Author: Maryam Garba

THE governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Katsina State, Dr Dikko Umar Radda has so far won the the 17 LGA announced by INEC so far. From the 17 LGAs announced so far, Dikko (APC) polled 413,066 votes while his closest rival from the PDP, Sen. Lado Yakubu Danmarke secured 213,737. Meanwhile, as gathered from most of the collation officers, there were issues of over voting and pockets of violence in most of the LGAs announced so far. Results collation is ongoing even as other local governments results are being awaited.

THE Independent National Electoral Commission has declared the Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Danladi-Salihu, as the winner of the Ilesha-Gwanara State Constituency. The Returning Officer, Dr Adewale Rafiu, while announcing the results, said Danladi-Salihu of the All Progressives Congress polled 14, 949 votes, while his closest rival, Usman Abubakar of PDP got 2,072 votes. “Yakubu Danladi-Salihu of APC, having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected,” Rafiu declared. In his acceptance speech, Danladi-Salihu lauded his constituents for their massive support which led to his victory, assuring them that he would…

THE collation of results for the governorship election in Kaduna State will commence at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) State Collation Centre on Sunday (today). An INEC officer told News Point Nigeria about the development during a visit to the collation centre to monitor the process. According to the officer, results are being collated at the local government level and by 9 am on Sunday, it is expected that all results would have been ready from the 23 local government areas of the state for collation at the state headquarters of INEC in Kaduna.

OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on election monitoring duty in Kaduna State today, March 18, 2023 came under attack at School Road, Unguwan Rimi Kaduna while attempting to arrest a suspected vote buyer. News Point Nigeria reports that, the team, working on intelligence on the alleged activities of one Kabiru Musa who was seen in an amateur video allegedly inducing eligible voters by using his phone to transfer money into their accounts as they cast their votes, had mobilized to the scene to arrest the suspect. However, immediately he was accosted by the operatives, Musa became…

SOME voters in Niger State have said that they were asked by politicians to show their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and swear to vote for certain candidates before they were given buckets, spaghetti, clothes and maggi seasoning. News Point Nigeria learnt that politicians had wooed voters in their homes, distributing cloths and food items, especially in Minna, the Niger State capital and other towns. Some voters told this newspaper that they were asked to show their PVCs and swear after which each voter was given two yards of cloth and spaghetti. In Tunga area of Minna, one of the beneficiaries,…

OPERATIVES of the Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC), monitoring the ongoing Governorship and State House of Assembly elections have intercepted bales of fabric meant for voter inducement and arrested a number of persons suspected to be involved in vote buying in some States across the country on Saturday. Thirty five (35) bales of fabric allegedly belonging to a principal officer of the Sokoto State House of Assembly was intercepted by the team of operatives on election monitoring assignment in Sokoto State. The items have been moved to the Sokoto Zonal Command of the Commission pending the conclusion of the investigation.…

GOVERNOR Nasir Ahmad El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State has alleged that in Southern Kaduna,reports reaching him Indicated that voters were forced to vote for a certain political party and go home. Meanwhile, armoured personal vehicle and other paraphernalia of war manned by stern looking and combat ready security personnel were seen in strategic locations within Kaduna metropolis on election day. Although no any untoward incidence was recorded as at time of filing this report, there was quite in many quarters especially in Kaduna North Local Government Area, where many polling stations could not have the expected number of eligible voters. At…

THE Kaduna State Police Command have arrested the suspected shi’ite attackers of the convoy of the state Governor Nasir El-Rufai by suspected members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), popularly known as Shiites. A statement by the spokesman of the Command, DSP Mohammed Jalige, says the security officials attached to the Governor’s convoy cleared the Bakin Ruwa axis of Rigasa, Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway after armed hoodlums suspected to be members of the IMN attacked law-abiding citizens and prevented motorists from plying the route. He explained that the hoodlums in a large number were intercepted harassing innocent citizens on Thursday…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has signed some constitution 16 alteration bills into law. The Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase disclosed this on Friday in a statement. One of the bills makes it mandatory for presidents and Governors to submit the names of persons nominated as Ministers or Commissioners within sixty days of taking the oath of office for confirmation by the Senate or State House of Assembly. It would be recalled that President Buhari was heavily criticized for taking six months to appoint ministers in 2015. Other bills signed by President Buhari delete railway, electricity generation and prison services from the exclusive…

FOUR people are suspected to have been killed when security operatives attached to the convoy of Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State clashed with Shi’ite members in Bakin Ruwa Area of Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, on Thursday. Details of the incident are sketchy but sources told this newspaper that the clash happened around 4:15pm when the governor visited the community. It was gathered that the convoy came in contact with the Shi’ite members who were performing their weekly procession at Bakin Ruwa along Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway. According to Tasiu Muhammed, an eyewitness, some of the Shi’ite members…

LATEST report from the Global Terrorism Index (GTI) has shown that Nigeria moved to 8th position, moving down two steps from its place in 2022, an indication that the nation’s ranking has improved. The report which is published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), provides a comprehensive summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism since 2000, and attempts to systematically rank countries according to terrorist activities. According to the index for 2023, a continuous decline in the number of deaths from terrorism has seen Nigeria move down the ladder of nations most impacted by…

THE Lagos High Court sitting in Yaba has awarded the sum of N400m jointly and severally against the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos and two others over the extrajudicial killing of four Ladipo Market traders in July 2001. The others are a former Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Assistant Inspector General (AIG) Marvelous Akpoyibo (retd) formerly of the Area C command, Surulere and the Divisional Police Officer, Aguda Station, Surulere. The money is to be paid as compensation to the families of the four traders. Justice Olufunke Sule-Amzat who delivered…

BARELY three months to the expiration of the June deadline to commence discontinuation of petrol subsidy, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba has stated that the committees are still working to harmonize discussions on palliative measures. Addressing State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council meeting, chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, the minister reminded that a committee led by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo as well as the National economic council by Governors has been working on resolving the issue for over a year now. Over the intervening period, Agba stated that…

AT least seven people have been reportedly killed by bandits in a fresh attack on Langsom village in Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The latest attack comes barely four days after 17 people were killed by suspected militia herders at Ungwan Wakili community also in Zango Kataf, including a woman and her newborn baby among other victims made up of mostly women and children. The Police authorities are yet to comment on the incident, but the Executive Chairman of Zango Kataf Local Government Area, Francis Sani told Channels Television that the gunmen invaded Langsom village in the…

THE Nigeria Police has recovered 182 illicit arms and 430 ammunitions of various calibres across the nation in its efforts to tackle crimes. The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday, saying the arms will be handed over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons (NCCSALW). He said the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, ordered all Commands and Formations to intensify efforts towards decimating the proliferation of illicit arms and ammunition in the country. Baba was said to have also extended additional human and logistic support…

GOVERNOR Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has challenged his predecessors in the State to come out and swear that they have never stolen from the state treasury. He said in an interview in Hausa monitored on a local TV and Radio station that his philosophy in governance was not to steal as he is aware there would be a day of reckoning. He said: “I’m happy that we constructed qualitative roads that would last for years. Not those kinds of roads they’ve constructed in the past which after 2 years, after 2 rainy seasons the roads would be bad.” “We…

FOLLOWING high-end investigations, the Texas Board of Nursing, United States, has announced that it has charged no fewer than 75 nurses to court over issues bordering around falsification of certificates. On the list posted on the website of the board, 43 of the names were identified as nurses of Nigerian origin. In February 18 Nigerian nurses in the US were charged with certificate forgery. The US authorities had said that  list would be updated continuously as the board received additional information about “the fraudulent diploma/transcript scheme.” Checks revealed that the list had grown longer with the number of Nigerian rising…

THE death toll in Saturday’s attack by gunmen suspected to be militia herders on the Ungwan Wakili community in Zango Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State has risen to 17. This was confirmed to News Point Nigeria by the Executive Chairman of the local government, Francis Sani, who said that two of the injured victims gave up the ghost on Sunday at different hospitals in Kafanchan and Kaduna where they were being treated. Earlier, the Chairman disclosed that 15 persons died after the gunmen attacked the Ungwan Wakili community on Saturday night. However, the latest report shows that two…

NO fewer than nine residents have been kidnapped by gunmen at the Grow Homes Estate along Kuchibiyi in the Kubuwa area of the Federal Capital Territory. The gunmen numbering about 20 were said to have stormed the estate around 11:30 pm on Friday. A resident of the community who identified himself simply as Hassan told our correspondent on the phone that the victims were captured from two separate apartments in the estate. He added that the incident had caused panic in the community. He said,” Yesterday, at about 11:30 pm some gunmen in their large numbers came to carry out…

BANDITS on Friday morning in Karimbu-Kahugu community in Lere Local Government Area of Kaduna State killed a pastor’s son and kidnapped four members of his family including his wife. The Vice Chairman, Kahugu National Development Association in Lere Local Government Area, Peter Mukaddas said the bandits invaded the community in the early hours of Friday morning, went straight to the pastor’s house and carried out the attack. According to him, the bandits shot the pastor’s son when he resisted them, and thereafter, abducted his wife and three others in the house. Mukaddas called on the state government to intervene and…