Invasion: EU announces $520m to buy weapons for Ukraine

The EU plans to provide another 500 million euro ($520m) for weapons and other military equipment for the Ukrainian armed forces.

The EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Josep Borrell, made the announcement Friday during a meeting of top diplomats from the G7 group of industrialized nations in northern Germany, bringing the EU’s total financial assistance to Ukraine to 2 billion euro.

Following the resolution, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss has called for more weaponry to be delivered to Ukraine.

“It’s very important at this time that we keep up the pressure on (Russian President) Vladimir Putin by supplying more weapons to Ukraine, by increasing the sanctions,’’ Truss said on the sidelines of the talks on the Baltic Sea coast. “G7 unity has been vital during this crisis to protect freedom and democracy and we’ll continue to work together to do just that,’’ she said. Ukraine has received financial and military assistance from the West since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, although no country has to date committed troops to the conflict.…

North Korean Leader charges military to reinforce to check foe

North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un has charged the Asian country’s military to “bolster up their strength in every way to annihilate the enemy’’.

Kim made the remarks during photo sessions with troops, state media broadcasters and others, involved in a massive military parade staged Monday, which marked the 90th anniversary of the country army.

Photos released by state media showed Kim perched on a white horse and wearing a white, military-style tunic with gold trim as he reviewed the troops.

Monday’s parade had featured several of the North’s latest missiles, including its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17 and a recently tested hypersonic missile. “The display demonstrated the modernity, heroism and radical development of the armed forces of the Republic and their matchless military and technological superiority,’’ Kim told troops at the photo session, state news agency KCNA reported.

North Korea says it opposes war and that its weapons are for self-defense, but at Monday’s parade, Kim said the mission of its nuclear force goes beyond deterring war to also include defending the nation’s “fundamental interests”.

Last month, North Korea resumed testing its largest ICBMs and there are signs it could soon test a nuclear weapon for the first time since 2017.

“Current satellite imagery indicates that preparations are well underway and should not be discounted as insignificant activity,’’ the U.S.-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report on Thursday.

Analysts and South Korean as well as the U.S. officials have alleged that the North appears to be restoring Tunnel No. 3 at its Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site, used for underground nuclear blasts before it was closed in 2018 amid denuclearization talks with Washington and Seoul.

Kim has since declared the country is no longer bound by that self-imposed moratorium on tests, but North Korea has not commented on the work or confirmed its purpose.

Commercial satellite imagery from Monday shows construction of new buildings, movement of lumber and an increase in equipment and supplies immediately outside the new entrance to Tunnel No. 3, …

Ukraine launches operations to flush Russian Military out of Kiev

The Ukrainian military said it has launched operations to flush the Russian military out of the outskirts of the capital, Kiev.

The head of the regional military administration of Kiev, Oleksandr Pavlyuk confirmed that there was “resistance from the enemy.”

“Russians were moving around their units,” Pavlyuk added.

He said he could not divulge any details as operations are ongoing. He called the situation in Kiev region difficult but “controllable,” adding that it was difficult to make any prognoses.

Pavlyuk said the road to the western city of Zhytomyr and the towns of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel north-west of the capital, near the Kiev city limits, are most at risk, as is Makariv to the west.

Shelling reported at north of the capital, he added.…

Russia rebels accuse Ukrainian Forces of offensive shellings

Pro-Russia rebels in Ukraine have accused government forces of shelling a village on Friday while Russian media reported more infantry and tank units were returning to their bases in contrast to Western fears of an imminent Russian invasion.

For a second consecutive day, pro-Russian separatists who have been at war with Ukraine for years said they had come under mortar and artillery fire from Ukrainian forces, according to the Interfax news agency.

Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels in the country’s east traded fresh accusations of shelling and other ceasefire violations on Friday, escalating tensions amid fears of a Russian invasion. Kyiv and the rebels blamed each other for the escalation after artillery and mortar attacks Thursday, prompting fears that Russia, which has massed over 100,000 troops near Ukrane’s borders, could get involved. The Kremlin said on Thursday it was “deeply concerned” with the flare-up in Ukraine and was watching the situation closely.

The United States said Russia was looking for a pretext for war.

Kyiv and the pro-Russian separatists have been facing off for eight years, and a ceasefire between them is routinely violated, but the intensity of fighting increased notably this week.

U.S. President Joe Biden Thursday said Russia is preparing a pretext to justify a possible attack on Ukraine, whose ambition to one day join the NATO military alliance has angered Moscow.

In Europe’s biggest security crisis in decades, Russia has massed troops, tanks, and heavy weapons on Ukraine’s borders and demanded assurances that Kyiv never joins NATO, something the Ukrainian government has refused to do.

Even so, Russia says it has no intention to invade Ukraine and accuses the West of hysteria over its military build-up, saying some of its troops have returned to bases.

Interfax news agency cited Russia’s defense ministry as saying on Friday that several Russian mechanized infantry units had returned to their bases in the regions of Dagestan and Chechnya after completing drills in Crimea.

Interfax also cited the ministry as saying that a train loaded with tanks had departed to an …

Nigerian Navy places Cute Abiola on one-month ‘extra duty’ for ridiculing police

The popular Instagram comedian, who was arrested on November 15, 2021, has been released from detention to serve his ‘light corrective punishment’ in the cantonment till December 15, 2021.

Naval spokesperson, Commodore Suleman Dahun confirmed the development to Punch, saying the 25-yr-old comedian was given a light punishment of a ‘one-month extra duty’ after a military trial.

Cute Abiola has been placed on one-month extra duty after he was tried. He will be in charge of cleanship; supervising painting, electricians, carpentry, cutting of grasses, and others. He will be supervising civilians, Dahun said.

“He is no longer under detention. He has been released to move around to serve his punishment.

“Because he was detained on November 15, that one month will start counting from then, which means he is going to be engaged till December 15. By then, he will be off the extra duty.”

Explaining the meaning of ‘extra duty’, a military source, who spoke to Punch said the comedian will serve as a “Minister of Works in the Barracks” for the period of the punishment.

The source added Cute Abiola should have known better that he was not supposed to wear police uniform in his skits let alone ridicule the law enforcement agency.

DJ Switch reacts to Lagos panel report indicting the Nigerian Army

Nigerian disc jockey, DJ Switch has reacted to the report presented by the Lagos judicial panel of inquiry into the Lekki tollgate shooting of October 20, 2020.

DJ Switch claimed that at least 15 persons died in the Lekki Tollgate gun attack on peaceful protesters on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

In a tweet shared via her Twitter page on Monday, November 15, the activist slammed the government after it was indicted. “Shattered so many lives, tried to destroy mine. Only for what you desperately tried to hide to be made public… by you! The truth needs no defense! #EndSARS,” she tweeted.

DJ Switch was among the 100s of protesters that were shot at by security forces at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos.

It would be recalled that the celebrity disc jockey stream lived the shooting of innocent Nigerians by security operatives. During her interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, she revealed how the government has openly bullied and attacked some of the protesters since the protest by seizing their international passports or illegally detaining them.

Movie veteran Chiwetalu Agu reportedly rearrested by DSS

There are reports that Nigerian movie veteran, Chiwetalu Agu has been rearrested by men of the Department of State Service (DSS).

According to one of his colleagues in a post shared via his Facebook page on Friday, October 8, 2021, the actor is now in the custody of the DSS.

“Chiwetalu Agu is still not free. He is with DSS now. Colleagues say they are looking for a top lawyer to bail him,” he wrote.

It would be rehttps://www.facebook.com/Chiagozie.Fred.Nwonwu/posts/10223090818552825called that the movie star was released by the Nigeria Army on Friday afternoon.

The movie veteran was arrested on Thursday, October 7, in Onitsha by men of the Nigerian Army.

The actor was spotted wearing an outfit with the Biafran flag inscribed on it.

The army later released a statement where it revealed that the actor was arrested for inciting members of the public and soliciting for support for the Proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Nigeria Army explains reason for Chiwetalu Agu’s arrest

The Nigerian Army has given the reason behind the arrest of movie veteran, Chiwetalu Agu. In a statement released on its official Facebook page on Thursday, October 7, 2021, the army said the actor was arrested for inciting members of the public and soliciting for support for the Proscribed Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

“Troops of Nigerian Army(NA) have arrested one Chiwetalu Agu while inciting members of the public and soliciting for support for the proscribed Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB),” part of the statement read.

TROOPS ARREST CHIWETALU AGU WHILE SOLICITING SUPPORT FOR PROSCRIBED IPOB
Troops of Nigerian Army(NA) have arrested one Chiwetalu Agu while inciting members of the public and soliciting for support for the proscribed Indegenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Dressed in a very well known attire of the proscribed group, Chiwetalu Agu was picked up for questioning while inciting members of the public to join the proscribed group. Though he attempted puting up some resistance when troops made effort to take him into custody, he was not assaulted or subjected to brutalization.
While the NA recognizes the inalienable rights of the citizenry to freedom of movement and expression as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is apparently a violation for any individual or group to incite the public to cause mayhem or break down of law and order. It is therefore pertinent to state that while exercising such freedoms, it must be done within the confines of the law, bearing in mind the imperative for peace, and national security.
For the avoidance of doubt and emphasis, the Indigenous People of Biafra(IPOB) remains proscribed . Therefore, any individual or group seen to be projecting and advancing the cause or activities of the group is viewed as brazenly challenging the constitutionality of Federal Republic of Nigeria. More worrisome, was the fact that considering the prevailing security situation of the region, coupled with the ongoing Exercise GOLDEN DAWN , his action could be a tacit endorsement and support for the proscribed group. We have

Scores of bandits killed as NAF jets strike Sokoto, Katsina forests

Military troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI have neutralized several bandits and destroyed their hideouts at Sokoto and Katsina forests in the North West, PRNigeria reports.

A military source told PRNigeria that the mission was achieved through air strikes executed on October 5, 2021.

This was after series of aerial surveillance missions had identified the locations of the bandits.

In Sokoto, airstrikes from the Nigerian Air Force shelled Mashema, Yanfako, Gebe and Gatawa Forests located in Isaa and Sabon Birni Local Government Areas of the State. The military source said: “We observed that structures and logistics items camouflaged under the dense vegetation were being used as staging areas where some bandits from Turji and Maigona Camps and their fighters meet to plan and launch attacks.

Accordingly, the Theatre dispatched a force package of Air Force fighter jets and helicopter gunships to engage the locations.

“According to local sources in the area, the attack aircraft scored devastating hits in the target areas, destroying some structures and neutralising several of the Bandits.

“The fleeing Bandits survivors were seen by some locals taking refuge in a primary school in Bafarawa Village.”

In Katsina State, PRNigeria gathered that bandits’ hideouts in Ranch 10 parts of Rugu forest bordering Kankara Local Government Area were bombarded by NAF fighter aircraft between September 30 and October 3, 2021.

The banditry camp of one Gajere (SNU) was destroyed and 34 bandits killed in the attack.

Also, about 20 suspected bandit sustained varying degree of injuries.

. PRNigeria.…

Former army sniper kills 4, including infant, in Florida shooting spree

A former sniper in the US military went on a shooting spree in central Florida, killing four people, including an infant boy in his mother’s arms, officials said Sunday.

The suspect, identified as 33-year-old Bryan Riley, shot and killed a 40-year-old man, a 33-year-old woman and her three-month-old son in a residential area in Polk County, Florida, said County Sheriff Grady Judd. The fourth victim was the child’s 62-year-old grandmother.

Riley, who was wearing full body armor, also wounded an 11-year-old girl before surrendering himself to the police following an intense gunfight, Judd said.

Riley, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, told the police he was a “survivalist” and that he had been taking methamphetamine.

The suspect also told the police, without elaborating, “You know why I did this,” according to a statement from Judd published on social media.

Riley was wounded in the gunfight and was rushed to a local hospital, where he again tried to attack police officers and had to be sedated.

After he received medical help, the suspect was transferred to a local jail.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the attack, Judd said. An investigation is underway.…

Africa needs more than US military aid to defeat terror, by Muhammadu Buhari

Though some believe the war on terror winds down with the US departure from Afghanistan, the threat it was supposed to address burns fiercely on my continent. Africa is the new frontline of global militancy. Yet few expect the outlay expended here to be as great as in Afghanistan. The fight against terrorism begun under the George W Bush administration was never truly global.

Despite rising attacks across Africa in the past decade, international assistance has not followed in step. Mozambique is merely the latest African state in danger from terrorism. The Sahel remains vulnerable to Boko Haram, 20 years after its formation, and other radical groups. Somalia is in its second decade fighting the equally extreme al-Shabaab. Many African nations are submerged under the weight of insurgency.

As Africans, we face our day of reckoning just as some sense the west is losing its will for the fight. It is true that some of our western allies are bruised by their Middle Eastern and Afghan experiences. Others face domestic pressures after the pandemic. Africa was not then, and even less now, their priority. But the threat cannot be ignored. Covid-19 has been like oxygen for terrorism, allowing it to gain in strength while the world was preoccupied. Sooner or later, the reverberations will be felt beyond Africa. If extremist groups are able to hold territory, it can inspire disillusioned people living in the west to commit heinous acts of terror in their own countries. The self-proclaimed caliphate of Daesh in Iraq and Syria fulfilled that propaganda function, boosting transcontinental recruitment.

We must not complacently assume that military means alone can defeat the terrorists. If Afghanistan has taught us a lesson, it is that although sheer force can blunt terror, its removal can cause the threat to return.

The US and its western allies cannot be expected to underpin the security of others everywhere and indefinitely. Africa has enough soldiers of our own. However, more can be done to help with technical assistance, advanced weaponry, intelligence and ordinance. The US …

Nigerian Army confirms killing of General by gunmen

The Nigerian Army has announced the death of its former Provost Marshal, Major General Hassan Ahmed, who was killed by gunmen on Thursday.

The confirmation was made by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu.

In a statement on Friday in Abuja, Nwachukwu said the incident occurred when the senior officer’s vehicle was attacked by gunmen while transiting along Lokoja-Abuja Road on Thursday.

He said: “With a heavy heart, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, Officers and Soldiers of the Nigerian Army regret to announce the passing on of Major General Hassan Ahmed, a former Provost Marshall of the Nigerian Army.

“A delegation from the Army Headquarters led by the Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Major General Anthony Omozoje, has visited the widow and other members of the bereaved family.

“Members of the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA) led by the Deputy National President, Mrs Stella Omozoje, have also visited the family to condole with them.

“The remains of the deceased senior officer will be accorded a befitting burial at the Lungi Barracks Cemetery on Friday, July 16 by 10am.”…

Buhari has mismanaged Nigeria’s diversity, says Col Abubakar Umar

Former military governor of Kaduna State, Colonel Abubakar Dangiwa Umar (ret), has accused President Muhammadu Buhari’s government of exhibiting poor skills in managing the diversity in the country.

In a statement, yesterday, entitled, ‘‘Nigeria: A nation challenged,’’ he said it was quite strange and disturbing that the Federal Government was according undue attention to the threats of separatist movements in contrast to the more daunting ones posed by bandits, kidnappers and insurgents in the Northwest, some parts of North Central and Northeast.

The former governor, who is also the leader of Movement for Unity and Progress (MUP), a civil rights group, said the arrest and prosecution of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, is not Nigeria’s problem, rather “the inability of government to put an end to insurgency, banditry and kidnapping, while injustice, lack of equity and fairness is giving rise to the agitation by separatist groups in the country.’’

The former Governor called on President Buhari to exhibit the traits of uniting all the component parts of Nigeria together, instead of dividing the country, and subsequently, leading it to disintegration.

Recall that the respected critic had in an open letter dated May 30, 2020, warned the President that his knack for appointing people from his section of the country will ruin Nigeria.

Umar is renowned for opposing the annulment of the June 12 election in 1993 by the government in which he served. He was military governor of Kaduna between 1985 and 1988 under the regime of Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

In his statement, Umar said: “The recent re-arrest of the IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, was greeted with a loud sigh of relief and celebration in some sections of the country. It also elicited congratulatory messages to the Federal Government, which appears overwhelmed by the intractable security challenges and in dire need of any redeeming act.

“Activities of those criminals have resulted in the evacuation of over 20 per cent of the villages in Northwest and Northeast. Hundreds are being murdered and maimed every …

Despite reunion of ISWAP-Boko Haram, NAF strikes strongholds of terrorists

Despite the alleged reunion of Boko Haram and ISWAP factions, coordinated multiple airstrikes by aircraft from the Nigerian Airforce have destroyed strongholds of terrorists commanders at the Lake Chad axis.

PR Nigeria gathered that the intelligence inspired operation was targeted at various terrorists’ camps in Sabon Tumbu, Jibularam and Kwalaram.

The latest development is coming after a report suggested that Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists have reunited in a 13-minute video showing the gunmen placing “their hands atop one another, while chanting words of solidarity, to demonstrate their reuniting and togetherness.”

An intelligence source involved in the operation said the aircraft also bombarded the spiritual base and training camps of the terrorists in the North-eastern part of Borno State and the fringes of Lake Chad.

The source said: “Intelligence revealed that their leaders, including Ali Chakkar and other top ISWAP commanders, were holding a meeting when the attacks were launched on their locations.

“The precision-guided airstrikes coordinated by the Air Task Force Command resulted in the killing of very large numbers of ISWAP Boko Haram Terrorists.”

The NAF Spokesperson, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet confirmed the attacks on the locations when contacted by PR Nigeria.

Gabkwet said: “We don’t differentiate between Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists as we successfully launched the devastating intelligence-led aerial attacks targeting the terrorists in those locations.”…

Eight gunmen, two policemen killed in Abia State

The Abia State Police Command has confirmed the killing of two police officers in the attack on state CID in Umuagu, Umuahia on Saturday by gunmen.

The Public Relations Officer of the command, SP Geoffrey Ogbonna, who made the confirmation, also said eight of the hoodlums were gunned down in the crossfire.

This was in addition to the commercial tricycle operator said to have been killed by a stray bullet during the gun duel police had with the criminals.

Briefing journalists in Umuahia, the PPRO expressed regret that two Inspectors lost their lives in the attack.

The police image maker said policemen on duty engaged the gunmen before reinforcement from the command headquarters, which added to the fierce engagement with men on ground that eventually saw eight of the hoodlums neutralised.

He added that some of the attackers escaped with gunshot wounds, while two vehicles were recovered.

The State CID, Ogbonna said, was razed following the detonation of an explosive through the back of the building.

While informing that suspects in detention were released and an exhibit car burnt, the PPRO, however, said no firearm was carted away.

Ogbonna urged medical facilities within and outside the state to report to security agencies anybody who comes for treatment with bullet wounds.…

Gunmen murder Imo Immigration Command’s Provost

Gunmen have killed the Provost of the Imo State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Okiemute Mrere.

The Provost was reportedly murdered on Saturday night along the Owerri-Port Harcourt Expressway.

Mrere’s corpse was, however, discovered in the bush on Sunday.

The source said Mrere was riding in a Hilux van belonging to NIS when he was allegedly ambushed and shot to Even after he was killed, his attackers were said to have bolted without making away with his service pistol as it was found on him when his corpse was discovered the next day.

But his official Hilux van was riddled with bullets, the source added.

The sources told The Sun: “The Provost of Nigerian Immigration service, Imo State Command, Okiemute Mrere, has been assassinated. “He was killed on Saturday night.

“He was riding in his official Hilux van when he was attacked; they shot him several times judging from the bullet holes on his official vehicle.

“His corpse was discovered the next day, which was on Sunday morning.

“Nothing was taken from him, not even his service pistol.

“The command is quiet.

“There is panic as officers are dumbfounded with this tragic development.”

The command’s Public Relations Officer, Winifred Ogu, who confirmed the incident to Daily Sun, said details of his death were still being investigated and as such she could not speculate.…

Buhari directs national flag to fly at half-mast, approves Monday work-free day for the military

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed that the national flag be flown at half-mast in all public buildings, facilities, and official residences across the country from Monday, May 24, 2021, to Wednesday, May 26, 2021.

The presidential directive is in honour of the late Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, as well as the other senior military officers and servicemen who died in a plane crash on Friday, May 21, 2021.

This disclosure is contained in a statement issued and signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, on Sunday, May 23, 2021.

Mustapha, in the statement, said that the President also approved Monday as a work-free day for members of the Nigerian Armed Forces.

President Buhari speaks with the wife of the late Chief of Army Staff

President Buhari described Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru, the late Chief of Army Staff, as an outstanding soldier and an institution builder, who fought valiantly for Nigeria until he breathed his last.

In a telephone conversation on Sunday evening with Mrs Fati Ibrahim Attahiru, wife of the late COAS, and the spouses of the other deceased officers through her, President Buhari hailed the sacrifices of the military men who lost their lives, and the Armed Forces in general, saying that Nigerians would continue to appreciate and support the fearlessness with which the country’s courageous soldiers were confronting the threats facing the nation.

He gave the grieving spouses assurances that the nation would never forget the supreme sacrifice of their spouses, urging them to take solace in the surge of extraordinary feelings of emotions across regions, religions, and tribes all over the country in appreciation of their sacrifices.…