Surge

  The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday in Abuja, said the intensified spate of terrorist attacks across the country is a “gang up” to distract President Bola Tinubu’s reforms. Akpabio made the assertion during his goodwill message at the official commissioning of the Nigeria Revenue Service Headquarters, Abuja. He said, “Believe me, Mr President, two weeks after you win the elections, the bomb blasts will stop. People are sponsoring it to distract you from your work. “You’re doing so well despite the gang up on your administration.” His comments come barely 24 hours after Tinubu held closed-door talks with the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, and a French general at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. Sources close to the President who spoke to our correspondent on condition of anonymity described Monday’s engagement as part of intensified collaboration on Nigeria’s security situation. The meeting, which began at about 2:00 pm on Monday, was Tinubu’s first official engagement since his return from Bayelsa on Friday. It came three weeks after the President announced that France had agreed to supply military equipment and training to Nigerian forces battling insurgency in the North-East. Akpabio’s comments come against the backdrop of rapidly deteriorating security conditions across Nigeria, including a controversial air strike on Saturday that killed over 100 civilians, and a fresh United States advisory authorising the voluntary departure of non-emergency embassy staff from Abuja. On Saturday, a Nigerian Air Force strike targeting Boko Haram insurgents hit the Jilli market in Yobe State, near the Borno border, killing over 40 civilians, including children. Amnesty International cited survivors and hospital authorities confirming the death toll, with local sources putting the figure as high as 200. The military defended the operation as a precision strike on a terrorist logistics hub, but Amnesty International condemned what it described as “reckless use of deadly force” and called for an independent investigation. The Presidency also defended the operation. Speaking with Bloomberg earlier on Monday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, said, “The market was a legitimate military target because it has been turned into a logistics and trading hub by Boko Haram and ISWAP terrorists.” Military air raids have killed at least 500 civilians since 2017, according to multiple reports, with failures in intelligence gathering and coordination between ground forces and air assets cited as contributing factors. Days earlier, on April 8, the United States Department of State authorised the voluntary departure of non-emergency government employees and family members from the US Embassy in Abuja, citing a deteriorating security situation. The move elevated 23 Nigerian states to a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” warning, the highest risk category, including newly added Plateau, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger, and Taraba states. The US highlighted threats from Islamist insurgents in the Northeast, criminal gangs in the Northwest, and ongoing violence in parts of southern and southeastern Nigeria, including oil-producing regions. The embassy said visa appointments in Abuja had been suspended, though the Lagos consulate continues to provide routine and emergency services. The Federal Government said the travel alert was guided by US internal protocols and did not reflect the overall security situation across Nigeria. “While we acknowledge isolated security challenges in some areas, there is no general breakdown of law and order, and the vast majority of the country remains stable,” Minister Mohammed Idris stated. Nigeria is battling multiple security threats across its six geopolitical zones, including Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province insurgency in the Northeast, banditry and kidnapping in the Northwest and North-Central regions, and separatist violence in the Southeast.