15 terrorists die as NAF strikes pound Sambisa Forest

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has killed more than 15 terrorists in precision airstrikes on a newly identified hideout west of Zuwa in the Sambisa general area of Borno State.

A statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information of NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, on Thursday in Abuja, disclosed this.

Ejodame said the air interdiction mission, conducted on Wednesday under Operation Hadin Kai, followed credible intelligence and confirmatory surveillance which revealed the enclave was harbouring fighters and commanders behind recent attacks around Bitta.

He said the strikes destroyed key structures and inflicted significant losses on the terrorists.

Ejodame added that the operation demonstrated the NAF’s professionalism and resolve in supporting ground forces and safeguarding Nigerians.

He stressed that every successful strike brought the country closer to lasting peace by dismantling terrorist networks.

The Management of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) has said the truck involved in the recent accident in Enugu State is not owned by the Dangote Group.

The management said the vehicle involved in the accident belongs to Visco Investment Global Limited, a third-party operator.

According to the management of Dangote Group, “We are actively engaging with the appropriate agencies to determine why the truck in question was bearing our logo, despite not being part of our fleet. Moving forward, increased scrutiny will be applied to the unauthorised use of our brand identity, particularly the misuse of our logo on vehicles not affiliated with the Group.

“While it is our policy not to comment publicly on individual cases, we are compelled to address the increasing spread of misinformation by attributing such incidents to the Dangote Group without any substantiated evidence.”

The company urged the public and media to refrain from circulating unverified claims, emphasized, however, that,

“We remain committed to cooperating fully with the relevant authorities and urge that those tasked with investigating incidents of this nature be allowed to carry out their responsibilities without undue interference.

We categorically reject any attempt to exploit such tragedies for malicious or financial gain.

“The Dangote Group remains steadfast in upholding the highest standards of corporate responsibility, safety, and integrity in all our operations.”

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

See author's posts