THE Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, has paid a visit to the Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, as part of efforts to address the insecurity in the state. The COAS on arrival in the state, met with the governor privately before leaving. In a post shared on his X account on Tuesday evening, the governor said Oluyede and the top military leadership visited to restore peace following the incessant killings of our people by armed herders, militias, and other violent groups. “The COAS has come not only to assess the situation personally but to take decisive action.…
Author: Gloria Lamar Johnson
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OVER 60,000 Nigerians living abroad have so far registered on the Diaspora Data Mapping Portal, an initiative of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission. The initiative aimed at gathering detailed demographic and socio-economic data on citizens outside the country. The portal, launched on June 29, 2021, is a central component of NiDCOM’s strategy to engage the diaspora in national planning and development. Diasporas from over 30 countries have so far registered on the portal as of the time of filing this report. According to data compiled from NiDCOM’s Technology, Transfer, Innovation and Investment Department by our correspondent on Monday, a significant…
THIRTY-THREE persons have been feared killed by unknown gunmen in coordinated attacks on Gwer West and Apa Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Benue State, leaving many residents missing as the affected communities begin headcounts on Monday morning. At about 7pm on Sunday, residents of Tse-Antswam in Naka town, the headquarters of Gwer West LGA came under attack by unknown gunmen, leaving 17 people dead, as others fled for their lives. A community leader, Patrick Modoom, confirmed the casualty figures to News Point Nigeria via telephone. “Seventeen corpses have so far been recovered at Tse-Antswam, a community by the LGEA primary…
GUNMEN have abducted nine passengers, including the driver of a Benue State-owned transport company bus, along the Owukpa–Orokam road in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of the state. The incident reportedly occurred around 7pm on Saturday, while the passengers were returning from Orba market in Enugu State to Owukpa. A resident of Owukpa, Grace Ogwuche, who spoke to journalists on Sunday, said the attackers shot the driver and another passenger. She said, “They shot the driver and one other person, causing the vehicle to lose control and veer off the road. The other passengers were later kidnapped. “I want to call…
EMMANUEL Omanji, the traditional ruler of the Dari community in the Kokona Local Government Area of Nasarawa State has been abducted. Omanji was whisked away on Wednesday night at his residence. The gunmen shot sporadically in the community before he was abducted. The Nasarawa State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Ramhan Nansel, confirmed the abduction to Channel Television. Nansel noted that the Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa, Shetima Jauro Mohammed, has mobilised the command’s kidnapping unit, the military, and vigilantes to conduct a search and rescue operation aimed at rescuing the victim and arresting the perpetrators. According to him,…
THE displaced members of Munga Lalau and Munga Doso communities of Karim Lamidi Local Council of Taraba State have decried Governor Agbu Kefas’ decision to ignore the mass burial of over 30 people killed in the communities on Friday night by herdsmen. They expressed dismay over the governor’s action and described it as inhuman of a leader, who under normal circumstances, needed to have the spirit and sense of empathy for his people during the devastating period of human loss. Kefas jetted out of the state at the time the communities were preparing to conduct a mass burial of the…
GOVERNOR Abdallahi Sule of Nasarawa State has disclosed that China’s interest in Nigeria’s lithium stems from its recognition of the country as a leader in the West African market. A Chinese company is building two lithium mining and processing facilities in Nasarawa State, and Governor Sule, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics monitored by News Point Nigeria, explained why the Chinese are focusing on Nigeria. “China is actually now in a clean energy revolution, that is what is happening and China is getting ready to invest a multi billion dollar in Africa, and in Africa they decided…
THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says its operatives have intercepted a shipment of drugs concealed within packages labelled as plantain chips at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this on Sunday in a short statement. “Narco-trend update: This consignment was packaged as plantain chips, but inside was a skunk, as discovered by vigilant #ndlea_nigeria officers in one of their latest seizures at Lagos airport,” he posted on X. Babafemi admonished Nigerians to exercise vigilance when accepting packages for travel. “Always be careful of what you’re given to travel with!” The agency also arrested two…
FOR the third time in seven days, gunmen have attacked Okoloke, an agrarian community in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State, abducting four persons. The latest incident occurred in the early hours of Tuesday when an unidentified number of armed men stormed the area. According to a local source, the assailants forced their way into the residence of Ezekiel Durojaiye, a retiree and respected community leader in nearby Okunran village. The attackers abducted Pa Durojaiye along with three others, whisking them away into the bush at gunpoint. The incident has further heightened fear and tension among residents. Yagba…
NASARAWA State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has disclosed his intention to run for the Nasarawa North senatorial district seat during the 2027 general election. The Director-General of the State’s Bureau for Pension Administration, Suleiman Musa Nagogo, disclosed this while speaking with stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress in the Wamba Local Government Area of the state on Tuesday. According to Nagogo, he had been informed by the governor of his intention to contest the election to represent the Nasarawa North senatorial district in 2027. He said, “I have been in Wamba with a crystal clear message from His Excellency, the Executive…
BARELY seven months after a boat mishap claimed the lives of over one hundred villagers in the Gbajibo community of Kaiama Local Government Area in Kwara State, another tragic incident has occurred in the same area. This time, a boat carrying passengers returning from a market trip in Niger State capsized, resulting in the death of 27 people. An eyewitness and survivor of the incident recounted that the tragedy occurred three nights ago while they were returning from Niger State. According to the account, the boat capsized due to overloading. Although he could not confirm the exact number of…
BENUE State Police Command has confirmed the death of a final-year student of Kwararafa University in Wukari, Taraba State, identified as Ahenjir Emmanuella, killed by a stray bullet from a policeman. The command has also ordered a detailed investigation into the death of the final year student allegedly shot dead by a police officer on stop and search duty. Friends and families of the deceased had on Friday accused the police of allegedly shooting to death the final year student. It was gathered that the student, who was with her friends, was shot by a police officer during a stop-and-search…
A FORMER presidential spokesman, Laolu Akande, has commended the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for admitting to errors in the conduct of the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). Oloyede, in a rare admission, told a news conference in Abuja earlier in the week that there were glitches in the recently-conducted UTME. His action has split opinions among Nigerians. But Laolu said the JAMB chief deserves commendation for the work he has done so far in the fight against examination malpractice. “A lot of cheating is going on. We are having very troubling circumstances and situations…
UNKNOWN gunmen have abducted a traditional ruler in Kogi State, Oba James Ogunyanda, the Obalohun of Okoloke, from his residence in the early hours of Thursday. The incident occurred around 2:00 a.m. in Okoloke, a quiet community in Yagba West Local Government Area, when a group of heavily armed men invaded the monarch’s palace. A source, who identified himself as Lucky Omoyele, told News Point Nigeria the attackers overpowered palace guards before whisking the traditional ruler away to an unknown destination. He revealed that the kidnappers have yet to make contact or issue any ransom demands. Omoyele added that concerned…
AT least 10 people have been killed and several cows rustled in renewed violence in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State. The recent escalation of violence in Riyom stems from farm destruction, cattle rustling, and attacks on livestock carried out by individuals from both Fulani and Berom communities. According to a statement from Operation Safe Haven, the recent insecurity in the council area began on Monday, May 12, 2025, when suspected youths slaughtered and rustled cattle that had encroached on their farms in Dayan village, Riyom Local Government Area. In retaliation, suspected Fulani herders attacked Danchindo village on the…
FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan on Wednesday warned against the creation of a one-party state, saying any nation that must practice it must do so carefully and with a well-planned process and projected outcome. He stated this in Abuja while paying tribute to the late elder statesman, Edwin Clark, at a memorial lecture and day of tribute. Jonathan warned that any attempt to bring about a one-party state through political machinations to soothe only personal aspirations will be detrimental to the country. The former president also called on the family of the late former federal commissioner to, among other things, set…
NASARAWA State governor, Abdullahi Sule, has revealed that 20 aspirants have already indicated interest in succeeding him in 2027 governorship election in the state. Sule disclosed this during a grand reception held in Lafia in honour of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Labaran Magaji. The governor, however, declared that he would not anoint or impose a successor, saying he will allow the will of God prevails. While acknowledging the intense political atmosphere, Sule said: “I want to use this opportunity to inform you that so far, about 20 people are already in the race for the governorship of…
THE Nasarawa Police Command has launched an investigation into the death of five children found inside an abandoned, unserviceable vehicle in the Agyaragu community, Obi local government area. Nasarawa Police spokesman Ramham Nansel in a statement explained: “On May 4, 2025, at about 1730hrs, one Mr. Ozimna Ogbor, a resident of Agyaragu, reported at the Agyaragu Divisional Headquarters that five children—Kamsi Onah (male, 8 years), Somer Onah (male, 6 years), Unice Udouchi (female, 10 years), Nmasoma Nnaji (female, 10 years), and Chioma Nnaji (female, 8 years)—were discovered unresponsive inside a disused vehicle parked in the compound of one Mr. Abu…
AT least 19 passengers were reportedly kidnapped by gunmen at Jor Community along Adoka-Naka-Makurdi Road in Gwer West Local Government Area of Benue State, on Thursday morning. The passengers were said to be travelling in two vehicles when the gunmen intercepted them and forced them away into the bush. However, four of the victims – a toddler, driver, an elderly man and woman – were let off the hook by their captors. Witnesses told our correspondent that the released victims, an aged man and woman believed to be natives of Kogi State, narrated that the kidnappers armed with sophisticated weapons…
BENUE State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has claimed that the perpetrators of the recent wave of killings across the state are not Nigerians, stating that they speak unfamiliar languages and exhibit foreign characteristics. Governor Alia disclosed this on Tuesday while speaking as a guest on Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria, a current affairs programme on Channels Television in the wake of assaults on the North-Central state that have left scores killed and many displaced. When asked about the identity of the attackers terrorising communities in the state, the governor said it was important to first clarify the nature of…