News

BYM Condemns Renewed Killings in Barkin Ladi, Riyom, Calls for Government Action

Published

6 months ago

October 18, 2025

vicky

The Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYM) has condemned in strong terms the renewed wave of killings in Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas of Plateau State, where at least 31 persons, including minors, were killed within one week in what the group described as coordinated attacks by suspected militias.

In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by Solomon Dalyop Mwantiri, President of BYM, and Bature Iliya Adazaram, Secretary, the association said heavily armed assailants launched simultaneous attacks on the night of October 15 on Rachas village in Heipang District and Rawuru village in Fan District, both in Barkin Ladi LGA.

According to the statement, 11 persons, including five children, were killed in Rachas, while two others lost their lives in Rawuru. The attackers also reportedly rustled over 255 cows during the assault.

“The victims of the Rachas massacre included Chollom Danjuma (37), Christy Dung (32), and three children aged between five and ten years. The attackers opened fire while the victims were asleep and later herded away the stolen livestock to Fass settlement,” the statement said.

BYM further reported that on October 13, two persons were killed and two injured in Wereng community of Riyom LGA, alleging that the attacks occurred despite the presence of security personnel in the area. The group accused some operatives of bias and selective response in handling security incidents.

The association expressed concern over what it described as a “dangerous pattern” in which violent attacks tend to follow security meetings involving Fulani and Berom representatives. It cited a recent incident where community leaders returning from a meeting at Sector 4 Headquarters were ambushed, leaving four dead, two injured, and two missing.

BYM also recalled that on October 8, an attack in Gabwat village of Fan District claimed the lives of a one-year-old baby and three adults. In total, the group said 12 people were killed in Fan District, 11 in Heipang, and two in Wereng within a week — describing it as “one of the darkest weeks for the Berom Nation.”

The association called for an outright ban on open grazing in Berom communities, alleging that the practice has become a cover for terrorist activities and forceful land occupation.

While urging government and security agencies to act decisively, BYM warned that communities may resort to constitutionally backed self-defence if authorities fail to protect them.

The group reaffirmed its commitment to peace built on justice and extended condolences to families affected by the recent attacks, urging security operatives to discharge their duties with equity, fairness, and professionalism.

Up Next

Beyond the Headlines: The Silent Crisis of Plateau’s Displaced Women and Girls

Don't Miss

Ex-Operation Safe Haven Commander Urges Grassroots-Driven Reforms to End Plateau Violence

Click to comment

Business

Lasaco Assurance’s ₦18.47bn Rights Issue Closes May 13

Published

29 minutes ago

April 21, 2026

Preport

BY NKECHI NAECHE-ESEZOBOR—Lasaco Assurance Plc has announced that v will officially close on May 13, 2026, marking the end date for eligible shareholders to participate in the capital raising exercise.

The offer is part of the company’s strategy to strengthen its financial base, boost underwriting capacity, and support its expansion plans within Nigeria’s insurance sector.

The offer comprises 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, priced at ₦2.00 per share, on the basis of five (5) new shares for every six (6) existing shares held. The Rights Issue is open to shareholders whose names appeared on the Company’s register as at the close of business on February 20, 2026.

The exercise is expected to raise approximately ₦18.47 billion, which will be strategically deployed to strengthen the Company’s capital base, enhance underwriting capacity, and support the expansion of its market presence within Nigeria’s competitive insurance landscape.

Meristem Capital Limited is acting as Lead Issuing House, while PAC Capital serves as Joint Issuing House on the transaction.

Commenting on the development, the Managing Director of Lasaco Assurance Plc, Ademoye Shobo, reaffirmed the Company’s commitment to maintaining a robust capital position to meet its obligations and deliver sustained value to policyholders and stakeholders.

This initiative aligns with broader efforts across the Nigerian insurance industry to meet evolving regulatory capital requirements, strengthen balance sheets, and position operators to underwrite larger and more complex risks across key sectors of the economy.

The post Lasaco Assurance’s ₦18.47bn Rights Issue Closes May 13 appeared first on Business Today NG.

News

AI research lab NeoCognition lands $40M seed to build agents that learn like humans

Published

1 hour ago

April 21, 2026

Preport

Investors are aggressively courting AI researchers to build startups that can make AI more reliable and efficient.

Yu Su, an Ohio State professor leading an AI agent lab, said he initially resisted the pressure from VCs to commercialize his work. He finally took the leap last year and spun out his work into a startup when he saw that foundational model advances could make agents truly personalized.

NeoCognition, a startup Su describes as a research lab developing self-learning AI agents, has just emerged from stealth with $40 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Cambium Capital and Walden Catalyst Ventures, with participation from Vista Equity Partners and angels, including Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and Databricks co-founder Ion Stoica.

“Today’s agents are generalists,” Su (pictured left) told TechCrunch. “Every time you ask them to do a task, you take a leap of faith.”

According to Su, the issue lies in a lack of consistency. Current agents, whether from Claude Code, OpenClaw or Perplexity’s computer tools, successfully complete tasks as intended only about 50% of the time, he said.

Since agents are still so unreliable, they are not ready to be trusted, independent workers, Su told TechCrunch. NeoCognition intends to change that by developing an agent system that can self-learn to become an expert in any domain, similar to how humans learn.

Su argues that while human intelligence is broad, its real power is our ability to specialize. When we enter a new environment or profession, we can rapidly master its unique rules, relationships, and consequences.

Techcrunch event

San Francisco, CA
|
October 13-15, 2026

NeoCognition is building agents to mirror this exact approach.

“For humans, our continued learning process is essentially the process of building a world model for any profession, any environment,” Su said. “We believe for agents to become experts, they need to learn autonomously to build a model of any given micro world.”

Su views this capacity for rapid specialization as the critical missing link to getting AI to work reliably on its own.

While it is possible to train agents for autonomous tasks, they must be custom-engineered for a specific vertical. NeoCognition is different because it’s building agents that are generalists capable of self-learning and specializing in any domain.

NeoCognition intends to sell its agent systems primarily to enterprises, including established SaaS companies, which can use them to build agent-workers or to enhance existing product offerings.

Su highlighted that an investment from Vista Equity Partners is especially valuable for this reason. As one of the largest private equity firms in the software space, Vista can provide NeoCognition with direct access to a vast portfolio of companies looking to modernize their products with AI.

NeoCognition currently has about 15 employees, the majority of whom hold PhDs.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.