Daily Digest Online

The Nigerian Presidency has categorically dismissed a warning from a foreign group predicting mass terror attacks in northern states on Christmas Day, labeling the report as a potential attempt to incite panic and internal crisis within the country. The alert was issued by a U.S.-based organization called "Equipping The Persecuted," which claimed terrorists were regrouping to launch attacks in Plateau, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Benue states on December 25. In a strong rebuke, President Bola Tinubu's Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, questioned the motives behind the alarm. "We should be very careful how we digest and process some of these doubtful reports by external organisations who are setting a stage for internal crisis in our country," Ajayi told Saturday Punch. "We should not be providing oxygen for reports that heighten a sense of insecurity." Questioning Motives and Timing Ajayi exp...

AWKA, Anambra State — The Anambra State Police Command has announced a significant breakthrough in a high-profile murder investigation with the arrest of a wanted gang leader who has confessed to involvement in the abduction and killing of a state legislator last year. In a coordinated offensive on Sunday, December 8, 2025, operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) apprehended 26-year-old Ugochukwu Uzor in the Iyowa Odekpe area of Ogbaru Local Government. Police described Uzor as the leader of multiple violent gangs operating across Anambra and neighboring states. According to Police Public Relations Officer SP Ikenga Tochukwu, the arrest followed "a fierce confrontation" before Uzor was subdued. During the operation, officers recovered a locally made Beretta pistol and eleven rounds of live ammunition. A Hardened Criminal and a High-Profile Confession Uzor, whose body bears distinctive tattoos reading "No Forgiveness" and ...

ABUJA, Nigeria / BOBO-DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso — Burkina Faso has released the 11 Nigerian military personnel who were detained after their Air Force C-130 transport plane made an unauthorized landing in the West African nation on Monday, concluding a brief but intense standoff that laid bare deep regional fractures. The personnel were cleared to return to Nigeria on Tuesday after Burkinabè authorities completed questioning. Their release came just over 24 hours after the dramatic incident, which saw the Nigerian aircraft forced to land at the airport in Bobo-Dioulasso, a city in southwestern Burkina Faso. Conflicting Accounts of a "Technical" Landing vs. a "Violation" The official explanations for the landing starkly diverged, reflecting the heightened political tensions between Nigeria and a breakaway bloc of military-ruled Sahel nations. *   Nigerian Account: The Nigerian Air Force maintained the aircraft was on a "ferry mission"...

YOLA, Adamawa State — The Headquarters of the Nigerian Army's 23 Brigade has issued a formal, detailed response to reports that its soldiers killed women protesters on Monday, categorically denying the allegations and providing an alternative narrative of a complex communal clash involving local militias. In a press statement released on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, the military command described earlier media reports as "baseless," "unfounded," and "an attempt to smear the image of the Brigade." The statement presents a timeline of events that directly contradicts claims that soldiers escorting the Brigade Commander opened fire on a women's protest. The Army's Account: A Timeline of Violence and Militia Action According to Captain Olusegun Abidoye, the Acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for the Brigade, the incident stemmed from a long-simmering "communal clash" between the Bachama a...

BOBO DIOULASSO, Burkina Faso — In a dramatic military standoff that has sent shockwaves across West Africa, the Confederation of the Sahel States (AES) forced a Nigerian Air Force aircraft carrying 11 soldiers to land in Burkina Faso on Monday, condemning the flight as an "unfriendly act" and a violation of its airspace. The incident, which saw the powerful Alliance of Sahel States—comprising the military juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger—place its air defenses on "maximum alert" with orders to "neutralize any aircraft" violating its airspace, marks a dangerous new low in regional relations. It comes against a backdrop of deep political fractures and a shared, spiraling security crisis that neither side has been able to contain. The Incident and Its Aftermath According to an official communique from the AES, a Nigerian Air Force C-130 transport plane was "forced to land" on December 8, 2025, at the airport in Bobo-D...

ABUJA, Nigeria — A high-level United States Congressional delegation concluded meetings in Abuja this weekend, marking a significant step in a deepening security partnership aimed at tackling Nigeria's escalating insurgency and banditry. The talks, which centered on counter-terrorism cooperation and regional stability, come amid reports of expanded technical and intelligence support from the U.S. and its allies. The delegation, including Representatives Mario Díaz-Balart, Norma Torres, Scott Franklin, Juan Ciscomani, and Riley Moore, met with Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, at the NSA's office. U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, also attended the session, underscoring the strategic importance Washington places on the relationship. Following the meeting, NSA Ribadu stated that discussions focused on "counter-terrorism cooperation, regional stability, and efforts to strengthen the Nigeria–U.S. strategic security partnership."...

ABUJA, Nigeria — Two of Nigeria's former top military commanders have issued forceful denials of recent allegations linking them to terrorism financing, dismissing the claims as baseless and threatening legal action against the media outlet and individual responsible. Retired Lieutenant Generals Tukur Buratai and Faruk Yahaya, both former Chiefs of Army Staff, jointly rejected the accusations published by Sahara Reporters, which cited claims from retired Major General Danjuma Ali-Keffi. In a statement released on Saturday by his representative, retired Brigadier General Sani Usman, General Buratai labeled the report "fabricated, unfounded, and mischievous." He insisted that no security agency, intelligence service, or judicial panel had ever investigated or implicated him in terrorism financing throughout his career, which included a tenure as Nigeria's Ambassador to Benin Republic. "The insinuation that Buratai was connected, directly or...