25 decomposing bodies belonging to victims of a mass abduction that took place in four communities in Niger state have been recovered.

They were part of residents that were abducted by terrorists Dekara, Kpenya, Sabon-Gida and Gidan-Zana in Borgu Local Government Area.

The bodies were recovered after the communities were reportedly alerted on Monday by the abductors to come and identify and retrieve the bodies.

The victims were said to be among about 500 worshippers abducted after Friday Jumm’at prayers on August 21, 2026.

25 bodies were recovered and later given a mass burial in a nearby bush.

The reported killings have heightened anxiety among families whose relatives remain in captivity, with residents saying they are increasingly uncertain about the fate of the remaining abductees.

A source said the abductors allegedly warned that more captives could be killed if their ransom demands were not met.

“They first asked each family to bring N10 million for each captive, but later reduced it to N5 million. There is no way we can afford it,” he said.

Anambra State Government has disclosed that Governor Charles Soludo’s administration is still repaying loans and other debts incurred by previous administrations, including those of former governors Peter Obi and Willie Obiano.

The Commissioner for Finance in the state, Izuchukwu Okafor, disclosed this during a podcast.

The podcast was moderated by Ejimofor Opara, a special assistant to Governor Soludo on new media.

In the podcast, Mr Opara questioned why details in the budget performance reports indicated that the Anambra State Government has been servicing loans despite claims it had not borrowed before.

In response, Mr Okafor reiterated that Mr Soludo’s administration had not borrowed from any commercial bank since taking office but had continued to service loans inherited from previous governments.

“It’s on record, you know, that this administration has not borrowed a kobo from any commercial bank since the inception of this administration,” he said.

The commissioner then explained that deductions were made from the state’s Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAC) funds every month to service loans obtained by previous administrations.

“Every month during our FAC meetings, and when you see the schedule of FAC, you will notice there were substantial, significant deductions from our own FAC because of loans previously borrowed by previous administrations,” he said.

Mr Okafor claimed some of the loans were obtained during the administrations of Mr Obi and the immediate past governor of the state, Willie Obiano.

“These loans were borrowed, you know, even during the time of Peter Obi and Willie Obiano, (and other) past governors,” he said.

The finance commissioner boasted that Mr Soludo’s administration had “significantly” reduced the state’s debt burden despite not borrowing any loans himself.

“We have been able to manage the debt, the state debt, very well, that we have brought it down by more than 83 per cent as of today. We’ve been able to repay back most of these loans,” he said.

He said the administration had also cleared several “legacy debts,” including unpaid contracts, gratuity arrears and pension arrears.

“But I will give you an example for our domestic debt. There’s what we call legacy debts, you know. That’s, the contracts that were not paid, the gratuity arrears, pension arrears, we’ve been able to clear all that,” he said.

The official also said the state’s domestic debt was “near-zero balance” at the moment.

What about external debts?
Mr Okafor claimed that, on the state’s external debts, some repayments were automatically deducted from federal allocations due to the state in accordance with the terms and conditions attached to the loans.

“Before they remit Anambra’s own allocation, they will deduct it as such, because most of them, World Bank loans and other loans, they committed.”

The commissioner also disclosed that the state had recently paid off one of its debts.

“This administration has been able to create more by paying off, you know, the backlog of numerous debts inherited from previous governments, starting from the time of Peter Obi,” he added.

Brianna Cronin, a 29-year-old Australian ecologist, spent her last terrifying minutes clinging to a sheer rock face 80m above the ground after she fell while visiting a famous Bali cliff, only to fall again, this time to her death.

I’mThe tourist who was on a solo travel adventure, tragically died at the famous Kelingking Beach, on the Indonesian island of Nusa Penida, on Saturday morning.

The spectacular rock formation – which resembles the head of a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex – has become one of Bali’s most recognisable landmarks and attracts thousands of foreigners every year.

The University of Queensland graduate was on the infamously steep and narrow track to explore the landmark when she slipped on loose rock and became stuck on the southern side of the cliff.

She was then spotted stranded precariously on a ledge below the path by another tourist, unable to get back to the track and too high to descend to the beach.

It is unclear if she was injured at that point, but the tourist alerted one of the local lifeguards who monitor the rugged and treacherous beach below about 7.45am.

A plan was being made to reach Ms. Cronin when she sadly fell a second time while waiting to be rescued. She hit the sand of Kelingking Beach and died at the scene, suffering multiple fractures from the fall down the rocky cliff.

Another tourist had spotted Ms Cronin stranded on the cliff face before she fell a second time, landing on the beach

‘The views are spectacular but it is downright dangerous and irresponsibly managed,’ one visitor wrote on Tripadvisor in 2019.

‘At least half of the ”path” is sheer, vertical drops, requiring climbing, hanging, and holding on to broken side rails made literally of sticks and bamboo.