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Following the resumption of Boko Haram attacks in the area and other parts of the North East, the Senate has demanded the immediate establishment of a military base in Adamawa State’s Hong Local Government.

After lawmakers debated a motion highlighting the rising insecurity in Hong and Gombi LGAs, where numerous coordinated attacks by Boko Haram insurgents have resulted in dozens of fatalities and thousands of people being displaced, the resolution was presented during plenary on Wednesday. It is of urgent national importance.

The Senate stressed the need to increase existing personnel with a permanent military base in Hong to better secure the area and stop further escalation of violence, despite the praise of the Nigerian Army and other security operatives.

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Five major attacks have occurred in Hong LGA since February 2025, according to Senator Iya Abbas, the motion’s sponsor.

Senator Seriake Dickson, a member of the opposition, raised an objection to the Senate during the discussion, warning that such directives would violate the country’s constitutional rights by directing the establishment of a military base.

Senator Wasiu Eshilokun, who argued that the National Assembly was entitled to make these recommendations, promptly refuted his position. Eshilokun clarified that while the deployment of military forces is an executive function, the National Assembly’s approval of the legislation is contingent on it.

In connection with a lawsuit pending over Professor Pat Utomi’s alleged plan to establish a shadow government in the nation, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the filing of court documents.

In the lawsuit, the Department of State Services (DSS) claimed that the proposed shadow government is both a grave violation of the Constitution and a threat to the current democratically elected government.

Akinlolu Kehinde, the DSS’s attorney, argued an ex parte motion to have Utomi, who was the sole defendant, be served with court documents at his Lagos address using courier service.

After that, the judge moved the hearing to June 25 so that Utomi is scheduled to file his defense.

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The DSS expressed concern that if a structure known as a “shadow government” were to be left unchecked, would cause inter-group tensions, and would encourage other unlawful actors or separatist groups to follow similar parallel arrangements, all of which posed a serious threat to national security.

The plaintiff claims that Utomi and his associates’ alleged “shadow government” or “shadow cabinet” is “unconstitutional and amounts to an attempt to establish a parallel authority that is not authorized by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)”.

The DSS is also seeking a declaration that “any governmental body or organization that exists outside the terms of the provisions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) is unconstitutional, null, and void” under Sections 1 (1), 1 (2), and 14 (2) of the Constitution.

The plaintiff requests that the court grant an order of perpetual injunction to stop Utomi, his agents, and associates from “prompting any steps” in the direction of the establishment or operation of a “shadow government,” “shadow cabinet,” or any other similar entity that is not authorized by the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

The plaintiff’s petition alleges that Section 1 (1) of the Constitution gives effect to all people and authorities in Nigeria, one of the grounds for that claim.

It added that Section 1(2) forbids Nigeria’s or any portion thereof from acting in accordance with the Constitution’s terms.

Section 14 (2Xa) of the DSS mandates that all of the government’s powers and authority come from the people of Nigeria, which is represented by the Constitution.

It contends that Utomi’s proposed shadow government is in violation of the aforementioned rules because it lacks constitutional authority and recognition.

The plaintiff further stated in a supporting affidavit that it is the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s principal domestic intelligence and security agency and that it is authorised to identify and stop threats to Nigeria’s internal security, including subversive activities that threaten national harmony, harmony, and constitutional order.

The DSS continued, noting that it is statutoryly able to safeguard Nigeria’s internal security and stop any threats to the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s and its affiliated institutions.

It claims that it has closely watched the defendant’s alleged announcement of the formation of a “shadow government” or “shadow cabinet,” which includes several members who make up its “minister,” through intelligence reports and open source material and public statements.

READ ALSO: DSS denies being involved in Nnamdi Kanu’s Kenya arrest.

The “shadow cabinet” or “shadow government” is an unregistered and unrecognised entity that claims to run as an alternative government. contrary to the amendments to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The defendant (Utomi) announced the creation of this body with the intention to contest the legitimacy of Nigeria’s democratically elected government, according to the statement.

According to the intelligence the plaintiff gathered, the defendant’s actions and statements can deceive certain sections of the Nigerian public, erode public trust in the elected government, and lead to public dissatisfaction.

Umar Bago, the governor of Niger State, claimed that the country’s abundant agricultural resources can help its citizens escape economic hardship.

At the Taraba State Banquet Hall, TY Danjuma House in the state capital’s Jalingo, Gogo made this statement on Wednesday at the state capital’s capital, Jalingo.

He claimed that Nigeria’s fertile landmass had significant untapped potential.

He therefore demanded that the country use the agricultural potential to end poverty, calling on the Federal Government and individuals in the private sector to do so.

In Aliko Dangote’s speech, Aliko Dangote enumerated all the production factors that are inherent in Taraba State. Land, water, the sun, and people are all present.
We can farm 24/7, 365 days a year, but only for three months a year in Europe. In poverty, that is implying that we have no business. ”

In Taraba State, Bogo, who described himself as the “Chief Farmer of Nigeria,” made it clear that all the necessary land, water, sunlight, and manpower are abundantly present.

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Gogo reaffirmed the support for development by regional governments in Taraba and throughout the nation.

Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the NGF chairman, is expressing his gratitude to Taraba State’s governor and the governor. He has asked me to reassure you that sub-nationals will work together to help Taraba State’s citizens develop, he added.

Governor Bago urged the state government to work with major construction companies to deploy their land-cultivation equipment, enabling widespread agricultural production.

He argued that by creating a favorable environment for business investment and capital procurement, the government should act as an enabler.

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I want to see the state government work with large construction companies, as the governor of the state. Use those bulldozers and cumminated machinery to cultivate land and invite visitors to farm. ”

Bago reassured the local population that agricultural investments, whether local or foreign, won’t cause them to abandon. He also addressed potential fears about land exploitation.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump played a video that he claimed showed that white people were being systematically targeted by President Cyril Ramaphosa, causing farmers to flee to the United States.

The Oval Office’s typically shaky diplomatic setting became a staging ground for Trump’s claim that white South Africans are being persecuted as a result of the unexpected stunt.

The video was put on a large screen by Trump’s staff, who claimed it showed black South Africans discussing genocide while the media was standing by and Ramaphosa was occasionally unable to speak up.

They are white farmers who are fleeing South Africa, which is very sad. But I hope there is a solution, because I am aware that you don’t want that, Trump said.

Ramaphosa tried to speak repeatedly but was drowned out. He once pleaded that they “talk about it very calmly.”

Nelson Mandela taught us that people should sit down around a table and discuss problems whenever they arise. And he went on to say that this is what we should also discuss.

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Following Trump’s and his billionaire, South African-born ally Elon Musk’s vociferous and unfounded accusations of genocide, the South African leader’s visit was touted as a chance to spruce up relations. Elon Musk was also in the Oval Office when Trump and his billionaire ally visited.

In essence, Ramaphosa said, “We are here to rekindle the relationship between the United States and South Africa.”

In an effort to woo the golf-loving US president, he made his way to the White House along with two of South Africa’s top golfers, Johann Rupert and Retief Goosen, both of whom are world-class golfers.

The three prominent Afrikaners who make up Ramaphosa’s delegation have endorsed Trump’s request to “refuge.” Around 50 Afrikaners have already arrived in the US to accept the offer.

Trump made the offer despite the fact that his immigration crackdown has stopped asylum seekers from arriving from the majority of the rest of the world.

According to reports that his government would offer Musk a deal to run his Starlink satellite internet network in the nation, the president of South Africa was also expected to bring gifts.

The Tesla and Space X CEO has accused Pretoria of “openly racist” laws, a reference to post-apartheid policies that were perceived as a hindrance to Starlink’s licensing.

Land law row

Since the US president’s second term in office began, the administration has been torn apart in South Africa.

It has criticized South Africa’s case involving the International Court of Justice’s inquiry into Israel’s genocide in Gaza, cut foreign aid, and imposed tariffs of 31%, and expelled Pretoria’s ambassador after he criticized Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement.

A South African land expropriation law signed in January that seeks to correct the historical injustices of white minority rule has been Trump and his team’s main concern.

At Tuesday’s Qatar Economic Forum, Musk, who is in charge of Trump’s radical Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), criticized the land laws.

Why does South Africa have racist laws? he stated.

Despite being only 7.3 percent of the population, land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa, where the majority of farmland is still owned by white people.

Ramaphosa has refuted Washington’s claim that white-owned land will be arbitrarily sequestered.

Authorities deny that the claims made by right-wing Afrikaner lobby groups that farmers are being killed in targeted killings are untrue.

According to police figures, young black men in urban areas make up the majority of South Africa’s sky-high murder rate.