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PHOTOS: Over 700 repentant terrorists set for reintegration into society

Published

40 minutes ago

April 17, 2026

Over 700 repentant terrorists are set to be reintegrated into their communities after they were deradicalised and rehabilitated.

The African Independent Television reports that the Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, Brigadier-General Yusuf Ali, disclosed this during a media tour of facilities at the Deradicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration Centre in Gombe, North-East Nigeria.

Brigadier-General Ali stated that many Nigerians lack adequate understanding of the Federal Government’s structured counter-terrorism programme under Operation Safe Corridor.

He explained that the program is aimed at rebuilding peace in communities affected by terrorism across the country.

According to the report, some of the clients at the camp explained their involvement in the offences that led to their admission into Operation Safe Corridor.

The media tour of the facility is in preparation for the graduation ceremony of over 700 clients who have been deradicalised, rehabilitated, and are set to be reintegrated into their communities.

This comes as the Nigerian military denied claims that deradicalised clients of Operation Safe Corridor are being recruited into military institutions.

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Nigeria, 116 Nations Without US Ambassadors – Report

Published

30 minutes ago

April 17, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Ambassadorial positions of the United States Department of State in Nigeria and 116 other countries are currently vacant, highlighting a widening diplomatic gap across multiple regions of the world.

Official records published on April 8, 2026, via the US Department of State’s website and titled “Ambassadorial Assignments Overseas” by the Office of Presidential Appointments, show that Nigeria is among 117 countries yet to have a Senate-confirmed US ambassador.

According to The PUNCH, the unfilled positions cut across Africa, Europe, Asia, the Americas and Oceania, affecting both key allies and strategic regions.

In Africa, the vacancies exist in countries including Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Eritrea, Eswatini, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, and Togo.

In Europe, the list includes countries such as Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Russia, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Ukraine.

In Asia and the Middle East, those affected include Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Iraq, the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

In the Americas, the vacancies extend to countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Commonwealth of Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.

Meanwhile, in Oceania, several island nations are also without confirmed US ambassadors, including Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

This development followed earlier diplomatic changes reported in December 2025, when the administration of President Donald Trump recalled nearly 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial and senior embassy positions worldwide.

According to a report published in The Guardian, attributing it to AP, the move affected mission chiefs in at least 29 countries, including 15 in Africa.

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Trump says Israel, Lebanon agree to 10-day ceasefire

Published

15 hours ago

April 16, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

US President Donald Trump announced that Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire starting on Thursday, though there was no indication if Iran-backed Hezbollah was on board.

Trump said the truce followed “excellent” conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, taking place two days after Israel and Lebanon held peace talks in Washington.

“These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Trump said he had directed US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and top US military officer Dan Caine to work with the two countries “to achieve a Lasting PEACE.”

“It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, GET IT DONE!” said Trump, who launched the war on Iran alongside Israel on February 28.

Hezbollah then pulled Lebanon into the Middle East war, firing rockets at Israel in support of its backer, Tehran.

Since then, Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 2,000 people and displaced more than one million, and Israeli ground forces have invaded the country’s south.

Trump said late Wednesday that Aoun and Netanyahu were due to speak on Thursday, but there was no confirmation that any such call had happened.

AFP

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Diri defends Bayelsa IPP, dismisses failed project claims

Published

16 hours ago

April 16, 2026

Newsbreak365_Admin

Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has said the state’s independent power project is on course, dismissing insinuations that it had failed.

A 60MW gas-fired turbine plant installed by the Diri administration to provide 24-hour electricity in the state was among the projects commissioned on April 10, 2026, by President Bola Tinubu.

The governor, however, explained that the plant was undergoing finishing touches requiring the installation of critical devices to safeguard the project and the state’s investment in the power sector.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, said the governor gave the explanation on Thursday during the weekly Prosperity Walk at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa, and appealed to residents of the state to be patient.

While assuring that the process would soon be completed, Senator Diri frowned at those he accused of politicising the power project.

He said, “We know that the people of Bayelsa will never forget the gas turbine project. But some of our people are talking about time and darkness. There is nothing like darkness. Those who want to play politics can do so, but we will do what we know is right for our state and our people.

“As a government, we want our people to be free from darkness. So, what you are seeing are the final finishing touches after the commissioning. Certain protective devices must be installed on the turbines so that when they begin operation, they will not be affected.

“Once the protective devices are fully installed, the turbines will come on, to the shame of those who want darkness and did not want the turbines at all.

“From the beginning, they said we would fail. Now we have surprised them, and they are not happy.”

Diri also criticised those he described as political fathers who do not allow their political “sons” to grow.

He said only bad fathers behave that way and urged political leaders to exercise restraint in their actions and comments, as these send the wrong signals to their followers.

According to the Bayelsa helmsman, political fathers should pray for their successors to do better than them, as that is the wish of a good father for his children.

“A good father prays for his child to succeed more than him. So every political father should pray for his successors to do better than him. A father who prays for his son not to do better than him is a bad father.”

He also disclosed that former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo would visit the state on Monday, April 20, 2026, to inaugurate the Oxbow Lake–Agbura Road.

He said the former VP, who performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the Angiama–Oporoma Bridge, would also visit the project after its commissioning by President Tinubu.

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