Nigerian troops in Borno State recorded a significant gain in counter-insurgency operations as a 23-year-old suspected Boko Haram fighter, Ali Saidiq, voluntarily surrendered with an AK-47 rifle and 26 rounds of ammunition during a stop-and-search operation at Kwatan Alkama checkpoint on Thursday. Saidiq, a native of Garere in Kukawa Local Government Area, handed himself over to troops of the 196 Amphibious Battalion and the Nigerian Army Brigade Lake Chad, marking another indication of the impact of intensified military pressure on terrorist elements in the Lake Chad region.
Preliminary investigations revealed that Saidiq’s surrender followed sustained military operations that disrupted terrorist activities and diminished fighter morale in the area. Security sources indicated the suspect had lost interest in continuing terrorist activities, and he remains in military custody for profiling and investigation to elish his operational history and possible links to other network members. The surrendered AK-47 rifle with registration number 02657 and ammunition have been secured as evidence.
Meanwhile, political tensions escalated as former Vice President Atiku Abubakar clarified his fuel subsidy position ahead of the 2027 general election, stating he would not resurrect the old subsidy regime but instead implement a targeted production subsidy. Atiku explained his administration would shift subsis from importation to production, ensuring crude allocation and refinery outputs are independently verified and transparently budgeted, with costs capped and measurable benefits delivered to Nigerian consumers.
Presidential aide Daniel Bwala responded by criticizing opposition politicians as content creators and desperados lacking governance capacity, claiming they have failed to present alternative policy directions over the past three years while President Tinubu’s interventions attract bipartisan gubernatorial support.
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