Author: Hamza Rufai

THE Defence Headquarters has refuted the report that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has died. Earlier on Tuesday, there was a report by few newspapers claiming that Musa had died. However, a swift reaction by the DHQ in a post on X disclosed that the Defence Chief is well and alive. It described the report as false publication adding that the Chief of Defence Staff is hale and hearty. “Contrary to recent false publication, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, is alive and well,” DHQ wrote. “Please rely on credible sources for accurate information,”…

SEVERAL Boko Haram insurgents were killed during an air operation conducted by the air component of Operation Whirl Punch in the Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The operation was carried out following an intelligence report that a top Boko Haram commander, Madu Bodari and his members, were at the location. The Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said, in a statement on Sunday, that the air operations were successful, prompting the service to embark on another operation targeted at Bodari’s brother. He said the two brothers were responsible for several attacks…

THE operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), have arrested a suspected and notorious major distributor of illicit substances within the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Ibrahim Momoh, popularly known as Ibrahim Bendel. The NDLEA said the arrest was coming seven years after his escape from prison custody following his conviction for drug dealing. He was arrested during a raid of his hideout at Filin Dabo, Dei-Dei area of the FCT. NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi said Momoh was first arrested on 27th November 2014 with cannabis sativa weighing 385.1kgs, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years…

FORMER Kano State Governor, Senator Ibrahim Shekarau (Sardaunan Kano) has felicitated with former President, Goodluck Jonathan ahead of his 66th birthday. Jonathan, who will celebrate his birthday on Monday, November 20, 2023, was described by Senator Shekarau as one of the biggest blessing received from God. In a statement signed by Shekarau himself, on Sunday, the former Kano Central Senator joined family members and friends to celebrate Jonathan, while also underscoring his sacrifices for Nigeria. See full statement below: His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, Former President and C in C of FRN Your Excellency, Sir Congratulations at 66…

VICE President Kashim Shettima has called for an end to the use of strikes as a means of expressing grievances against the government. He was speaking when he represented the visitor, President Bola Tinubu, at the 24th combined convocation of the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID, Borno State. “It is no longer fashionable to insist on confrontation as a tool for demanding improved welfare conditions for your members,” he said on Saturday. “Incessant strikes are very detrimental to the system and so the option for dialogue must remain paramount in resolving any issue or crisis.” According to him, the Federal Government…

THERE is tight security at the Court of Appeal complex in the Federal Capital Territory, as the appellate court is set to deliver judgment in Kano and Bauchi states governorship appeals. Our correspondent observed that some roads leading to the court were cordoned off by men of the Nigeria Police Force. Our correspondent also witnessed a large number of supporters trying to gain access to the premises. Police officers trying to contain the surge of supporters fired teargas canisters to disperse them. However, as of the time of filing this report, police officers are making a frantic effort to forestall…

THE Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has declared as inconclusive, the governorship election that was held in Zamfara State on March 18. In a unanimous decision, the three-member panel led by Justice Oyebisi Folayemi, on Thursday nullified the return of Governor Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the governorship poll. Justice Sybil Nwaka who read the lead judgement ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election in three Local Government Areas of the state, where elections had not been held previously or where results from various polling units were…

A LIST of 22 Justices of the Court of Appeal nominated by the Federal Judicial Service Commission, FJSC, for elevation to the Supreme Court has been sent to the National Judicial Council, NJC. News Point Nigeria reports that the names of the nominees, who hail from various regions in the country, were revealed in an FJSC document on Thursday. The North-Central region has six nominees, while the South-West and South-South regions have two nominees each. The South-East region also has six nominees, and the North-East has two nominees. The development is coming after the retirement of Justices Amina Augie and…

FORMER Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, lost his cellphone inside the Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday. The ex-Minister was among the politicians from Nasarawa state who stormed the court in solidarity with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governorship Candidate, David Ombugada. After fruitless attempts to recover the phone, Maku became so worried but he tried to maintain calmness. Some of his supporters and aides searched for the missing phone without any luck. Other persons rang the line severally in a bid to trace the phone but it was not found before Maku left the court. Some persons suggested…

THE Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgment in an appeal brought by Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the majority decision by a tribunal nullifying his election, in favour of David Ombugadu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). A three-member panel of justices headed by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam told parties involved that the date for judgment will be communicated. In the day’s proceedings, counsel to Governor Sule, Wole Olanipekun, who filed five processes to challenge the appeal, urged the court to dismiss the judgment of the tribunal and allow the appeal…

THE federal government of Nigeria is currently holding a meeting with the executives of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, over the ongoing nationwide strike. This newspaper gathered that the meeting is taking place at the office of the National Security Adviser, NSA. Those in attendance are the Minister of Labour Simon Bako Lalong, Minister of State Hon. Nkeiruka Onyeajeocha and NSA Nuhu Ribadu. Also in attendance are labour leaders led by TUC President, Festus Osifo, NLC Secretary General Emmanuel Ugboaja and other Labour leaders. Recall that the NLC and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, had declared a nationwide strike, demanding…

THE Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has condemned an online report attributed to its Head of Public Affairs that there would be a national blackout on account of the ongoing nationwide labour strike, describing the report as false and totally misleading. n a statement by its management on Tuesday, the company also said the report was “mischievous and baseless,” adding that “TCN, through the Public Affairs Head, did not make such statement.” The statement is mischievous and baseless as TCN, through the Public Affairs Head, did not make such statement. We hereby note that the nation’s grid is intact and…

NATIONAL Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, has attributed the current financial distress being faced in the country to bankruptcy inherited by the administration led by President Bola Tinubu. Ribadu, however, said despite the financial constraint that has affected budgetary allocations, the federal government would do everything within its power to ensure that there is a robust and viable defence management and apparatus in the country. The NSA stated these in Abuja when he spoke at the Chief of Defence Intelligence Annual Conference 2023 themed: “Leveraging Defence Diplomacy, and Effective Regional Collaboration for Enhanced National Security”. This newspaper reports that the conference,…

THERE was panic and shock when the Saudi Arabian Authorities cancelled the visa of all the 264 passengers airlifted to Jeddah from Lagos and Kano on Sunday. The authorities insisted that the airline should return them back to Nigeria. The flight took off from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos via the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Sunday night and landed at King Abdul-Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. But to the consternation of the airline staff, the Saudi Arabian authorities announced that all the passengers’ visas had been cancelled. This was despite the fact that the passengers…

THE National chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has congratulated Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo state over his re-election in the Saturday off-cycle governorship poll in the state. Ganduje also expressed happiness with the overwhelming support exhibited by the electorates in Kogi state in electing Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo in the state governorship poll. The APC National Chairman, in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, Sunday, remarked that the electoral feats of both Uzodimma and Ododo reinforced the fact that Nigerians are well at home with the APC. Ganduje also…

Dozen members of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), band team have died in a fatal accident along the Kano/Zaria road on Sunday morning. Unconfirmed reports said all the band members died in the unfortunate accident. However, the cause of the accident and the actual number of personnel who died were yet to be confirmed at the time of filing this report. The Headquarters of the Service in Abuja has been thrown into a pensive and mourning mood following the tragic accident. It was gathered that the bus conveying the band was returning from Kano on Sunday morning after the band…

A NIGHT fire has razed a part of Gambarou Market, the second market in Maiduguri metropolis, the capital of Borno State. Our correspondent reports that the fire was still raging as of the time of filing this report. This is coming five months after a similar night fire razed part of the international market in March 2023. The cause of the inferno could not be immediately ascertained, but firefighters were still battling to put it out. An eyewitness told our correspondent on the phone that the fire broke out from the shops of spices and grains sellers section of the…

OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested 14 suspected vote buyers in Otueke, Adawari playgrounds in Bayelsa and at various polling units in Imo and Kogi. EFCC Spokesperson, Dele Oyewale. announced this in a statement on Saturday in Abuja. According to him, the suspects were arrested on Saturday in intelligence-driven operations that commenced several days before the ongoing governorship elections in the three states. “Also, a total sum of N11,040,000, comprising N9,310,00 intercepted from suspected vote buyers and sellers in Bayelsa, and N1,730,000 intercepted from electoral fraud suspects across Imo State, were recovered from them. “Also,…

THE Federal Government has begun compiling the list of new ambassadors, this newspaper gathered. On September 2, President Bola Tinubu recalled all Nigeria’s ambassadors, both career and non-career. They were asked to return to the country on or before October 31, 2023. Nigeria has no fewer than 300 foreign missions. The recall was communicated to the affected envoys by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar. Our correspondent gathered that some ambassadors had returned, while a majority of them still left behind had formally handed over to their most senior officers but perfecting travel plans to return home as…

THE Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has revoked provisional letters of allocation offered to beneficiaries of the National Housing Programme. This was disclosed in a press release signed by the permanent secretary of the ministry, Mahmud Mamman, and obtained by our correspondent on Friday. It was titled, “Review Of Sale Of Houses Under National Housing Programme.” The ministry, claiming to review the conditions and procedures of sales of the houses, said the affected subscribers include beneficiaries of the programme from the first batch to the 14th batch. The statement read, “I write to inform the general public and the…