NEWS
How Boko Haram gave 15 mins Quranic lecture to Kuje inmates before freedom – FIJ
The scores of terrorists who raided the Kuje Medium Security Prison in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital, had so much free time on their hands that they first delivered a 15-minute Quranic lecture to inmates before setting them free, an insider who witnessed the horror show from start to finish has told FIJ.
As widely reported by the media over the night, scores of terrorists raided the prison on Tuesday night, freeing hundreds of inmates after shooting and bombing their way into the prison yard.
Speaking with FIJ on Wednesday, the insider said it took “only 50 minutes” for the attackers to gain access into the facility, subduing the entire facility with “eight or a little more bombs”.
10:05PM, FIRST BOMB
“The first bomb sounded at exactly 10.05pm and as of 11pm security agents had taken cover while all the inmates were outside the cells in the compound,” he said.
“The terrorists moved everyone out of the facility to an open place where they gave Quranic lectures for about 15 minutes before they started sharing transportation fares to their members whom they came to rescue. It was very clear they came prepared.”
‘SQUAT DOWN, EVERYONE’
“The terrorists then barked orders at the inmates… that they should all squat down,” he continued.
“It looked, for a moment, like they were going to separate the Christians from the Muslims and pounce on them, but they didn’t. Instead, they separated their members from the rest and led their members away, while abandoning others to their fate.”
‘QURANIC LECTURE IN FULANI, HAUSA, EBIRA’
FIJ can confirm that the jailbreakers spoke in Ebira addition to Fulani and Hausa.
“Quite a few of them understand Ebira [spoken by a section of people in central Nigeria]; they preached in Ebira, Fulani and Hausa.
“And there were many of them. They surrounded the facility, as big and well-equipped as it is, and still had more than 20 of them inside the prison. That tells you there were so many of them!
‘THE SECURITY PERSONNEL DISAPPEARED’
The prison service confirmed one Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) official and four inmates dead, and three prison officials injured. However, these must either be among the few security officials who didn’t “disappear” immediately or among the few who chose to fight back.
“Sincerely, when we got outside, none of the security officers were around. Even those inside, nobody knows how they disappeared,” said the source.
“Those Boko Haram guys came with sophisticated weapons and they overpowered the entire security systems of the facility. I saw GPMG (General Purpose Machine Guns) and launchers, machine guns with enough bullets in chains. And all they were shouting was ‘Allahu Akbar.’”
READ ALSO: BREAKING: Boko Haram Suspects Clash with Warders, Christian Inmates at Kuje Prison
CHRISTIANS DISGUISED AS MUSLIMS TO ESCAPE
“There were Christians who escaped because they rather surprisingly tied clothes around their heads down to their jaws, just like Muslims, and were shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ like Muslims would.
“My hunch is that some Muslims must have taught them during the time when news had filtered in that Boko Haram terrorists were the ones trying to gain entry to the facility.”
800 OUT OF 1,0007 INMATES SET FREE
FIJ understands that out of 1,007 inmates who were in the facility as of Tuesday morning, over 800 were set free. However, quite a number of them have turned themselves in, and more are expected to do so before the end of the day.”
A lawyer who spoke to FIJ but asked not to be named said any inmate with a lawyer will likely return.
“I can assure you that any inmate who has a lawyer will definitely get the advice to voluntarily return to the prison because that is the safest thing to do,” he said.
“However, from the information I have directly from inmates and fellow lawyers, no single inmate was captured; it was a free ride for them all last night. The ones who are back there are those who return of their own volition.”
NEWS
Moghalu Prescribes Good Governance As Panacea To Ethnic Agitation
The President of the African School of Governance, Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu has admonished state actors against resorting to brutal force in the bid to muscle out separatist agitators.
In the aftermath of Mazi Simon Ekpa, the Finland based Biafran nationalist agitator being caught in legal web and the Nigerian government moving swiftly to seek his repatriation, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned that ‘We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.’
ALSO READ: Finnish Police Arrest Simon Ekpa Over Terror-Related Allegations
The political economist, while expressing his hope in Nigeria, made it clear that “hope is not a strategy”.
He bared his mind in a series of posts on his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X on Friday.
Moghalu wrote, “Despite sustained contemporary difficulties, I am hopeful about Nigeria. But hope is not a strategy. We need to improve state capacity for effective governance.
“We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.
“We must learn to be honest with ourselves and address the root causes of our problems. Why ignore them, when the problem is actually quite solvable? The problem with continuing with this approach is that when the danger crystallizes, those who thought they were benefiting from
NEWS
N1.7trn Loan: Atiku Blames NASS For Worsening Nigeria’s Debt Burden
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
READ ALSO: CSR: Dangote Cement Fuels Education With Support Projects At Lagos Schools
He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
International News
ICC Issues Arrest Warrants For Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Others
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
READ MORE: Osun Govt Decries Attempted Murder Of Park Mgt Chairman By Police
The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.