Author: Gloria Lamar Johnson

THE death toll in the gunmen attack on Ukum and Logo local government areas of Benue state has risen to 20 as security forces and residents comb the affected communities in search of survivors. Governor Hyacinth Alia, in a telephone conversation with this newspaper’s correspondent, gave details of the casualty figures. According to him, five corpses were recovered earlier in Gbagir and taken to the morgue, but later, civilians searching for their loved ones, discovered two more corpses. He said a family in Gbagir that insisted on burying their relative immediately had been provided cover letters by security forces to…

SIX Nigerian tourists detained in Cape Verde have been released and are now in the care of the Nigerian Embassy in Senegal. “Final update: They are free! They’ve passed through the Dakar border and are now in the care of the Nigerian embassy in Senegal,” an X user, @tobiojenike, who raised the issue earlier, announced in a post on Wednesday. The tourists — David James Udoh, Lily Dada, Oghenero Adaware, Sherifat Abimbola Ogundairo, Jesutomi Aina — and a representative from the travel agency Ìrìn Travels, had travelled from Senegal to Cape Verde for a vacation when they were detained by…

UNKNOWN gunmen have again stepped up violent attacks as no fewer than three communities in the Otukpo Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State were attacked on Wednesday. The communities affected during the fresh attacks include Emichi, Odudaje, and Okpamaju all in Otukpo where five persons were killed in February. The communities came under simultaneous attacks just a day after the killing of 11 persons at Otobi Community also in Otukpo LGA. Local sources confirm that several people may have been feared dead again in the fresh attack. Wednesday’s attack came hours after Governor Hyacinth Alia confirmed the arrest of…

PLATEAU State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has announced a ban on night grazing and restricted the use of motorcycles across the state following incessant attacks. In a state broadcast on Wednesday, Mutfwang described the attacks as “coordinated acts of terror” aimed at displacing residents and undermining their right to exist peacefully on their ancestral lands. The governor also prohibited the transportation of cattle by vehicles after 7pm. He said the directives take immediate effect, with the restriction on motorcycle use in place from 7pm to 6am across the state until further notice. “The tragic echoes of Dogo Na Hawa, Riyom, Barkin-Ladi,…

UNKNOWN gunmen on Tuesday evening attacked the Otobi community in the Akpa district of the Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue Stat The attack started about 5:30pm on Tuesday, according to the lawmaker who represents Otukpo-Akpa Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, Kennedy Angbo. The lawmaker, who hails from Akpa district, in a telephone conversation with News Point Nigeria, said an unconfirmed number of persons have been killed and hundreds have fled the community. A resident of the Otobi community, Edwin Emma, also told our correspondent in Benue, that many persons were feared killed as he called for…

IN response to the tragic attacks on Zikke and Kimakpa communities in the Bassa Local Government Area (LGA) of Plateau State, Governor Caleb Mutfwang convened an expanded state security council meeting Monday night to address the escalating insecurity in the area. The meeting was held at the Council Chamber of the Government House in Jos where deliberations on the security situation, especially the disturbing resurgence of attacks in Bassa and Bokkos LGAs with decisive measures aimed at restoring peace and preventing further bloodshed across the state. The governor said over 100 militiamen invaded the affected communities to maul innocent residents…

THE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has clarified that the ₦300m it received from the Rivers State Government was a gift and was not tied to any purported hosting right for its Annual General Conference. A statement by the Chairman of the 2025 NBA Conference Planning Committee, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Emeka Obegolu, clarified that the decision to host the conference in Port Harcourt was taken in August 2024 and was not subject to any bidding process or payment of any hosting rights. Obegolu was reacting to a statement credited to the Administrator of Rivers State to the effect that the…

THE spate of attacks in Plateau has continued despite reassurances from government authorities. This time, forty persons were killed in a fresh assault on the Zike community, Kimakpa, Kwall district of Bassa Local Government Area of the state. According to a Kwall community leader, Wakili Tongwe, the attackers invaded the village in the early hours of Monday and shot sporadically at residents who were scampering for safety after hearing gunshots. The community leader told News Point Nigeria on the phone that a team of vigilantes, including himself and some security personnel, were on patrol in another community when the attackers…

BANDITS suspected to be kidnappers who abducted the pastor of Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Samson Ndah Ali, in Mararaba Aboro in Sanga Local Government Area of Kaduna State, have released him. News Point Nigeria reports that, however, they held back the man who delivered the ransom for the pastor’s release, Yusuf Shehu Ambi. The ransom carrier was reportedly carrying a large sum of money to pay for the release of kidnapped pastor. The kidnappers detained him, allegedly demanding more money or other concessions in exchange for his release. Pastor Ali was kidnapped from his home in the early hours…

THE Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has ordered the immediate deployment of police tactical units and additional security resources to restore order and prevent further attacks and killings in Plateau State. The directive came after a series of violent incidents that have left several communities in turmoil. Olumuyiwa Adejobi, Force Public Relations Officer (FPRO), Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), in a statement on Wednesday, disclosed that the IGP has appointed Kwazhi Dali Yakubu, Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of the Department of Operations to lead and coordinate the police’s intervention efforts in Plateau State. The Police…

PLATEAU State Governor, Caleb Muftwang, has decried the attacks in some communities in his state, saying bandits have taken over 64 communities. The governor stated this on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria. “These communities that have been recently attacked were part of the communities that were attacked in 2023 but they survived it and rebuilt themselves. “The Ruwi community that was first attacked lost about 17 people in 2023 but they bounced back to show you the resilience of the people,” the governor said. Over fifty persons were killed within a…

UNKNOWN gunmen attacked a Benue Links Nigeria Limited 16-seater bus, killing the driver, one passenger and abducting 12 others, News Point Nigeria gathered. This newspaper reports that the company is owned by the Benue State Government. Confirming the incident, the company’s Information Officer, Mr Johnson Ehi, in a statement issued to newsmen in Makurdi on Friday, said the bus, with Registration Number PP512, was travelling from Makurdi to Otukpo, when the incident happened. According to Ehi, the incident occurred on Thursday, near Otukpo Burnt Bricks. The management condemned the fatal attack in very strong terms. It stated: “Regrettably, the driver…

NIGERIA Immigration Service has arrested 51 illegal immigrants at New Nyanya, Karu Local Government, Nasarawa State. The suspects, who are malians between 17 and 25, were nabbed at their hideouts. According to the NIS Public Relations Officer, ACI A. S. Akinlabi, 11 of them are females, while the others are males. He added that preliminary investigation conducted by the service indicates that the migrants might have been victims of Trafficking in Person (TIP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SOM), adding that none of them presented any valid travel document or residence permit during interrogation. Akinlabi said they had been taken into…

OPERATIVES of the Department of State Security (DSS) have arrested two principal suspects and masterminds in the killing of 16 Nigerians of Northern extraction in Uromi, Esan North-East local government area of Edo State last week. News Point Nigeria gathered that the suspects were arrested by operatives of the DSS in Uromi, following credible intelligence. The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Friday Ituah, announced this in a statement on Tuesday. According to him, operatives of various security agencies are hunting for other key suspects involved in the unfortunate incident. Ituah stated that they have been transferred to Abuja for…

AS a direct fallout of the recent suspension of sales of petroleum products in naira by the Dangote refinery, MRS filling station has effected a new price regime, raising its pump price to N930 per litre in Lagos and N960 for residents living in the northern part of the country. The new price regime, effective from March 28, 2025, represents an increase of N70 from the previous price of N860 per litre in Lagos, N870 in other South-West states, and an N80 difference from the N880 previously sold in the North. Some other filling stations, it was gathered, have also…

REGISTERED voters in Kogi Central Senatorial District have formally petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recall their senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, from the Nigerian Senate. The petition, submitted on Monday, cites “loss of confidence” in the senator due to allegations of “gross misconduct, abuse of office, evasion of due process, and a pattern of deceitful behavior.” Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of four women in the senate, was recently suspended for six months over her conduct in the red chamber. The embattled senator alleged that she is being punished for rejecting sexual advances from Senate President Godswill Akpabio. In Nigeria, the process…

TWELVE inmates escaped in an early morning prison break at the Federal Correctional Centre in Kotonkarfe, Kogi State, on Monday, News Point Nigeria gathered. Confirming the incident, the Kogi State Information Commissioner, Kingsley Fanwo in a statement, described the jailbreak as “unfortunate” and assured citizens that the government, working with security agencies, would take steps to prevent a recurrence. According to him, law enforcement agencies have re-arrested one of the escapees. “The theory that the inmates escaped through the tower without causing any structural damage raises serious concerns. “This calls for a thorough investigation to determine the exact circumstances of…

GUNMEN have killed Muhammad Adamu, the Chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State. Ibrahim Yusuf Babayo the Plateau State Chairman of MACBAN who confirmed the killing to Journalists in Jos said the incident occurred on Wednesday evening when Adamu was attacked by unidentified assailants at his home, shortly after breaking his fast. He said the gunmen shot him multiple times, and he was confirmed dead at the scene. The chairman of the group condemned the attack and called for swift action from security agencies. He expressed his…

THE Federal Government has unveiled requirements for civil servants seeking to migrate their salaries, change their names and their next-of-kin among others. This was revealed in a memo by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation dated March 12,2025 and addressed to all Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies. The memo said the government had observed that civil servants effecting the changes on their names and next-of-kins do not submit the necessary documents needed to effect such changes, hence the need for the memo. “Further to the Circular Ref. HCSF/PS/CMO/IPPIS/I/VOL.I/508 dated 1st November, 2022 on the…

THE Police in Gombe have confirmed that a 16-year-old girl, Maryam Samuel, allegedly committed suicide at Kaltungo community in Kaltungo Local Government Area of the state. The spokesman of the command, DSP Buhari Abdullahi, who confirmed the incident on Saturday in Gombe, said the girl committed suicide by hanging on a tree. He said the incident occurred on March 14, barely 24 hours after the deceased left home to fetch firewood. “On Friday, at about 9:00 a.m, a case of suicide was reported at Kaltungo Divisional Headquarters by the village head of Kalarin. “The deceased later identified as Maryam Samuel,…