AT least 6,886 terrorists and other suspected criminals were killed by the military during various operations across the country in 2023, the Defence Headquarters has said.

The military during the period in review also arrested 6,970 suspects while 4,488 kidnapped citizens were rescued across the country.

The Director of Defence Media Operations,  a Major General, Buba Edward, disclosed this in Abuja on Friday, December 29, while briefing journalists on the activities of the troops across the country in 2023.

He additionally mentioned that the troops’ efforts during the year resulted in retrieving 100 million litres of stolen crude oil and 60 million litres of diesel.

“During the period, troops neutralised 6,886 terrorists and other criminal elements. Troops arrested 6,970 suspects, rescued 4,488 kidnapped hostages as well as recovered 3,320 assorted weapons and 39,075 assorted ammunition.

“Additionally, troops recovered 100,316,600 litres of crude oil, 60,339,426 litres of AGO, 3,465,450 litres of DPK, and 3,544,990 litres of PMS. ‘” 

While providing an update on the 2023 threats, Buba identified banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, oil theft, secessionist movements, and conflicts between farmers and herders as prominent concerns.

He further highlighted how these threat dynamics were defined along geographic regions, with some extending beyond regional boundaries.

Buba added that the predominant threat in the North Central and North West regions is armed banditry/terrorism while the Boko Haram Terrorists/Islamic State West African Province lingering insurgency remains the main threat in the North East region.

“The major threat in the South-East and South-West was the secessionist agitations of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra and the Yoruba Nation respectively.

“The South-South region continued to experience oil theft, cultism, and youth restiveness. However, acts of criminalities such as kidnapping, armed robbery, communal clashes and cattle rustling were common across the  geopolitical zones,” he added.

Buba also conceded that the surge in the crime rate in 2023 could be attributed to the influx of small arms via porous borders and local arm fabrication within the country. 

“It is pertinent to point out that most security threats in the country were fueled by the proliferation of small arms exacerbated by the influx of illegal arms and ammunition through our porous borders and the preponderance of local arms fabrication factories in the country.

“Thus, the armed forces’ kinetic and non-kinetic efforts were geared towards tackling these threats in all the geo-political zones, ” Buba said

Insecurity attacks in 2023

Nigeria has experienced a wave of violent attacks in, particularly in Benue, Niger, Zamafara, Sokoto, Plateau, and some southeastern states where a faction of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has been enforcing sit-at-home orders.

Data collated by The ICIR showed that between January and October 2023, 7,046 people were killed in violent attacks across Nigeria. 

This implied that an average of 24 persons were killed daily within the month under review. 

The ICIR gathered the data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), a data bureau that collects real-time data on the locations, dates, actors, fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events worldwide. 

When broken down by geopolitical zone, states in the North-Central reported 1,589 deaths, the North-East reported 2,691 deaths, and the North-West region had 1,767 deaths.

According to the data, the states with the highest killings within the ten months are Zamfara (672 deaths), Niger (544 deaths), Benue (454 deaths) and Plateau (362 deaths).

The ICIR reports that Zamfara has remained one of the hotbeds for insecurity in Nigeria, following activities of terrorists who have terrorised the state for over a decade.

The ICIR reported at least 15 deaths resulting from terror attacks in Zamfara state between September and October, including 11 worshippers who were killed during Juma’at prayers at a community mosque in the Ruwan Jema community, Bukkuyum.

Terrorists in the state killed more than 100 people in January 2023 when a large number of men invaded at least nine villages and unleashed mayhem in violent attacks that lasted for about three days.

Similarly, in Benue State, The ICIR has done extensive reports on how communities were attacked, resulting in several persons being killed. Some of the communities have been deserted as a result of insecurity. 

In April, four communities of Entekpa ward – Umogidi, Upu, Olakpoga and Iwili— in Otukpo local government area were attacked by militias with sophisticated weapons, leading to the deaths of at least 46 persons.

The attacks on these communities on April 5 were just one of many that have occurred in recent times across the Idoma ‘nation’ and Benue State as a whole.

Also, on December 24, about 96 people were killed in the attack by gunmen on several villages in the Plateau state, with many people also injured during the attacks. By Mustapha USMAN, ICIR

The Cardinal of the Catholic Church in South Sudan, Stephen Ameyu, challenged the South Sudanese to be optimistic about holding a democratic election in 2024.  

Speaking during a Christmas Mass at St Theresa’s Cathedral in Juba, the cardinal said the 12 months ahead of the election could promise fortunes for the country if the leaders get things right.   

 “What could prevent us (South Sudanese) from having a democratic election at the end of 2024?” he posed.  

Ameyu said Pope Francis would not have travelled to South Sudan if church leaders had said that they could not get ready for his journey due to the short notice. And he used this as an allusion that the election could still be a success in those few months.

“But some of us courageously said let the Holy Father come, and together we managed to prepare for what we called a very successful visit, and the Holy Father was very happy about his visit to South Sudan,” he said. 

He added, “My dear brothers and sisters, it is possible for us to have a fair democratic election at the end of 2024.”

The cleric further stressed the importance of the role of the Church as people prepare for the general election of the next year.

Ameyu said the South Sudanese church is in favour of the relaunched peace deal and is pushing for the resolution of the agreement’s unresolved difficulties. By Sheila Ponnie, City Review

Meru political commentator Daniel Muthiani was brutally murdered over this festive season. While Meru residents have risen to demand justice, the investigation has national and international significance and must be treated as a matter of public interest.

According to reports by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and his family and friends, Daniel “Sniper” Muthiani was last seen heading for the residence of Governor Kawira Mwangaza after receiving a call from her associate Vincent Muriithi Kirimi. After days of frantically looking for him, his body was found dumped in a river. Daniel was strangled and beaten so hard, his murderers broke his ribs and severely bruised his head.

Initially arrested for abducting Mr Muthiani, Kirimi was released by the courts on a cash bail of Sh20,000. With the finding of the young father’s body, the charge of abduction switches to murder. This week, hundreds of Meru residents and leaders drove his casket through several Meru town streets singing protest songs. Kirimi either needs to be charged as a primary suspect or to become State witness, many are now publicly arguing. 

In a rare act of unity, government leaders, human rights and media associations have reaffirmed our constitutional right to free expression. In unison, they have targeted their attention on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate and prosecute Muthiani’s killers professionally and independently.

Muthiani’s murder is one in a new trend of intimidating critics to silence public scrutiny. Over the last two years, Francis Obegi and Augustus Mwathe have been murdered, Tonny Chumba and Dennis Itumbi were attacked, and Pauline Njoroge arrested for their political views. Under public pressure, Isiolo Governor Abdi Hassan Guyo recently retracted his Jamhuri Day speech widely heard as having threatened those voicing concerns with his government.  

A single letter separates two 500-year-old words "impunity" and "immunity". For criminals, the first word means going unpunished. For the rest of us, the second means protection from dangerous criminals. Once again, national public confidence and Kenya’s international reputation as a society with a free media rest on how this case is concluded.

According to Article 19’s Global Expression Report 2023, 80 per cent of the world’s population is experiencing the lowest levels of freedom of expression since 2000. Kenya ranks 61 in the world and 11 in Africa from the top. While Kenya may be the only country categorised as “Less Restricted” in the East African Community (Ethiopia and Rwanda are categorised as “Highly Restricted” or “Crisis” respectively), we are only two points away from being categorised alongside them.

Declining global standards are driven by wars, restrictive media policies and attacks on journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders, and minorities. Kenya may not be facing immediate war or conflict, but this report alerts us to the risks of national values being incrementally eroded by populist arguments framed in public safety, economic efficiency, and the unwieldiness of democracy. 

As we lean into the new year, the environment is twisting against the brave few protecting and exercising constitutional freedoms and the rule of law. Unless reversed, we can say goodbye to Kenya’s current human rights, corruption, open for business and good governance rankings. Only decisive action by government agencies over 2024 will determine whether recent events are a slip or the start of a long-term slump.

While the nation demands #JusticeForSniper, let Kenya’s 47+1 governments lift all restrictions and protect all journalists and bloggers from all forms of unlawful interference, harassment, and harm. They can learn from The Gambia, Tanzania, Angola, Malawi, and Zambia where a new policies and political environment have seen these nations rise between 6 and 31 points last year. 

As Muthiani was suffocated, the air thinned for all of us also. Free speech drives all other rights and a just, prosperous, and safe society. Join me by contributing to Muthiani’s send off and children’s fund via PayBill 247247 Acc 0755560442.

An expressive new year to you all. By Irungu Houghton, The Standard

AuKing Mining Ltd (ASX:AKN) has continued to identify uranium mineralisation as part of its stage one exploration and drilling program at the Mkuju Uranium Project in southern Tanzania.  

Standout assays include:

• 4 metres at 598 parts per million (ppm) uranium, including, 1 metre at 1896ppm uranium;
• 2 metres at 110 ppm uranium; and
• 2 metres at 169 ppm, including, 1 metre at 283 ppm uranium.

These results provide further confirmation of potentially significant uranium mineralisation across the historical radiometric survey conducted over the Mkuju Project area.

Both auger and diamond drilling programs ceased for the Christmas and New Year period, with activities scheduled to resume in early January 2024.

Mkuju Project Location

“Very promising uranium results”

AuKing CEO Paul Williams said that Mkuju was emerging as a possible major extension of the world-class nearby Nyota Uranium Project that was sold by previous owner Mantra Resources in 2011 for $1.16 billion.

“We continue to return very promising uranium results from our exploration and drilling, including these most recent results from auger drilling in the area.

“Unfortunately, the technical problems continued to hamper the ability of the auger to drill to our target depths of 30 metres and that unit has been withdrawn from the field for major servicing.

“The diamond drilling rig that was mobilised in mid-November was unable to start drilling until late December due to technical issues and breakdowns.

"The crew are planning to mobilise in early January and will try to complete as many metres as possible before the rains come,” Williams said.  

Exploration summary

Mkuju comprises a 1,070 square kilometre licence area immediately adjacent to the world-class Russian-owned Nyota uranium project. 

Williams adds: “Despite some frustrating issues with our drilling rigs over recent months, AuKing’s exploration team has been successful in establishing the existence of areas of significant uranium mineralisation across the more than 1,000 square kilometres of licence holdings at Mkuju.

"We have learned a lot about the operating conditions at Mkuju in recent months and established the basis for a significant and systematic drilling program in 2024.” 

Furthermore, a hand-held spectrometer is also being used as part of the Mkuju program and is producing highly elevated radiation readings in and around the same sample areas.  Source: Proactive