The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa, has urged all Nigerians to acquire combat skills such as Karate, Taekwondo, and Judo to protect themselves in the face of increasing danger.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Thursday, August 21, General Musa likened learning martial arts to other essential survival skills, including driving and swimming.

“That one should be taken as learning driving, learning how to swim.

Whether we have war or not, it is a survival instinct,” he said.

He added that in Europe, swimming and basic security education are compulsory because citizens must understand and practice personal safety.

The defence chief emphasised that the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) should incorporate unarmed combat training into its programme to prepare graduates for real-world threats.

He explained, “That’s what the NYSC is supposed to do, but the NYSC has been watered down to three weeks. Self-defence is very important.

Unarmed combat, swimming, driving these are critical aspects of human survival. We should never take them for granted because they prepare us for the future.”

General Musa further encouraged Nigerians to remain situationally aware of their environment, alerting authorities to any suspicious activities or individuals.

He said, “The world we are in now is dangerous. We have individuals who don’t mean people well. They kill for whatever reason.”

Highlighting evolving threats, General Musa disclosed that terrorists increasingly use gold to finance their operations.

He noted that complex international networks make it difficult to immediately expose or prosecute these financiers. “Gold is the main source.

They circulate it through various channels, including foreign links, which complicates intervention,” he explained.

General Musa acknowledged that bad roads and challenging terrains hinder rapid military response to attacks.

He said, “Many Nigerians expect immediate intervention from the Armed Forces without understanding the logistical challenges. By the time information reaches us, terrorists have already struck and vanished because they move more quickly in these regions.”

He added that improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the North-East further slow troop movement.

Regarding the Southeast, General Musa noted that the arrest of pro-Biafran agitator Simon Ekpa in Finland in November 2024 has improved security in the region.

He said, “Troops are actively pursuing Ekpa’s lieutenants in Imo, Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi, and Abia states. We will continue operations until all threats are neutralised.”

The CDS also praised the synergy among the Nigerian Army, Air Force, and Navy, which led to the arrest of Ansaru terrorist leaders, describing it as a major success in the fight against terrorism.

General Musa concluded by announcing an African Chiefs of Defence Staff conference to foster continental collaboration and enhance regional security efforts.

Residents of Kachia Local Government Area in Kaduna State are gripped with fear following the abduction of a naval officer and his family by armed bandits in the wee hours of Wednesday, August 20, 2025.

The attack, which occurred around 2am, saw the gunmen storm Unguwan Mission, targeting Seaman Olatunji Enoch, a 40-year-old naval officer attached to the Nigerian Navy Secondary Armament Training (NNSAT) in Kachia.

The attackers reportedly abducted Seaman Enoch alongside his 25-year-old wife, Margaret Olatunji, and their 13-year-old daughter, Hellen Bitrus.

Security analyst Zagazola Makama confirmed the incident, emphasizing that it highlights the escalating insecurity in Kaduna, where bandits have increasingly targeted both civilians and security personnel.

Security agencies have since launched a manhunt for the perpetrators, deploying cordon-and-search operations in nearby bushes and suspected hideouts.

Authorities have assured the public that efforts are underway to ensure the victims are rescued unharmed.

A devastating attack shook Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State on Wednesday as suspected armed herdsmen launched a violent assault on two farming communities, Egwuma and Ogbai.

The attack, which occurred around midday, claimed the lives of four farmers, including a woman and her young son, leaving the community in shock and mourning.

Additionally, two residents remain missing, with search efforts ongoing to locate them.

Eyewitnesses recounted the horrifying events, describing how the attackers stormed the farmlands in large numbers, firing indiscriminately at farmers going about their daily work.

“They came in large numbers and started shooting at innocent people in their farms,” said a resident identified as Oglewu.

Another local source revealed that families have fled to nearby villages in search of safety, leaving both communities tense and deserted.

“As I speak, two farmers are still missing, and youths are searching for their bodies for burial,” the source added.

The Chairman of Agatu LGA, Melvin James, condemned the attack, calling it “senseless and barbaric.”

He expressed disbelief at the unprovoked nature of the killings, saying: “How could people attack and kill a mother and her son who were working on their farm? This is an unprovoked attack on our people.”

James further explained that the incident occurred while security operatives were patrolling other parts of the council, highlighting the challenges posed by poor road infrastructure that often delays emergency responses.

Despite the efforts of security operatives to maintain peace in the area, James acknowledged that logistical challenges, such as bad roads, remain a significant obstacle.

“The security operatives in Agatu have been doing their best, but the problem in my council is the bad roads”, he noted.

The attack has reignited fears among residents of Agatu, a region that has faced repeated waves of violence linked to herdsmen-farmer clashes.

It underscores the urgent need for strengthened security measures and improved infrastructure to protect vulnerable communities in Benue State.

Combined security operatives have successfully dismantled the hideouts of “notorious commanders” of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militant wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), in Imo State.

The operation, carried out on Monday in Ubaa, Umuaka—a volatile community in Njaba Local Government Area—was described as a significant victory by security forces.

According to Henry Okoye, Deputy Superintendent of Police and spokesman for the Imo State Police Command, the operation was a collaborative effort involving police officers and other unnamed security agencies.

Acting on a tip-off and confessional statements from two detained suspects, Uchenna Opara and Ozioma Ihedoro, security operatives moved in on the targeted location.

Upon arrival, the armed militants opened fire but were overwhelmed by the superior firepower of the operatives, forcing them to flee into nearby bushes, many sustaining gunshot wounds in the process.

The raid yielded a substantial cache of weapons and equipment, including two Biafra flags, one Point of Sale (POS) machine, an AK-47 rifle with three magazines, 40 rounds of live AK-47 ammunition, 60 rounds of live General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) ammunition, two pump-action guns, and 582 live cartridges.

Investigations are ongoing to track down the fleeing suspects, according to the police.

The Commissioner of Police in Imo State, Aboki Danjuma, has assured residents of their safety and urged them to remain vigilant.

He emphasized the importance of promptly reporting suspicious individuals, particularly those with gunshot injuries, to the authorities.

Danjuma also encouraged the use of designated emergency phone lines for quick responses to security concerns.

IPOB, which advocates for the secession of South-east and parts of South-south Nigeria, has been linked to several violent attacks in the region.

However, the group has consistently denied involvement in such incidents, maintaining that it is committed to peaceful advocacy.

The sleepy community of Alor, the country home of the immediate past Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, Idemili South Council of Anambra State, has been thrown into palpable tension as a senior police officer has reportedly shot dead one of his kinsmen.

The suspect, Obinna Anikwenze (SP), a senior officer serving in the State, was said to be notorious for the display of rascality, and unprofessional intimidation of kinsmen, neighbors and passers-bye during family, village and local community meetings with gun.

He was said to have fatally shot one Mr Chinedu Okoye, his cousin on August 2, 2025 during the community’s celebration of this year’s New Yam festival, for no apparent reason.

Problem was said to have started when Umuru-Ide community in Alor attempted to change their leadership due to what they called financial mismanagement, lack of transparency and and non-accountability.

“But Supol Obinna Anikwenze and his cohorts would not have such positive development in their community as he always attend the community meeting with a service pistol threatening to gun down anybody who dared oppose him having his way.

It was so notorious that even the President General of Alor had protested against the police officer in writing. Tl

He noted that his indiscriminate waving of gun at meetings have made it impossible for sincere contributions and inputs.

According to him, even to attend or freedom of speech had become a rare commodity within Umuru Ide village and Alor larger community because of this senior police officer frightening conduct.

“On August 6th, Anikwenze attended a pathfinding meeting with a pistol and hijacked proceedings. He allegedly ensured that the minutes of previous meeting was not read at all.

He and his cohorts forcefully arrogated so much powers to themselves and eventually constituted themselves into the community’s “Elders’ Council”.

The Alor People’s Convention, the umbrella body for all the villages and quarters in the town that produced the likes of Dr Chris Ngige, the former Anambra State Governor and Minister, late Chief P.N Okeke, himself a former Commissioner, and late Chief Ben Anyachebelu (Ichie Oshimili), amongst numerous others, has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Assistant Inspector General (AIG) in charge of Zone 13, Ukpo, Anambra State and  the Anambra State Police Commissioner (CP) about the officer’s disturbing conduct.

Consequently the Alor People’s Convention, the umbrella body of the community under the leadership of Chief Emma Ojukwu (Agbigwe) in a letter to IGP, AIG, CP wants the police high command to step into the brewing crises occasioned by the murder of an innocent person by a police officer in the community without delay to avoid unforseen circumstances.

He recalled that Umuru-Ide community had on 31st December, 2024 in an official letter complained about the rascality and recklessness of SP Obinna Anikwenze especially by the way he was subjecting his kinsmen into undue silence by criminal use of official police service pistol.

Ojukwu who presented copies of his petitions to the relevant authorities told journalists that the need for the authorities to step into the matter has become imperative to avoid dangerous implosion in Alor community.

Mr Okoye, a relation and elder brother of the late victim told journalists that they “had been summoned by the traditional ruler of the community yesterday”.

He however promised to disclose the outcome of the meeting.

His silence has  now put the youth of the area on edge as they were rearing to exact justice on Anikwenze and anyone attempting to stop them.

One of them who gave his name simply as Chike said ” we have tolerated the man’s fuck-up for too long. How can he leave sambisa forest and hid himself in his village waving gun menacingly at every boy, girl, aged and young.

“Let’s face him squarely so that whatever want to happen let it be right now, here and today.

Efforts to get any comments from the Igwe Elibe Okonkwo didn’t yield success.

A visit to the office of the Nnobi Police division met officers who were not ready to say anything. But one officer who never want his name mentioned in the media noted that several reports on Anikwenze were before now received in the station. That it was clear that he remains a threat and security risk to the society.

From Chuks Collins, Awka