Category: Business Day

GetBundi, an African EdTech platform has commenced the 2026 edition of its TechSis programme which targets 3,000 women with free digital skills training as it intensifies efforts to close the gender gap in Africa’s technology ecosystem.

The latest cohort was onboarded virtually on August 1 which marks the beginning of a four-month training programme focused on equipping participants with skills in high-demand areas including content creation, digital marketing, data analytics and video editing.

Petronella Chizera, CEO of Asher Zebulun, urged participants to look beyond securing employment and use their digital skills to create opportunities and solve problems within their communities.

‘Your digital skills become truly valuable when they solve real problems in your community,’ she said.

The guest speaker at the event, Ijeoma Emeagi, director of career development services at Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, encouraged the trainees to view the programme as the beginning of their professional journey rather than its conclusion.

‘Never stop learning. The end of training is the beginning of your professional journey. Build a digital footprint you’re proud of because your reputation starts long before the interview,’ Emeagi said.

TechSis was launched by GetBundi in 2023 to address the digital gender gap and increase women’s participation in Africa’s digital economy.

The programme has expanded significantly since its launch. Its inaugural cohort trained 500 women in coding, while the 2024 edition reached 1,000 women with training in web development and data analytics.

In 2025, the programme increased its reach to 1,500 women, who were trained in data analytics and cybersecurity.

For 2026, GetBundi has raised its target to 3,000 women, representing a doubling of last year’s planned reach.

‘Our mission is to equip African women with the digital skills they need to drive innovation, secure meaningful employment, and achieve economic independence,’ Osita Oparaugo, founder of GetBundi, said at the launch of the 2026 programme.

‘We are creating pathways for African women to enter and lead in the digital economy,’ he added.

Beyond training, GetBundi is also seeking to connect graduates to employment opportunities through partnerships within the global digital labour market.

Through its partnership with Doballi, a Dubai-based remote talent platform, some TechSis graduates have secured employment opportunities with international companies, providing a potential pathway from skills acquisition to income generation.

The 2026 programme will be delivered entirely online over four months. Participants will receive certificates upon completion only if they have indicated interest and paid the optional $10 certification fee.

GetBundi said the continued expansion of TechSis reflects its broader objective of preparing African learners for the future of work while creating more pathways for women to participate meaningfully in the continent’s growing digital economy.

A new book, Courage to Succeed, has launched to spotlight the resilience of Nigerian entrepreneurship.

Authored by Yinka Padonu, creative director of Smartbrands Innovative Media Services, the book profiles 14 founders who built thriving businesses despite major challenges.

The book tells the stories of entrepreneurs including Chidi Ajaere of GIG Group, Cosmas Maduka of Coscharis Group, Odunayo Eweniyi of PiggyVest, and Tunde Onakoya of Chess in Slums Africa.

It also features Grace Ibhakomu of Lifecard Int’l Investment Ltd, Sola Adesakin of Smart Stewards Financial Academy, Wisdom Ezekiel of Pertinence Group, Kemi Fajana of Fajana Group, Tara Fela-Durotoye of House of Tara International, Olumide Adeniji of Ao Electricals and other leaders across transport, finance, and social impact sectors.

According to Padonu, Courage to Succeed is designed to document the vision, grit, and enterprise behind Nigeria’s growing business class, while offering lessons for aspiring founders across West Africa.

In a statement, he explained that the legacy book project documents their early beginnings, the obstacles they encountered, and the principles that guided their growth.

He noted that the book was written to preserve authentic Nigerian business stories and to provide a practical reference for students, young professionals and aspiring founders.

‘I authored this book to put on record the experiences of Nigerians who dared to start. These are not theories. These are real stories of risk, failure, learning and eventual success,’ Padonu stated. ‘If one young person reads this and decides to start, then the purpose is served.’

According to Padonu, the 14 entrepreneurs featured in the book represent diverse sectors and backgrounds.

Each chapter explores how they identified opportunities, mobilized limited resources, built teams, and stayed consistent through economic fluctuations.

He added that the book also examines the mindset required to succeed as a business owner in Nigeria.

‘Entrepreneurship in Nigeria demands courage, patience and adaptability. The people in this book did not wait for perfect conditions. They started where they were, with what they had,’ he said.

He said the book is positioned to contribute to national conversations on job creation, self-reliance and the importance of documenting indigenous business models.

The book further highlights mentorship, community support, and policy as key factors influencing enterprise growth.

The official launch of the book is scheduled for Thursday, 3rd September 2026 at the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies (FCMS) Conference Hall, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos.

‘Your presence will honour this milestone and celebrate the spirit of enterprise and impact in Nigeria,’ Padonu said.

The launch will feature a keynote address, a panel discussion, and a book signing. Members of the media, academia, the business community and the general public are invited to attend. Copies of the book will be available at the venue.

Padonu is an author and creative director at Smartbrands Innovative Media Services, Lagos. He is a media and brand strategist focused on storytelling, visibility and enterprise development. Through his work, he helps businesses, public figures and institutions communicate with clarity and purpose.

Courage to Succeed is his latest book and reflects his commitment to documenting and amplifying Nigerian entrepreneurial journeys.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has uncovered a massive ghost-worker and payroll manipulation scheme in which a government official allegedly enrolled 14 members of his family on the public payroll and collected their salaries.

Musa Aliyu, the ICPC chairman, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while delivering the keynote address at the 2026 Economic Confidential Lecture and National Spokespersons Award organised by Image Merchants Promotions Limited.

Aliyu said the discovery was made during a year-long investigation by the commission into suspected ghost workers, payroll fraud and manipulation across government institutions.

According to him, investigators uncovered cases in which public officials allegedly exploited weaknesses in government payroll systems to insert relatives and other individuals as fictitious employees, allowing salaries and other employment-related benefits to be diverted.

The ICPC chairman said one of the cases involved an official who allegedly enrolled 14 members of his family on the government payroll and personally collected the salaries paid to them.

‘We discovered that one person enrolled 14 members of his family. He lived in a religious hotel, a hotel at the public office, receiving salaries,’ Aliyu said.

He disclosed that investigators also uncovered another case involving an individual who allegedly enrolled his wife, daughter, son and other relatives on the payroll, enabling him to receive salaries meant for 13 employees.

The ICPC boss said the cases demonstrated the increasingly sophisticated nature of payroll fraud in the public sector and the difficulty of detecting such schemes through conventional checks.

He explained that some perpetrators manipulate payroll databases in ways that make fictitious employees appear legitimate, including inserting names and email addresses that correspond with supposed government workers.

However, further checks often reveal that the bank accounts linked to those employees belong to completely different people.

‘When they insert their names, you will see their name in the payroll. You will see their email. But when you check the account number, you will see the name of the person. So, that is how these things have been done,’ he said.

Aliyu said the commission had so far identified about 900 suspected ghost workers as part of its investigations.

He explained that the names of the suspected ghost workers were published to give those affected an opportunity to demonstrate that they were genuine employees and clarify any discrepancies identified in the payroll system.

Aliyu warned that the financial consequences of ghost-worker arrangements could be significantly greater than the salaries paid to fictitious employees.

He explained that once a fictitious employee is established on a government payroll, the individual could also become entitled, on paper, to pension contributions, mortgage benefits, housing fund contributions and health insurance.

‘Because, you know, once there is a ghost worker, there is ghost pension, there is ghost mortgage, there is ghost housing fund, there is ghost health insurance,’ the ICPC chairman said.

The ICPC chairman further disclosed that the commission recovered more than N24 billion linked to ghost-worker pension payments in 2024.

The recovery, he said, reflected the broader financial implications of payroll fraud and the importance of identifying fraudulent beneficiaries before public resources are continually lost.

Aliyu said the commission was increasingly shifting its approach towards prevention, data analysis and early intervention, rather than relying exclusively on prosecution after public funds had already been diverted.

According to him, blocking avenues through which corruption occurs could deliver greater value to the country than waiting for fraudulent transactions to take place before initiating criminal proceedings.

‘It is better for us to do that than to engage in filing criminal charges. How many charges can we file?’ he said.

Aliyu stressed the need for government agencies to deploy technology, data analytics and more effective information-sharing systems to identify irregularities in public expenditure and payroll administration.

He said the ability to analyse large volumes of government data could help investigators identify unusual patterns, duplicate beneficiaries, inconsistencies between employee identities and bank accounts, and other indicators of payroll fraud.

He also emphasised the importance of reliable information and strategic communication in the fight against corruption, saying public confidence in government institutions depends largely on their ability to demonstrate transparency and accountability.

Vivien Udeabor, Nigerian Film and Television Producer known for producing acclaimed television dramas and feature films, has officially announced the pre-launch of her debut novel, A Woman Like Me, marking her evolving from visual storytelling to literary fiction.

Inspired by the biblical account of the Samaritan woman in John Chapter 4, A Woman Like Me is a work of Christian fiction that explores shame, identity, grace and redemption through richly imagined characters, inviting readers into a journey of healing and the knowledge that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love.’

The pre-launch campaign offers readers an early opportunity to purchase copies and get exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes content ahead of its official release.

For Vivien, the move into publishing is a natural extension of a career built around storytelling.

As Founder and Creative Director of Ubuntu Visuals, she has consistently championed stories that connect people. Whether producing television series, feature films or now writing fiction, she maintains that stories should inspire conversations and possibly change lives.

Industry observers recognised Vivien as one of a growing generation of producers shaping storytelling through creative excellence and thoughtful leadership. Her latest venture positions her among a new wave of filmmakers expanding their influence beyond the screen into literature and culture.

Artificial intelligence was initially sold to organisations as a way to make people more productive. It could summarise documents, analyse data, draft correspondence, generate code and answer operational questions in seconds.

Then AI began moving from conversation to action.

Agentic AI can now plan workflows, use software tools, access APIs, retrieve information and make operational decisions with limited human intervention. Some systems can even delegate tasks to other agents.

That changes the cybersecurity equation.

In a previous publication of mine which I titled, Your AI Strategy Is Incomplete Without an AI Security Strategy, I argued that organisations cannot pursue AI adoption while treating security as an afterthought. That argument remains valid, but agentic AI raises a more urgent question, which is, what happens when an autonomous system has the authority to act across an organisation’s infrastructure after it has been compromised?

The central vulnerability is no longer simply whether an AI model can be manipulated into producing harmful or confidential information. It is whether a compromised agent can use legitimate access to take consequential actions.

That is the defining security challenge of the agentic era.

The New Software Insider

Traditional software waits for explicit instructions and operates within predefined rules. An AI agent receives an objective and determines how to achieve it. It selects tools, retrieves information and acts on the environment around it.

That autonomy makes agents commercially valuable. It also makes them difficult to secure.

When an organisation gives an employee access to sensitive systems, identity governance determines what that person can see, what they can change and how their actions are recorded. An AI agent should face the same scrutiny.

Granting an agent broad access to corporate databases and APIs without a security architecture is effectively giving a non-human actor privileged access to the organisation.

The difference is speed.

A human may make one damaging decision. An agent connected to an ERP, CRM or financial system can make hundreds of consequential decisions before anyone notices.

The agent therefore becomes a new kind of insider: an authorised non-human insider.

When Legitimate Access Becomes an Attack Vector

Consider an autonomous customer-support agent authorised to access customer records, transaction histories and refund systems.

An attacker may not need to breach those systems directly. A malicious instruction embedded in a customer email, support ticket, document or webpage could manipulate the agent into using its legitimate permissions against the organisation.

This is the danger of indirect prompt injection.

The attacker does not necessarily need to steal credentials. They can persuade an authorised agent to misuse the authority it already has.

The principle of least privilege therefore needs to apply to machines as rigorously as it does to people.

An agent that schedules meetings should not have access to financial records. An agent that analyses financial data should not be able to initiate transfers. Credentials should be temporary, scoped and revocable rather than permanent keys with broad access.

The more capable an agent becomes, the more disciplined its boundaries must be.

The Problem Gets Harder When Agents Talk to Agents

The risk becomes more difficult to contain when organisations deploy networks of autonomous agents.

Imagine one agent retrieving external data, another interpreting it, a third calling a financial API and a fourth updating internal records.

A security incident can then become a chain rather than a single event.

Where did the malicious instruction enter the system?

Which agent acted on it?

What information did that agent receive?

What permissions were active at the time?

Can the organisation reconstruct the chain afterwards?

These questions expose a weakness in conventional security monitoring.

Traditional tools are good at recording logins, network traffic and system events.

Agentic systems introduce another layer: machine decisions shaped by context, prompts and interactions between agents.

Without detailed tracing of those interactions and tool calls, investigators may know that something went wrong without being able to establish how it happened.

That is a serious incident-response problem.

‘Human in the Loop’ Is Not Enough

Organisations often describe human oversight as their primary safeguard against AI risk. But oversight is meaningless if the human cannot intervene at the speed of the system.

If an agent can execute hundreds of actions in minutes, reviewing its activity hours later is not real-time control.

Effective governance requires observability.

Organisations need to know what an agent was instructed to do, what information it accessed, which tools it used, what permissions it exercised and what actions followed.

They also need to confront a growing problem: shadow agency.

The next version of shadow IT will not simply be employees using unauthorised software. It will be employees deploying autonomous agents with access to local files, internal systems, credentials and external communication channels without their organisation fully knowing they exist.

Agent sprawl could become one of the defining enterprise security problems of the late 2020s.

Five Questions Every AI Agent Should Answer

Organisations do not need an entirely new philosophy of cybersecurity. They need to apply established security principles to a new class of actor.

Every enterprise AI agent should be able to answer five questions:

1. What can it see?

Define strict boundaries around the data, repositories and APIs it can access.

2. What can it do?

Separate information retrieval from actions that modify records, move money, send communications or deploy code.

3. Who authorised it?

Maintain a clear and verifiable chain of human accountability for high-impact actions.

4. Can we observe it?

Capture sufficient telemetry to reconstruct its decisions, interactions and tool use.

5. Can we stop it?

Build in anomaly detection, permission revocation and reliable kill-switches.

These controls should exist before an agent is trusted with consequential authority, not after an incident exposes the gap.

My experience working with complex digital publishing systems reinforces a simple principle that information should never automatically become authority.

In media organisations, external copy, user submissions and third-party information pass through verification and editorial controls before they can influence what gets published. Enterprise AI needs a comparable separation between information and instruction

An external document may contain useful information. That does not mean it should be allowed to instruct the system.

When information can directly trigger execution, the information itself becomes part of the attack surface.

Securing Agency, Not Just AI Models

The agentic AI revolution will create enormous opportunities for organisations willing to automate complex work. But the security model cannot remain focused primarily on protecting models and data.

The real question is authority.

What has the organisation allowed the machine to see?

What has it allowed the machine to change?

What happens when the machine is manipulated?

And, crucially, can humans still stop it?

Every serious security architecture assumes that something will eventually fail. Credentials will be compromised. Software will contain vulnerabilities.

People will make mistakes. Systems will behave unexpectedly.

Autonomous AI deserves the same assumption.

The organisations that navigate the agentic era successfully will not be those that give machines the most power. They will be those that can give machines meaningful agency while retaining meaningful human control.

The future of AI security is therefore not about eliminating autonomy. It is about securing agency.

YouTube is raising the entry requirements for its Partner Programme, doubling the watch hours and Shorts views needed for new creators to begin earning advertising and subscription revenue.

From 1 February 2027, new applicants will need 8,000 qualified watch hours over the previous 365 days, or 20 million qualified Shorts views over the previous 90 days. The subscriber threshold remains unchanged at 1,000. These figures double the current requirements of 4,000 watch hours and 10 million Shorts views.

The company announced the changes in a blog post on Monday, stating that with more than three million creators already in the programme, the adjustments represent the first significant updates since 2018. YouTube said the move aims to ensure the programme continues to lead in the creator economy by meaningfully rewarding active creators. The platform expects to pay even more to creators in 2027 than in 2026.

YouTube linked the higher bar to its own growth, pointing to more than 200 billion daily Shorts views and over a billion hours of daily watch time on television. Creators already enrolled in the YouTube Partner Programme will not be affected by the new entry thresholds.

The change marks a shift for a company that spent the past four years expanding access. In September 2022, YouTube opened the programme to Shorts-focused creators at the lower thresholds of 1,000 subscribers and 10 million Shorts views over 90 days, while also introducing an earlier access tier for fan funding tools. Those lower thresholds remain in place at 500 subscribers and three public uploads in the last 90 days, plus either 3,000 valid public watch hours in a year or three million valid public Shorts views in 90 days.

YouTube is also introducing a minimum performance requirement for Shorts earnings. From 1 February 2027, every channel in the Partner Programme will need 10 million qualified Shorts views over the previous 90 days to remain eligible for ads and subscription revenue sharing on Shorts. Channels that fall below this level will stay in the programme and continue earning on long-form content, with Shorts revenue sharing resuming automatically once they again cross the 10 million view mark.

The company said the update will distribute Shorts revenue to reward creators who drive conversation and engagement. Creators who already earn significant revenue from Shorts are unlikely to be affected.

This approach mirrors changes seen elsewhere in digital media. Spotify, for instance, requires tracks to be streamed at least 1,000 times in the previous 12 months to qualify for its recorded music royalty pool.

For Nigerian and broader African creators, the higher thresholds arrive against a backdrop of growing global reach and monetisation opportunities on the platform. Nigerian musicians and filmmakers have increasingly used YouTube to access international audiences and higher advertising rates in markets such as the United States and the United Kingdom. The top 16 Nigerian artists alone have collectively surpassed 20 billion views, while Nollywood filmmakers have turned to the platform for direct, ungated distribution of full-length films that can generate sustained revenue over many years

Addy Awofisayo, head of music for Sub-Saharan Africa at YouTube, has previously noted that creators in Nigeria can earn from viewers worldwide once they join the Partner Programme, benefiting from stronger digital advertising ecosystems in developed markets. Consistency, audience engagement and educational support through initiatives such as the Music Business Academy, Foundry and creator boot camps have helped local talent maximise these opportunities.

The raised entry bar may make initial access more demanding for emerging Nigerian creators, yet those who qualify and maintain strong Shorts performance will continue to tap into a revenue model that has already proven transformative for African content on the global stage.

Gov Sim Fubara of Rivers State has denied being at loggerheads again with members of the state’s House of Assembly as being the reason for the silence over the state’s stalled 2026 budget.

This is as anxiety and uproar have continued to grow over the stalled N1.85trn budget submitted almost one month ago. The governor has been in bouts of crisis a few months after taking over in 2023.

The governor said there have been newspaper reports of disagreement between him and the Nyesom Wike-backed members of the House.

A statement issued by Onwuka Nzeshi, Chief Press Secretary to Gov Sim Wednesday night said the attention of the Rivers State Government was drawn to a news item published in some national dailies and online platforms insinuating that there was a disagreement between the Executive and Legislative arms of the Rivers State Government over the 2026 Appropriation Bill.

‘We wish to make it abundantly clear that His Excellency, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, is not at loggerheads with members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, but rather working closely with them to serve the good people of Rivers State.’

The statement said the 2026 Budget proposal which was presented to the House of Assembly weeks back, was going through the normal legislative process. ‘We strongly believe that once the process is completed, it will be passed by the lawmakers.’

The statement went to emotions, saying: ‘The Rivers State Government has gone through difficult times in the past and is not prepared to be dragged into another round of controversies. We therefore advise all those bent on promoting negative narratives to desist from such actions forthwith as we need peace and harmony to ensure steady development of Rivers State.’

The tradition in the eight years preceding the present administration is that the budget was sometimes passed hours after its presentation to the House of Assembly. This time around, the Rivers State budget travelled round the state looking for those to pass it, till State of Emergency was proclaimed in the state. The National Assembly had to take over lawmaking for the state, thus, the 2025/26 budget was enacted for the state from Abuja.

Now, one month ago, Fubara crafted another budget after he said he had returned to his political family, making the world believe that peace or political harmony has returned to the state. Many expected a quick passage of the budget so spending can begin in the face of near-collapse of governance.

Refuse dump everywhere in the state as well as non-issuance of land papers (certificates of occupancy) seem to ground the state to a standstill as businesses are wailing.

Some claim without proof that the lawyers collected N2bn each for the budget.

One of those leading the uproar is Chetam T Nwala, one of Fubara’s fiercest backers who said he has resigned to fate. The man known in the social media space as the ‘Certified Courtist’ is a popular activist Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner and human rights lawyer.

Nwala is thus asking what is still holding or stopping the lawmakers from passing the budget. In a video he sent out Thursday, August 13, 2026, Nwala accused the lawmakers of holding the state to ransom by sitting on the budget silently without saying what the matter was.

Some other activists accuse the Lawmakers of holding Fubara hostage but some others said it was Gov Fubara that must be holding himself hostage. They say it was wrong for the governor to surrender the fight and return to the Wike Rainbow Coalition.

Some say it is wrong for the governor to blame news reports about the 2026 budget, saying it is the government that is rather blocking development, not innocent news reports and ordinary members of the public.

Embattled Universal Insurance Plc has entered into a binding N7.128 billion private placement agreement with FPNG Co-Nvest Limited, a transaction that could provide the insurer with the capital needed to clear the regulatory hurdle under Nigeria’s recently concluded insurance industry recapitalisation exercise.

Under the agreement, FPNG will inject N7.128 billion in fresh equity capital into Universal Insurance through a private placement in exchange for additional shares, resulting in FPNG becoming the company’s majority shareholder with a 50.1 percent equity stake.

The transaction comes as Universal Insurance remains among the insurers that did not scale the recapitalisation hurdle as published by the National Insurance Commission’s (NAICOM).

In a market update to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), signed by Chinedu Onyilimba, company secretary, Universal Insurance said the transaction, once concluded, would enable the company to exceed its regulatory capital requirement while maintaining a robust solvency margin.

‘The Company entered into a binding investment agreement with FPNG Co-Nvest Limited, under which FPNG would invest a total of N7.128 billion of equity capital via a private placement into Universal Insurance in exchange for additional shares in the Company,’ Onyilimba said.

He added that the transaction would result in FPNG attaining a majority equity holding of 50.1 percent in Universal Insurance.

The company said its board and management are currently engaging with NAICOM and other relevant regulators on the transaction, with regulatory approvals forming the next critical step before completion.

Universal Insurance said it had already secured the relevant board and shareholder approvals for the transaction and remained committed to fulfilling all applicable regulatory requirements.

The says it would continue to keep the NGX, shareholders and the investing public informed of material developments as the transaction progresses.

FPNG Co-Nvest Limited is an active institutional investment vehicle and subsidiary of FigPoint (Fig Partners Africa). It holds substantial equity stakes in major Nigerian publicly listed companies, reflecting a strategic investment focus on the country’s capital market and financial sector

Three senior executives of ipNX Nigeria have been recognised among the 50 Most Influential Figures in Nigeria’s Digital Economy at the 15th West Africa Convergence Conference (WACC).

The executives, Ejovi Aror, group managing director; Bimpe Olaleye, group executive director, commercials; and Olusola Teniola, director, strategic business initiatives, were recognised for their contributions to Nigeria’s information and communications technology (ICT) sector and digital economy.

The recognition was presented during the annual WACC, organised by IT Edge New Africa, which brings together policymakers, regulators, technology companies and business leaders to examine developments shaping West Africa’s digital ecosystem.

The recognition highlights ipNX’s role in expanding broadband connectivity, promoting digital inclusion and developing technology solutions aimed at supporting businesses and communities.

Speaking on the award, Aror said the recognition represented the collective efforts of ipNX employees rather than an individual achievement.

‘This recognition is not a personal honour, but a testament to the dedication, innovation, and resilience of the entire ipNX team,’ he said.

According to him, the company remains focused on building digital infrastructure capable of supporting businesses, connecting communities and contributing to a more inclusive digital economy.

Teniola also described collaboration among government, industry and other stakeholders as critical to Nigeria’s digital transformation.

‘Nigeria’s digital future depends on strong collaboration between industry, government, and other stakeholders,’ he said.

He added that ipNX would continue to focus on innovation, policy engagement and strategic initiatives aimed at expanding digital access and strengthening connectivity.

Troops of the Nigerian Army have arrested a suspected high-profile terrorist operative linked to notorious terrorist leader Dogo Gide, alongside 60 suspected collaborators, in a series of intelligence-led operations conducted across several states.

The operations, carried out between August 12 and 13, 2026, also resulted in the recovery of weapons, military camouflage uniforms, motorcycles, improvised weapons and other items suspected to have been used in support of terrorist activities.

The arrests came as the military intensified operations against terrorist groups and armed criminal elements in the North-West and other parts of the country.

In Kaduna State, troops of the 4 Demonstration Battalion arrested a suspected operative of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) at Kadage Check Point.

The suspect was allegedly transporting seven pairs of sewn foreign camouflage uniforms to a terrorist camp when he was intercepted by the troops.

According to the military, preliminary interrogation indicated that the suspect was a close associate and logistics supplier to Dogo Gide, a notorious terrorist commander operating in the North-West.

Troops recovered 23 yards of foreign camouflage material, two mobile phones, three Automated Teller Machine cards and an identity card from the suspect.

The Army said the discovery was significant because the movement of military-style uniforms and other logistics could facilitate terrorist groups’ ability to disguise their members, move within communities and sustain their operations.

In Adamawa State, troops of 226 Battalion, working with local hunters, raided a motor park in Gombi following intelligence indicating that suspected terrorist collaborators had infiltrated the area while disguising themselves as menial workers and hawkers.

The suspects are currently being held for further investigation as security authorities work to determine their identities, affiliations and possible links to terrorist networks.

Meanwhile, the Theatre Command, Joint Task Force North-West, Operation Fansan Yamma, has launched a fresh coordinated offensive, codenamed Operation Clean Sweep IV, against terrorists and other armed criminal groups operating across the region.

The operation combines ground and air assets and is designed to increase pressure on terrorist formations, disrupt their logistics and movements and prevent them from establishing operational footholds in civilian communities.

Aliyu Danja, Media Information Officer of Operation Fansan Yamma, Lieutenant Colonel, said the operation was aimed at bringing coordinated ground and air actions to bear on identified threats across the North-Western states.

‘The operation brings coordinated ground and air actions to bear on identified threats across the North Western States,’ Army said.

It added that the offensive was also intended to degrade terrorist capabilities, disrupt their movements and logistics, and deny them opportunities to establish footholds within Nigerian communities.

As part of the operation, troops of Sector 2 conducted a clearance operation on August 12 around suspected terrorist enclaves in Dutsinma Local Government Area of Katsina State.

The military said the operation exerted significant pressure on the terrorists, forcing them to abandon their positions and retreat into surrounding bushes.

‘The operation mounted significant pressure on the terrorists, compelling them to abandon their positions and withdraw into surrounding bushes. Clearance operation is ongoing in the general area,’ it said.

In Zamfara State, the Air Component of Operation Fansan Yamma carried out precision air strikes against terrorists who had converged on motorcycles in the Anka Local Government Area.

According to the military, the strikes neutralised scores of terrorists and forced survivors to flee into surrounding bushes.

Ground troops also recorded gains in the state, with troops of 1 Brigade recovering an RPG bomb during a patrol around Tunga-Jambako in Maradun Local Government Area.

The recovery followed an earlier terrorist ambush in the area, highlighting the continuing threat posed by improvised and military-grade explosives to troops and communities across the region.

In Benue State, troops of Operation Whirl Stroke arrested five suspected terrorists during operations in Chito, Jootar and Ikyior communities in Ukum Local Government Area.

The troops also destroyed suspected terrorist enclaves and recovered two motorcycles and two locally fabricated firearms.

The military said the operations were part of broader efforts to dismantle terrorist and criminal networks operating across the country’s vulnerable communities and movement corridors.

In the North-East, troops also intercepted suspected family members and associates of terrorists amid continuing instability among terrorist factions.

Five women and seven children suspected to be family members of terrorists were intercepted in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State.

Similarly, six male children were intercepted at Ajiri after reportedly escaping from Murofari Village following clashes between rival terrorist groups.

The interception of the women and children underscored the complex humanitarian and security challenges confronting military forces in communities affected by prolonged terrorist activities and clashes between rival factions.

Beyond the immediate arrests and weapons recoveries, the military said a major component of Operation Clean Sweep IV would be the containment and dismantling of the Lakurawa terrorist network across the theatre.

Lakurawa, which has emerged as a security concern in parts of the North-West and border areas, has increasingly attracted the attention of Nigerian security agencies because of the group’s reported exploitation of difficult-to-monitor border corridors for movement and logistics.

The military said Operation Clean Sweep IV was specifically designed to prevent the infiltration and reinforcement of Lakurawa elements into Nigeria.

‘The operation is designed to prevent the infiltration and reinforcement of Lakurawa elements into Nigeria while denying the group the opportunity to exploit border areas as corridors for movement, logistics and the establishment of enclaves,’ it said.

The military’s latest offensive reflects an effort to move beyond reactive responses to terrorist attacks by targeting the networks, logistics routes, hideouts and supply channels that sustain armed groups.

Security forces are also seeking to prevent terrorists from exploiting civilian populations, border communities and informal economic activities as cover for recruitment, movement and logistical support.

Danja said the launch of the operation demonstrated the Theatre Command’s commitment to maintaining sustained pressure on evolving terrorist threats.

‘The launch of Operation CLEAN SWEEP IV underscores the proactive and sustained posture of Operation Fansan Yamma in confronting evolving terrorist threats across the region,’ Army said.

It added that the Theatre Command remained committed to protecting civilian communities, securing Nigeria’s territorial integrity and preventing terrorist groups from regrouping, reinforcing their positions or establishing new operational bases.