Ethiopian government has said Tigrayan forces are surrendering in the face of an advancing country army. The TPLF forces has however rejected this and said they are on course for victory in their battle against Ethiopia, revealing they struck an important army division.

The Ethiopian government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have had daggers drawn for almost a month.

Hundreds, comprising Ethiopians and Tigrayans have died since the conflict started. According to Reuters, at least 41,000 Ethiopian refugees are in Sudan.

The crisis has seen the African Union calling for a quick resolution between the warring parties.

On Monday, Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed gave the TPLF forces 72 hours to surrender or suffer a wreck. The UN in an instant reaction warned Ethiopia that it has the responsibility of protecting civilians and aid workers in the country.

Mekelle, the Tigrayan capital has about 500,000 inhabitants and they have been threatened with shelling if the TPLF forces fail to surrender.

TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael on Tuesday argued against the government version that Mekelle is encircled at a roughly 50km (31 mile) distance. He said it was plan of the government to run for cover when struck.

The United States has now reacted to the ongoing conflict and has advised that both parties sheathe their sword and embrace an amicable resolution. The US has also backed planned mediation of the African Union in the matter.

Abiy Ahmed has been accused of ethnic bias against the northern Tigray people. Ahmed, a Nobel Peace Prize winner comes from the Amhara group and has denied claims by Tigrayans linking his leadership to ethnic preference.

Daudu is a community in the local government area where the allegation of missing genital organs had spread like fire in the past few weeks, turning the Community of Benue State in Nigeria’s North Central into a ghost town. This follows the arrest of three persons in connection with the murder of a pastor and destruction of property belonging to a businessman after the two were accused of conniving to steal the reproductive organs and miraculously restore them for a fee. Following the murder of Prophet Jacob Uhemba, the police in Benue had to take The businessman, mister Sake Iorhemba into protective custody. It turned out that the bloodshed and arson resulted from a false alarm. From the initial claim that genitals had totally disappeared, the purported victims later said they had only lost potency, but a specialist who attended to the nine victims of missing genitals certified them medically fit.

A Nigerian court has ordered the revocation of the bail granted to Faisal Maina, the son of ex-chairman, defunct Pension Reformed Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, over his failure to appear for his trial.

Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, after giving the order also issued a bench warrant for his arrest “anywhere he is sighted by security agencies.”

Justice Abang, in addition, issued a summon on Faisal’s surety, Rep. Sani Umar Dan-Galadima, who represents Kaura Namoda Federal Constituency of Zamfara, to appear before the court on Wednesday, to show cause why the bail bond should not be forfeited.

The court had on Nov. 26, 2019 admitted Faisal to bail in the sum of N60 million with a surety in the like sum who must be a member of the House of Representatives.

Dan-Galadima had deposed to an affidavit of means, on Dec. 11, 2019, to always come to court at every adjourned date and produce Faisal in court.

News Central reports that a Nigerian lawmaker, Sen. Ali Ndume, who stood as surety for Faisal’s father, Abdulrasheed Maina, was remanded in jail yesterday after the former pension failed to appear for his trial.

Ndume, the Senator representing Borno South in the West African country’s Upper House, had stood as surety for former Chairman, defunct Pension Reformed Task Team (PRTT), Maina, who is standing trial on money laundering charges.

Maina, who was arraigned before the Federal High Court, Abuja, presided over by Okon Abang, on October 25, 2019, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside his son, Faisal, and firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd., was released from Kuje in July 2020 after spending nine months in Kuje Correctional Centre.

He had already spent nine months at the prison at the time.

Ndume had also sometime in July revealed that it took him six months of painful consideration to agree to be a surety for the ex-Pension boss, and that it was part of the cross he had to carry as Mr Maina’s elected senator.