The Nigerian Army has reportedly arrested and detained a serving Brigadier General following his alleged association with a retired Nigerian Army Major General, Danjuma Hamisu Ali-Keffi.

Sources close to Sahara Reporters expressed the belief that the development is connected to Ali-Keffi’s legal and public confrontation with former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd).

Ali-Keffi, who was appointed in October 2020 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari to head a covert Presidential Task Force, Operation Service Wide (OSW), has repeatedly raised serious allegations concerning the release of terrorism financing suspects while they were under military custody. 

According to Sahara Reporters, OSW, composed of personnel from the military, security and intelligence agencies, as well as legal officers from the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, was tasked with arresting, investigating, and prosecuting financiers, sponsors, and collaborators of terrorist organisations, as well as capturing or eliminating terrorist leaders.

According to sources, a Brigadier General, identified as Gabriel E. Archibong, was arrested more than 10 days ago and is currently being held at the Army’s Special Investigation Bureau.

SaharaReporters further learnt that Archibong’s arrest was linked to the frequency of his communications with Ali-Keffi and allegations that the officer was “not cooperating” with military authorities.

“He was taken to his house in Lugbe a day after his arrest, where soldiers searched the premises for over three hours,” a military source said. “Nothing incriminating was found, but his phones and laptop were seized.”

Archibong is a serving officer at the Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) in Minna, Niger State.

Military sources fear that the detention may negatively affect the officer’s career and wellbeing, stressing that Archibong has done nothing wrong.

“We don’t want any harm to happen to the General or to his career,” a source said. “We feel awful that an officer is being treated like this because of Al-Keffi.”

The sources alleged that Buratai is behind the development, claiming that the former army chief has portrayed his actions to the military high command as an attempt to destroy the Nigerian Army by tarnishing its reputation.

“What a shame that the Army now considers that an attempt to bring Buratai to account for his misdeeds is tantamount to shredding the Army,” Ali-Keffi said. “This is a case of ‘Buratai is the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Army is Buratai.’”

The military sources also suggested that the arrest may be linked to preparations by the Army to defend itself in a suit Ali-Keffi instituted at the National Industrial Court.

Ali-Keffi filed a multi-billion-naira lawsuit at the National Industrial Court in Abuja in December 2025 against the Nigerian Army and the entire top leadership of the military and defence establishment, challenging his arrest, detention and compulsory retirement.

In the suit, he alleges unlawful arrest, 64 days of detention without charge, torture, denial of fair hearing and violations of the Constitution, the Armed Forces Act and military regulations, which he says culminated in a dishonourable compulsory retirement. 

He also claims that all terrorism-financing suspects arrested by the task force he headed, Operation Service Wide (OSW), were later released while he was detained.

Ali-Keffi says he and his family received death threats after his detention and retirement, forcing repeated foreign trips for safety and causing severe financial, emotional and psychological hardship.

He is seeking ₦100 billion in compensatory damages, another ₦100 billion in punitive damages, and ₦120 million in special damages for lost allowances. 

He is also asking the court to nullify his compulsory retirement, recognise him as having retired voluntarily at age 60, and order full payment of his pensions, gratuities and other entitlements with interest.

Terror Financing Probe and Allegations Against Senior Officials

The fresh development comes against the backdrop of explosive disclosures previously made by Ali-Keffi during exclusive interviews with SaharaReporters regarding a counter-terrorism investigation he led while in service.

Ali-Keffi, who headed Operation Service Wide (OSW), a special counter-terrorism task force, revealed that investigations into Boko Haram’s financiers uncovered an alleged network involving senior military officers, top financial officials, and key government figures.

According to documents obtained by SaharaReporters, OSW, working in collaboration with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), arrested several high-profile suspects in March 2021 based on detailed financial intelligence tracing money flows linked to terrorism financing.

Ali-Keffi stated that some of the suspects were linked to former Chiefs of Army Staff, including Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai (rtd) and Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya (rtd), former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele, and former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

He clarified that he was not directly accusing any of the named individuals of financing terrorism but said investigations connected them to some of the arrested suspects.

Specifically, Ali-Keffi disclosed that two suspects arrested by OSW were linked to Buratai, two others were linked to Malami, one was linked to Emefiele, while one suspect was linked to Yahaya.

He further alleged that Malami interfered with the investigation by orchestrating the removal of a key prosecutor and influencing the handling and eventual release of certain suspects.

Ali-Keffi said the findings of the investigation were formally presented to then-President Muhammadu Buhari in September 2021 under the auspices of the NFIU.

According to him, his disclosures were not based on anonymous sources but on briefings he personally received from the then Director and Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, Modibbo Hamman-Tukur Ribadu, who worked directly with OSW during the investigation.

Ali-Keffi has since maintained that the backlash he has faced within the military establishment stems from his refusal to suppress the findings of the terror financing probe and his insistence on accountability at the highest levels of the armed forces.

In one of his exclusive interviews with SaharaReporters, Ali-Keffi lamented the release of all terrorism financing suspects in Army custody.

According to him, it occurred under “suspicious circumstances.”

He alleged that former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen.  Yahaya (retd.), allegedly influenced by former Army Chief Lt. Gen. Buratai (retd.), orchestrated his exit from the Army to facilitate the release.

“All the terrorism financing suspects in the custody of the Army were released under suspicious circumstances. Thus, it could be safely deduced that General Yahaya, under the prompting of General Buratai set me up in order to get me out of the Army to pave way for the release of the suspects to cover up their links to some of the terror suspects,” he said.

“It is an open secret that General Buratai influenced the appointment of General Yahaya as the Army Chief following the death of General Attahiru as he wielded considerable influence in the Buhari administration.”

By Johnson Agu

Armed groups operating across parts of northern Nigeria are increasingly enforcing a parallel system of authority, extorting farmers, regulating agricultural activity and carrying out deadly attacks with little apparent resistance, deepening concerns over the state’s ability to maintain control in key food-producing regions.

In Kano and Katsina states, bandits have reportedly entrenched themselves within major forest reserves, demanding up to ₦50,000 per acre from sugarcane farmers before harvest, according to multiple local accounts cited by The Guardian. Farmers who refuse to comply are said to face intimidation, destruction of crops and threats of violence, forcing many to abandon their farmlands.

The armed groups are reportedly operating from the Rugu Forest in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State and the Falgore Forest in Doguwa Local Government Area of Kano State—both strategically located within the Kano–Katsina agricultural corridor, a major supplier of sugarcane and maize to large markets such as Dawanau Market in Kano.

Local activist Bakatsine, who posts under the handle @DanKatsina50 on X, said the forests have effectively become safe havens where armed groups impose illegal levies and dictate economic activity. Sugarcane farmers are the primary targets, though maize production has also been disrupted.

Security analysts warn that sustained disruption of farming in the region could trigger food shortages and higher prices across northern Nigeria, compounding inflationary pressures already squeezing households.

Despite the presence of military and police checkpoints along Falgore Road, armed groups are reportedly operating within five kilometres of security positions, raising questions about the effectiveness of existing deployments. Residents describe the situation as a gradual takeover, with bandits enforcing rules, collecting “taxes” and exercising control over daily life without visible resistance.

As of press time, neither the Kano nor Katsina state governments nor federal security agencies had issued official responses to the allegations.

Wedding Convoy Attack Deepens Fears

The growing insecurity was underscored on Sunday when bandits launched a deadly attack on a wedding convoy in Unguwar Nagunda community, Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State, killing at least two people and injuring several others.

Among those injured was the bride, according to residents. An unspecified number of wedding guests were also abducted during the assault.

A security source confirmed the incident on Monday, saying residents fled as heavy gunfire erupted when the attackers stormed the area.

“As of this morning, families are still trying to confirm how many people were abducted,” the source said.

Residents said the gunmen arrived suddenly, firing sporadically and creating panic before fleeing with some of the guests to an unknown location. Attempts to obtain official confirmation from the Katsina State Police Command were unsuccessful, as the command’s spokesperson did not respond to calls or messages.

Controversy Over Planned Release of Suspected Bandits

The attack comes amid mounting controversy over the Katsina State Government’s plan to release dozens of detained suspected bandits as part of efforts to sustain what it describes as an “existing peace” agreement with armed groups.

The state government has said such arrangements have previously led to the release of at least 1,000 abducted persons and argued that negotiated settlements are not uncommon in conflict situations globally.

However, public scrutiny intensified after a classified letter dated January 2, 2026, from the Katsina State Ministry of Justice surfaced. The letter, marked “SECRET” and addressed to the Chief Judge of Katsina State, Justice Musa Abubakar, requested intervention to facilitate the release of suspects facing trial for banditry-related offences.

Signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Abdur-Rahman Umar, the letter disclosed that 48 individuals accused of various banditry offences had been recommended for release as part of conditions tied to the continuation of the peace accord between affected local governments and armed groups. A separate list of 22 inmates facing trial before state high courts was also submitted for similar consideration.

Critics argue that while peace deals may reduce short-term violence, the continued extortion of farmers and attacks on civilians suggest that armed groups remain emboldened, raising fears that concessions could further weaken the rule of law.

For many residents, the reality on the ground points to a widening vacuum of authority—one in which armed groups not only terrorise communities but increasingly govern them.

Nigeria’s healthcare system is facing a deepening crisis of medical negligence that has resulted in repeated, preventable deaths across the country, senior lawyer and medical malpractice specialist Dr Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, has warned, calling for an urgent overhaul of the nation’s health regulatory framework.

In a strongly worded statement issued on January 12, Agbakoba said the tragic death of Nkanu Nnamdi, the 21-month-old son of acclaimed Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and her husband, Dr Ivara Esege, has once again exposed what he described as a “systemic collapse” in medical oversight, accountability and professional standards in Nigeria.

Agbakoba, who said he has spent over two decades handling medical negligence cases, warned that the incident—allegedly involving the administration of Propofol at a Lagos-based private hospital—was not an anomaly but part of a disturbing national pattern.

“Propofol is a high-risk anaesthetic that requires exceptional care due to its potential to cause cardio-respiratory failure,” Agbakoba said. “An overdose can be fatal, and there appears to be a strong possibility of overdose in this case. Sadly, I am not shocked that a procedure in a supposedly reputable hospital ended this way.”

While commending the Lagos State Government for ordering an investigation and praising the hospital, Euracare, for agreeing to cooperate, Agbakoba cautioned that such probes must be genuinely independent.

“I have personally witnessed cases where medical records were altered to avoid culpability,” he said, warning that without independent oversight, investigations risk becoming exercises in damage control rather than accountability.

A Pattern of Preventable Deaths

Agbakoba said the Chimamanda case represents only “the visible tip of a much larger crisis,” citing numerous cases his firm has handled, including patients who lost vital organs, mothers who died from delayed emergency responses during childbirth, children subjected to catastrophic surgical errors and patients fatally harmed by routine medical procedures.

“These are not isolated incidents,” he said. “They are symptoms of a broken system.”

According to Agbakoba, his practice is currently handling over 25 active medical negligence cases, with more than 20 additional complaints under review—figures that underscore the scale of the problem.

He also revealed that the issue is deeply personal, recounting his own misdiagnosis and a near-fatal operation suffered by his brother at the hands of a doctor who falsely presented himself as a surgeon.

Regulatory Collapse at the Core

At the heart of the crisis, Agbakoba said, is the collapse of Nigeria’s health regulatory architecture.

“In the past, Chief Medical Officers and Health Inspectors ensured oversight, compliance and accountability,” he said. “Today, that structure no longer exists.”

He blamed over-centralisation under the National Health Act and state health laws for weakening enforcement, allowing hospitals and practitioners to operate “with alarming impunity.”

“There are no routine inspections, no mandatory reporting, and no effective sanctions,” Agbakoba said, adding that Ministers and Commissioners of Health have wrongly combined policy-making with regulatory enforcement—“a fundamental governance failure.”

Calls for Emergency Reforms

Agbakoba called for immediate legislative and executive action, proposing sweeping reforms including the creation of an independent Health Regulatory Authority, reinstatement of the Office of Chief Medical Officer at federal and state levels, mandatory inspections of all health facilities, and independent investigative mechanisms with powers to preserve medical records.

“The time for half-measures is over,” he said. “We cannot continue to lose lives to preventable medical errors while our regulatory framework remains in shambles.”

Describing the situation as a “national emergency,” Agbakoba urged authorities to act decisively to restore trust in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

“This crisis affects ordinary Nigerians every day,” he said. “The Chimamanda case has simply forced the country to confront what countless families have endured in silence.”

A Nigerian family is demanding accountability after a woman died following months of excruciating pain allegedly caused by a pair of surgical scissors left inside her body during an operation at a government hospital in Kano State.

Aishatu Umar died around 1 a.m. on Monday after enduring what relatives describe as relentless abdominal pain since undergoing surgery in September 2025 at the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre in Kano. She was survived by her husband and five children.

The allegation surfaced publicly through a Facebook post by Abubakar Mohammed, who identified the deceased as his sister-in-law. According to him, Aishatu fell ill while living in Kano and was admitted for surgery at the state-run facility several months ago.

“After the operation, she never knew peace again,” Mohammed wrote. “She complained of severe pain for months.”

Family members say Aishatu repeatedly returned to the hospital following the procedure, reporting worsening pain and discomfort. Instead of being subjected to comprehensive diagnostic tests, they alleged that hospital staff routinely prescribed painkillers and discharged her.

“She suffered this pain for four months,” Mohammed said.

It was not until two days before her death, the family said, that doctors finally ordered scans and other medical investigations. The results were devastating.

“Tests revealed that a pair of scissors had been left inside her body during the surgery in September,” Mohammed disclosed.

Plans were reportedly made to perform a corrective operation to remove the foreign object, but Umar’s condition deteriorated rapidly.

“Efforts were being made to operate again yesterday,” Mohammed said. “But her time had already run out.”

Relatives have described the case as a clear instance of gross medical negligence, questioning how a basic surgical protocol—accounting for instruments before closing a patient—could allegedly be ignored in a modern hospital.

“Is this not pure negligence?” Mohammed asked. “How can trained doctors forget scissors inside a patient’s body?”

Beyond the personal tragedy, the family said the incident reflects a deeper crisis within Nigeria’s healthcare system, where preventable errors, delayed diagnosis and institutional indifference continue to cost lives—even in hospitals that charge patients substantial fees.

Despite Nigeria producing thousands of medical professionals annually, underfunded facilities, poor oversight, exhausted staff and weak accountability mechanisms have turned hospitals into places many Nigerians increasingly fear. Families often shuttle between clinics for months, spending scarce resources on consultations and drugs, only to receive critical diagnoses when it is too late.

The death of Aishatu Umar has intensified calls for urgent reforms and accountability.

“We call on the Kano State Government to investigate this matter thoroughly,” the family said in a statement. “We call on health regulatory bodies to act. We demand justice for Aishatu Umar.”

As of the time of filing this report, neither the management of the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre nor the Kano State health authorities had issued an official response to the allegations.

The case comes amid growing public outrage over alleged medical negligence across Nigeria. Only days earlier, award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie accused a Lagos-based hospital, Euracare, of negligence following the death of her 21-month-old son, Nkanu Nnamdi, on January 7, 2026.

Together, the incidents have reignited national debate over patient safety, hospital accountability and a healthcare system many Nigerians say is failing the very people it is meant to protect.

From Kano to Ibadan, Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, similar stories of alleged medical negligence, delayed diagnosis, and preventable deaths continue to surface, reinforcing public distrust in a healthcare system many say is failing across regions, income levels and hospital categories.

Whether in government-owned facilities or expensive private hospitals, families increasingly recount the same pattern: prolonged suffering, repeated hospital visits, dismissive treatment, ballooning medical bills and, ultimately, loss of life that might have been avoided with timely and competent care.