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Tension is building up in the South-East and parts of South-South geopolitical zones following the continued detention of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and Director Radio Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, who was, last Wednesday, discharged and acquitted by a Magistrate’s Court in Abuja of the treason preferred on him by the Department of State Security Services, DSS. It will be recalled that Justice Ademola Adeniyi of a Federal High Court, also in Abuja, had, last Thursday, ordered Kanu’s immediate release from DSS detention. Nnamdi was arrested on October 17, by DSS operatives, shortly after he arrived Nigeria from his base in the United Kingdom, which prompted over one month protests after he was arraigned secretly at Wuse 2 Magistrate’s Court presided over by Justice Shuiabu, who granted him bail on October 19. Meanwhile, the youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo had warned that the continued detention of the leader Nnamdi Kanu by the DDS, against court order,...

The Senate on Wednesday set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the bloody clash between troops of the Nigerian Army and the Shiite sect members in Zaria on Saturday, where no fewer than 60 persons reportedly died. Senate President Bukola Saraki announced this after a one hour closed-door meeting of the lawmakers shortly before plenary. He said the ad hoc committee would consist of the Senate committees on Defence; Judiciary and Human Rights; National Security and Intelligence; Army; Police Affairs; Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs. He explained that the ad hoc committee, which would be presided over by Senator Ahmad Lawan, had been saddled with the responsibilities of investigating all issues surrounding the attacks and advising the Federal Government on the way forward. Saraki said, “The Senate deeply and sincerely regrets the loss of lives and property and hereby appeals for calm by all affected parties and the gen...

The Nigerian Army on Saturday stated its reason for attacking members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria. The Army had on Saturday said the group blocked the road and attempted to kill the Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, in Kaduna State.   In a statement on Sunday by its spokesperson, Sani Usman, the Army described the incident as ‘most unfortunate’ but blamed the sect for blocking roads meant for the public.

President Obama is cautioning Americans against stereotyping all Muslims based on the actions of those who use the faith to justify violence, like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). “Terrorists like ISIL are trying to divide us along lines of religion and background,” Obama said in his weekly address Saturday, using an alternate acronym for the terrorist group. “That’s how they stoke fear. That’s how they recruit. “And just as Muslims around the world have to keep rejecting any twisted interpretation of Islam, all of us have to reject bigotry – in all of its forms,” he added. “I’ll say it again — prejudice and discrimination helps ISIL and it undermines our national security.” The president reassured Americans that the fight against ISIS has never been stronger in the wake of the San Bernardino, Calif., terrorist attack. “Our airstrikes are hitting ISIL harder than ever, in Iraq and Syria,” he said. “We’re taking our more of their fighters, thei...

As part of Operation Shader, there have been 227 RAF Reaper strikes in Iraq as of 30 October, and some 800 UK personnel are part of the mission. Over the weekend, it was reported that two RAF Reaper drones had wiped out two IS checkpoints and a hoard of explosives. The RAF website insists that "the [Reaper] weapons are all precision guided, and every effort is made to ensure the risk of collateral damage and civilian casualties is minimised, this may include deciding not to release a weapon." Responding to an FoI request by IBTimes UK, the MoD said: "To date there have been no known cases of civilian casualties resulting from UK strikes in Iraq. All strikes take place in accordance with UK Rules of Engagement and applicable law." Letta Tayler, Senior Terrorism and Counterterrorism Researcher at Human Rights Watch told IBTimes UK: "It's fantastic if the UK has not killed even a single civilian under Operation Shader. But the Cameron g...

Nigeria's military cannot meet the president's December deadline to crush Boko Haram's Islamic uprising, and Nigerians must expect suicide bombings to continue, a government spokesman said Thursday. Air Commodore Yusuf Anas of the Center for Crisis Communication said the deadline "may be unrealistic" and warned Nigerians not to view December as a "sacrosanct date when all suicide bombings will end." The 6-year-old uprising already has killed 20,000 people and driven 2.3 million from the homes. Millions of dollars worth of property has been destroyed. "The timeline on when to stop the insurgents from activating sleeper cells and detonating bombs into soft targets in any part of the country, especially in the frontline states, is therefore not tenable." Forces from Nigeria and neighboring Chad earlier this year drove the extremists out of areas in which they had proclaimed an Islamic caliphate. Recently, the Nigerian Air Forc...