• ‘Residents including women, children fleeing from gunmen drown in Niger’
• ‘Gunmen attack Benue villages, kill many’
• Give license to Nigerians to bear arms to defend themselves – Reps member
• “We know where their camps are, the Army should take action before an attack” – El-Rufai
• Military raids, kills scores of terrorists after Kaduna train bombing

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top news stories you shouldn’t miss:

‘Residents including women, children fleeing from gunmen drown in Niger’

The Governor of Niger, Abubakar Bello, has confirmed the report that several residents, including women and children fleeing from gunmen, drowned in the Guni-Zumba River.

The victims were inhabitants of Guni and Kurgbaku communities in Munya local governments of the state.

Residents said they fled to Zuma, a neighbouring community when they got a hint of the mass movement of gunmen towards their community. They gathered some of their belongings into wooden boats to cross to the relatively safe Zuma community.

The governor has directed the state emergency agency to immediately commence search and rescue operations as well as provide succour to people in the affected communities.

‘Gunmen attack Benue villages, kill many’

The Governor of Benue, Samuel Ortom, has told residents of the state to defend themselves after the state government said that ‘several people’ were killed by suspected herders who attacked farming communities in three local governments in the state.

Ortom made this call in a statement released on Wednesday by his media aide, Nathaniel Ikyur, according to a report by Channels Television.

“There were coordinated attacks on Guma, Kwande, and Gwer West local government areas of the state on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.”

Ikyur also said that in Kpankeeke, a suburb on the outskirts of Naka, the headquarters of Gwer West Local Government Area, gunmen, whom he claimed to be herdsmen, attacked the community killing several people.

Give license to Nigerians to bear arms to defend themselves 

The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ado Doguwa (APC, Kano), has called for firearms permits for Nigerians willing to defend themselves in the face of the failure of security agencies to protect lives and properties.

Doguwa made the call on Thursday during a debate on a motion of urgent importance moved by Shehu Balarabe (PDP, Kaduna) on killings in Kaduna.

“With all sense of responsibility, I think Nigerians should at this moment be allowed to also take arms. Nigerians must be allowed to take up arms in defence of their innocent souls, defend their hard-earned properties because it is a monumental failure.

“If the agencies of security have failed, then Nigerians should not be seen as failures. Let Nigerians organise themselves in the way of civil defence. Let Nigeria organise defence for their innocent souls because if the responsibility of the government cannot be carried out democratically, then we return to the jungle,” he said.

“We know where their camps are, the Army should take action before an attack” – El-Rufai

The governor of Kaduna, Nasir El Rufai Wednesday, admitted that the Nigerian authorities know the camps, the identities and listen to the conversations of the armed groups that are terrorising large swaths of the North-west region.

“We know where their camps are. We know their camps, we have the maps; we know everything. We have their phone numbers and listen to their conversation sometimes. But it has to be done across the five states,” he said.

The governor explained the military was originally reluctant to bomb the camps of the bandits to avoid civilian collateral damage but added that since a Nigerian court has declared them terrorists, the rule of engagement has changed.

“This is war, “ he said.

“We know what they (terrorists) are planning. We get the reports. The problem is for the agencies to take action. Don’t wait until they attack before you respond. The Army should go after their enclaves to wipe them out. Let the Air Force bomb them,” he said.

El Rufai lamented that SSS has informants are all over the place sourcing information for the service, but such attacks still happen.

Military raids, killing scores of terrorists after Kaduna train bombing

Four days after the Kaduna-Abuja train bombing, the Nigerian Air Force attack jet, on Wednesday, reportedly killed no fewer than 34 terrorists in a forest between Kaduna and Niger states.

According to Guardian Nigeria, those eliminated were allegedly behind the violence.

A source said, “Upon receiving credible information that at about 2:00 pm on March 30, 2022, about 70 terrorists on 40 motorcycles and some on foot, were sighted moving towards Akilibu-Sarkin Pawa Road, near Mangoro Village.

The air component of Operation Thunder Strike swiftly scrambled an aircraft to intercept and neutralise the terrorists.

Similarly, troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), under Operation Lake Sanity (OPLS) in the North East, eliminated dozens of insurgents in the Lake Chad region.