The UN statement said Tuesday’s airstrikes were a violation of international law and called for an investigation.

“International law obliges military forces to take necessary precautions to prevent civilian harm, including distinguishing between civilians and combatants in operations,” the UN statement added.

The UN Children’s Agency said that at least 20 children were killed in the attack.

“Children are not and must never be a target,” UNICEF South Asia Director Sanjay Wijesekera said on X.

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Afghan authorities reported that at least 46 civilians were killed in the airstrikes.

The victims were said to be refugees from the Waziristan region in Pakistan.

Afghanistan had summoned Pakistan’s top diplomat in Kabul to protest the attack.

The Pakistani diplomat was handed a “serious protest note” informing Pakistan that the protection of Afghanistan’s territory is “a red line” and that such “irresponsible actions” will have consequences, the Afghan foreign ministry said.

Pakistan claims that the airstrikes targeted suspected Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, TTP, militant hideouts.

The TTP is a militant group that has been responsible for numerous attacks in Pakistan.

Islamabad claims that the TTP is hiding on Afghan soil, a claim that Kabul denies.

Source: dpa/NAN

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The Nigerian Army in a post on its official X handle on Friday, said the feat was achieved on Thursday in a highly coordinated operation aimed at rescuing abducted persons from violent extremist camps.

The post revealed that troops also captured a significant cache of arms and ammunition and eliminated some insurgents, while others were captured alive.

It added that the troops engaged the terrorists in an intense firefight and overpowered them, forcing them to flee and abandoning their captives.

READ ALSO: Tinubu meets with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace

According to the post, a thorough sweep of the area led to the rescue of 13 victims, comprising six males and seven females, as well as the recovery of one AK-47 rifle, 87 rounds of 7.63mm ammunition, 4 magazines, a locally fabricated rifle and the sum of ₦192,220.00.

“Additionally, five solar panels, five mobile phones, dry rations, and clothing items were recovered. The rescued victims have been promptly evacuated to 1 Division Medical Services and Hospital for medical attention,” it added.

Army said that its troops had in another decisive operation, intercepted two notorious terrorist logistics suppliers, Usman Waikili and Salisu Idris, at Kagarko Village in Kachia local government area of the state.

It added that the troops confiscated the sum of ₦1.3 million, three SIM cards, two mobile phones, three national identity cards, eight ATM cards, two Moniepoint POS machines, an MTN MiFi and other items from the suspects.

“In a separate operation in Suleja, Niger, troops stormed a terrorist hideout, triggering a fierce exchange of gunfire.

“The troops’ overwhelming firepower led to the neutralisation of three terrorists, while the others, identified as Mallam Halalu, Mallam Suleiman, and Mr Musa, were captured alive.

“The suspects led the troops to a hidden armoury, where three AK-47 rifles, 121 rounds of 7.62mm (special) ammunition, and the sum of ₦4.07 million were recovered.

“These decisive operations, which culminated in the rescue of abducted persons and the dismantling of terrorist networks, reaffirm the Nigerian Army’s unwavering resolve to eliminate banditry and terrorism, marking a significant victory in the ongoing fight for peace and security across the nation.

“The Chief of Army Staff commended the troops and urged them to sustain the tempo of the offensives across all theatres,” it added.

Source: NAN

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The Nigerian Army in a post on its official X handle on Thursday, said the operation also led to the recovery of arms and ammunition, while several kidnapped victims were rescued and several suspected terrorists were  apprehended.

It said the troops deployed in Gwoza local government area of Borno on September 3,  raided a terrorist stronghold in the Mandara mountains.

It added that the terrorists were forced to abandon 24 hostages who had been rescued by the troops after a fierce firefight.

According to the post, a sweep of the area yielded 11 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, one AK-47 rifle magazine, a dane gun, and other items.

The army said its troops had in a parallel operation in Kaduna, dismantled a kidnappers’ den and neutralised one criminal in Kabode Village, Kachia local government area, while others took to their heels.

It added that four victims were rescued in the offensive mission and the troops recovered one AK-47 rifle, 10 rounds of 7.62mm (special) ammunition, six motorcycles, and three mobile phones.

“In another operation, troops, in collaboration with other security agencies, conducted a joint offensive into Keyeri Hills and Gidan Dogo areas of Kagarko local government area of Kaduna.

“During the operation, a terrorist arms courier was apprehended while transporting weapons for insurgents in the Gidan Dogo forest.

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“Items recovered include three AK-47 rifles, one Galil rifle, 1,621 rounds of 7.62mm (NATO) ammunition, 222 rounds of 7.62 x 36mm ammunition, 138 rounds of 5.56mm ammunition, two extra AK-47 magazines, and one G3 rifle magazine.

“The intelligence gathered from this suspect led to the arrest of eight additional individuals connected to the crime,” it said.

The post also revealed that troops stationed in Plateau raided a criminal hideout in Riyom local government area, resulting in the arrest of two suspects.

According to the post, items seized during the clampdown include two mobile phones and a knife.

“Meanwhile, in Barikin Ladi local government area, troops, acting on credible intelligence, recovered 64 rustled cattle in Fann Village.

“Preliminary investigations suggest that the cattle were stolen during the Mangu crisis earlier in the year.

“The Chief of Army Staff has lauded the troops for their resilience and sustained collaboration with other security agencies and local communities in the ongoing battle against terrorism and criminality,” it added.

Source: NAN

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Expectedly, this season of uncertainty unleashed on the nation by #EndBadGovernance campaigners is revealing acutely strange tendencies about the media. Whatever may be the stance of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, global broadcasting now runs ceaselessly on the telephone handset of individuals, courtesy of the internet. Facebook is hardly any less laden as the utmostly manipulable X’s Space.

This is the same country where it took us, as relentless activists, to struggle for more than a decade to secure legitimacy for community broadcasting. And (in)security was often the excuse from the authorities.  But now that broadcasting has transcended the influence arena of NBC, the nation is still hanging on to NBC in spite of repeated recommendations by experts who keep citing the example of America’s Federal Communication Commission, FCC and UK’s OfCom.  These two bodies regulate broadcasting and telecommunication services in their respective countries.  In spite of the famous Orosanye report recommending the merger of a number of government organs, the Tinubu administration, coming after two other governments that should have radicalized the regulation of broadcasting and telecommunications by bunching them up, still appears timid.

But if wisdom eludes a man while enduring some trial, can he ever get to muster wisdom? At the height of 2023 presidential campaigns, caution was thrown to the wind by several bloggers in town, many of them doing the bidding of their sponsors who did not care whatever became of the fragile peace of the nation.

Almost every report became breaking news. Such was the prefix severely abused that not a few of elders in journalism practice and scholarship expressed public concern. However, perhaps because the reckless indulgence in the deployment of that prefix may not attract any legal sanction other than undermine their credibility, that bad habit has stuck.  This presents a clear paucity of solution journalism as prescribed by conflict sensitive journalism, the respect for which every society requires during such tension soaked periods as election period.  And protest seasons such as currently playing out.

Yet again, only very recently, the executive director of Media Career Services, Lekan Otufodurin, felt so bothered about another variant of less than ethical conduct of folks who run news blogs. He tried to remind them that that indulgence in plagiarism was most condemnable as it could be considered criminal to present someone else’s work as your’s.

This disregard for caution in relation to plagiarism has however entered another worse level following the commencement of the #EndBadGovernance marches around the country. The operators of several so called news blogs, in a manner suggestive of being appendage of bad governance, readily feign ubiquity.  Rather than modestly characterize themselves as being particularly reliable for reports from a particular locality, they harvest copiously with reckless abandon from other sources and proclaim already published reports as theirs, even when it may be obvious that the report being used hours later no longer reflects the truth about wherever they are trying to report.  So, even when peace may have been restored to an otherwise tumultuous scene, the plagiarists are still giving their unsuspecting readers the wrong impression

Lekan’s position derived from his observation of bloggers’ seeming blindness to ethical uprightness especially in relation to plagiarism.  It readily derives from armchair journalism characteristic of one-person blogs giving the impression of owning multiple bureaux spread around the country.  What has happened to the pride of giving credit to the rightful sources even as the window of access may not get diminished in any way?

Scholars and professionals in journalism have always reckoned with other media as veritable news sources. It only requires that the user of a previously published report should endeavour to verify the truthfulness or otherwise of the report in question.  A smart reporter will also, as a matter of necessity, endeavour to add more value either by updating or enriching with thorough analysis by experts or some other informed minds.

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No respectable medium will routinely indulge in copying and pasting and expect to have quality audience.  What is left of professionalism? It’s the road to the cascading and seamless realm of content creation where anything goes.

The general public is the victim of the unpleasant degeneracy of professionalism in the media.  If it is convenient to be ignored by some other citizens, it should not be the same for us as critical stakeholders.

Content creation being a new, technology-induced, concept in the media ecosystem may never cease to amaze media professionals and scholars. So fluid and hard to define, content creation can be as amusing as may be stupefying. Being audio-visual and ubiquitous and being phone compliant and requires no sophistication to access, they are incredibly popular yet requiring no training to initiate. It’s the worst form of mimicry for genuine journalism practice.

Content creation has featured ludicrous conversations that their producers would prefer to identify as interviews.  Some of them have paraded humanity diminishing spectacles revealing subjects ranging from weirdest narrations and display of sex-related demonstrations in the most revealing forms even as they brandish varying sums of cash as baits for unsuspecting respondents who surrender to sometimes incomprehensibly laughable manipulations resultant from the hardship inflicted on citizens by the harsh economic conditions.

Unfortunately some of the self-acclaimed news bloggers have, unknown to them perhaps,  slipped into what presents them as charlatans best reckoned with as casual content creators in the way they run their routines. Some roads attempted to be blocked in Abuja in the morning period but cleared by security operatives almost immediately get unashamedly flaunted in the evening by the spineless bloggers as “Breaking News”.  To achieve what? What’s the capacity of the fellow hungry folks of Nigeria to endure ceaseless flow of  unnerving news? Do these bloggers have professional considerations in running their sites? Do they reckon that their recklessness may also rub off on their counterparts who are decidedly thorough?

Rather than wait for complainants, is it completely impossible for the National Media Complaints Commission populated by our professional elders like Lanre Idowu and Eugenia Abu and others to be proactive to arrest this dangerous slide?

The general public is the victim of the unpleasant degeneracy of professionalism in the media.  If it is convenient to be ignored by some other citizens, it should not be the same for us as critical stakeholders. Indeed, it is our proactiveness to matters such as we raise here that will lend credence to our sincerity of purpose on some other pending issues.  The same way digital technology has fuelled the craze for unfounded competition on “Breaking News” is the same way digital technology has given rise to the Cybercrime Prohibitions Act of 2015 with its conspicuous imperfections betraying rather reductionist disposition to the entire media sector. How more disempowering to us can the Cybercrime Advisory Council be?  Ensuring that our charity begins from home however may be quite inspiring.  We must be seen to be paying the needed attention to our inadequacies.

*Akanni, PhD, a Media and Conflict expert, is an associate professor at the Lagos State University. Follow him on X @AkintundeAkanni.

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The army, in a post on its official X-handle on Saturday, said the operation was conducted early in the day in the Ezere Forest of Umuawa Aku, Okigwe local government area of Imo.

It said the operation, which also extended into Akawa Nnneato and Lomara communities in Umunneochi local government area of Abia, resulted in the capture of a General Purpose Machine Gun, GPMG, and other assorted items.

It said the troops acting on intelligence regarding the harassment and intimidation of local residents by the terrorist elements, swiftly mobilised to neutralise the threat.

According to the post, troops, on arrival, engaged the terrorists in a fierce shootout, dislodging them from their camp.

READ ALSO: Tinubu congratulates Anukam on re-election to African Court on Human Rights

It added that the troops exploited their success and gave the fleeing terrorists a hot chase, compelling them to abandon a significant cache of arms.

That, it said, included one GPMG, assorted rounds of ammunition, two motorcycles, and two communication radios.

“The operation underscores the Nigerian Army’s undeterred commitment to maintaining peace and security in the region.

“Troops will be decisive in dismantling any threat to ensure the safety of the communities.

“This significant operation serves as a testament to the army’s dedication to protecting civilians and combating terrorism.

“The successful operation has not only served to disrupt the activities of the terrorist group but also sends a strong message on the army’s resolve to restore and maintain order in the affected areas,” it said.

Source: NAN

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The army in a post on its official X handle on Tuesday, said the troops also rescued the victims.

It said that the troops responded to a distress call on the attack of some farmers by terrorists along Gidan Shaho Road in Zurmi local government area of Zamfara.

The intervention of the troops forced the terrorists to abandon their victims and fled.

According to the post, some of the victims with gunshot wounds were promptly evacuated to a nearby hospital for urgent medical attention.

It said the troops, in a separate incident, also responded to a kidnap incident along Fangaltama-Mayanchi road in Talata Mafara local government area of Zamfara.

The tweet said the troops trailed and engaged the fleeing extremists, successfully neutralising two of them, while others took to their heels.

It added that the troops rescued five commuters and recovered two AK-47 rifles, eight rounds of 7.62 mm (Special) ammunition and two mobile phones from the terrorists.

“In another joint clearance operation with the Katsina State Civilian Joint Task Force, security forces conducted a successful offensive, targeting suspected terrorists’ hideouts at Shawu, Dugun Fakwu, and Tafki Villages in Faskari local government area of Katsina State.

“Troops destroyed the enclaves and recovered a fabricated gun and other dangerous weapons in the operation.

“The swift and decisive actions of the troops demonstrate their unrelenting commitment to combating terrorism and ensuring the safety and security of the affected communities,” it said.

Source: NAN

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