Point One

Nigerian troops, in their battle against terrorists, recently bombed Jilli market in Gubio council area of Borno State that shares a border with Geidam council area of Yobe State. The mission was conducted by the air component of the Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai. Scores of persons were killed and many others injured, with controversy trailing the mission amid allegations of civilian casualties. The airstrike on Saturday, 11th April, targeted Islamist militants that had turned the market into a notorious hub for their enterprise. Nigeria has battled an insurgency started by Boko Haram militants in the Northeast some 17 years ago, with casualties recorded among gallant troops and community populaces assaulted by the terrorists. Boko Haram splintered in 2016, and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) emerged  as a successor platform. Armed terrorists have plied attacks across the country and morphed into new groups – Lakurawa being the most recent. The military explained...

Eight weeks into hostilities by the United States and Israel against Iran, the endgame is up in the air and the effects yet crushing on the global economy. Nigerians aren’t being spared. A two-week ceasefire struck on 8th April between Washington and Tehran expires this Wednesday, as the gladiators prospect for enduring truce terms. Israeli attacks on Iran’s proxy militant group, Hezbollah, in southern Lebanon had threatened the ceasefire, but that has been defused with a 10-day truce between Israel and Lebanon that took effect last Thursday. Pakistan led efforts in bringing the combatants to the negotiation table, and its officials were as at late last week running the rounds between American and Iranian authorities and consulting with other Gulf states that have a stake in the war, so to get the foes talking again. U.S. President Donald Trump voiced optimism that the war would end soon, and that a fresh round of talks would yield “amazing” results. That was cold comfort, though, beca...