reality, not the artificiality that the Emefiele era central bank sought to maintain to please economic illiterates in political power at the time.

“That artificiality created room for massive arbitrage by speculators which bled the economy. Nigeria does not (yet) have a productive export economy. That’s the heart of the matter.

“And we do not have $100 billion in foreign reserves. So on what basis would the Naira forex rate return to some fantasy land soon? It will also take time to regain or achieve full investor confidence such as we had when we were there (and the rate was N150-165 to the $).

“The sooner we focus on a painstaking creation of value-added manufacturing export economy that earns forex beyond oil in real and significant terms, the better.

“Key to this is the electricity conundrum in which we are at less than 4,000MW of generation for a population of 200 million for decades now. Take power to even 20K megawatts (let’s not talk of 50K for South Africa’s 60 million population or Brazil’s 181K megawatts for a population only slightly larger than Nigeria) and you will see what the Nigerian entrepreneurial spirit is capable of.”

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Psychiatrist tests for traffic offenders reduced road crashes – TRACE

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Psychiatrist tests for traffic offenders reduced road crashes - TRACE

The Commander and Chief Executive Officer of Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps, ‘Seni Ogunyemi, said that subjecting traffic offenders, particularly, route violators to psychiatric tests has helped to reduce accident in the state.

Ogunyemi said asking erring drivers, particularly those who drive on ‘one-way’ to visit psychiatric hospitals is a corrective measure adopted to deter such drivers from repeating the same offence.

The TRACE boss, according to a statement on Sunday, stated this when the executive members of Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria, Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta Chapter, visited him at his Ibara, Abeokuta office.

Ogunyemi explained that these corrective measures, including payment of fines and other strategies being adopted have been quite effective and helped to drastically cut down incidents of accidents in the state.

He revealed that other initiatives include introduction of road Traffic Mayors and Marshals, TRACE Clubs in various schools, to catch them young and capacity-building training for the officers among others, to enhance their professionalism.

Ogunyemi called on the medical personnel to interface and support the agency on its road safety programmes, to enlighten residents in the state.

He said, “The rate at which people were dying on our roads before now was alarming, to the extent that they call us a ‘mortuary state’, but it is now ‘life-saving state’, as a result of government’s intervention and corrective measures being put in place by TRACE.

“This includes asking road traffic offenders to pay fines and go for psychiatric tests, if need be, to curb their excesses. This is not punishment but ways to correct them and deter them from repeating the same offence”.

Responding, Chairman of the association, Dr. Sola Adebisi, commended TRACE officers for their good conduct and efforts on the roads, promising that the association would build on the existing relationship with the agency.

Meanwhile, the state chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Mrs. Seun Boye, has pleaded for the support of TRACE for the successful hosting of 2024 Nigeria Public Relations Week coming up in April.

137 abducted Kaduna schoolchildren rescued in Zamfara -DHQ

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137 abducted Kaduna schoolchildren rescued in Zamfara -DHQ

The Defence Headquarters, on Sunday, said troops rescued the abducted pupils and teachers of LEA School Kuriga in the Chikun Local Government Area in Kaduna within Zamfara State.

On March 7, 2024, about 287 pupils and teachers of the school were abducted by suspected terrorists who took them into the forest.

Their abductors subsequently requested a ransom of N1bn for their release, setting a deadline of March 27, 2024, for the payment.

But the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj Gen. Edward Buba, in a statement, stated that the victims were rescued in the early hours of Sunday by the troops with support from local authorities and government agencies.

Buba put the number of the rescued victims at 137, comprising 76 female and 61 male, adding that they would be conveyed to Kaduna where they would be handed over to the state government.

The statement read, “It would be recalled that, on March 7, 2024, troops received information that terrorists had invaded LEA School Kuriga in Chikun LG of Kaduna State During the incident, unconfirmed number of pupils were abducted. Following the incident, the military committed to leaving no stone unturned until all the hostages were rescued.

“Accordingly, in the early hours of March 24, 2024, the military, working with local authorities and government agencies across the country, in a coordinated search and rescue operation, rescued the hostages.

“The hostages are the same persons that were abducted from the school at Kuriga in Chikun LGA of Kaduna State.

“The rescued hostages totalling 137 comprise of 76 females and 61 males were rescued in Zamfara State and would be conveyed and handed over to the Kaduna State Government for further action.”

The rescue of the Kaduna pupils is coming a day after troops rescued 16 pupils (Almajiris) with a woman taken hostage in Gada LGA of Sokoto State.

The troops have handed over the rescued victims to the Sokoto State Government.

According to Buba, the recent success of the troops was a testament to their resolve to rescue kidnapped victims across the country.

Buba noted that similar efforts have been put in place to track down those behind the killing of soldiers in Delta State.

He added, “These efforts demonstrate the armed forces’ resolve to find other innocent hostages and track down the terrorists that perpetrated these crimes.

“These efforts would continue until other hostages are found and the terrorists arrested, tried, and brought to justice by Nigerian law.

”Troops are employing similar efforts to track down the culprits responsible for the killings of 18 soldiers in Okuama Community in Delta State.”

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