Daily Watch – NAF bombs kill ‘scores’ of civilians, Tinubu alleges APC northern conspiracy

A Nigerian Air Force aerial operation has left scores of civilians dead, Peoples Gazette reports citing. The incident, which is said to have occurred on Tuesday night, occurred in Rukubi, Nasarawa near the state’s southern border with Benue in Doma Local Government Area.  At least 47 people, mainly Fulani pastoralists, were confirmed killed while scores were evacuated to various hospitals in Nasarawa and Benue. Nasarawa Governor Abdullahi Sule confirmed the attack on Wednesday afternoon, saying efforts are underway to resolve the crisis with the military.  A Nigerian military spokesman told the online news site that air raids in the area only targeted bandits. He, however, failed to say how many bandits were killed or if there were any other casualties other than the civilians. The attack has sparked confrontations between Benue authorities and the Fulani community between the two states. Witnesses said the incident happened shortly after a group of Fulani herdsmen went to Benue to recover their seized livestock.  After paying a reported ₦27 million in fines to recover their cattle, they were killed on their back to their base in Nasarawa. The Gazette said it had seen the remains of nearly 50 people, of which 27 had already been buried.

Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused a cabal within President Muhammadu Buhari-led FG of sabotaging the party by creating unnecessary hardships with the naira re-design and fuel crisis, weeks to the 2023 general election. Tinubu, who spoke in Yoruba at a campaign rally held in Abeokuta on Wednesday, said some unnamed members of a cabal within the party and presidency of northern extraction had begun scheming to discredit Tinubu, Shettima and APC as a ploy to have another northern president, specifically the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate Atiku Abubakar, replace Buhari after eight years in power. He said, “They have been scheming to create a fuel crisis, but forget about it.”

Ghana’s opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has made changes to its leadership in Parliament, naming Dr Casiel Ato Forson, the Member of Parliament for Ajumako-Enyan-Esiam, as the Minority Leader. Dr Ato Forson, also the Ranking Member of the Finance Committee, replaces Mr Haruna Iddrisu, MP, Tamale South, as the leader of the Minority Caucus when Parliament reconvenes on Tuesday, 7 February 2023. A letter addressed to Speaker Alban Bagbin also named Mr Armah Kofi Buah, MP for Ellembelle, as the Deputy Minority Leader, who replaces Mr James Klutse Avedzi, MP, Ketu North. Mr Governs Kwame Agbodza, MP for Adaklu, replaces Alhaji Muntaka Mubarak, MP, Asawase, as the Minority Whip. NDC National Chairman Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, in March 2021, said the party was considering changes to its parliamentary leadership.

Niger’s army said it had killed 11 “terrorists” and captured six, last week in a restive region plagued by insurgents linked with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. Operations in the western Tillaberi region near Burkina Faso also saw weapons seized and more than 130 motorcycles destroyed, Niger’s defence ministry said in its weekly bulletin. Tillaberi is in the vast and unstable “three borders” region between Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, where jihadist insurgents have carried out attacks for years. The country has launched offensive operations against jihadists in the area, recently with the backing of 250 soldiers from former colonial power France. The anti-jihadist force Niya, which has been deployed in western Niger since February last year and has more than 2,000 personnel, suffered two injuries in the operations, the army said. The military added that it had dismantled a fuel-trafficking network suspected of supplying the armed groups.