In Gombe state, there is a disturbing trend: vehicles crashing into processions of Christians during major religious celebrations. The first happened, and it seemed as though it was just an accident, possibly from a brake failure. Then it happened again and again. 

Over the past six years, three incidents — April 2019, December 2024, and April 2025 — have left communities in the state reeling, with dozens dead and others injured.

Official reports from security agencies often cite accidents, but eyewitnesses and local leaders cry foul, alleging deliberate attacks.

Is this mere coincidence or something more unfathomably sinister? Let’s dig into the tragedy, exploring the human toll, conflicting narratives, and unanswered questions fueling distrust.

EASTER 2019: A NIGHT OF CARNAGE 

On April 21, 2019, at 11:30 pm, a vehicle driven by an off-duty Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) officer ploughed into an Easter procession of Boys’ Brigade members along Gombe-Biu Road.

The crash killed 8 to 11 people, mostly children under 15, and injured 31 others.

Witnesses, including Adams Borkono, state chairman of the Boys Brigade, said that after arguing with the procession of youth, the driver made a U-turn, switched off his headlights, and rammed into the crowd deliberately.

No mechanical failure was reported, and the act was widely accepted as intentional.

The aftermath was chaotic. An enraged mob killed the driver and a policeman, burning the vehicle.

The tragedy sparked unrest, prompting a curfew in Gombe. Despite police promises of justice, public updates on the investigation were scarce, leaving families without closure. This incident set a grim precedent, planting seeds of suspicion that linger today.

CHRISTMAS 2024: A PROCESSION MARRED BY CHAOS 

On December 25, 2024, at 2:00 pm, a Volkswagen Sharon mini-bus loaded with rice bags crashed into a Christmas procession in Tumfure, near Gombe, en route to the emir’s palace and government house.

The collision injured 22 to 65 people, but no fatalities were reported, though the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) claimed higher injury counts than police estimates.

Buhari Abdullahi, police spokesperson, attributed the crash to the driver losing control. The driver fled and the vehicle was torched by an angry mob.

Shamsuddeen Kachalla, procession leader, and eyewitnesses disputed the official account, alleging the driver deliberately ignored attempts to stop the vehicle.

The higher injury estimates from CAN (65 vs. police’s 22) fueled perceptions of underreporting.

Inuwa Yahaya, governor of the state, covered medical costs and urged calm, but the incident deepened community tensions.

EASTER 2025: BRAKE FAILURE OR TARGETED ATTACK?

On April 21, at about 7am, a grain-laden truck rammed into an Easter procession in Billiri, along Gombe-Yola Road, killing five (two men, three women) and injuring 8 to 13 people.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) blamed excessive speeding, while police cited brake failure, and the driver was apprehended for prosecution.

However, eyewitnesses, including Yusuff Haskee, former CAN youth wing chairman, rejected claims of brake failure or excessive speeding; he alleged a terror attack.

They noted the truck’s silent approach and abrupt stop post-crash, with a viral video intensifying suspicions.

The community’s response was visceral; youths burned the truck, looted shops, and attacked the Billiri police headquarters, injuring officers.

The governor ordered a probe, vowing accountability — but distrust persists.

Three crashes in six years, all during Christian processions, have left Gombe’s faithful shaken. The 2019 incident appeared overtly intentional, but 2024 and 2025 remain contested, with official “accident” claims clashing against eyewitness accounts of deliberate acts.

In a broad context, 62,000 Christians have reportedly been killed in Nigeria since the year 2000. Each incident follows a grim cycle: a vehicle strikes, mobs retaliate, and investigations are stalled.

The Cable

The Nigerian stock market ended its three-day bullish streak on Friday with a 0.3% decline in key performance indicators. The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) saw its market capitalization decrease by N202 billion, falling from Thursday's N66.667 trillion to N66.465 trillion. Similarly, the All-Share Index dropped by 321.65 points to close at 105,752.61.

This downturn was primarily attributed to share price depreciation in major stocks including Dangote Cement and Transcorp. Despite the overall decline, market sentiment remained positive with gainers outnumbering losers 41 to 15.

Among the top performers, Ikeja Hotel led with a 10% increase, closing at N12.10 per share. International Breweries and Legend Internet Plc also posted 10% gains, closing at N7.70 and N6.82 respectively. Vitafoam rose by 9.93% to N44.85, while Cadbury gained 9.92% to close at N26.60 per share.

On the losing side, Dangote Cement experienced the steepest decline of 10%, closing at N432.00 per share. Other notable losers included Regency Alliance Insurance (down 8.06% to 57k), VFD Group (down 7.57% to N17.10), CHAMS (down 7.27% to N2.04), and Sovereign Trust Insurance (down 6.12% to 92k).

Trading volume increased significantly, with investors exchanging 428.08 million shares worth N20.174 billion across 14,284 transactions, compared to Thursday's 328.26 million shares valued at N10.370 billion in 12,142 deals.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company led the activity chart with 60.735 million shares valued at N3.807 billion. Fidelity Bank followed with 41.407 million shares worth N829 million, while Access Corporation, MTN, and Zenith Bank rounded out the top five most active stocks with transactions valued at N968.26 million, N8.240 billion, and N1.054 billion respectively.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Missile launched from Yemen into Israel intercepted, Israeli army says

The Israeli army said in the early hours of Saturday that a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory.

Sirens sounded in a number of areas in Israel following the launch, the Israeli army added in a statement.

There was no immediate comment from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, who have been launching attacks against Israel as well as ships they perceive as affiliated to Israel, in what they say is to support the Palestinians in Gaza against the Israeli offensive on the enclave.

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russia and Ukraine 'very close to a deal', says Trump

US President Donald Trump has said Russia and Ukraine "are very close to a deal", hours after his envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in Moscow.

Trump said it had been a "good day" of negotiations, while the Kremlin described the talks - which Ukraine was not present at - as "constructive".

Earlier, Trump said on social media that "most of the major points are agreed to," and urged Russia and Ukraine to meet "at very high levels" and "to finish it [the deal] off".

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his video address late on Friday that "real pressure on Russia is needed" to accept an unconditional ceasefire.

Earlier in the day, Zelensky told the BBC that territorial issues between Kyiv and Moscow could be discussed if a "full and unconditional ceasefire" was agreed upon.

Reports suggest Ukraine would be expected to give up large portions of land annexed by Russia under a US peace proposal.

Trump - who spoke to reporters as he arrived in Rome for Saturday's funeral of Pope Francis - has said he would support Russia keeping the Crimean peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014. Zelensky rejects this idea.

Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and Moscow currently controls almost 20% of Ukrainian territory.

On Friday, traffic was halted in Moscow as a convoy of cars carrying Witkoff arrived ahead of the high-level talks, the fourth such visit he has made to Russia since the start of the year.

The three-hour talks were described as "very useful" by Putin aide Yuri Ushakov.

It had brought the "Russian and US positions closer together, not just on Ukraine but also on a range of other international issues", he said.

"Specifically on the Ukrainian crisis, the possibility of resuming direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian representatives was in particular discussed," he added.

Earlier this week, Putin signalled for the first time since the early stages of the war that he was open to talks with Zelensky.

His remarks were believed to be in response to a proposal by the Ukrainian president for a 30-hour Easter truce to be extended for 30 days. No truce has yet been agreed on.

Kyiv has been on the receiving end of growing pressure from Trump to accept territorial concessions as part of an agreement with Moscow to end the war.

Crimea has become a particular flashpoint.

Zelensky has repeatedly rejected the idea of recognising the peninsula as part of Russia, telling reporters in Kyiv on Friday: "Our position is unchanged - only the Ukrainian people have the right to decide which territories are Ukrainian."

However, in later remarks he suggested to the BBC that "a full and unconditional ceasefire opens up the possibility to discuss everything".

He also referenced comments made by Trump in an interview with Time magazine, in which the US president said "Crimea will stay with Russia".

"What President Trump says is true, and I agree with him in that today we do not have enough weapons to return control over the Crimean peninsula," Zelensky said.

Washington's peace plan has not been publicly released, but reports suggest it proposes Russia keeps the land it has gained - a condition that is in Moscow's favour.

On Friday, Reuters news agency reported it had seen US proposals handed to European officials last week, as well as subsequent counter-proposals from Europe and Ukraine.

It said there are significant disparities between them.

The US deal offers American legal acceptance of Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and de facto recognition of Russian control of other occupied areas, including all of the Luhansk region.

By contrast, the Europeans and Ukrainians will only discuss what happens to occupied Ukrainian territory after a ceasefire has come into effect.

The US plan also rules out Ukraine's membership in the Nato military alliance, according to Reuters.

What would it mean for Ukraine to temporarily give up land?

As the meeting between Witkoff and Putin was taking place, Trump claimed talks were going in the right direction.

"They're meeting with Putin right now, as we speak, and we have a lot of things going on, and I think in the end we're going to end up with a lot of good deals, including tariff deals and trade deals," he told reporters in the US.

He said his aim was to bring about an end to fighting in Ukraine which he said was claiming the lives of 5,000 Ukrainian and Russians a week, adding he believed "we're pretty close" to a peace deal.

Trump also said Zelensky had not signed the "final papers on the very important Rare Earths Deal with the United States".

"It is at least three weeks late," he said, adding that he hoped it would be signed "immediately".

The long-talked of minerals deal, which would give the US a stake in Ukraine's abundant natural resource deposits, was meant to be signed in February but was derailed after an acrimonious meeting between Trump and Zelensky in Washington.

Russia and Ukraine's positions in securing a peace deal still seem miles apart, with no representative from Ukraine invited to take part in the talks in Moscow.

Writing on social media on Friday, Zelensky criticised Russia for failing to agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US on 11 March and urged allies to apply more pressure to it.

"It's been 45 days since Ukraine agreed to President Trump's proposal for quiet in the sky, sea and the frontline," he said. "Russia rejects all this. Without pressure this cannot be resolved. Pressure on Russia is necessary."

He said Russia was being allowed to import missiles from countries such as North Korea, which he said it then used in a deadly missile strike on Kyiv on Thursday, which killed 12 people and injured dozens.

"Insufficient pressure on North Korea and its allies allows them to make such ballistic missiles. The missile that killed the Kyiv residents contained at least 116 parts imported from other countries, and most of them, unfortunately, were made by US companies," Zelensky alleged.

Following the attack on Kyiv, Trump said he was "putting a lot of pressure" on both sides to end the war, and directly addressed Putin in a post on social media, saying: "Vladimir STOP!"

Since then, however, Trump has blamed Kyiv for starting the war, telling Time magazine: "I think what caused the war to start was when they [Ukraine] started talking about joining Nato."

Ahead of the talks between Witkoff and Putin, a senior Russian general was killed in a car bomb attack in the Russian capital. The Kremlin accused Ukraine of being responsible. Kyiv has not commented.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Zelensky contradicts Trump on deal with Russia

President Donald Trump has claimed that “most of the major points” in an agreement to end the Ukraine conflict have been resolved, even as Vladimir Zelensky once again publicly rejected a reported key clause in the proposed US peace framework.

Russian President Vladimir Putin held lengthy talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff on Friday, described by Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov as “constructive and very useful.” Trump also expressed satisfaction with the negotiations, praising a “good day in talks and meetings with Russia and Ukraine.”

“They are very close to a deal, and the two sides should now meet, at very high levels, to ‘finish it off.’ Most of the major points are agreed to,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late Friday, adding that “SUCCESS seems to be in the future!”

The agreement proposed by Washington reportedly includes US recognition of Russian sovereignty over Crimea, a “freezing” of the conflict along the current front line, and acknowledgment of Moscow’s control over large parts of the four former Ukrainian regions that voted to join Russia.

“Crimea will stay with Russia” under a final settlement of the Ukraine conflict, Trump said in an interview with Time Magazine published on Friday.

However, in direct contradiction to Trump, Zelensky reiterated on Friday that Kiev will not even discuss formally recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.

“Our position is unchanged: only the Ukrainian people have the right to decide which territories are Ukrainian,” Zelensky told reporters in Kiev, arguing that “the constitution of Ukraine says that all the temporarily occupied territories... belong to Ukraine.”

Zelensky went on to claim that his “vision” of a resolution includes more “sanctions, economic and diplomatic pressure” on Moscow – even as Washington’s peace framework reportedly includes a phased removal of restrictions imposed on Russia.

Trump has previously blamed Zelensky’s public statements for harming the negotiation process and warned that he risks losing the entire country if he continues to stall talks with Moscow.

The US-proposed deal would also reportedly prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, an ambition enshrined in Ukraine’s constitution. Kiev’s intention to join the US-led bloc likely “caused the war to start,” Trump acknowledged in his interview with Time.

The Kremlin has consistently said it remains open to diplomacy and has expressed gratitude for Trump’s peace efforts. Ushakov confirmed that Friday’s talks touched on the possibility of resuming direct bilateral negotiations between Moscow and Kiev, but offered no details. No direct talks between the two sides have taken place since Ukraine pulled out of the Istanbul negotiations in 2022.

According to Putin, Zelensky – who has banned himself from engaging in talks with Moscow – is actively sabotaging any peace process, as it would require lifting martial law, which currently allows him to remain in power. Moscow maintains that without martial law, Zelensky would be compelled under the Ukrainian constitution to either hold elections or transfer presidential authority to the current speaker of Ukraine’s parliament.

BBC/RT

A declassified document posted to the CIA’s website is raising eyebrows with claims of an alleged UFO attack on Soviet forces. 

The viral report summarizes an article published by Canadian Weekly World News and the Ukrainian paper Holos Ukrayiny and was initially released to the public in May 2000. 

The firsthand report describes a retaliatory alien attack after Soviet soldiers reportedly shot down a UFO flying over a military base. 

The aliens reportedly emerged from the wreckage, fusing together into one object and bursting into a bright light and turning all but two of the soldiers to stone. 

"If the KGB file corresponds to reality, this is an extremely menacing case," an unnamed CIA representative was quoted as saying in the report. "The aliens possess such weapons and technology that go beyond all our assumptions. They can stand up for themselves if attacked." 

Canadian Weekly World News estimates the supposed incident occurred between 1989 and 1990 and was initially published in 1993. 

According to the document, information acquired by U.S. intelligence revealed reports of a "low-flying spaceship in the shape of a saucer" over a Soviet unit participating in training exercises. 

Officials wrote that "for unknown reasons" the soldiers launched a surface-to-air missile at the unknown aircraft, causing it to crash near the military base. 

The report describes how "five short humanoids with ‘large heads and large black eyes’ emerged" from the downed spaceship and fused together to create one "single object" while emitting a loud buzzing noise. 

The spherical object reportedly then burst into a blinding bright light. 

Eyewitness testimonials claim 23 soldiers suddenly "turned into stone poles." Two men reportedly survived the encounter because they were standing in a shaded area and were not completely exposed to the blast of light. 

Officials wrote that the remains of the "petrified soldiers" and the spaceship were transported to a secret scientific research base near Moscow, where it was discovered the soldiers’ molecular structure matched that of limestone. The document claims scientists believe the cause was a "source of energy" not yet known to humans. 

The CIA did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

While the initial context of the document remains unknown, it likely originated from a telegram or another form of open-source information.  

However, former CIA agent Mike Baker is skeptical of the extraordinary claims detailed in the report. 

"If there was an incident, regardless of the nature of the incident, I suspect that the actual report doesn't look much like what has now come out from five or six or seven iterations of what originally was [written]," Baker told Fox News Digital. 

In 2020, the Department of Defense announcedthe creation of an Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) with the goal to "detect, analyze and catalog" unknown objects that could pose a threat to national security. 

The creation of the program comes after years of government efforts to investigate questionable aircraft. While UFOs are typically associated with aliens, Baker insists officials are required to look into unidentified objects in the interest of national security. 

"The Pentagon was saying if aviators are flying, and they identify something that they can't readily say what this is, then [officials] should, as a matter of national security, make sure that they catalog it and figure out what it was," Baker told Fox News Digital. "There's a reason why you have a method of investigating these things. It doesn't mean you're investigating alien spacecraft, but that's where people's minds go when they hear about these sorts of things." 

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed an order to declassify decades-old government files pertaining to UFOs, possibly revealing federal secrets while pulling back the curtain on any potential "cover-up." 

"A lot of people believe that there is a smoking gun somewhere in the files," former U.K. Defense Ministry official and UFO expert Nick Pope told Fox News Digital. "It is a very widely held belief that elements in the U.S. intelligence community know that some of this is extraterrestrial and have documents and files relating to this. And that, of course, is what everyone really wants to know. That's the $64,000 question." 

As for the extraordinary claims of a Soviet-era alien invasion and retaliatory attack, Baker does not buy it. 

"I'm sure there's something out there," Baker said. "I just don't think that they landed decades ago, turned Soviet soldiers into limestone and we're just now hearing about it. I don't think that's the case."

Fox News

Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, is facing a dire poverty forecast according to the World Bank's latest Africa's Pulse report released during the ongoing Spring Meetings in Washington, DC. The report paints a troubling picture of Nigeria's position as a global poverty epicenter, with current conditions expected to deteriorate further over the next few years.

The World Bank projects that poverty in Nigeria will increase by 3.6 percentage points through 2027, bucking the trend of poverty reduction expected in non-resource-rich African countries. Currently, Nigeria accounts for a staggering 19% of sub-Saharan Africa's extremely poor population—translating to over 106 million Nigerians living on less than $2.15 per day. This represents approximately 15% of the world's poorest people, underscoring the severity of the crisis in Africa's most populous nation.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the global center of extreme poverty, hosting 80% of the world's 695 million extremely poor people in 2024—roughly 560 million individuals. Within the region, half of these impoverished people are concentrated in just four countries, with Nigeria leading, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo (14%), Ethiopia (9%), and Sudan (6%).

The report highlights that resource-rich, fragile countries like Nigeria face particularly challenging prospects for poverty reduction due to structural economic issues, slowing oil prices, and weak fiscal structures. "This follows a well-established pattern whereby resource wealth combined with fragility or conflict is associated with the highest poverty rates—averaging 46% in 2024, which is 13 percentage points higher than in non-fragile, resource-rich countries," the report states.

Despite some recent gains in Nigeria's economic activity, particularly in the non-oil sector during the last quarter of 2024, these improvements have not translated to meaningful poverty reduction. The country's persistent poverty reflects deep structural challenges including high inflation, naira depreciation, insecurity, and widespread unemployment. PwC projects that an additional 13 million Nigerians will be pushed into poverty in 2025 alone due to these economic headwinds.

The continental outlook is equally concerning, with the number of extremely poor people in sub-Saharan Africa expected to increase by 90 million between 2022 and 2027, pushing the total from 576 million in 2025 to 589 million by 2027.

To address these challenges, the World Bank recommends that Nigeria focus on improving fiscal management and building a stronger fiscal contract with citizens to promote inclusive economic development and sustainable poverty alleviation.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Israeli fire kills at least 44 people in Gaza, hits a police station

An Israeli airstrike hit a police station in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 10 people, local health authorities said, and Israel's military said it had struck a command centre of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad groups.

Medics said two Israeli missiles hit the police station, located near a market, which led to the wounding of dozens of people in addition to the 10 deaths. The identities of those killed were not immediately clear.

The Israeli military said in a statement apparently referring to the same incident, that it attacked a command and control centre operated by Hamas and the allied Islamic Jihad groups in Jabalia, which militants used to plan and execute attacks against Israeli forces.

It accused Palestinian militant groups of exploiting civilians and civil properties for military purposes, an allegation Hamas and other factions deny.

Local health authorities said Israeli strikes have killed at least 34 other people in separate airstrikes across the enclave, bringing Thursday's death toll to 44.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the Durra Children's Hospital in Gaza City had become non-operational, a day after an Israeli strike hit the upper part of the building, damaging the intensive care unit and destroying the facility's solar power panel system.

No one was killed. There was no Israeli comment on the incident.

Israel's military said on Thursday that one soldier was killed during combat in the northern Gaza Strip, while an officer and a reservist were severely injured.

Gaza's health system has been devastated by Israel's 18-month-old military campaign, launched in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas in 2023, putting many of the territory's hospitals out of action, killing medics, and reducing crucial supplies.

Since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,900 Palestinians, many of them civilians, according to the Gaza health authorities, and hundreds of thousands have been displaced as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone of Gaza's land.

Efforts by Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have so far failed to reconcile disputes between the two warring parties, Israel and Hamas.

The attack on Israel by Hamas in October 2023 killed 1,200 people, and 251 hostages were taken to Gaza. Since then, more than 51,300 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to health officials.

Reuters