Toshiba completes $21bn sale of chip unit

Published June 1, 2018

Embattled conglomerate Toshiba on Friday completed the $21 billion sale of its prized chip unit to an investment consortium, a move seen as crucial to keeping the Japanese firm afloat.

The deal had been delayed while Chinese regulators examined whether it could violate anti-trust laws, but they finally granted approval in mid-May.
“Toshiba hereby gives notice that the closing of the sale has been completed today as scheduled,” the group said in a statement.

It added that the deal was worth about 2.3 trillion yen ($21 billion).
The business was sold to K.K. Pangea, a special-purpose company controlled by a consortium led by US investor Bain Capital.
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The Bain-led group includes US tech giants Apple and Dell, as well as South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix.
Toshiba said it was reinvesting a total of 350.5 billion yen in Pangea, acquiring a 40.2 percent stake.
The sale and reinvestment will give Toshiba a pre-tax profit of 970 billion yen, though the bump was already built into forecasts it announced last month.
Toshiba agreed in September to sell its memory chip business in a bid to stay afloat after multi-billion-dollar losses.
It struggled after the disastrous acquisition of US nuclear energy firm Westinghouse, which racked up billions of dollars in losses before being placed under bankruptcy protection.

In order to survive and avoid delisting, the cash-strapped group decided to sell the chip business — the crown jewel in a vast range of businesses ranging from home appliances to nuclear reactors.
Toshiba said last month it had bounced back into the black, avoiding a humiliating delisting from the Tokyo stock exchange.
The firm booked a record net profit of 804 billion yen for the year ending March 31, compared with a loss of 965.7 billion yen a year earlier.
That marks the first net profit for the firm in four years, and was helped by one-off revenue from tax cuts linked to the sale of its nuclear units.

Madrid approves new Catalan separatist govt

Published June 1, 2018

Quim Torra

Spain gave its green light Friday to a new separatist executive in Catalonia that does not include jailed or exiled former ministers, paving the way for Madrid to end direct rule over the region.
The central government last month recognised the powers of newly-elected Catalan president Quim Torra but refused to ratify his choice of councillors because four of them face charges linked to a failed independence drive, calling their nomination “a new provocation”.
But earlier this week, Torra nominated a new administration which did not include them.

The names were subsequently published in Friday’s edition of the official journal of the Catalan government.
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With Catalonia currently under direct rule by Madrid after its now-deposed leaders tried to break from Spain in October, publishing an item in the official journal can only be done with the green light of the central government.
Madrid had refused to officially publish the composition of the first executive announced on May 19 by Torra.
Now, the new Catalan government will be allowed to assume its duties, and when it does, Madrid’s direct rule over the wealthy, northeastern region will automatically be lifted.

Assembly bye election: Ajimobi, others rally support for APC

Published June 1, 2018

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State

Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has urged the people of Ibarapa to rally behind the All Progressives Congress’ candidate for Saturday’s Assembly bye election, Mr. Olukunle Adeyemo, whom he described as the best among the candidates.

The seat had become vacant following the sudden death of a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Michael Adeyemo, who represented the constituency in the Assembly until April 27.

Addressing a mammoth crowd of supporters of the party during a campaign rally at Eruwa, on Thursday, the governor was said to have urged the people to support the APC candidate.

The governor had led the campaign train of the APC leaders and supporters, including his wife, Chief Florence Ajimobi; State Chairman of the party, Chief Akin Oke; members of the House of Representatives; Assembly members led by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Olagunju Ojo; and member of the state executive council, Chief Adeniyi Akintola, SAN, among others.

Al-Qaeda warns Saudi crown prince over ‘sin’

Published June 1, 2018

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. AFP photo

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has warned Saudi Arabia’s reformist Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over his “sinful projects”, in a bulletin released Friday.

Prince Mohammed has spearheaded a string of policy changes in ultraconservative Saudi Arabia, including reinstating cinemas and allowing women to drive.
“The new era of Bin Salman replaced mosques with movie theatres,” the Yemen-based jihadist group said in its Madad news bulletin, picked up by the SITE Intelligence Group.

He “substituted books that belonged to the imams… with absurdities of the atheists and secularists from the east and the west and opened the door wide for corruption and moral degradation,” it said.
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The Sunni jihadist group AQAP has flourished amid a complex war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia heads a military alliance battling Shiite Huthi rebels.
In its statement, AQAP slammed April’s WWE Royal Rumble event in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, near the Islam’s most holy sites in Mecca.
“(Foreign) disbelieving wrestlers exposed their privates and on most of them was the sign of the cross, in front of a mixed gathering of young Muslim men and women,” it said.
“The corruptors did not stop at that, for every night musical concerts are being announced, as well as movies and circus shows,” SITE quoted it as saying.
AQAP in southern Yemen is the target of a long-running drone campaign by the United States, which regards it as the most dangerous branch of the extremist group.
Yemen’s conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead, tens of thousands wounded, and millions on the brink of famine.

The United Nations has called Yemen world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the war between Yemen’s Huthi rebels and the government of now-exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in 2015.
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They have landed on a United Nations blacklist over the killing and maiming of children.
The Huthi rebels, linked to Iran, have also come under fire for neglecting to protect civilians and targeting the press and minorities.
The rebels have controlled the capital Sanaa since 2014.

Sanchez replaces Mariano Rajoy as Spanish Prime Minister

UPDATED: Sanchez replaces Mariano Rajoy as Spanish Prime Minister

Published June 1, 2018

Pedro Sanchez

Spain’s parliament on Friday ousted Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in a no-confidence vote sparked by fury over his party’s corruption woes, with his Socialist arch-rival Pedro Sanchez automatically taking over.
An absolute majority of 180 lawmakers voted for the motion to loud applause and shouts of “Yes we can,” converting Rajoy into the first prime minister to be ousted by such a vote since Spain transitioned to democracy in 1977.
The bespectacled 63-year-old leader got up and shook hands with Sanchez before leaving the lower house without a word.

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Rajoy had already admitted defeat minutes before the vote, knowing that an absolute majority of lawmakers as diverse as Catalan separatists and Basque nationalists had pledged their support for the no-confidence motion.
“It’s been an honour — there is none bigger — to have been Spain’s prime minister,” he told parliament, with lawmakers from his conservative Popular Party (PP) giving him a standing ovation.
Sanchez, Spain’s 46-year-old opposition leader, had instigated the no-confidence motion last week after a court revealed details of a vast system of bribes given to former PP officials in exchange for lucrative public contracts between 1999-2005.
After years of anger over the scandals tainting the PP, corruption finally got the better of the party and sealed Rajoy’s downfall.
“Today we are signing a new page in the history of democracy in our country,” Sanchez told parliament prior to the vote.
But PP lawmaker Rafael Hernando told him he would be entering the prime minister’s office “through the back door” after failing to win 2015 and 2016 general elections.
“For the first time we may get a prime minister who didn’t win elections,” he retorted.

– Tough ride for Sanchez –
In order to push through the no-confidence motion, the Socialists, who hold just 84 of the parliament’s 350 seats, had to cosy up to parties they had previously clashed with, like Catalan separatists and the anti-establishment Podemos.
As such, even if he has pledged to govern long enough to restore “institutional stability” before calling early elections, Sanchez’s new government will likely be highly unstable.
Podemos has already asked to be part of his new government.
Aitor Esteban of the Basque PNV nationalist party, whose support proved decisive for the motion’s success, on Thursday warned that such a minority government would be “weak and difficult, complicated.”
“This is going to be a constant bing, bang, boom.”
– A scandal too far –
Although Rajoy survived a similar no-confidence vote last year, Friday’s ballot draws a line under his rollercoaster time in office which began in 2011 and saw him implementing drastic spending cuts before winning re-election in 2015 and 2016.
Despite winning the last two votes, he lacked the absolute majority of his first term.
He put Spain back onto the path of growth after a devastating economic crisis although unemployment remains sky-high, jobs precarious and many complain inequalities have risen.
But his term in office was also marred by a series of corruption scandals involving former PP members.
Last week the National Court, which deals with major criminal cases, sentenced 29 people with links to the PP, including a former treasurer, to a total of 351 years in jail.
It also ordered the party to pay back 245,000 euros ($290,000) received from the scheme to help finance election campaigns.
– ‘What moral authority’? –
Rajoy became Spain’s first sitting prime minister to give evidence at trial when he was called as a witness last year.
In its ruling, the court said the credibility of Rajoy’s testimony “should be questioned”.
During Thursday’s pre-vote debate, Rajoy said the corruption case “does not concern members of the government” and repeated the party’s argument that only a tiny number of its politicians have been tainted by corruption.
He also hit back by listing the many graft cases involving the Socialists over the years.
“Are you Mother Teresa of Calcutta? With what moral authority do you speak?” he told Sanchez.

Globally, Osinbajo says

Globally, Osinbajo says

ADE ADESOMOJU
7 MAY 2018

Ade Adesomoju and Okechukwu Nnodim, Abuja

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said on Monday that the Federal Government’s efforts in fighting corruption and deepening good governance in the nation were being applauded worldwide.

Describing corruption as a threat to the nation’s existence, Osinbajo insisted that the scourge was responsible for why the nation had no savings and invested only “very little” in infrastructure and jobs “in spite of record oil revenues between 2011 and 2013/14”

Osinbajo, who spoke in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the five-day Open Government Partnership Week 2018, said that within the period, despite the billions of dollars reportedly invested in security, the Boko Haram insurgency did not abate.

The period between 2011 and 2014 referred to by the Vice-President, stretched over half of the era of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration.

The Vice-President has recently come under criticisms by the opposition for dwelling too much on the corruption under the previous administration.

Osinbajo, while speaking on the topic, ‘The impact of Open Government Partnership to Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Efforts’, said, “for too long, the resources meant for the majority have been sadly cornered by a greedy minority.”

He said, “Our government came into office on the back of a three-pronged agenda: ensuring security, rebuilding the economy, and vigorously prosecuting the fight against corruption.

“This last issue, corruption, has been an existential issue for Nigeria, threatening the very fundamentals of our existence.

“It has ensured that, for too long, the resources meant for the majority have been sadly
cornered by a greedy minority.

“This issue of corruption underlines every aspect of our national life, from our security situation to the state of our economy.

“It was the reason why, in spite of record oil revenues between 2011 and 2013/14, we saw no savings, and very little investment in infrastructure and jobs, and, in spite of the billions of dollars reportedly invested in security, the Boko Haram insurgency did not abate.”

Globally, Osinbajo says

Globally, Osinbajo says

ADE ADESOMOJU
7 MAY 2018

Ade Adesomoju and Okechukwu Nnodim, Abuja

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo said on Monday that the Federal Government’s efforts in fighting corruption and deepening good governance in the nation were being applauded worldwide.

Describing corruption as a threat to the nation’s existence, Osinbajo insisted that the scourge was responsible for why the nation had no savings and invested only “very little” in infrastructure and jobs “in spite of record oil revenues between 2011 and 2013/14”

Osinbajo, who spoke in Abuja at the opening ceremony of the five-day Open Government Partnership Week 2018, said that within the period, despite the billions of dollars reportedly invested in security, the Boko Haram insurgency did not abate.

The period between 2011 and 2014 referred to by the Vice-President, stretched over half of the era of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration.

The Vice-President has recently come under criticisms by the opposition for dwelling too much on the corruption under the previous administration.

Osinbajo, while speaking on the topic, ‘The impact of Open Government Partnership to Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Efforts’, said, “for too long, the resources meant for the majority have been sadly cornered by a greedy minority.”

He said, “Our government came into office on the back of a three-pronged agenda: ensuring security, rebuilding the economy, and vigorously prosecuting the fight against corruption.

“This last issue, corruption, has been an existential issue for Nigeria, threatening the very fundamentals of our existence.

“It has ensured that, for too long, the resources meant for the majority have been sadly
cornered by a greedy minority.

“This issue of corruption underlines every aspect of our national life, from our security situation to the state of our economy.

“It was the reason why, in spite of record oil revenues between 2011 and 2013/14, we saw no savings, and very little investment in infrastructure and jobs, and, in spite of the billions of dollars reportedly invested in security, the Boko Haram insurgency did not abate.”

Man accused of shooting interior minister appears in court

• TEMITOPE OMOGBOLAGUN


• 7 MAY 2018

A man accused of shooting Pakistan’s interior minister in a suspected assassination attempt possibly linked to blasphemy appeared in court Monday, with the attack seen as an ominous sign for security ahead of nationwide elections.

Abid Hussain appeared before the anti-terror court in Gujranwala city in Punjab province, where he was remanded into custody for ten days, police official Chaudhry Tariq told AFP.

His appearance came one day after Ahsan Iqbal, 59, was shot in the right arm as he prepared to leave a public meeting in his constituency in Punjab late Sunday.

A man identified by police as Hussain, said to be in his early 20s, was wrestled to the ground by officers and bystanders as he was preparing to fire a second shot.

Police are investigating whether the attack could have had any religious motive.

A local official told AFP that the shooter said he was inspired by a controversy last year in which a small amendment to the oath election candidates must swear had to be hastily reversed after it was linked to blasphemy, a highly inflammatory charge in the deeply conservative Muslim country.

The row sparked a three-week sit-in last November by a previously little-known Islamist group, which paralysed the capital.

That demonstration ended when the government capitulated to the protesters’ demands — including the ousting of the federal law minister — in a deal brokered by the military.

 

Court fixes Melaye’s bail application for Thursday

• GBENGA ODOGUN


• 7 MAY 2018

Gbenga Odogun, Lokoja

The Kogi State High Court sitting in Lokoja, on Monday (today) adjourned hearing of the bail application of Senator Dino Melaye for Thursday, May 10, 2018.

This followed the inability of parties to submit their counter affidavit and “better” affidavit to the written bail application by Melaye’s counsel when Justice Nasir Ajanah, last Friday, ordered that the lawmaker be transferred to the National Hospital Abuja.

The prosecution, led by Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN), readied a counter affidavit to the written application for bail by Chief Mike Ezekhome (SAN), Melaye’s counsel, to which the latter had sought the court’s permission to file a “better” affidavit to the counter affidavit by the prosecution.

Ajanah was to ask that a new date be picked to allow for the examination of written affidavits, none of which had been filed, as at the time of the sitting.

The Chief Judge of Kogi State, Justice Ajanah, had adjourned for the continuation of hearing in the written bail application filled by the defense counsel, asking for variation of the remand order placed in Senator Melaye.

This followed last Thursday’s refusal to grant bail to the lawmaker when he was arraigned before the Senior Magistrate Court 2 sitting in Lokoja on a seven-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy and illegal possession of fire arms.

Ajanah had said that in view of the critical health conditions as espoused by the counsel to the applicant, he should be moved to the National Hospital, Abuja, for proper medical attention.

Giggs hopeful of full recovery for Ferguson

• JOHN ABAYOMI


• 7 MAY 2018

Manchester United’s most decorated player Ryan Giggs led another day of well wishes from the world of football for his legendary former manager Alex Ferguson following the Scot’s emergency surgery on a brain haemorrhage.

Considered the most successful manager in the history of British football, Ferguson, 76, won 38 trophies in just over 26 years in charge of United, including 13 Premier League titles and the Champions League twice before retiring in 2013.

United have offered no update on Ferguson’s condition since saying a procedure on the haemorrhage on Saturday had gone “very well”, but that a period of intensive care is needed to optimise his recovery.

Wales manager Giggs was part of all 13 of Ferguson’s title-winning sides in a 24-year playing career at Old Trafford.

“Now is the time to pray and hope he can make a full recovery,” Giggs told BBC Wales.

“He has been the biggest influence in my career, both on and off the pitch.

“I know the operation has been a success – but he is a fighter and that is what makes me think that he will be able to make a recovery.”

United defender Phil Jones is also positive on Ferguson’s chances of making a full recovery, despite admitting to being “devastated” by the news of his ill health.

“(I am) just devastated, absolutely devastated,” said Jones, who was signed for United by Ferguson in 2011.

“He is such a legend in my eyes. He is the one who brought me to the club and gave me that opportunity to play for one of the biggest clubs in the world. He’s taken me under his wing like a father and it was shocking.

“It’s sad, but I know his character. I know he has that fight in him. Hopefully he’ll recover well.”

United midfielder Juan Mata admitted news of Ferguson’s condition had a “huge impact” on the current squad.

“This circumstance has had a huge impact on Manchester United, as you can imagine,” Mata wrote in his blog.

“All of us are united right now, wishing Sir Alex a speedy recovery. He has been a unique and fundamental figure in the football world over the last few decades.”

United thanked the many well-wishers, including the likes of rival managers Arsene Wenger, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, who spoke of their admiration for Ferguson.

– ‘Strong man’ –

Wenger enjoyed a long, and at times fractious rivalry with Ferguson as they battled for Premier League supremacy in the first decade of the Frenchman’s 22-year reign in charge of Arsenal.

However, they later became friends and with Wenger leaving Arsenal at the end of the season, Ferguson presented his old adversary with a memento on his final visit to United’s Old Trafford ground just last weekend.

“I was with him on the pitch last week. I went to see him in the box after the game and he looked in perfect shape,” said Wenger, after his final home game as Arsenal boss.

“He told me he is doing a lot of exercise, and he looked very happy but that kind of accident can happen. We wish him all well and to recover very quickly. He is a strong man and an optimistic man.”

Sunday saw runaway winners Manchester City receive the Premier League trophy. But local rivalries were forgotten as a banner was held aloft by City fans reading: “Football aside get well Fergie” as supporters spilled onto the pitch at full-time of a scoreless draw with Huddersfield.

“All the Manchester City fans in the stadium, you cannot find one person who does not wish the best for an amazing person,” said City boss Guardiola.

On the streets of Manchester on Monday there was huge respect from both sets of fanbases for Ferugson’s achievements.

“He will always be the greatest manager in Premier League history – and I’m saying that as a City fan,” Dan Holland told AFP. “I’ve got mad respect for him.”

Giggs was just one of many youngsters that Ferguson nurtured from the United academy to stardom on the international stage.

“He’s taken English football to the pinnacle of world football. The amount of trophies he won not just nationally, but internationally, all the European Cups he’s won as well,” said United fan Ben Montgomery.

“Also the fact he’s brought talents to England and shown that you can actually use homegrown talent right through to the first team – look at David Beckham for example.”

Ferguson famously described his mission upon joining United from Aberdeen in 1986 as knocking Liverpool “off their perch”.

He duly did so as United overtook Liverpool as the most successful side in English domestic football.

“When I heard the news yesterday I really couldn’t believe this could happen. He is absolutely the boss,” said Liverpool manager Klopp after his side’s 1-0 defeat at Chelsea on Sunday. “I wish him the best.”

We discussed Melaye with Buhari, not impeachment process, Saraki, Dogara say

• AGENCY REPORT


• 7 MAY 2018

Senate President Muhammadu Buhari and Speaker of the House of Reps, Yakubu Dogara, said they discussed the ongoing trial of the Senator representing Kogi West at the National Assembly, Dino Melaye, with President Muhammadu Buhari.

They said they also reported the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to the President for failing to appear before the Senate twice in one week over the Melaye issue.

The two leaders of the National Assembly also said they did not discuss the impeachment process raised against Buhari a fortnight ago in the Senate.

Saraki and Dogara, made this known to State House correspondents on Monday after a closed door meeting with the President in Abuja.

“Just talking about the issue of the Police. We, also, of course, raised the non-appearance of the Inspector-General of Police at the Senate and felt that we must continue to ensure there is adherence to constituted authority.

“He is a great concern, this is the first time it happened and that matter needs to be addressed.

“And there is need for the Police to accept that they, too, are under that constitution and they must obey that; we raised that concern.’’

The Senate President, who stated that the leadership of NASS was in the Villa on the invitation of the President, gave an assurance that the appropriation bill would be passed by the NASS next week, if laid before it this week.

He said: “Well, we came on the invitation of Mr. President. He wanted to brief us on his trip to the United States and also on the issue of the budget.

“We also talked on the issue of concerns to us, the invasion of the National Assembly, which he showed great concern for and said action will be taken to investigate that.”

Dogara, who also spoke on the outcome of the meeting, said the NASS leadership did not discuss the issue of impeachment process that was raised at the National Assembly two weeks ago.

He, however, frowned at the way and manner the police handled the case of Senator Dino Melaye.

He said, “Anything that happens to any member of the National Assembly is of concern to us. And there is no way we can have this kind of meeting without raising that.

“There is nowhere that Police will behave in a democracy like a clan of tribesmen, like an upgraded barbarians, sort of.’’

The Speaker also condemned the situation where Melaye was stretchered to court by the Police, saying that the rule of law must be observed to safeguard the image of the Buhari administration

“A situation where people are wheeled to court, that doesn’t give good image of our democracy.

“I have not seen a democracy where people are wheeled to court, they are not in the proper frame of mind and they are forced to undergo trail.

“Whatever it is, even if Dino is pretending as some have said, he cannot pretend forever.

“He is there, he will not run away, he is a senator and he can be tried any time he is in proper frame of mind.

Melaye is currently facing two separate court trials in Lokoja and Abuja over alleged criminal activity.

Naira weakens marginally against dollar at parallel market

• TEMITOPE OMOGBOLAGUN


• 7 MAY 2018

The Naira on Monday weakened marginally against the dollar at the parallel market in Lagos, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

The Nigerian currency lost one point to exchange at N361.7, weaker than N361.6 on Friday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N502 and N430, respectively.

At the Bureau De Change window, the naira traded at N362 to the dollar, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro exchanged at N502and N430, respectively.

Trading at the investors’ window saw the naira close at N360. 91, while the CBN window recorded N305.75 to the dollar.

Bandits plan to instigate war with killings, Buhari says

• OLALEKAN ADETAYO


• 7 MAY 2018

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said those behind persistent killings in parts of the country have a sinister agenda to instigate war in the country for selfish purposes.

He has also approved the establishment of a new Battalion of the Nigerian Army, as well as a new Police Area Command in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, as part of measures to scale up the security response to the banditry affecting the area.

SEE ALSO: We discussed Melaye with Buhari, not impeachment process, Saraki, Dogara say

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists.

“These persistent killings are not spontaneous; there are subterranean forces with a sinister agenda to instigate war in the country for selfish purposes.

“Although unconventional war is particularly complicated, our security forces are making rigorous efforts to better understand these enemies with a view to decisively checkmate their evil attacks,” Shehu quoted the President as saying.

The presidential spokesman said Buhari strongly condemned the latest massacre of innocent Nigerians in the area.

He said his administration would do everything possible to ensure that those he described as “enemies of humanity” are defeated.

“I am deeply outraged by this unwarranted, unprovoked and reckless destruction of lives by bandits who belong to the lowest level of civilisation.

“I feel the pains and devastation of the families of the victims, and this administration will do everything possible to ensure we defeat these enemies of humanity,” the President was further quoted as saying.

Buhari assured Nigerians that security remains a priority for his government.

He said that his administration would not tolerate the persistent killing of innocent people in order to set Nigerians against one another.

The President extended his condolences to the families of the victims, the government and the people of Kaduna State over the tragedy.

He assured them that his government will never abandon them to their fate.

According to the statement, the new Army Battalion and the Police Area Command are the latest in a series of law enforcement measures to ensure more effective protection of lives and property, in and around Benue, Kaduna, Taraba, Zamfara and Nasarawa states.

It recalled that last week, the Nigerian Air Force took delivery of two new helicopter gunships for deployment to parts of the country affected by banditry.

It added that a Quick Response Wing has also been established by the Nigerian Air Force in Taraba State, while a Joint Military Intervention Force is fully on ground in Benue.