VICE President Kashim Shettima on Monday led a Federal Government delegation on a condolence visit to the family of the late former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh. Ogbeh, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) between 2001 and 2005, died last Saturday at 78. Shettima described Ogbeh as one of Nigeria’s most visionary leaders whose contributions to food security will remain indelibly etched in the nation’s development history. Vice President Kashim Shettima consoles the family of former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh on August 11, 2025 He said the passing of the…
Author: Gloria Lamar Johnson
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UNKNOWN gunmen have reportedly abducted 9 passengers at Ogbabo junction along the Itobe-Anyigba road, while the driver and six passengers miraculously escaped abduction. This newspaper learnt that the incident occurred Friday evening at about 4:20 p.m. near Ogbabo Junction in Ofu Local Government of Kogi State. It was learnt that the gunmen, who were laying in ambush at the location, suddenly burst onto the expressway when they noticed a Hummer bus loaded with passengers approaching. The gunmen forced the bus to a halt and started firing guns to scare the passengers, who were travelling in a Peace Mass Transit suspected…
THE Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) in its latest situation report says the country had recorded 811 confirmed cases of Lassa Fever and 152 deaths this year. Published on Monday, the Lassa Fever Situation Report for Week 28 (7th–13th July, 2025) stated that 11 new confirmed cases were reported in Ondo, Edo, and Benue States. According to the NCDC, with respect to Lassa fever, “811 confirmed cases and 152 deaths recorded cumulatively in 2025. Case Fatality Rate (CFR) is 18.7%, higher than the 17.3% reported in the same period in 2024. 89% of confirmed cases are from…
THE Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has submitted the first batch of commissioner-nominees to the Benue State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation. Alia’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr Tersoo Kula, who made this known in a statement on Friday in Makurdi, said that the transmission of the list to the House was in line with constitutional provisions. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Alia had sacked all the 17 commissioners and his Chief of staff on Wednesday. Kula listed the first batch of commissioner nominees to include Theresa Odachi, Dr Benjamin Ashaver, Dr Margaret Adamu, and Dr…
PROTESTING Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Benue State have taken to the streets demanding food and improved living conditions, sparking a wave of concern just 24 hours after the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, presented a ₦1 billion donation to support their welfare. News Point Nigeria reported that the First Lady had, on Tuesday, handed a symbolic cheque to Governor Hyacinth Alia during her visit to Makurdi, stating that the funds were part of her humanitarian outreach to displaced communities affected by insecurity and conflict. However, by Wednesday, scores of IDPs mainly women and children blocked the Makurdi-Lafia highway, chanting…
THE Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday dissolved the State Executive Council. Alia announced the dissolution in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Tersoo Kula, and made available to newsmen in Makurdi. Kula said that the governor informed the council members of the dissolution at the end of the 12th (2025) SEC meeting. The chief press secretary said that the governor directed the commissioners to hand over to the permanent secretaries of their ministries as soon as possible. He appreciated all the former commissioners who worked with him for two years and urged those who might…
FIRST Lady Remi Tinubu on Tuesday announced a ₦1 billion donation by the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) to support families displaced by a suspected herders’ attack in Benue State. She made the announcement at the New Banquet Hall of the Benue State Government House during her condolence visit to the state, following the attack on Yelewata community in June, which claimed over 100 lives. According to her, the donation, aligned with the mission of the Renewed Hope Initiative, is intended to help displaced families regain stability, return to their livelihoods, and build better lives. “On behalf of the governing council…
THE Kogi State Police Command has confirmed the discovery of the body of a slain photojournalist, Mr. Ayo Aiyepeku, who was allegedly killed by his neighbour, Oluwapelumi Adebayo, in Lokoja, the state capital. The disturbing discovery was made on Sunday evening, with the body found in a bush near the WAEC office in the Crusher Zone 8 area of the city. Police say the recovery followed days of investigation after the victim was reported missing last Tuesday, July 22. Speaking to journalists on Monday in Lokoja, the spokesperson for the state police command, SP Williams Aya, confirmed the development and…
THE abductors of the six Nigerian Law School students have reportedly demanded a ransom of N20m for each victim, News Point Nigeria gathered. The students were reportedly kidnapped in Benue State by suspected gunmen while travelling from Onitsha, Anambra State, to the Yola campus of the Nigerian Law School in Adamawa State on Saturday. News Point Nigeria reported on Sunday that the incident occurred in the late hours of Saturday, as the students were on their way to resume academic activities at the Yola campus of the Nigerian Law School, scheduled to reopen on Monday (today), following their court externship…
FEAR and anxiety have gripped the Nigerian Law School community following the abduction of at least six students by armed men suspected to be bandits, along a notorious stretch of road between Taraba and Benue States. News Point Nigeria reports that the incident, which occurred in the late hours of Saturday, July 26, involved students who were travelling from Onitsha, Anambra State, to resume academic activities at the Yola campus of the Nigerian Law School in Adamawa State. The campus is scheduled to reopen on Monday, July 28, after students concluded their mandatory court externship programme. One of the students,…
RADIO Nigeria’s Prime 101.5FM Jimgbe in Kogi State has gone off air following a robbery attack in which transmission equipment worth millions of naira were stolen. Quoting the General Manager of the Station, Momoh-Jimoh Adeiza, Kogi Reports, a local publication, said the incident happened in the early hours of Saturday. The armed robbers were said to have operated uninterrupted for more than three hours. Adezia told reporters that they woke up to see that their station had been vandalised, with no trace of the armed men behind the incident. “This is a major attack on the station. We are currently…
THE Federal Government, through the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, is currently constructing 250 units Renewed Hope estate in 12 states across the six geopolitical zones in the country. The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Arc. Ahmed Dangiwa spoke in Kano on Friday during an inspection of the ongoing construction of the Renewed Hope City and Estate in Lambu, Kano State. He noted that provision is also being finalised to flag off construction of the same project in the remaining 24 states to make affordable housing available for Nigerians. Government is also constructing seven Renewed Hope Cities, one…
THE Kogi State Police Command has launched a manhunt for a photojournalist accused of killing his colleague, Mr. Ayo Aiyepeku, in what authorities have described as a brutal and cold-blooded attack. The incident reportedly occurred on Tuesday night at an office around the Government House/GRA axis of Lokoja, where both the victim and the suspect worked as photographers in an unnamed firm. Confirming the incident to this newspaper, the spokesperson for the Kogi State Police Command, SP William Ovye-Aya, said the matter was reported in the early hours of July 23. “The incident, which reportedly happened on Tuesday, has been…
FORMER Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, says he does not regret working against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election, despite that he was the flag bearer of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). “I did not hide it. I have no regret,” the former governor said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Monday monitored by News Point Nigeria. Ortom was one of the five PDP governors at the time, known as G5, who openly rejected Atiku as the PDP flag bearer and worked for Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the…
THE Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Services, Hon. Mark B. Useni, has strongly denied recent media reports suggesting allegations of administrative misconduct or statutory violations against the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Aisha Garba. In a statement issued to journalists in Taraba State on Monday, Hon. Useni described the claims as false, misleading, and unfounded, warning that such misinformation could erode public trust in both the legislature and the institutions tasked with delivering basic education across Nigeria. Useni, who represents the Ussa/Takum/Donga federal constituency, clarified that neither the House…
THE Kaduna State Police Command has stopped a planned rally by supporters of the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the state. The rally was billed to be held in honour of Obi’s birthday celebration. Stating the reason for banning the rally, the Command said that intelligence information at its disposal revealed that certain criminal elements are planning to infiltrate and hijack the proposed rally, using it as a platform to cause disruption, incite violence, and disturb the prevailing public peace in the state. In a statement by its Public Relations Officer, DSP Mansir Hassan, the command said…
THE Plateau State Government has faulted the failure of the soldiers of the Nigerian Army to arrest the killers of 27 farmers in the Tahoss community of the Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State on Monday. The state government blamed the military for the failure to arrest or neutralise any of the suspected gunmen despite establishing contact with them during the attack. “The checkpoint is barely 200 meters from where this incident happened,” the state’s Information Commissioner, Joyce Ramnap, said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Friday monitored by News Point Nigeria. “The response we got was…
MORE than a month after the deadly attack in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, 107 victims are still receiving treatment in various hospitals, according to the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA). The agency’s Executive Secretary, James Iorpuu, disclosed the figure on Tuesday during a joint media briefing in Makurdi with visiting counterparts from Nasarawa and Plateau states. Iorpuu, who also serves as Permanent Secretary of the Benue State Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, condemned the repeated violence in rural communities and described the scale of destruction in Yelwata as severe. “So far, 107 survivors…
POLICE authorities in Nasarawa State have launched an investigation into the abduction of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Nasarawa State, Yusuf Musa. Spokesman of the Nasarawa Police Command, Ramhan Nansel, in a statement, said, “At about 03:05hrs, on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, a patrol team from B Division, Lafia, discovered a Peugeot pick-up van with all doors left wide open in a suspicious manner. “Upon closer examination, officers observed that the gate to the victim’s residence was also ajar, prompting immediate security concerns. “A swift search of the premises confirmed that Barr. Yusuf Musa was missing, along with his…
TWO Nigerian-born billionaires, Adebayo “Bayo” Ogunlesi and Tope Awotona, have been named in Forbes’ 2025 list of America’s Richest Immigrants. The list features 125 billionaires from 41 countries, who collectively make up 14% of all billionaires living in the U.S. and control 18% of the country’s total billionaire wealth. Forbes notes that a remarkable 93% of them are self-made, having built their fortunes primarily in industries such as technology and finance. Ogunlesi, with a net worth of $2.4 billion, is ranked 77th and recognized for his success in private equity. Awotona, known for founding scheduling software company Calendly, sits at…