Author: Hamza Rufai

WORRIED by the recent killings in Plateau State, the House of Representatives will hold a security summit. At least 30 people have been killed in renewed violence in the North-Central Plateau State, where clashes between Muslim herders and Christian farming communities have erupted for years. The senseless killings and burning of houses have continued in Mangu town of Mangu Local Government area of Plateau State despite the 24-hour curfew imposed by the government. Reacting to the violence, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, condemned the recurring attacks in the state in the strongest terms. Tajudeen, according to…

JUSTICE Bolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court Abuja has ordered that the five Port Harcourt-based men arraigned by the Federal Government on terrorism charges be remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre. They are to remain in prison custody till February 2 when their respective bail applications will be determined by the Judge. The five defendants are Chime Eguma Ezebalike, Prince Lukman Oladele, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Osiga Donald and Ochueja Thankgod. In the seven counts, the defendants were accused of committing alleged terrorism offences by invading, vandalizing and burning down the Rivers State House of Assembly, during the wake of a…

THE Federal Government has assured Nigerians that those found culpable in circumstances leading to the tragic Ibadan explosion will face the full weight of the law. Speaking while visiting the scene of the blast for an on-the-spot assessment in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, who led the Federal Government delegation, expressed shock at the scale of devastation and unfortunate loss of lives, stressing that the disaster is man-made and regrettable. Briefing the Minister on the state government’s rescue efforts, head of the state’s disaster management team, Prof. Tope Alonge noted that…

THE Federal Government says it will develop an app for applications into the student loan scheme. This is according to the Executive Secretary of the Student Loan Scheme Board Akintunde Sawyer who spoke on Monday after the board met with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja. Sawyer said the move is to ensure zero human intervention in the scheme which is expected to start this year. The development came months after Tinubu said the scheme would commence in January 2024. “By January 2024, the new student loan must commence. To the future of our children and students, we are saying no…

THE Commandant-General, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Dr Ahmed Audi, says the agency has averted over 48 attack attempts on schools nationwide by bandits. He said the newly implemented security strategies of the NSCDC would see a drastic reduction in the cases of school attacks by bandits. This newspaper reports that bandits have on many occasions attacked schools, especially in the north, and abducted students. Bandits, on September 20, 2023, abducted 24 female students of the Federal University Gusau in Zamfara State. In April 2014, Boko Haram insurgents attacked the Government Secondary in Chibok, Borno State and abducted 276…

SEVEN residents abducted from Sagwari Estate in Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been released. This newspaper had reported how gunmen raided the estate opposite Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) Dutse, around 8 pm penultimate Sunday and abducted 10 residents. Their abductors had given a deadline for the payment of ransom, and failure of the family to meet their demand led to the killing of Nabeeha. The captives murdered were Talatu Salihu, a 500 level student of Library and Information Science, Bayero University Kano (BUK), a staff member of a hotel on the state; Akpagher Joseph…

THE Nigeria Police Force, on Saturday, paraded a notorious Abuja kidnapper, Chinaza Philip-Okoye on a stretcher at the Force Intelligence Response Team base, Guzape, Federal Capital Territory. Our correspondent gathered that the suspect sustained serious injuries after he was shot by police officers following the interception of his gang at a filling station on Thursday night. Philip-Okoye was arrested by a combined team of FCT and Kaduna police officers in Kaduna on Thursday when the police swooped in on him and his gang members (now at large), while they were taking a victim, Segun Akinyemi, from Abuja to Kano State.…

RESIDENTS of Kuriga community along the Kaduna-Birnin Gwari highway have been thrown into confusion as bandits killed a school principal, Idris Abu Sufyan, and kidnapped his wife and her baby. Local sources said the bandits invaded Sufyan’s house on Thursday night, shot him dead and whisked away his wife and son. A friend of the victim, Sabiu Goyam, who confirmed the incident, shared pictures of the victims on his Facebook page on Friday. The post reads, “Innalillahi wa Inna ilaihi raji’un. I feel sad to inform you that our noble colleague; the principal of GSS KURIGA (SNR).MAL IDRIS ABU SUFYAN,…

NASARAWA State Governor, Governor Abdullahi, has stated reasons why he has no plan to run for any political office after finishing his second tenure as the governor. The 64-year-old politician was elected governor in 2019 and is currently serving his second term following his victory in the March 18, 2023 polls. Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today hours after the Supreme Court affirmed his electoral victory monitored by News Point Nigeria, Sule told his rival, David Ombugadu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in last year’s election, to wait for his time. “I came in only to be a…

FORMER Governor of Kano State and the leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has said that the issue of Kano emirates will definitely be revisited. Former Governor Abdullahi Ganduje had split the Kano emirate into five and dethroned the then Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi. Following the victory of the New Nigerian Peoples Party in last year’s election, Kwankwaso had said the government of Engr Abba Kabir Yusuf would review the dethronement and balkanisation of the emirate. Speaking in an interview granted to select radio stations in Kano, the NNPP leader reinstated that the issue of Kano…

THE Supreme Court has upheld the judgments of the lower courts affirming the election of Governor Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State. Jibrin Barde of the Peoples Democratic Party contested the outcome of the election. The Court of Appeal in Abuja had, in November 2023 affirmed the election of Yahaya as the governor. The appellate court held that the petitioners failed to prove their allegations of non-qualification, perjury, and certificate forgery raised in the petition. The five-member panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun affirmed the concurrent judgement of the lower courts on the matter. She said she…

THE Federal Government is set to arraign a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, on Friday, at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on an amended 20-Count Charge. News Point Nigeria obtained a copy of the amended 20-count charge dated January 17, 2024 and filed by counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Oyedepo and three others on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation. In August 2023, the Government had initially filed a 6 count charge of alleged fraudulent procurement against the former CBN Governor. He pleaded not guilty…

THE Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr Ola Olukoyede, has lamented the craze for gratification, and quest for bribes by some of the commission’s investigators. He cautioned the perpetrators to discontinue such immoral acts or face sanctions. Olukoyede stated this on Thursday in his New Year address to staff members of the anti-graft agency at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja. While noting that the preceding year threw up monstrous challenges on the corporate strength of the EFCC, he added that the commission has been able to stabilise the system and roll out fresh initiatives and policy direction for the…

THE Nigerian Communications Commission has suspended its plan to bar Glo subscribers from calling MTN lines for 21 days. In a statement on Thursday, NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Reuben Mouka, said the commission decided to suspend the action after the telcos agreed to resolve all outstanding issues between them. Earlier the regulatory body said it has approved MTN Nigerian Communications Plc. to commence the phased disconnection of Globacom Limited with effect from January 18, 2024, due to a long-standing interconnection debt dispute between the parties. However, the commission in the latest directive, said it is suspending the partial disconnection…

GOVERNOR Seyi Makinde, on Wednesday, said the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) certificate of a mining company indicted for Tuesday’s explosion in the Bodija area of Oyo State showed some foreign names as owners. Makinde, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday night monitored by News Point Nigeria, also said the death toll in the unfortunate blast had risen to three as one more victim died in a hospital today. “We recovered one individual alive today (Wednesday) under the rubble. 60 of the 77 people hospitalised have been discharged,” the governor said. “We are trying to…

THE Kaduna State Fire Service on Wednesday confirmed a fire incident at the popular Panteka market in Kaduna. Director, Kaduna State Fire Service, Mr Paul Aboi, told newsmen that the fire incident affected the timber section of the market. Aboi said that the fire department received the first distress call from one Mr Sadiq Mohammed, who rushed to the fire department at 1 a.m. on Wednesday. He said several calls were also received. Aboi, however, said the fire incident did not result in any loss of life or injuries to the traders. According to him, the cause of the fire…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, eulogised his predecessor, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari for not interfering in the appointments of his 48-man cabinet last August. The President spoke in Abuja at the venue of the launch of a book, ‘Working with Buhari: Reflections of A Special Adviser, Media, and Publicity (2015-2023)’, authored by ex-presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina. Addressing Buhari, who handed over power to him on May 29, 2023 upon the completion of double terms of eight years, Tinubu thanked his predecessor for being a statesman. Tinubu, who addressed the room crowded with serving and former political office holder, said, “After handing…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu, former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon and other dignitaries are attending a book launch in honour of former President Muhammadu Buhari. In addition to Buhari were former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who gathered in Abuja, the nation’s capital. Also in attendance are the former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, among several others. The book titled ‘Working with Buhari’ is written by the former Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, This is one of the rare occasions where the incumbent, who is the special guest of honour,…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Chief Bisi Akande, the first National Chairman of the governing All Progressives Congress, APC, on his 85th birthday, describing him as a true statesman and a man of the masses. In a congratulatory message issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu on Monday in Abuja, the president paid homage to the sacrifices of one of the champions of the nation’s democratic struggle. He noted that Mr Akande rose from humble beginnings to occupy the party’s highest constitutional position through hard work and discipline. According to him, Mr Akande will continue “to bask in the sun as…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested a former Minister of Commerce and Industry, Charles Ugwuh, for alleged conspiracy and loan fraud to the tune of N3.6 billion. According to a statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of the commission, Dele Oyewale, on Monday, the ex-minister was arrested with Chief Geoffrey Ekenma on January 11, 2024, at No.2, Musa Yar Adua Way, New Owerri, Imo State. The arrest of the two suspects was said to have followed “a petition to the commission from a new generation bank on the alleged fraud perpetrated through a company, Ebony Agro…