TWO policemen have been shot and several other civilians injured after suspected members of the Zamfara State Anti-thuggery Operatives attacked the convoy of the wife of Zamfara PDP Governorship candidate, Hajiya Hurriyah Lawal. The incident happened in the early hours of Friday, within the Gusau metropolis, when Mrs Lawal was returning to Gusau, the Zamfara State capital. Media aide to Mr Dauda Lawal, Imran Ahnad told News Point Nigeria that two of her security personnel and other civilians were injured and are currently receiving treatment at a health facility in the state capital. “The convoy of the wife of the…
Author: Amina Ibrahim
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FORMER Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, has said that hacking the database of the electoral commission is possible. He stated this while speaking to Trust TV on issues surrounding the preparedness of INEC ahead of the Saturday polls and issues regarding elections in the country. For the 2023 general elections, INEC has introduced a novel tool, Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). BVAS is an electronic device designed to read Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and authenticate voters – using the voters’ fingerprints – in order to prove that they are eligible to vote at a particular polling…
THE Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, said this while expressing concern about vote buying at the maiden briefing on Thursday. He, however, said he is hopeful that the vices will be dealt with. Noting that all materials have been distributed to states, he said the sensitive materials are currently being delivered to local government areas. He said that nonsensitive materials were deployed two months ago. The INEC Chairman reiterated that 240 polling units do not have voters, and also said that staff to be deployed for the elections have been trained. Also at the briefing, Yakubu disclosed that 87 million…
LESS than three days to the general elections, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says intelligence at its disposal has shown some politicians are planning to buy votes in kind rather than with cash. EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, disclosed this on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s The 2023 Verdict, amid the scarcity of the new naira notes experienced by Nigerians nationwide. “We have intel that a lot of people have bought some items that they want [to use] to buy votes in kind not in cash. Some of these things are out there,” he stated. “Politicians are…
US President Joe Biden has called for peaceful and credible 2023 general elections in Nigeria, saying the citizens deserve a chance to do so. Biden made the call on his official handle Thursday, calling on all candidates to respect the election results and back a peaceful transition. US President Joe Biden has called for peaceful and credible 2023 general elections in Nigeria, saying the citizens deserve a chance to do so. “All Nigerians deserve a chance to choose their new leader through a free, fair, transparent, and peaceful process,” he tweeted. “As election day nears, I urge the political parties…
THE Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali has ordered the restriction of vehicular movements across Nigeria ahead of the 2023 general elections. “Consequent to the first part of the 2023 General Elections – the Presidential and National Assembly Elections – scheduled to hold on Saturday 25th February 2023 across all States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, psc(+), NPM, NEAPS, FDC, CFR, has ordered a restriction of all forms of vehicular movement on roads, waterways, and other forms of transportation, from 12 am to 6 pm on election…
KADUNA, Kogi, and Zamfara states have filed contempt proceedings against the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, over their alleged failure to comply with the Supreme Court order on old naira notes. In the fresh documents filed before the court, the three states warned the AGF and the CBN Governor of the consequences of their continued failure to comply with the apex court’s order made on February 3. The two sets of Form 48, filed by the lawyers for the three states, form part of the applications for consideration by the Supreme…
JUSTICE John Omotosho of the Federal High Court Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking the removal of the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, as the Inspector General of Police IGP. The suit was instituted against President Muhammadu Buhari and four others by an Abuja activist, Micheal Idoko. In his judgment, Justice Omotoso invoked section 7 (6) of the Police Act 2020 which put the tenure of office of any Inspector General of Police at four years. The Judge held that the retirement of the IGP from the Nigeria Police Force has nothing to do with his appointment on…
THE Canadian government has warned its citizens to avoid gatherings in Abuja, Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria, due to worsening security challenges in the country as elections approach. Canada gave the caution in signed statement by its Global Affairs Director, titled “Nigeria’s National Elections / Élections nationales au Nigeria CRM:0475001”, made available to News Point Nigeria over the weekend. The statement reads in full: Dear Canadians, You are receiving this email because you are registered with the Government of Canada’s Registration of Canadians Abroad service. The national elections in Nigeria are scheduled to take place on February 25,…
THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has put in place a “robust” plan for the supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, from mid-February to March. The company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Garba Deen Muhammad, in a statement on Monday, noted that the plan is part of its concerted efforts to sustain the supply of petroleum products nationwide. “Latest updates released on Monday show that NNPC Limited has a total of 1.805 billion litres of PMS stock, representing 805.35 million litres in all the land depots nationwide and 1,000.20 million litres on marine vessels,…
THE Independent National Electoral Commission on Monday released a summary polling unit and collation centre agents submitted by political parties for the general election 2023. News Point Nigeria reports that, a total of 1,574,301 party polling units agents and 68,057 collation agents were submitted to INEC by political parties across the country. In summary, the ruling All Progressives Congress deployed 176,223 polling units agents nationwide; the Peoples Democratic Party has 176,558 nationwide; and the New Nigeria Peoples Party has 176,200 nationwide. Kano State had the highest number of 145,393 party polling unit agents from the three political parties of APC,…
THE Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the appointment of Naja’atu Muhammad as the North-West coordinator of the Police Service Commission (PSC). News Point Nigeria reported that, the PSC had appointed Muhammad, a former Director of the Civil Society Directorate of the APC PCC as one of the coordinators to supervise the conduct of police officers during the February 25 and March 11 general elections. Muhammad had openly criticised the APC flag bearer, Bola Tinubu after she joined the camp of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The APC PCC, in a…
WITH the general elections barely a few days away, the Nigeria Police Force has trained officials and other stakeholders on curbing electoral violence in the country. The one-day seminar for strategic police heads, military departments, other security agencies and stakeholders involved in election security management was on the directive of the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba. Baba said the Force would work closely with relevant stakeholders to ensure preparedness to deliver on its mandate of providing full security coverage before, during, and after the 2023 general election. “As part of the plans to ensure that officers of the NPF…
JUSTICE Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, granted Ali Bello and three others bail in an alleged N3 billion fraud suit filed against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). News Point Nigeria reports that the, ruling against a counter-affidavit by the EFCC counsel opposing the bail request, the judge held that the charges against the defendants were bailable and that it was to enable the defendants charged with an offence to prepare adequately for their trial. Bello was on February 8, 2023, arraigned alongside Abba Adauda, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege and Iyadai Sadat, on…
THE United States Embassy in Nigeria has alerted its citizens in Nigeria on possible protests and restricted movements on February 25 and March 11. In a notice on its website, the Embassy advised its nationals to avoid rallies as “they can turn violent with little or no notice”. The Embassy also advised American citizens in Nigeria to have three days of food and water at home in case movement restrictions are extended beyond election days. The notice was titled, ‘Security Alert – Possible Protests Leading to Elections and Restricted Movements on Election Days’. “The Government of Nigeria will restrict the…
THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Adamu and the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) on Sunday called for compliance by the Federal Government to the Supreme Court order on the naira swap policy. News Point Nigeria reports that, the call comes on the heels of a meeting between Adamu and the APC governors in Abuja over a policy that seemingly deepens the rift between the Presidency and governors under the party. The Supreme Court granted an interim injunction suspending the Central Bank of Nigeria’s February 10 ultimatum for the old N200, N500, and N1,000 as legal tender,…
NO fewer than 18 nurses of Nigerian descent are currently facing charges in Texas, United States following allegations of fake educational qualifications, News Point Nigeria learnt. This is according to a statement published on the website of the Texas board of nursing which was obtained by our correspondent on Sunday. In the statement, a total of 23 practising nurses were caught in a grand fraudulent diploma/transcript scheme as revealed by an ongoing investigations. The investigations tagged ‘Operation Nightingale,’ was described as a multi-state coordinated law enforcement action involving the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General…
AHEAD of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections, the Nigeria Immigration Service has redeployed 30 state comptrollers and 11 Assistant Comptrollers Generals across the country. Affected by the fresh posting are 11 Assistant Comptrollers General in charge of the various zones as well as 30 Comptrollers posted to new states. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Immigration Public Relations officer, Tony Akuneme and made available to News Point Nigeria, Sunday. According to the NIS spokesman, the states affected were mainly those that bordered Nigeria with neighbouring countries – Yobe, Adamawa, Sokoto, Katsina, Zamfara, Oyo, Lagos…
THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured that the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly polls will hold nationwide despite the cash crunch and protests in some parts of the country. Following the re-design of the N200, N500 and N1,000 by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerians have been experiencing difficulty having access to the new notes. With this development, there have been fears that the general elections might be postponed or suffer glitches. But INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has allayed those fears, saying the commission is working closely with the CBN and security agencies. “The Central Bank…
A 44-YEAR-OLD Nigerian medical doctor with extensive experience supporting developing countries in tackling infectious diseases, Obinna Onyekwena, has been appointed as a deputy director in disease advocacy at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, Washington. Established in 2000 by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, the foundation works to help improve people’s health in developing countries with the ultimate aim of giving them a chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In his new role, Obinna will be responsible for leading the foundation’s strategies and portfolio of investments for increasing political commitment, resourcing, and…