News
Putin: Wagner chief was a man with difficult fate, he made serious mistakes
Russian President, Vladimir Putin, has said that Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin made serious mistakes.
Putin stated this in a condolence message to the deceased family.
The Wagner chief and nine others died when a plane conveying them crashed near Moscow on Wednesday.
The plane crash is believed in some quarters to have killed Prigozhin and Wagner’s co-founder Dmirty Utkin, as western forces debate the possible causes of the incident.
Earlier on Thursday, anonymous United States (U.S.) officials said they believed it had been caused by a surface-to-air missile.
But a statement Thursday evening from the Pentagon ruled that possibility out.
The U.S. Department of Defence said there was currently no information to suggest that a surface-to-air missile took down the plane presumed to be carrying the Russian mercenary leader.
Brig.-Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, offered no further details or evidence as he made his remarks at a Pentagon news conference.
Reuters reported earlier yesterday that the U.S. was looking at a number of theories over what caused Prigozhin’s plane to crash.
A preliminary Washington intelligence assessment found that the plane crash was initially caused by an explosion.
While officials did not give any further details about what set off the detonation, one highlighted the explosion fell in line with Putin’s ‘long history of trying to silence his critics’.
In a television address, Putin said Prigozhin had ‘made serious mistakes’ as he offered ‘condolences’ to the families of the ten victims who died in the Tver region, around 60 miles North of the capital.
Putin said: ”This afternoon: ‘What concerns this air crash, first of all, I want to express sincere condolences to the families of all those who died.
”It is always a tragedy. Indeed, if they were there and, according to the initial information, Wagner Company employees were on board, I want to note that those people made a significant contribution to our common cause of fighting the Nazi regime in Ukraine.
“I had known Prigozhin for a very long time, since the start of the ’90s. He was a man with a difficult fate, and he made serious mistakes in life. And he strove for the results he needed for himself, and when I asked him about it, for the common cause, as in these last months.”
The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, on Saturday, charged the newly commissioned officers to place national interest above all else and uphold absolute loyalty to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria..
He gave the charge while presiding over the Passing Out Parade (POP) of Executive Commission Course 2/2025 at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry (NASI), Jaji,
General Shaibu said the commissioning of this new set of officers form a critical component of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed drive to reinforce Nigeria’s security architecture as contained in the declaration of a State of Emergency on Security.
He also said that the commissioning is part of the fulfilment of the President’s directive to expand manpower, strengthen frontline deployments and accelerate security stabilisation efforts nationwide.
The Army Chief expressed confidence in the quality of training received by the officers, noting that their exceptional display of parade and weapon handling reflects the Army’s rising standards at a time when the nation demands heightened operational vigilance.
He urged them to remain uncompromisingly apolitical, disciplined and subordinate to civil authority, stressing that professionalism and constitutional loyalty remain the bedrock of military service.
A Nigerian Air Force jet has ccrashed near Karabonde, Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
This was disclosed by a Niger State-based online digital television network, Lapai TV, in a post on its official Facebook page on Saturday evening.
“Two Nigerian Air Force Pilots Reportedly Survive Alpha Jet Crash Close to Karabonde, Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State,” the post stated
The incident was said to have occurred Saturday evening.
At the time of filing this report, the military has yet to make any official communication about the incident.
Nigeria’s security agencies have reportedly uncovered a plan by some opposition politicians to organise protests in Sokoto and other northern states against President Bola Tinubu and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
Fresh intelligence reports made available to journalists on Friday show that former Senator Kabiru Marafa is the main arrowhead of the plot.
The group is allegedly working to discredit NSA Nuhu Ribadu and the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, by falsely linking them to bandit groups and using a Sokoto-based militia to trigger violent protests.
Sources say the Zamfara State Government, led by Governor Dauda Lawal, is strongly backing the plan and providing funding, determined to paint the federal security team as incompetent and force the removal of both Ribadu and Matawalle.
Security operatives detected the scheme this week, monitored several planning meetings in Gusau and Abuja, blocked funding channels, and quietly disrupted the operation.
No arrests have been made, but all the key figures are now under close surveillance.
The key figures are now being monitored by security agencies to track their key sources of funding.
-
News2 years agoBreaking: Tinubu’s authentic ministerial nominees
-
News9 months agoSenate to speed up conclusion of Nigeria Forest Security Service Bill
-
News2 years ago“Anytime we want to kill terrorists, President would ask us to take permission from France but they were killing our soldiers-” Niger Republic coup leader
-
News2 years ago“I’m leaving the Catholic church because Bishop Onah is oppressing me,” says Okunerere
-
News2 years agoRadio Nigeria’s veteran broadcaster Kelvin Ugwu dies three months after retirement from service
-
News2 years agoDokpesi and the Gazebo Mystique
-
News2 years agoTsunami: Tinubu orders dissolution of managements, boards of MDAs, to sack all Buhari’s political appointees
-
News2 years agoPersons against Allagoa’s reforms behind protests at NSITF