Television Nigerian

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The Chadian army said Thursday it had wound up an offensive against Boko Haram jihadists in the Lake Chad border region in which 52 troops and 1,000 jihadists were killed.

Army spokesman Colonel Azem Bermendoa Agouna told AFP that the operation, launched after nearly 100 soldiers were killed last month, ended Wednesday after the Nigerian jihadists were forced out of the country.

“A thousand terrorists have been killed, 50 motorised canoes have been destroyed,” he said, referring to a large boat also called a pirogue.

It is the first official snapshot of the outcome of Operation Bohoma Anger, launched after Chad’s armed forces suffered their biggest one-day loss in their history.

Lake Chad is a vast, marshy body of water dotted with islets where the borders of Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon meet.

The western shores of the lake have been hit by jihadists crossing from northeastern Nigeria, where Boko Haram launched a bloody campaign of violence in 2009.

On March 23, jihadists mounted a deadly seven-hour assault on a Chadian army base at Bohoma, killing at least 98 troops, according to an official toll.

Keen to defend the reputation of his forces — among the best in the Sahel region — President Idriss Deby Itno headed to the front line, from where he said on national television Saturday that there was no longer “a single jihadist anywhere in the island area” — referring to the Chadian part of Lake Chad.

Chad had declared departments near the lake “a war zone” in order to give the military free rein for the offensive.

The Chadian troops chased the Boko Haram fighters “deep into Niger and Nigeria, until their armies took over the fight,” Agouna said.

Two Nigerian security sources confirmed that the Boko Haram fighters were forced to retreat.

“On Wednesday, the troops entered the Nigerian island of Duguri… (where) Nigerian troops have not set foot for three years,” one of the sources said, requesting anonymity.

– Four-nation joint army –

The four countries bordering the lake on 2015 set up a formation called the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), also including Benin, to fight Boko Haram.

But Chad has shown frustration with the MNJTF following the Bohoma losses.

“Chad is alone in shouldering all the burden of the war against Boko Haram,” Idriss complained last weekend.

“I met the commander of the MNJTF and asked him to take over.”

Boko Haram’s 11-year-old campaign has claimed tens of thousands of lives in northeast Nigeria and driven nearly two million people from their homes.

Separately, in Niger, the defence ministry in Niamey said its armed forces, in a joint operation with Chad, had inflicted “heavy losses” on Boko Haram in the lake region.

“Arms caches, logistical points and several boats were destroyed” and islands used as rear bases in the lake’s marshland were “bombarded from the air,” it said.

Landlocked and poor, Niger is facing jihadist attacks in opposite ends of the country — an insurgency that has spilled over from neighbouring Mali, and raids in the Lake Chad region by Boko Haram fighters.

In Burkina Faso, meanwhile, five soldiers were killed and three were wounded on Thursday when their unit came under attack from jihadists in Solle, in the northern province of Loroum, an army official said.

Around 4,000 people lost their lives last year in jihadist- or community-related violence in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, according to UN figures.

Moved by the need to support the spirited efforts of all in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic in the country, one of the most popularly churches in the world, Deeper Christian Life Ministry, has donated the sum of N50million to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Our correspondent gathered that the donation was made recently by the church, as a way of lending support to the Private Sector Coalition Against Covid-19 (CA Covid-19).

In a statement signed by the General Superintendent of the church, Pastor Williams Kumuyi, the revered clergyman, however, noted that the donation was aimed at ameliorating the sufferings occasioned by the scourge.

“The deeper Christian Life Ministry is delighted at and challenged by the massive efforts of the Federal Government and her agencies in curtailing the spread of Covid-19 and bringing relief to sufferers.

“The introduction of the private sector coalition against Covid-19 (CA Covid-19) to harness resources in combatting this global health crisis is also highly commendable.

“We wish to identify with this noble initiative and consequently have made a donation of N50,000,000 (fifty million naira) into your Central Bank account, in support of your campaign.

“We have a firm belief in God that He will answer our prayers and bring an end to the pandemic, sooner than expected. May God bless all your efforts,” Kumuyi said.

Recall that, only recently, the church donated relief materials in food items worth several millions of naira to the Ogun and Lagos State governments, in support of the food bank initiative by the state, in the face of the lockdown.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) will in a few days make available a total of 600-bed spaces for isolation and treatment of Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients.

The FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello, made this known while addressing a news conference organised by the FCT Abuja Ministerial Expert Advisory Committee on COVID-19, under the Chairmanship of Dr. Aliyu Modibbo, on Thursday in Abuja.

Bello assured the public of the preparedness of the FCT Administration to provide adequate facilities for the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic in the nation’s capital.

He also disclosed that the FCT Administration had received financial donations amounting to about N1billon from various organisations including the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Bank of Industry, Danata Construction Company, Gilmore Construction Company among others.

He also said the Zenith Bank has promised to set up Isolation Centre in Abuja, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) was connecting the Idu Isolation Centre to the National Grid and the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) has provided facilities at the Centre.

” While MTN and Mikano both donated 350 KV generators installed at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital as well the Karu General Hospital facilities.”

Earlier, the Acting Secretary, FCT Health Secretariat, Dr. Mohammed Kawu, disclosed the administration was paying N50,000 daily hazard allowance to all Medical Doctors providing various services in the fight against COVID-19 in Abuja.

Kawu, however, said that Nurses and Laboratory technicians involved in the process are paid N30,000 daily while Drivers and Cleaners are paid N20, 000 daily.

On her part, the Director, FCT Public Health, Josephine Okechukwu announced that the health authority would begin pilot testing for COVID-19 on Friday.

The FCT Minister of State, Dr. Ramatu Aliyu disclosed that no fewer than 600,000 households across six Are Councils in the FCT would be given palliative in the territory.

She explained that at least 100,000 poorest of the poor in each of the area council would benefits from the palliatives.

Aliyu said that adequate security arrangements for the safety of the personnel that would coordinate the distribution of the palliatives had been made with the FCT Police Command.

She said that during the distribution of the palliatives across the six area councils, there would be total shutdown of movement in the areas.

Aliyu noted that the security would not molest anybody but insisted that nobody would be allow to go out during the period.

” The Commissioner of Police, FCT Command and the Director of DSS are making adequate arrangement to deployed their personnel to ensure safety of the staff that are going to handle the distribution.”

The Lagos State Police command on Thursday, March 9th arrested two police officers for extortion in Ikorodu area of Lagos.

The officers identified as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Adebayo Ojo and Sergeant Adeleke Mojisola were arrested after a video went viral on social media in which a Lady alleged that her vehicles were impounded by the Divisional Traffic Officer (DTO) Agbowa Division and a female sergeant.

She equally accused the officers of extorting money from her.

It was learned that after the Command analysed the video, the officers mentioned were identified as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Adebayo Ojo and Sergeant Adeleke Mojisola and were immediately arrested.

Confirming the arrest DSP Bala Elkana Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State said that the Commissioner of Police Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu has ordered an in-depth investigation into the case. While appreciating the courage of the complainant and other well-meaning citizens who forwarded the video to our social media page.

The Command urged the complainant to take a further step by reporting at the Command Headquarters Ikeja to enable the Command to conclude the investigation. The Commissioner of Police has reaffirmed his stance against corrupt practices and impunity. Members of the public will be updated on the outcome of the investigation.

The United States Mission in Nigeria has evacuated 997 Americans home to be reunited with their families and friends following the outbreak of coronavirus in the country.

The US Consul General in Nigeria, Claire Pierangelo, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, said from April 6 to April 8, the US Consulate-organised chartered flights operated by Delta Air Lines and Ethiopian Airlines and repatriated 850 Americans from the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, to the US.

According to her, the figure included the 147 US citizens who departed Abuja on April 4.

Pierangelo said: “These repatriation flights were made possible by the tremendous efforts of the US Consulate team and great cooperation from its Nigerian partners.

“This includes the Ministry of Aviation, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, the Nigeria Immigration Service, and the Lagos State Government.

“The State Department’s effort to bring Americans home during the COVID-19 pandemic has required a remarkable diplomatic and logistical effort.

“As of April 8, 2020, the Department of State had coordinated the repatriation of 50,339 Americans from 94 countries since January 29, 2020.

“In times of emergency, the United States’ Department of State has no greater priority than the safety and security of US citizens overseas. This has been three weeks in the making.

“We have more than 50 people working on this on a daily basis to make sure that we can find the Americans, get the planes, secure flight clearances for the planes to land here and also ensure the safe passage of the Americans traveling to the airport since the city is on lockdown.

“It was an enormous effort and I am incredibly proud of my team. We appreciate all the help from our Nigerian partners. We couldn’t have done this without them.”

She noted that the US Mission would remain committed to working closely with the Government of Nigeria and the various health authorities to keep everyone healthy and safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jigawa State governor, Muhammed Badaru Abubakar has ordered for the immediate release of 74 Inmates serving in various jail terms across prison yards in the state.

Speaking to journalists shortly after pardoning the inmates, Governor Badaru said, the decision was part of the state government measures toward tackling the spread of coronavirus in the state.

He said the government embarked on prison decongestion by pardoning inmate with minor cases to ensure more safety in the prisons across the state.

The governor explained that social distance is one of the precaution measures against the spread of COVID-19, while the high congestion in prisons seems to be tantamount to facilitate the spread of the Virus.

Governor Badaru added that the government is all out to take any necessary measures that can mitigate any possibility of contracting the disease into the state.

According to him, more inmate with minor cases will be pardon across the state in this critical moment in which coronavirus is ravaging the world.

His words: – “It is in the record in some countries many inmates with minor cases died as a result of contracting coronavirus inside the prisons, so we must avoid this unfortunate incident to occur in our nation”.

ABUJA: President Muhammadu Buhari has granted pardon and clemency to 2, 600 inmates of the Custodial Centres of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS) as part of measures to control the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

Interior minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola disclosed this Thursday in Abuja.

While 70 of the inmates would be released in Abuja, the rest are expected to be released by the state governors after convening a meeting of their individual committee on Prerogative of Mercy.

In a similar development, the president granted a presidential pardon to a former Governor of old Bendel State, late Prof. Ambrose Alli and foremost nationalist, late Chief Anthony Enahoro.

The president also granted pardon to three other Nigerians, two of whom are ex-military officers according to Aregbesola.

“I am pleased to inform you that five ex-convicts recommended for presidential pardon (by Buhari) have been so pardoned. They are late Prof Ambrose Ali, Late Chief Anthony Enahoro, ex Lt. Col. Moses Effiong, Major E.J. Olanrewaju and Ajayi Olusola Babalola. Prof Ali was the governor of the old Bendel State in the Second Republic (1978-1983) and a great progressive while Chief Enahoro was a foremost nationalist who moved the motion for Nigeria’s independence.

“I must thank and commend President Buhari for demonstrating great statesmanship by pardoning these people who were part of the great Nigerian history”, he said.