Author: Gloria Lamar Johnson

THE last victim of the abduction at the Bethel Baptist High School in Kaduna State Treasure Ayuba has been released by his kidnappers after two years and four months in captivity. Treasure is among the 121 students of Bethel Baptist High School who were kidnapped by bandits in July 2021 at Maraban Damishi village in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State. He was released on Friday with the student already reunited with his family. Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has expressed happiness over freedom from the abductors. While thanking God for his divine intervention, Governor Sani expressed…

FEW days to its annual conference in Uyo, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has said that Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, masters of economy and many corporate organisations, like the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigeria Customs Service (NSC) and United Bank for Africa (UBA) have rallied support for the conference. Other organisations that have also indicated support for the conference, being organised by the professional body of editors in Nigeria, include Zenith Bank, Access Bank, Nigeria Ports Authority and the Dangote Group. In a press statement by the NGE President, Eze Anaba and the General Secretary,…

THE Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday, sacked the former Governor of Benue State, Gabriel Suswam, from the Senate. The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices, said it was satisfied that Suswam was not the valid winner of the senatorial election that held in Benue North East on February 25. It faulted the judgement of the Benue State National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal, which returned Suswam of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the Senate, after it nullified the election victory of Mr. Emmanuel Udende of the All Progressives Congress, APC. According…

THE Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, has affirmed Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan as the duly elected candidate for Kogi Central Senatorial Election earlier in February. The court dismissed the appeal filed by Abubakar Ohere for lacking in merit. Earlier in September, the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja had nullified the victory of Ohere of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Kogi Central Senatorial Election. The court further declared Natasha Akpoti-Uduagan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the actual winner of the February senatorial poll. However, Ohere had headed to the appellate court to seek…

THE Peoples Democratic Party has announced the death of its National Woman Leader, Prof. Stella Effah-Attoe. Effah-Attoe, a member of the PDP National Working Committee, according to the family, died on Sunday after a brief illness. PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, on Sunday, described Effah-Attoe’s death as a huge blow to the nation. The statement read in part “Prof. Effah-Attoe was very brilliant, towering and magnificent in all spheres, but yet lived an exceptionally humble, pleasant, sociable, gracious, compassionate and loving life. She touched lives in many positive ways and made pivotal contributions towards…

A 17-YEAR-OLD student in Plateau State, Elijah Anthony, has been arrested by operatives of the State Police Command for allegedly killing his neighbour’s five-year-old child after collecting N400,000 in ransom from the victim’s parents. Anthony, a Senior Secondary student of Manret High School in Angul D community, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, was among 39 other suspects paraded for various offences at the police command’s headquarters in Jos on Thursday. In an interview with News Point Nigeria, Anthony, who confessed to killing the five-year-old neighbour identified as Dawom Pam, said, “They sent his (victim’s) elder brother to…

THE Nasarawa State University lecturer, Dr Comfort Adokwe, who was abducted on Sunday, has been released. This newspaper reports that Adokwe, a lecturer in the Faculty of Administration at the university and a Deputy Director, Gender Studies, of the school, was abducted on Sunday night by gunmen from her residence in Angwan Jaba in Keffi. Speaking with this newspaper on phone, Timothy Adokwe, brother to Comfort, confirmed the release. “Yes, she was released around 8:30,” he said. He said the kidnappers initially demanded a N100million ransom. He confirmed that the family paid an undisclosed amount to secure her freedom. Timothy,…

KOGI State governor, Yahaya Bello, has denied reports of assassination attempts on his life by gunmen in military uniforms as claimed by his Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo. This newspaper reports that the Commissioner had earlier on Sunday issued a statement on behalf of the Kogi State Government alerting the public to failed assassination attempts on the life of the State governor while on transit from Lokoja to Abuja for official engagements. Fanwo had claimed that the attackers, who were dressed in military uniforms, waylaid the governor’s convoy and started shooting sporadically at his vehicle and other vehicles…

THE Kogi State Government, on Sunday, said that there was an assassination attempt on the state governor, Yahaya Bello, a few kilometres away from Abuja, on his way to an official engagement from Lokoja, the state capital. According to a statement issued by the state Commissioner for information, Kingsley Fanwo, it stated that the attack occurred at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 22, 2023. According to him, “The attackers who were dressed in military uniforms waylaid the governor’s convoy and started shooting sporadically at his vehicle and other vehicles in the convoy. It took the swift intervention of the…

RESIDENTS of Otukpo town in Benue State fled in different directions on Friday as armed robbers invaded two banks in the ancient city. Witnesses said the armed robbers storm the banks at exactly 3:30pm on Friday and operated unchallenged till about 4:50pm. A resident who preferred anonymity told our correspondent people scuttled to safety as the armed gang broke loose. “They are robbing First bank and Zenith banks simultaneously. They stormed the banks at 3:30pm. “Two vigilante have lost their lives as we speak. Gunshots renting every where and if you listen carefully, you will hear the sound. The place…

THE Kaduna State Police Command, on Thursday, confirmed the brutal murder of a member of the National Youth Service Corps member, Grace Chalya Silas, by yet-to-be-identified assailants in the state. The Command’s spokesman, ASP Mansir Hassan, told this newspaper that the state Police Commissioner, CP Musa Yusuf Garba, has directed a manhunt for the killers of the Corps member. Chalya Silas, who’s doing her one-year mandatory national service in the state, was reported to have been stabbed to death during her morning jogging at Barnawa, in Kaduna South Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday. The deceased’s friends and…

MANY persons were injured in a gun battle between supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Social Democratic Party, SDP, in Idah Local Government Area of Kogi State on Wednesday. This newspaper gathered that the clash led to the destruction of vehicles while some individuals, including a Police officer, sustained bullet injuries. It was further learnt that those that sustained injuries are currently receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in the area. The Kogi State Police Command confirmed the incident on Thursday. According to a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP William Ovye…

DOCTOR Stephen Angbas, the proprietor of Lafia-Angbas Clinic has been killed by unidentified gunmen. The tragic incident happened in the evening hours of Tuesday as Angbas was en route to his farm on a motorcycle in Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants, suspected to be armed robbers, launched a vicious machete assault on Angbas and his accompanying Okada rider. While Angbas tragically succumbed to his injuries, the motorcycle rider, identified as Mikailu Dahiru, was rushed to a nearby medical facility, where he is currently receiving urgent treatment for severe wounds. A senior official from…

NIGERIAN Guild of Editors (NGE) has gathered economic masters and technocrats from global and local institutions to interrogate the state of Nigeria’s economy, missing gaps, and the role of the media executives/editors in resolving the challenges, as it slated its 19th annual conference for November 14 to 18, 2023, in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. The conference, which will be attended by over 400 media executives and senior editors, will be chaired by the Founder/Chairman of Vanguard Newspapers Group, Uncle Sam Amuka, while President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is expected to declare the conference open on November 15, 2023. In…

THREE people were reportedly killed by gunmen at Imatom village in Logo local government area of Benue State. The incident, according to reports happened on Saturday. A community leader, Anawa Joseph said the killings of people in the local government area by gunmen have assumed dangerous dimensions in the LGA. Anawa gave the names of the latest victims of gunmen to include; Tertsea Terkimbi Adagundu, Tertsea Mkposu and Mimidoo Umburga. He said, “These three young men were killed by gunmen at Imatom village Square near Chembe, Ukemberagya, Logo Local Govt, Benue State yesterday, Saturday, at about 9 pm and many…

THE Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, says that the results for the Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi governorship elections will be uploaded on its Result Viewing Portal (IReV). Yakubu stated this while speaking with newsmen at Ward 009, LEA School, Ganaja Village, Ajaokuta LGA, Kogi on Saturday Yakubu was in the state to monitor the mock accreditation exercise, ahead of the Nov. 11 governorship election. He said that the commission would follow the laws for accreditation and results collation during the states’ elections. “The method is as provided by law, electronic accreditation, electronic upload of results on…

A SUSPECTED electrical explosion has claimed the life of six persons in Kabong Central Community, a suburb within Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. The incident, which occurred on Saturday at about 2 am, left two others critically injured. This newspaper gathered that the explosion at a transformer triggered fire within the vicinity. According to a source in the community, “the blast sent shockwaves throughout the area, causing widespread panic and fear among the residents. “Also destroyed are shops, with losses estimated to be in millions of naira.” When contacted, the Spokesman of the State Police Command, DSP…

FOUR students of Nasarawa State University who were kidnapped on Monday night have regained their freedom after payment of an undisclosed ransom. Rahila Hanya (SLT 100 level), Josephine Gershon (Computer Science 100 level), Rosemary Samuel (Business Administration 100 level) and Goodness Samuel (Geography 100 level) were abducted from their off-campus residence near Angwan Kare after BCG at about 10:30 pm. News Point Nigeria learnt that the students have been released and are currently at 177 Guards Battalion Headquarters in Keffi. Muhammed Sakilu Muhammed, Secretary General of the Nasarawa State Youths Forum for Advocacy, in a statement made available to this…

GUNMEN have abducted four students from Nasarawa State University, Keffi. It was gathered that the students were whisked away on Tuesday when their lodge at Angwan Kare, a settlement of the Keffi Local Government Area was invaded by armed men. The victims are all first-year students of the school identified as Rahila Hanya from Science Laboratory Technology; Josephine Gersho, Computer Science; Rosemary Samuel from Business Administration and Goodness Samuel from Geography departments respectively. The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ramhan Nansel confirmed the abduction to News Point Nigeria in a telephone conversation on Tuesday. He said the State Police Command…

FORMER Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon has denied rumours making the rounds that he died on Monday. This newspaper reports that his death rumour is trending on all social media platforms. But, in a terse statement Monday night, his Media Aide, Adeyeye Ajayi stated that the former military administtratos is alive According to the Ajayi, Gowon said, “I am still here and well. I am not in a hurry”.