Nigeria has filed 57 terrorism-related charges against nine men accused of planning and executing a June 2025 attack in Benue state that killed about 150 people.
Prosecutors told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the group held planning meetings, raised funds, procured weapons, and mobilised fighters across multiple states before striking Yelwata in Benue’s Guma district on 13 June.
Officials describe it as one of the deadliest rural assaults in years, with homes torched and heavy casualties reported.
The filing names Ardo Lawal Mohammed Dono as the ringleader, alleging he and his associates gathered in neighbouring Nasarawa state to raise cash, issue orders, and recruit fighters.
Several defendants are accused of supplying AK-47 rifles or offering locations for planning sessions.
The case unfolds as Nigeria struggles to contain violence in the Middle Belt, where disputes over land, religion, and ethnicity persist.
The security backdrop has grown more complex since U.S. President Donald Trump criticised Abuja for failing to protect Christians, a charge that increased scrutiny on Nigeria’s response mechanisms.
On 25 December, U.S. forces struck what they called terrorist targets. Nigerian authorities say they are working with Washington to strengthen intelligence sharing and restore stability across affected regions.
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The United States is set to deploy an additional 200 troops to Nigeria as part of expanded counterterrorism cooperation, according to a senior Nigerian military source.
Security services say they have now rescued all 166 worshippers who were kidnapped by gunmen during attacks on two churches in northern Nigeria last month, a Christian group said on Thursday (5 February).
Nearly 200 people were killed when armed men launched coordinated attacks on remote villages in western and northern Nigeria, authorities and residents said on Wednesday (4 February). Officials described the assaults as among the deadliest this year, amid the country’s worsening security crisis.
Nigeria’s army says troops have rescued 11 kidnap victims during a late-night operation on the Kaduna–Abuja highway after tracking militants moving captives through forested terrain.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Azerbaijan for talks with President Ilham Aliyev, holding meetings in Gabala on Saturday (25 April) during a working visit to the country.
Russian emergency services have contained a major fire at the Tuapse oil refinery on the Black Sea coast, local officials said on Thursday, ending a four-day effort after a Ukrainian drone strike.
Slovenia’s national broadcaster RTV Slovenia has confirmed it will not air the Eurovision Song Contest 2026, joining a widening boycott over Israel’s participation.
Diplomatic efforts to end the Iran war suffered a setback on Saturday as U.S. President Donald Trump cancelled a planned envoy visit to Pakistan for talks, even as parallel regional diplomacy continued and military tensions escalated in Lebanon.
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Two men were killed after the United States carried out a missile strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Friday (24 April), the military said.
Argentina has reiterated its interest in resuming talks with the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, a disputed archipelago in the South Atlantic, after reports that an internal Pentagon email suggested reviewing Washington’s support for the UK’s claim amid tensions over the Iran war.
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