……Awards N5m Compensation and Medicare.

Barely one month after directing the payment of N10 million compensation to Abuja businesswoman Mrs Chineze Ozoadibe, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Oluwatosin Adeola Ajayi, has ordered the immediate release of Mr Kenneth Okechukwu Nwafor from Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State, who has been in detention since July 2022 over alleged links to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Mr Nwafor was also awarded N5 million in compensation and granted free medical care. Credible security sources disclosed that a comprehensive review of inherited cases exonerated him completely.

In the same vein, three other Abia indigenes – Udemba, Onyedikachi and Eze – earlier detained on similar IPOB-related allegations have been released after investigations cleared them.

A senior DSS source told journalists: “The DG gave a standing order for thorough case-by-case reviews of all pending and inherited detentions to ensure justice and due process. Mr Nwafor’s case is one of many that have been resolved under this directive.

”The source described the actions as evidence of Mr Ajayi’s commitment to the rule of law, accountability and swift remediation of operational errors.

Since assuming office, the DSS boss has overseen several high-profile compensations, including:- N20 million (double the court-awarded N10 million) to a Jos businessman mistakenly shot in the leg during a 2016 operation;- N10 million to Mrs Ozoadibe last month;- Additional N10 million shared among five other wrongly accused persons in the same matter.

“Mr Ajayi believes that when mistakes occur, the honourable thing is to correct them promptly and fairly and transparently. That culture is now firmly established in the Service,” the source added.

The latest releases and compensations have been widely seen as part of ongoing reforms to restore public trust in the agency.

The President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio has formally unveiled Nigeria’s Counter Terrorism Strategic Plan 2025 – 2030.

The Strategic Plan was put together by the National Counter Terrorism Centre in the Office of the National Security Adviser.

In his Keynote address, Akpabio said the occasion was not merely the launch of another policy document but a defining moment in the nation’s journey.

“It is a moment when Nigeria again reaffirms that our people deserve to live without fear, that our children deserve a future of peace, and that our nation must be secured to prosper,” he said.

The Senate President remarked that every generation faced a question that history demanded it must answer.

“For ours, the question is clear: How do we secure our nation, safeguard our people and set Nigeria irreversibly on the path of peace, growth and stability?“ The Strategic Plan 2025 – 2030 answers this question with vision, discipline and ambition.

It offers a framework for transforming our institutions, modernising our security architecture, strengthening national resilience and expanding partnerships across government, industry, civil society and the international community”

“As President of the Senate, I have seen how insecurity weakens the foundations of development. Investors withdraw, schools close, farmers abandon their fields, and hope retreats from the hearts of our young people.

That is why a pragmatic, forward-looking and implementation-driven plan such as this is timely, necessary and welcome.”

(Independent)

• Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda

The Delta State Police Command said that the rumoured invasion of Girls’ Secondary School, Utagba-Ogbe, Kwale, today was entirely false and misleading.

In a statement, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Command, CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, clarified that upon receiving the report, the Command immediately ordered a coordinated response and deployed the DCO Kwale Division, SP Udofia Kufre, to lead a patrol team for immediate on-the-ground verification and security assessment.

The Vice Principal of the school and the security man on duty were interviewed, and both confirmed that no attack occurred and that the panic emanated solely from misinformation among students.

As a precautionary measure, adjoining schools within the Kwale axis were visited and all were found to be calm, safe, and in a normal academic session.

Parents who rushed to pick up their children are advised to remain calm, as the earlier rumour has been decisively addressed and normalcy has been fully restored.

CP Olufemi Abaniwonda warns strongly against the spread of unverified rumours capable of causing fear or disrupting academic activities.

The CP reiterated the Command’s unwavering resolve to respond swiftly to any credible threat while ensuring the safety of all educational institutions across the state.

He further urges school authorities to strengthen internal communication, promptly report suspicious observations to the nearest police formation, and maintain close collaboration with local security outfits to enhance monitoring around school environments.