The Nigerian Air Force says multiple terrorists were eliminated after carrying out precision air strikes on a Boko Haram hideout located in the Mandara Mountains of Borno state.

In a statement released on Monday, Ehimen Ejodame, spokesperson for the NAF, stated that the strikes were executed on Sunday under Operation Hadin Kai, following intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.

Ejodame explained that the air strikes specifically targeted Wa Jahode and Loghpere, which have been identified as major strongholds of the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad faction of Boko Haram.

He pointed out that the mountainous region close to the Cameroon border had recently seen increased terrorist activities, including the stockpiling of supplies and sightings of top JAS commanders.

According to the NAF spokesperson, surveillance operations uncovered clusters of buildings fitted with solar panels, black flags, and fortified structures, all suggesting a resurgence of insurgent activity.

He noted that NAF fighter jets were deployed to carry out coordinated air attacks, successfully destroying the terrorists’ logistics hubs, command centres, and defensive shelters.

Ejodame said the air strikes dealt a serious blow to the insurgents by disrupting their supply lines and reducing their capacity to carry out further attacks.

He added that the air force remains determined to continue operations to help restore peace in the region.

The United States attorney’s office has initiated a complaint involving 40,353 USDT.ETH in cryptocurrency stolen through a business email compromise scheme.

According to the complaint, which was filed last Wednesday, the fraudster(s) posed as the Trump-Vance inaugural committee and deceived a donor into transferring $250,300 in cryptocurrency, which was later laundered through various wallets.

The complaint stated that the victims received an email on December 24, 2024, from an individual claiming to be Steve Witkoff, who was then the co-chair of the committee and now serves as the US special envoy to the Middle East.

The US attorney’s office clarified in a statement that authentic emails from the Trump-Vance inaugural committee use the domain @t47inaugural.com.

“The email received by victim was from @t47lnaugural.com with the lowercase ‘I’ was replaced by a lowercase ‘L.’ Depending on the font, the lowercase “L” can look like the uppercase ‘I’,” the statement reads

“The imposter Steve Witkoff, a scammer located in Nigeria, instructed the victims to deposit funds into a cryptocurrency wallet ending in 58c52.”

The statement explained that on December 26, the victim transferred 250,300 USDT.ETH to the crypto wallet, believing it was for the inaugural committee.

“Within two hours after receiving the funds from the victim, the funds moved from the 58c52 crypto wallet to other cryptocurrency addresses,” the statement added.

“Through blockchain analysis, the FBI identified and recovered 40,300 USDT.ETH, which is the property subject to forfeiture in this civil action.”

The complaint is seeking to recover the funds in order to compensate the victim.

Dele Momodu, the publisher of Ovation magazine and a former presidential aspirant, has claimed that Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory, offered $30,000 per delegate during the Peoples Democratic Party 2022 presidential primaries.

Both Momodu and Wike participated in the 2022 PDP primaries, which saw former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar emerge as the party’s candidate.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Momodu said a former Nigerian president had advised him not to take part in the primaries due to the large sums Wike was offering to delegates.

“A former president of Nigeria sent someone to tell me not to waste my money on the PDP 2022 primaries because Wike had raised the stakes to $30k per delegate; $30k multiplied by 774 delegates,” he said.

“What I expected of him was that if you weren’t going to support a man, if you’re going to run, run a fair race, and let’s leave it there.”

Momodu described Wike’s behaviour since becoming FCT minister as alarming.

“When a man who had been a nobody gets power, he begins to change slowly and steadily,” he said.

He also noted that Wike, who used to show respect to Rotimi Amaechi, the former minister of transportation, has changed significantly.

“The oppressed man respects only one man: the oppressor. Wike used to respect only one man—Rotimi Amaechi.”

The Ovation publisher further alleged that Wike has developed a serious drinking problem.

“Wike is consumed by the power he holds. The spirit of power and money is demonic when not managed properly,” Momodu said.

“He drinks early in the morning. He introduced me to Akeshi, a strong alcohol, saying it helps him function. This is someone in public office.

“My appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is that no matter what you are expecting to gain from Wike in 2027, Wike is not the kind of character you should promote; he is not the kind of young man who should hijack our common patrimony,” he added.