Author: Bala Muhammad

THE Bauchi Police Command have arrested 11 suspects in the state for alleged criminal conspiracy, thuggery, being in possession of dangerous weapons, and disturbing public peace in some parts of the Bauchi metropolitan. Also, at least one person is reported dead in Karofin Madaki as thugs attacked the area. The police are yet to confirm the death but residents of the area identified the deceased as one Ukasha who they said was stabbed. A statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakili indicates that thirty assorted dangerous weapons have been recovered by the police during a raid of…

ZAMFARA State governor-elect, Dauda Lawal, has reiterated his mission to rescue the state from its backward position. He said this in his acceptance speech to the people of the state and thanked the electorate for their resilience, understanding, and support to accomplish the rescue mission embarked on by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state. The governor-elect promised to effectively implement the rescue agenda to alleviate the socio-economic hardship facing the people of the state. “Let me emphasize that the whole essence of the contest for me is to rescue Zamfara State. As you are all aware, Zamfara is…

INEC’s REC in Kebbi Professor Yusuf Saidu, has declared the governorship election in Kebbi state inconclusive over what he described as irregularities which marred elections in 18 local government areas of the state. The returning officer quoted some sections from the electoral law which gave him the power to declare the results inconclusive. More details in a while…

ALIYU Ahmed Sokoto of the All Progressives Congress, APC has won the governorship election in Sokoto State with 453,661 votes. He defeated his closest rival from the PDP, Umar Saidu Ubandoma who scored 404,632.

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Katsina State, Dr. Dikko Radda has been declared the winner of Saturday’s elections. Radda scored 859,892 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Senator Yakubu Lado Danmarke of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) who polled a total of 486,620 votes. The State Returning Officer for the election, Professor Mu’azu Gusau, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Federal University Gusau, announced the result on Sunday at about 8:56 pm at the Governorship Election Collation Centre, Katsina. The total votes cast stand at 1,386, 427, valid votes stand at 1,365,848 whereas the rejected…

THE governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Aliyu is coasting to victory after winning 16 out of the 20 local government areas declared so far. Sokoto has 23 local government areas. Aliyu is leading the PDP’s candidate, Sa’idu Umar Ubandoma with 41,585 votes. According to the results, the APC’s candidate scored 352,606 votes while Ubandoma polled 311,021. Results from the remaining three local government areas are still pending.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has urged voters not to succum to vote buying, telling them to pocket politicians’ money and voter their conscience. He also said outcomes of the Governorship and State Assembly elections will favour the All Progressives Congress (APC) across the country, saying Nigerians know the party “means what it says, and says what it means.’’ The President stated spoke in Daura, Katsina State after casting his vote at Ward A, Sarkin Yara Polling Unit, 003 alongside his family members and aides. President Buhari said he was not surprised at the results of the presidential elections on February 25,…

AHEAD of the governorship and state assembly elections, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has deployed personnel of the agency across the states where the elections would be held. The teams led by senior officers began arriving at their assigned locations on Friday, the EFCC Head, Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren said in a statement. According to Uwujaren, a number of them had begun holding consultation with the other security agencies involved in election security and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). “The team for Ebonyi State, arrived Abakaliki and met with the Commissioner of Police at…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has approached the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, praying it to set aside the judgement that ordered it to allow electorates with Temporary Voter Cards, TVC, to vote in the Governorship and National Assembly elections billed for Saturday. In the legal process it filed through a team of lawyers led by Mr. Taminu Inuwa, SAN, the electoral body applied for “an order of injunction against execution of the judgement delivered 9th March 2023, directing the Applicant to allow the Plaintiffs/Respondents to use the Temporary Voter Cards in lieu of the Permanent Voter…

AHEAD of the March 18 governorship and state assembly elections, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar has urged Nigerians to come out and vote in defense of democracy. The former Vice President said all hope is not lost, saying he will reclaim his “mandate”. Atiku, in a broadcast on Wednesday, urged Nigerians not to give in to voter apathy due to the inability of the electoral body to transmit election results electronically in consonance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022. He said, “Indeed, what the Independent National Electoral…

WITH few days to the March 18 Governorship and House of Assembly elections, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has cautioned broadcast stations to adhere strictly to its broadcast code, the Electoral Act as well as other extant laws governing the coverage and reportage of the 2023 general polls. The Director General of NBC, Mister Balarabe Ilelah gave the warning on Wednesday during a press conference in Abuja which had representatives of some media organisations in attendance. Underscoring the need for broadcast stations to be professional in the discharge of their duties, Ilelah disclosed that 25 stations were sanctioned by NBC…

THE Federal Government has said that a total of 12,988,978 attacks were recorded during the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections period in Nigeria.  Originated from both within and outside Nigeria, the attacks were made on public websites and portals and averaged around 1,550,000 daily, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Pantami said in a statement on Tuesday. However, Pantami said the attacks skyrocketed to 6,997,277 on presidential election day. “It is worth noting that our (cybersecurity) centers successfully blocked these attacks and/or escalated them to the relevant institutions for appropriate action,” the minister said.…

THE police have declared a member of the House of Representatives, Bauchi Federal Constituency, Yakubu Shehu, wanted. Yakubu, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is being wanted in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, causing grievous hurt, inciting disturbance of public peace, and culpable homicide. This was contained in a gazette citing CRO Form 5 issued from the Office of the Inspector General of Police. The security agency is asking anyone with useful information about his whereabouts to contact them, promising a N1m as a bounty on the lawmaker.

OFFICERS of the Zamfara State Police Command have rescued 14 kidnap victims after 68 days in captivity. The rescue, the Command’s spokesman Mohammed Shehu said, was in conjunction with the vigilante, and the victims were freed near Munhaye forest after the officers dislodged a bandits’ camp belonging to kingpin Dogo Sule. “As a result of the operation, fourteen ( 14) hostages comprising two (2) male adults, seven (7) females, and five (5) children below of age of 2 years were rescued,” the statement from Shehu added. “In the course of debriefing, the victims informed the Police detectives that, on 1st…

AS part of its determined efforts to stave off the possibility of having a 10th National Assembly leadership that would be outside of its design, the national leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC has begun moves to ensure the emergence of a party-sanctioned leadership. Consequently, the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party has summoned an emergency meeting of its Senators and House members-elect to develop a common template for the emergence of the new leadership. The notice for the meeting which was sent out Friday night was titled “Invitation to all APC Senators-elect and Members of the…

JOHNSON Fatoki, the Ogun State collation agent for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, during the February 25 election, has defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Fatoki joined the ruling party ahead of next week’s governorship and House of Assembly elections. His defection added to the growing list of opposition parties’ leaders who have crossed to Governor Dapo Abiodun’s camp in what pundits have described as “political transfer market.” Apart from Fatoki, other chieftains of the PDP who dumped joined APC, include Segun Seriki, Otunba Femi Osifade, Alhaji Saula Adegunwa, Ralph Olaosebikan and Mr Tola Mebude.…

A NIGERIAN woman, Joy Jeff, who has been wanted in Italy since 2010 has been flown from Abuja back to Rome where she has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for crimes including running a prostitution ring, Italian police said on Wednesday. The 48-year-old was one of the few women on Italy’s most-wanted list, police said in a statement, describing her as a prominent figure in the Nigerian mafia. The extradition was facilitated by a treaty signed by Nigeria and Italy in 2020. She was arrested in Nigeria on June 4, 2022, on an international warrant issued by Italy,…

FORMER governor of Bauchi State, Malam Isa Yuguda has berated his former mentee, incumbent Governor Bala Mohammed over the number of doctors serving in general hospitals and primary healthcare centres. The former governor blamed his successors, Muhammed Abubakar and Bala Mohammed the dwindling number of doctors serving the in State hospitals, saying that only 18 doctors are serving over seven million people in the State. Former governor Yuguda was addressing the press at his residence in Bauchi during the weekend where he also blamed governor Muhammed for abandoning 22 hospitals and schools he built during his tenure. He said: “Only…

THE Nigerian Army on Monday said it has begun probing the incident of a soldier who allegedly killed his colleagues and himself at Forward Operations Base Rabbah, Sokoto State. In a statement, the Director of Army Public Relations Officer, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu, said the incident occurred Sunday evening. According to him, the troops were deployed for internal security operations in the area. Onyema stated that the circumstances leading to the incident could not be immediately ascertained, adding that the soldier who killed his colleagues also shot himself immediately. “The Nigerian Army has instituted investigations into the unfortunate incident of…

YOBE state government has lifted a ban on the riding of motorbike across seven local government councils of the state following decade of Boko Haram insurgency. Special Adviser on Security Affairs to Governor Mai Mala Buni, Brigadier General Dahiru Abdulsalam, disclosed this in a press statement signed and made available to journalists in Damaturu the state capital. According to him, the motorbikes are to operate between 6am and 6pm daily, not to be used for commercial purposes ‘Achaba’ and there will be no conveyance of passengers on motorbikes. “Only a rider will be allowed without any other person on the…