The Senate Committee Chairman on Senate Services, Sunday Karimi has descended heavily on his counterpart from Borno State, Ali Ndume, saying he should dissipate energy to solving terrorism in his Senatorial District, rather than criticising President Bola Tinubu on appointments.

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Karimi who represents Kogi West Senatorial District expressed disappointment that Ndume picked holes in Tinubu’s appointments, saying he would have been concerned on his Boko Haram infested Senatorial District looking for how to resolve crisis rather than dissipating energy criticising the President.

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In a statement the lawmaker made available to journalists on Wednesday in Abuja, Karimi said, Ndume’s assertion that Tinubu was making lopsided political appointments in favour of his Yoruba ethnic stock cannot be proven.

He said, the information Ndume was giving on a television with regards to appointments made by President Tinubu was out of place for the wrong reasons.

Karimi expressed surprise that Ndume, a former Chief Whip of the 10th Senate, often chose to “play to the gallery” by leaving “real development challenges like the insecurity confronting Nigeria, to promote sentiments.”

The Kogi lawmaker advised Ndume to be concerned about the resurgence of terrorist attacks, recalling that the devastation caused to Nigeria by Boko Haram insurgency, cost the nation “over 50 per cent of its earnings” in recent years in counter-terrorism spending.

In doing so, Karimi urged Ndume to assist the government in finding what he called “local solutions” to the insurgency instead of “constantly projecting” himself as a critic of Tinubu’s government.

“Over 50% of Nigeria’s earnings in the last few years is being spent on fighting insurgency.

“Rather than playing to the gallery and criticising the government, Senator Ndume as a leader of his people should go back home, liaise with his people on solving Boko Haram problems.

“Insecurity has a local solution”, Karimi stated.

Citing his own example, he said that to address banditry, kidnapping and other violent crimes in Kogi-West, he had facilitated the building of a military base in Egbe Town, Yagba West Local Government Area, in addition to the provision of other logistics.

“The country has lost a lot of his soldiers and trillions of Naira fighting insurgents in Senator Ndume’s Senatorial District in the last decades.

“In fact, I lost one of the young officers, a captain in the Nigerian Army from my Senatorial District serving in his community three weeks ago.

“Lots of young Nigerians had lost their lives fighting to defend the territorial integrity of our country. Those are more serious and compelling issues threatening our collective existence”, he added.

The Kogi-West lawmaker was reacting to the latest comments made by Ndume when he appeared as a guest on television programme on Monday, alleging that Tinubu had been unfair to other parts of the country in the appointments he made so far.

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Protest has rocked Delta State in the South South, Nigeria as a result of a controversial ward delineation recommended for Warri Federal Constituency by the Independent National Electoral Commission.

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The protesters who are Itsekiri tribe in the State have shutdown a 28,000 crude barrels per day, bpd facility in Warri South – West Local Government Area, of Delta State.

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CAPITAL POST gathered that protest broke out on Tuesday at the facility formerly operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC and recently acquired by Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings. The peaceful protesters comprising men, women and youths, stormed the facility with placards with inscriptions showing their anger over the recommendation by INEC.

According to them, the proposal by INEC, amounts to ethnic cleansing by the Commission and its collaborators.
Checks revealed that that the peaceful protest would spread to other critical oil and gas facilities in Itsekiri land and may result in further drop in the country’s daily crude oil production. The aggrieved Itsekiri people are demanding the withdrawal of the proposal made by INEC as regards ward delineation in Warri Federal Constituency, saying proper delineation, which would take cognisance of the historical and legitimate names of communities in Warri South, Warri South – West and Warri North Local Government Areas, should be carried out by INEC.

It will be recalled that INEC had last Friday, unveiled the proposed delineated wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency, in line with the Supreme Court’s judgment that calls for fresh delineation.

The Itsekiri Nation however rejected the proposed ward delineation in Delta State by the Commission.

At a media briefing on Sunday, the Secretary of Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, Mr Amorighoye Mene, dropped the hint of a court action against INEC.

He said, “We expected INEC to consider the voting strength of the various ethnic groups that comprise the area — the Itsekiri, Urhobo, Ijaw, and other mixed-demographic areas — when delineating the wards and polling units.

“At a stakeholders meeting on Friday, INEC unveiled the proposed delineated wards and polling units in the Warri Federal Constituency, in line with the Supreme Court’s judgment that calls for fresh delineation.

“We were not allowed to speak or react at the venue of the unveiling, but we have looked at the report given to us and the entire Itsekiri nation completely condemns and rejects the work done by INEC.”

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Nairobi, Kenya: April 8, 2025 – The Congress of African Journalists (CAJ) has called for the immediate release of three journalists detained in Burkina Faso and forcibly conscripted into the armed forces. Guezouma Sanogo, president of the Association of Burkinabe Journalists (AJB), his deputy Boukari Ouoba, and Luc Pagbelguem, a reporter for the private TV station BFI, were arrested by National Security Council intelligence officers on March 24.

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Sanogo and Ouoba were detained after speaking out against increasing violations of press freedom during the AJB Congress. Pagbelguem’s arrest followed his media outlet’s coverage of the congress, where Sanogo also advocated for the release of four other journalists who were abducted and conscripted into the army in 2024.

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A video surfaced online last week showing the three journalists in military uniforms in an undisclosed location, flanked by armed men in Burkinabe army uniforms. The CAJ has strongly condemned the actions of the Burkinabe authorities, urging them to release the journalists immediately and uphold press freedom.

“We call on the Burkinabe authorities to immediately release the detained journalists and ensure journalists and media outlets can operate freely,” said Christopher Isiguzo, president of CAJ.
He expressed deep concern over the growing crackdown on journalists and media outlets in Burkina Faso, which has included suspending AJB’s operations.

Isiguzo also highlighted the detrimental effect this crackdown is having on press freedom, warning that it fosters fear and self-censorship among journalists, thereby undermining the fundamental right to freedom of expression and access to information.

The CAJ president further called for the release of three other journalists forcibly conscripted into the army in 2024: Serge Oulon, editor-in-chief of L’Evénement newspaper, Adama Bayala, and Kalifara Sere from BF1, a private TV channel. These individuals went missing in June 2024, with the authorities confirming their conscription in October of that year. The fate of Alain Traore, a columnist with Omega Media, remains unknown, as he was seized by masked gunmen in July 2024, with the authorities refusing to comment on his whereabouts.

As the repression intensifies, many journalists have fled the country, fearing arrest and forced conscription. Notably, Newton Ahmed Barry, a prominent journalist, was placed on a list of individuals “wanted for association with a terrorist organization” by the Burkinabe authorities on April 1.

During the AJB Congress, additional concerns were raised regarding the disappearances of journalists Bienvenue Apiou, James Yazid Dembele, and Mamadou Ali, highlighting the ongoing threat to press freedom in Burkina Faso.

The CAJ continues to monitor the situation closely, calling on international bodies to exert pressure on the Burkinabe government to respect the rights of journalists and ensure their safe return.

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