Headlines
Sowore and Divisive Anti-Democratic Forces Must Be Stopped; Enough is Enough!
The ongoing campaign of division, blackmail, distraction, disharmony, and anarchy against the Nigerian government, especially the one being spearheaded by the so-called Omoleye Sowore, as well as by some paid characters and agents of destabilization trying to cause a breakdown of law and order in our country, is a cause for concern in our nascent democracy.
This campaign of calumny, distraction, politics of hate, bitterness, and outrageous intent to precipitate crisis in our dear country must be resisted by democracy-loving Nigerians and forces.
In memory of the late Comrade Abiodun Aremu of blessed memory, we have resolved not to participate in the planned protest being organized by a known blackmailer and insurrectionist, Sowore, using the name of Nnamdi Kanu as a cheap political cover to unleash mayhem and anarchist tendencies against state institutions, including the National Assembly, National Ecumenical Centre, National Mosque, security formations like Kuje prison, and the courts of the land.
Available intelligence reveals that Sowore, his criminal elements, and his gangs of rogue politicians are planning to burn down major markets in Abuja, train stations, airports, and other critical national infrastructure and assets in a calculated plot to cause violence, breakdown of law and order, and precipitate ethno-religious crisis in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
We have resolved to urgently alert relevant security and intelligence agencies to nip Sowore’s plot in the bud to curtail the planned insurrection and mayhem that may result from it. Enough is enough of this blackmailer’s shenanigans!
In any civilized world, Sowore would have lost all moral justification to stage a violent protest while undergoing prosecution before relevant courts of competent jurisdiction for a series of incitement and questionable cybercrime-related cases in Nigeria.
Yet, his sponsors have closed their eyes to the dangers posed and associated with such an ugly and destructive plot to thwart the gains of democracy dividends so far achieved all these years, just for the mesh of porridge and self-serving ordinate ambitions and aggrandizement.
How can someone who is a known blackmailer in the country with no character or moral rectitude be threatening government institutions, state apparatus, and other law-abiding citizens going about their lawful businesses in a country guided by the rule of law?
How can one man who is a serial rapist be threatening the government and ordinary citizens with mayhem and anarchy simply because they rejected him at the polls during the 2023 presidential election?
How can someone who burnt down Bode Thomas police station, Surulere, Lagos, and the powers that be protected him, now say he wants to fight for an individual facing terrorism charges before a competent court of jurisdiction?
Sowore is a big rogue that stole funds meant for his party, and until now, they are still in court with the aggrieved members of his party, yet plotting mischief, recklessness, and promoting inter-ethnic disharmony.
Sowore is also part of the system that has brought Nigeria to its knees, as he was instrumental in fighting on the side of politicians against the hardworking people all these years. He has a moral burden hanging on his neck for his past accelerated lawlessness against the country and shouldn’t be allowed to carry out this calculated mischief and clandestine plots orchestrated to cause the breakdown of law and order, disaffection, disharmony, and the retrogression of the gains of democracy enjoyed all these years.
We also know that he is being sponsored by foreign powers and sundry agents of destabilization to bring the country down to its knees. We have information that he collected humongous funds from opposition political parties, politically exposed persons, and wants to bring the government down for selfish and satanic political objectives.
He is a non-state actor, being used by anti-democratic elements for spreading divisive campaigns of bitterness and framing narratives against this administration, including those who rejected his subtle blackmail for material gains.
Sowore is a security risk to the democracy we are enjoying today, as he is planning insurrection against the administration, working in cahoots with the same man who promised to make Nigeria ungovernable in 2011.
To date, our dear country continues to fumble and wobble with the virus of ungovernability sustained by bandits, terrorists, and their known sponsors.
It does appear, perhaps pretentiously, that the sponsors of our country’s state of ungovernability over the years are now trying to use the name of Nnamdi Kanu for their political ends, to shower their credibility crisis and gain legitimacy.
The forthcoming protest being teleguided by agents of darkness, ungovernability, and their associates is self-serving and a subterranean scheme to set the country on fire along sectarian fault lines, ethnic and religious cleavages.
The entire plot is aimed at setting ordinary citizens along ethno-religious divides, thereby undermining the economic perspectives and developmental objectives of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
We urge all peace-loving citizens desirous of genuine freedom for Nnamdi Kanu to use the instrument of dialogue in pursuance of such a goal. The matter is already in court, and only negotiation and out-of-court settlement can guarantee his freedom.
Prominent leaders from the South East zone are working assiduously towards an amicable resolution of the matter. We are aware that President Tinubu is working on reconciliation and resolving the matter with critical stakeholders from the region.
We hereby wish to make it abundantly clear to the relevant security agencies and intelligence, especially the NSA, DSS, Nigeria Police, and DIA, to quickly intervene in this matter to prevent the breakdown of law and order.
We shall institute a legal framework restraining these divisive spent forces and renegade elements from staging further mischief and lawless behavior aimed at causing uproar, mayhem, and destruction in Abuja and elsewhere.
The spread of fake news and sponsored disinformation by Sowore to subvert the people is very dangerous! Hence, we shall mobilize thousands of democracy-loving Nigerians to confront Sowore anywhere he is seen in Abuja forthwith.
We hereby declare Sowore a persona non grata anywhere he is sighted in Abuja. We have assembled a team of citizen volunteers across ethnic and religious divides to enforce this resolution stated above with everything invented for the purpose of defending our cherished democracy and tackling invaders and premeditated rogue agents in order to douse tension in the polity.
Nigeria’s unity and peace are more important than the aspiration of one individual! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Signed,
Com. Gbenga Ashiru Abiodun
National Coordinator,
Amalgamated Civil Society Organizations of Nigeria (ACN)
Com. Yakubu Abdullahi
General Secretary, (ACN)
In order to address the rising level of insecurity in their community, residents of Byazhin in the Federal Capital Territory’s (FCT) Bwari Area Council have demanded immediate government action.
During a visit to the village on Monday, they made the request in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to NAN, some locals were observed removing overgrown plants from residential areas in an attempt to increase visibility and get rid of potential criminal hiding places.
They noted that the security situation had changed their daily routines, with their movement being restricted, especially at night, and that the exercise was intended to supplement current security efforts and make the community safer. Some locals have temporarily moved to safer areas with their family.
One of the impacted residents, Mrs. Christiana Ugo, claimed that she and her family were compelled to leave their house as they no longer felt safe.
“We fled our house because we were worried about what would occur. Until things get better, my kids and I are staying at my sister’s house.
“We hope we can go back home soon and live fearlessly,” she stated.
Ugo stated that while leaving their house was a tough choice, her family’s safety could not be compromised.
Another local, Stephen, also referred to as Papa Elijah, recalled a recent kidnapping and claimed that the victim was freed following the payment of a ransom.
In order to discourage criminal activity, Stephen further claimed that suspected kidnappers operate out of a big rock behind the neighbourhood and urged the authorities to set up a permanent security presence there.
He claims that by planning night patrols, the community has increased local security operations.
Speaking as well, resident Mr. Oluwa Deji stated that many homeowners had opted to stay in the neighbourhood despite security worries because it was not an option for them to forsake buildings they had spent years creating.
Deji observed that locals had decided to continue cooperating and supporting neighbourhood vigilante organisations in the hopes of long-term government action.
According to Mr. Adekunle Adewale, the community’s leader, there have been a few security-related events in the region, such as attempted invasions by suspected herders.
He said that residents had increased internal security by hiring security guards and setting up vigilante patrols three times a week. He also mentioned that monthly security meetings were held to discuss security tactics and examine developments.
When situations surpassed the capabilities of local volunteers, Adewale observed that the community continued to work closely with the police.
However, he voiced concerns about what he called an insufficient government presence, pointing out that the Byazhin Development Association was primarily responsible for funding security measures, infrastructure for energy, and other development projects.
He urged the government to bolster community security and upgrade access routes, arguing that improved infrastructure and ongoing security measures will further improve property and life safety.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and pertinent security agencies were urged by the locals to improve surveillance, step up routine patrols, and take aggressive steps to safeguard people and property. (NAN)
Military manufacturing may be growing, but defence sovereignty depends on far more than production.
Across Africa, the ability to defend borders, monitor territory and protect critical infrastructure remains heavily dependent on foreign suppliers. Turkish drones patrol borders, Chinese surveillance systems monitor cities and Russian fighter jets form the backbone of several air forces.
For decades, African militaries have turned abroad for critical defence technologies, leaving the continent largely positioned as a buyer rather than a producer.
An Abuja-based start-up is attempting to change that equation.
Terra Industries, founded in 2024 by Nathan Nwachuku and Maxwell Maduka, both in their early twenties, designs and manufactures drones, autonomous surveillance towers and unmanned ground vehicles from facilities in Abuja and Accra.
Unlike companies that primarily assemble imported components, Terra says it develops its own software, airframes, propellers and lithium-ion battery packs, with more than 70 percent of its inputs sourced locally.
The company says its systems are currently used to protect infrastructure valued at approximately $11bn, including power plants, lithium and gold mines, oil refineries and other strategic assets across eight African countries and Canada.
Building capability
The shift from importing security technology to producing it locally has become an increasingly important debate across Africa. Governments facing armed groups, porous borders, maritime insecurity and attacks on critical infrastructure are searching for faster and more adaptable solutions.
Terra’s move from private infrastructure security into engagements with Nigeria’s defence institutions reflects that changing environment. The company says its systems are designed to address challenges ranging from maritime surveillance and border monitoring to the protection of energy and mining assets.
![The Archer drone, developed by Terra Industries, is part of a new generation of locally manufactured military technology emerging across Africa [Terra Industries]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IMG_4128-1-1783618110.jpeg?w=770&resize=770%2C580&quality=80)
“Coastal states in West Africa are focused on maritime surveillance because of piracy and illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea,” chief executive Nathan Nwachuku told Al Jazeera. “States dealing with insurgency and porous borders want persistent aerial surveillance and a rapid-response capability. Others are looking at protection for pipelines, power and energy infrastructure, and mining assets, the same problems we started solving in Nigeria.”
The company is now preparing for a larger regional footprint. Nwachuku confirmed that Terra’s second production facility in Ghana will become Africa’s largest drone manufacturing hub, with an annual production capacity of 50,000 units by 2028.
“Our long-term ambition goes beyond the continent because the threats our systems are designed to address exist across the Global South,” he said. “Governments in South Asia and South America face them too, and they face the same dependency on foreign suppliers. We intend to serve them as we grow.”
Investor confidence
The scale of investment behind Terra reflects growing interest in Africa’s emerging defence technology sector. The company has raised $34m in seed funding, which it describes as one of the largest early-stage funding rounds in African technology.
The investment was led by 8VC, the venture capital firm founded by Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale, alongside Lux Capital and Valor Equity Partners, investors behind companies such as Anduril and SpaceX.
“The round closed in under two weeks, which is rare even by global standards,” Tage Kene-Okafor, Terra Industries’ director of communications, told Al Jazeera. “But what has been more exciting is our cap table, where we have the likes of 8VC, Lux Capital and Valor Equity Partners, investors that have backed companies shaping the future of defence and advanced manufacturing globally.”
Security imperative
The interest in companies like Terra comes as drones become increasingly central to conflicts across Africa. In the Sahel, inexpensive commercial drones have moved from surveillance tools to weapons used on the battlefield, creating new challenges for militaries that often lack effective counter-drone capabilities.
According to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED), Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), the al-Qaeda-linked coalition operating in Mali and Burkina Faso, has carried out more than 100 drone attacks since 2023, with 2025 recording the highest number to date.
Terra says its Kama interceptor drone was developed in response to this changing threat environment. The company says the system can reach speeds of up to 300kph and is designed to counter hostile drones in environments where traditional air defence systems may be unavailable or too expensive.
Building defence technology, however, is not the same as achieving defence sovereignty.
Sovereignty question
While a country can build manufacturing capacity through investment, engineering talent and industrial policy, defence sovereignty requires institutions capable of managing procurement, ensuring accountability and sustaining strategic industries over the long term.
Janice Greaver, director at the Pan African Sustainable, Innovation and Development Associates (PASIDA), argues that local production alone cannot answer those questions.
“Seventy percent local sourcing means little until we know who controls the intellectual property, who is employed and who is left out,” she told Al Jazeera. “And when private capital arms the state with no visible civil society oversight, we are simply trading one dependency (on foreign suppliers) for another (on unaccountable domestic capital).”
Terra Industries has demonstrated that sophisticated defence technologies can be designed and manufactured in Africa. Its rapid rise reflects both growing technical capability on the continent and the pressure created by worsening security challenges.
Whether that becomes genuine defence sovereignty will depend on what happens beyond the factory floor: how governments buy, regulate and oversee the technologies they increasingly seek to build themselves.
As Greaver cautions: “Its manufacturing capacity is being built, sovereignty requires the accountability structures that do not yet exist”.
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/13/can-nigerias-drone-industry-deliver-africas-defence-sovereignty
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