Nigeria is seeking closer military cooperation with Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to strengthen regional efforts against terrorism. The proposed partnership aims to revive intelligence sharing and coordinate cross-border operations, which have been disrupted by political divisions following the three countries’ withdrawal from ECOWAS.
Monday, November 9, 2026
Video - Nigeria and Sahel states seek renewed security cooperation
Nigeria is seeking closer military cooperation with Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso to strengthen regional efforts against terrorism. The proposed partnership aims to revive intelligence sharing and coordinate cross-border operations, which have been disrupted by political divisions following the three countries’ withdrawal from ECOWAS.
Nigerian Army destroys suspected criminal hideouts in Old Oyo National Park
Troops of the Nigerian Army have recovered an AK-47 rifle and destroyed suspected criminal hideouts during a security operation in the Old Oyo National Park, where armed groups have been accused of operating.
The operation conducted on November 7 and 8 by troops of Operation IGBO DANU II under the Army’s 2 Division, also led to the recovery of a Dane gun and an empty magazine, while the body of a suspected criminal was discovered during a follow-up operation.
The Nigerian Army disclosed this in a statement published on its official website on Monday, saying the operation was carried out in collaboration with hybrid forces.
It stated that troops encountered suspected criminal elements inside the park on 7 November, but the suspects fled as the soldiers advanced towards them.
The troops subsequently recovered an AK-47 rifle, an empty magazine and a Dane gun, which the Army said had further weakened the capabilities of the fleeing suspects.
“On 7 November 2026, troops conducting operations within the park engaged suspected criminal elements who fled upon sighting the advancing troops,” the Army said.
During a follow-up operation the following day, soldiers discovered the corpse of one of the suspects who had fled during the initial encounter.
The Army also said the troops destroyed temporary shelters believed to have been used as hideouts by criminal elements operating within the forest.
It added that the operation was part of efforts to dismantle criminal networks, disrupt their activities and prevent armed groups from using forested areas as safe havens.
“Exploitation of the general area is ongoing to track fleeing elements and prevent their regrouping,” the statement added.
The Army did not identify the deceased suspect or disclose the exact location of the encounter within the national park. It also did not provide details about the origin of the recovered weapons.
The operation followed the launch of Operation IGBO DANU, also known as Operation Forest Flush, in January 2026, which targeted bandit enclaves in Kwara State.
By Abubakar Abdulrasheed, Premium Times
The operation conducted on November 7 and 8 by troops of Operation IGBO DANU II under the Army’s 2 Division, also led to the recovery of a Dane gun and an empty magazine, while the body of a suspected criminal was discovered during a follow-up operation.
The Nigerian Army disclosed this in a statement published on its official website on Monday, saying the operation was carried out in collaboration with hybrid forces.
It stated that troops encountered suspected criminal elements inside the park on 7 November, but the suspects fled as the soldiers advanced towards them.
The troops subsequently recovered an AK-47 rifle, an empty magazine and a Dane gun, which the Army said had further weakened the capabilities of the fleeing suspects.
“On 7 November 2026, troops conducting operations within the park engaged suspected criminal elements who fled upon sighting the advancing troops,” the Army said.
During a follow-up operation the following day, soldiers discovered the corpse of one of the suspects who had fled during the initial encounter.
The Army also said the troops destroyed temporary shelters believed to have been used as hideouts by criminal elements operating within the forest.
It added that the operation was part of efforts to dismantle criminal networks, disrupt their activities and prevent armed groups from using forested areas as safe havens.
“Exploitation of the general area is ongoing to track fleeing elements and prevent their regrouping,” the statement added.
The Army did not identify the deceased suspect or disclose the exact location of the encounter within the national park. It also did not provide details about the origin of the recovered weapons.
The operation followed the launch of Operation IGBO DANU, also known as Operation Forest Flush, in January 2026, which targeted bandit enclaves in Kwara State.
Park’s security concerns
The latest operation comes amid growing security concerns over the use of the Old Oyo National Park as a hideout by suspected kidnappers and other criminal groups.
On 15 May, 46 pupils and teachers were abducted from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and taken into the national park.
The difficult terrain reportedly posed challenges to rescue efforts before security agencies eventually freed the victims on July 10, after 56 days in captivity.
The rescue operation involved the military and other security agencies and was reportedly driven by intelligence gathering and efforts to dismantle the kidnappers’ networks, informants and hideouts within the park.
PREMIUM TIMES reported in October that the the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Army’s 2 Division, Auwalu Mahmuda, a major general, announced that the military had taken over the entire park as a training ground to prevent criminal groups from using the forest as a hideout.
The latest operation forms part of Operation IGBO DANU II, a military campaign aimed at flushing out armed groups and denying them safe havens in forested areas.
The latest operation comes amid growing security concerns over the use of the Old Oyo National Park as a hideout by suspected kidnappers and other criminal groups.
On 15 May, 46 pupils and teachers were abducted from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State and taken into the national park.
The difficult terrain reportedly posed challenges to rescue efforts before security agencies eventually freed the victims on July 10, after 56 days in captivity.
The rescue operation involved the military and other security agencies and was reportedly driven by intelligence gathering and efforts to dismantle the kidnappers’ networks, informants and hideouts within the park.
PREMIUM TIMES reported in October that the the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Army’s 2 Division, Auwalu Mahmuda, a major general, announced that the military had taken over the entire park as a training ground to prevent criminal groups from using the forest as a hideout.
The latest operation forms part of Operation IGBO DANU II, a military campaign aimed at flushing out armed groups and denying them safe havens in forested areas.
Gunmen kill 11 relatives of security volunteer in northwest Nigeria, abduct 13
Gunmen killed a local security volunteer and 10 of his relatives, burned their bodies, torched their home and abducted 13 others in a weekend attack on a village in northwestern Nigeria's Zamfara state, police said on Monday.
Police spokesperson Yazid Abubakar said the gunmen attacked the volunteer in Gidan Taba in Maradun district, after he repeatedly helped security forces fend off incursions by criminal gangs into the community
"They considered him an obstacle to their activities," Abubakar said.
According to Abubakar, the attackers killed the man, a member of a government-backed vigilante group, before murdering 10 other members of his family and setting their house on fire.
Abubakar said security forces have been deployed in the area and are working to secure the hostages' release.
Northwest Nigeria has for years faced attacks by the bandits, who raid villages, kill residents, abduct people for ransom and loot homes.
Many northwestern states in Nigeria have groups of volunteers who help defend villages and towns from armed gangs, as the security forces are stretched fighting Islamist militants and the gangs, known as bandits.
Police spokesperson Yazid Abubakar said the gunmen attacked the volunteer in Gidan Taba in Maradun district, after he repeatedly helped security forces fend off incursions by criminal gangs into the community
"They considered him an obstacle to their activities," Abubakar said.
According to Abubakar, the attackers killed the man, a member of a government-backed vigilante group, before murdering 10 other members of his family and setting their house on fire.
Abubakar said security forces have been deployed in the area and are working to secure the hostages' release.
Northwest Nigeria has for years faced attacks by the bandits, who raid villages, kill residents, abduct people for ransom and loot homes.
Friday, November 6, 2026
Nigeria rules out ceasefire with Islamists, vows sustained military offensive
Nigeria's military on Thursday ruled out any ceasefire with Islamist groups Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province, adding it would press ahead with operations against insurgent and other armed groups.
Attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP on military positions in northeastern Nigeria have surged in recent weeks despite years of military operations aimed at containing the 17-year-old insurgency in the region.
Speaking at an intelligence briefing in the capital Abuja, military spokesperson Major-General Samaila Uba said recent gains, including insurgents killed, suspects arrested and hostages rescued, showed security forces were sustaining pressure on armed groups.
"I want to make it clear that there is nothing like a ceasefire ... considering the successes recorded across our operations, it is clear that we are not relenting," Uba said.
He also said Nigeria is in talks with neighbouring Sahel states that left the West African bloc ECOWAS on security and diplomatic cooperation.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP on military positions in northeastern Nigeria have surged in recent weeks despite years of military operations aimed at containing the 17-year-old insurgency in the region.
Speaking at an intelligence briefing in the capital Abuja, military spokesperson Major-General Samaila Uba said recent gains, including insurgents killed, suspects arrested and hostages rescued, showed security forces were sustaining pressure on armed groups.
"I want to make it clear that there is nothing like a ceasefire ... considering the successes recorded across our operations, it is clear that we are not relenting," Uba said.
He also said Nigeria is in talks with neighbouring Sahel states that left the West African bloc ECOWAS on security and diplomatic cooperation.
Nigerian court voids candidacy of opposition ADC's Atiku for 2027 election
A Nigerian court on Thursday voided the nomination of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress for January's election, dealing a blow to one of the main opposition challengers.
Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC national deputy chairman, had asked the court to nullify the process that produced the party's leadership, arguing that its officials were not elected through a national convention.
The judge set aside all processes that led to the emergence of the party executive as well as Atiku's nomination as the party's presidential candidate.
The ADC rejected the ruling, describing it as a politically motivated attempt to weaken the opposition following a large campaign rally in the northwestern city of Sokoto, and said it would launch a challenge at the Court of Appeal.
"We have seen this script before. When they are scared that the opposition is gathering steam, they use their judges in the courts to influence legally indefensible judgments," ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi said in a statement.
The ruling comes days after President Bola Tinubu formally launched his own re-election campaign in the northern city of Kaduna, where he sought to persuade voters that painful economic reforms were beginning to yield results despite a persistent cost-of-living crisis.
Nigeria has seen an incumbent president lose only once, in 2015, when Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat to the late Muhammadu Buhari following an opposition merger.
Atiku, vice president between 1999 and 2007, was the runner-up in the last election and had won the ticket to represent the ADC in May in what was going to have been his seventh presidential bid.
He and Peter Obi, who came third last time, had been seen as the main opposition challengers.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC national deputy chairman, had asked the court to nullify the process that produced the party's leadership, arguing that its officials were not elected through a national convention.
The judge set aside all processes that led to the emergence of the party executive as well as Atiku's nomination as the party's presidential candidate.
The ADC rejected the ruling, describing it as a politically motivated attempt to weaken the opposition following a large campaign rally in the northwestern city of Sokoto, and said it would launch a challenge at the Court of Appeal.
"We have seen this script before. When they are scared that the opposition is gathering steam, they use their judges in the courts to influence legally indefensible judgments," ADC spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi said in a statement.
The ruling comes days after President Bola Tinubu formally launched his own re-election campaign in the northern city of Kaduna, where he sought to persuade voters that painful economic reforms were beginning to yield results despite a persistent cost-of-living crisis.
Nigeria has seen an incumbent president lose only once, in 2015, when Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat to the late Muhammadu Buhari following an opposition merger.
Atiku, vice president between 1999 and 2007, was the runner-up in the last election and had won the ticket to represent the ADC in May in what was going to have been his seventh presidential bid.
He and Peter Obi, who came third last time, had been seen as the main opposition challengers.
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