Making Peace With Undefeated Bandits Is Not Peace—It Is Capitulation, By Rimamnde Shawulu Kwewum

Across Nigeria’s North-West and parts of the North-Central, a dangerous idea has quietly taken root: that peace can be bought by negotiating with armed bandits who have not been defeated. Exhausted communities and desperate local authorities have embraced ceasefires, dialogue, and informal agreements with violent groups in the hope that insecurity will subside. The evidence,…

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Police Denials of Abductions of 160 during Church service Triggers Security Credibility Crisis

The most critical domestic security concern this week centers on Kaduna State, where reports emerged of a coordinated mass abduction targeting Christian worshippers in Kurmin Waje village, Afogo Ward, Kajuru Local Government Area. According to eyewitnesses and local representatives, heavily armed attackers stormed three churches during Sunday services and abducted congregants into nearby forests. Initial…

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Nigeria Spent $9 Million Lobbying Washington While Christians Were Being Killed at Home

Why would a country battling mass displacement, violent insurgency, and communal killings spend $9 million lobbying Washington—instead of rebuilding shattered lives at home? In this hard-hitting episode of The Other Side, Rimamnde Shawulu Kwewum examines the controversial decision by the Nigerian government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to hire a U.S. lobbying firm to counter…

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Bandits Killings in Niger and Zamfara as Military Raids and Global Security Shocks Escalate

Nigeria’s security landscape remains deeply volatile as armed banditry, kidnappings, and insurgent violence persist across multiple regions, even as security forces intensify operations. In this edition of Security Update, hosted by Rimamnde Shawulu Kwewum, we provide a verified, region-by-region breakdown of last week’s most critical security developments in Nigeria, Africa, and the global arena, with…

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Escalating Insecurity Marks Nigeria’s Transition Into the New Year

Nigeria entered the new year amid sustained insecurity across multiple regions, with coordinated attacks, mass killings, military ambushes, and kidnappings recorded between late December and the first week of January. The incidents underscore persistent weaknesses in rural security and the expanding geographical spread of armed violence. In Kaduna State, bandits attacked a community in Lere…

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