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FG, Asari Dokubo Recruit Cultists To Attack Biafra Agitators, IPOB Alleges

Published

4 years ago

January 17, 2022

Editor

The Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Monday, accused former militant leader, Asari Dokubo of colluding with the Federal Government and some corrupt politicians to recruit cultists, criminals to kill Biafran agitators.

IPOB alleged that Dokubo and the government recruited Ijaw youths to carry out attacks on Biafra agitators while blaming it on members and the Eastern Security Network, ESN.

The group made the claims in a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful.

According to Powerful, “We are the global movement and family of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) under the command and leadership of our great leader Mazi Nnamdi KANU. We wish to remind Biafrans and the people living in the coastal region of Biafraland, which Nigeria falsely called South-South or Niger Delta, that it has come to the knowledge and attention of the global family of IPOB, how Asari Dokubo and his co-travellers are recruiting cultists and some deluded and gullible Niger Delta militants to fight against the Biafra cause.

“We don’t want to dignify Asari and his criminal recruits with a response, but for clarity’s sake, we decided to make this public so that people should not blame us if anything happens.

“Biafrans living in both coastal areas and hinterland are all part of our great nation. They must understand that Asari and his few traitors are trying to create confusion between Igbo Biafra and Izon Biafra, but we are waiting for his recruited boys. He should not think that we are cowards. Let him venture and see what we are capable of doing.

“IPOB intelligence unit uncovered plan of how Asari is moving around coastal areas of Biafra land recruiting cultists and demented fellows to join the wicked Nigeria security forces, evil politicians including some governors in the South East Region to attack people and blame it on IPOB and ESN operatives. The public should know about this wicked plot in the coastal areas of Biafra by a few enemies of Biafra restoration.

“Asari Dokubo has sealed his contract with the Nigerian Government and some SouthEast politicians in recruiting Ijaw youths to fight Biafra agitators in Biafra hinterland precisely IPOB and ESN operatives.”

(DAILY POST)

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42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

51 minutes ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

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Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

1 hour ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

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Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

1 hour ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP