• Mohammed Yusuf Amutu / Credit: Nigerian Army

The Nigerian Army has declared Private Mohammed Yusuf Amutu wanted over allegations that he sold military uniforms to terrorists and other criminal elements without authorisation.

The Army announced the development in a statement issued on Thursday by the Headquarters Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps (NAOC), revealing that the soldier, attached to the Nigerian Army Ordnance Kits Factory, had been absent from his duty post since June 3, 2026.

The statement, signed by the Assistant Director of Army Public Relations at the NAOC Headquarters, Major Oluwatope Dorcas Aluko, said that initial findings linked Amutu to the alleged illegal sale and distribution of military uniforms.

It stated that the appropriate military authorities had declared the soldier wanted and were working to locate and arrest him for further investigation.

The Army added that appropriate disciplinary action would be taken in line with military regulations if the allegations are proven

•Olatunji Disu

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Olatunji Disu, has a special 14-day security operation to flush out criminal elements from identified flashpoints across Benue.

The vulnerable areas include Gbajimba, Agasha, Kwande, Agatu, Naka, Otukpo, Makurdi, Apa and other communities mapped for intensive surveillance.

Disu made the declaration the previous day during a town hall meeting on security in Makurdi, attended by Governor Hyacinth Alia, the Tor Tiv, Prof. James Ayatse, religious leaders, traditional rulers, security chiefs and other stakeholders.

The IGP described the security situation in Benue as a source of “sleepless nights” for both residents and security agencies.

He decried that the state, once renowned for peace and hospitality, had become engulfed by violence.

According to him, the crisis has evolved beyond farmer-herder clashes, with kidnappers, armed gangs and political interests aggravating the insecurity.

Disu urged youths not to allow themselves to be recruited by influential individuals to perpetrate violence, particularly during elections.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Joash Amupitan, has demanded that the commission should be funded directly from the federation’s account to guarantee free, fair and credible elections.

Amupitan made the call while speaking in Abuja on Thursday during the public presentation of Shadows: Protest Essays on Africa’s Most Consequential Country (1999-2023), a two-volume book authored by Eniola Bello, managing director of ThisDay Newspaper.

The INEC chairman said that the current budgetary process undermines the commission’s financial independence and operational efficiency.

Amupitan said although the Constitution places the commission on the first-line charge, the existing funding framework does not guarantee genuine financial autonomy.

He said that INEC’s dependence on the annual appropriation process and the federal government’s envelope budgeting system makes it difficult for the electoral body to function independently.

“Experience over the years has shown that as long as INEC is still subject to the normal envelope system and the processes of appropriation, having to go to the national assembly, it is very difficult to operate in such a situation without wasting your time,” Amupitan said.