Author: Farouk Abbas

ISLAMIC cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has defended his push for a non-kinetic approach to insecurity in Nigeria, saying he will lead the calls for the release of the convicted leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, if the latter shows remorse. Kanu was convicted of seven counts of terrorism by the Federal High Court in Abuja. However, Gumi said if the IPOB leader shows remorse for his actions and pronouncements, he will be among those pushing for his pardon. “This Kanu that was imprisoned for terrorism for agitating that our soldiers should be killed, if this same…

THE political landscape ahead of the 2027 presidential election grew more turbulent on Monday after former Vice President Atiku Abubakar formally registered as a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a move that immediately provoked harsh reactions from All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders and intensified an existing leadership crisis within the ADC. News Point Nigeria reports that Atiku, who picked up his ADC membership card at his Jada 1 Ward in Adamawa State, declared that “the real opposition has begun,” signalling his ambition to lead a broad coalition seeking to unseat the ruling APC in 2027. But his announcement…

THE Nigerian Army has announced the release of the list of shortlisted candidates for the Short Service Combatant Commission Course 49/2026 Selection Board. In a Monday statement signed by the Military Secretary (Army) sent to News Point Nigeria, the Army said the full list of successful applicants is now available on its recruitment portal: recruitment.army.mil.ng. According to the statement, shortlisted candidates are to report to the Nigerian Defence Academy, Ribadu Campus, Kaduna State, on December 1, 2025 “The shortlisted candidates are to report to the Nigerian Defence Academy Ribadu Campus (Old Site), Kaduna State on 1 December 2025. “Candidates are…

A SWEEPING investigation by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation (OAuGF) has uncovered 28 significant financial irregularities involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), amounting to over N61.1bn in questionable payments, tax violations, undocumented expenditures, unsubstantiated transfers, abandoned projects, and breaches of procurement laws. News Point Nigeria reports that the damning revelations are contained in the Auditor-General’s 2022 Annual Report on Non-Compliance (Volume II), which covers transactions executed in the 2021 financial year by NNPCL and its subsidiaries. The report, obtained by our correspondent, has been formally transmitted to the National Assembly for legislative action. The flagged…

FORMER Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, has raised a fresh alarm over the sudden spike in mass kidnappings across northern Nigeria, warning that bandits may now be abducting schoolchildren and villagers as human shields in anticipation of possible U.S. airstrikes. News Point Nigeria reports that Gana issued the warning on Saturday in Abuja at a special reception held in honour of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, who recently emerged Chairman of the World Customs Organisation (WCO). The ceremony also doubled as a fundraising dinner for the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR). According…

THE Federal Government, through the Yayale Ahmed Renegotiation Committee, has convened meetings for Monday, November 24, 2025, and Tuesday, November 25, 2025, in a bid to avert the looming strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities. News Point Nigeria reports that a National Executive Council meeting of the union is expected to be convened by its leadership. Depending on the outcome of the meeting, the ASUU NEC will decide whether or not to embark on a strike. A highly placed member of the NEC made this known in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja. The NEC member, who…

THE Zamfara State Police Command, Gusau, said it has thwarted an abduction attempt in the state and has rescued a total of 25 victims from armed bandits. A statement by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Yazid Abubakar, sent to News Point Nigeria on Saturday, said it received a distress call on Friday, 21st November 2025, at about 21:45 hours, about a group of armed bandits in large numbers, wielding dangerous weapons and firing sporadically, who attacked Kuraje village in the Damba area of Gusau LGA. During the attack, the Command said the assailants abducted 10 women and 15…

IN line with the judgement of a Federal High Court in Abuja, the Department of State Services (DSS) has moved the convicted leader of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to the Nigerian Custodial Centre in Sokoto. A source within the service told News Point Nigeria that his movement followed his conviction and sentencing for terrorism. Delivering judgement on Thursday, Justice James Omotosho of a Federal High Court in Abuja had said the secret police should move Kanu to any correctional facility within the country apart from Kuje in Abuja. Justice Omotosho had convicted and sentenced Kanu…

KEBBI State Governor, Dr. Nasir Idris, has raised serious concerns over the withdrawal of military personnel from Government Girls’ Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area, barely minutes before armed bandits stormed the school and abducted dozens of female students earlier in the week. News Point Nigeria reports that speaking on Thursday while receiving the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, who led a delegation on a solidarity visit, Governor Idris said he was “deeply disturbed” by the sequence of events leading up to the tragic abduction. According to the governor, troops stationed at…

SAVE the Children International has condemned Monday’s abduction of 25 female students from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in the Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State, describing the attack as another painful reminder of the worsening insecurity threatening education across northern Nigeria. News Point Nigeria armed men reportedly stormed the school around 1am on November 17, 2025, killing a school staff member and injuring another before whisking the girls away to an unknown location. The abduction marks the first major school kidnapping since March 2024, when over 200 pupils were taken from Kuriga, Kaduna State. In a statement…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to immediately relocate to Kebbi State to coordinate rescue operations for the 25 schoolgirls abducted earlier this week. News Point Nigeria reports that Gunmen invaded Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, in Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area of Kebbi State around 4:00 a.m. on Monday, whisking away the students in yet another attack on schoolchildren in northern Nigeria. The President’s directive was disclosed on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. He said the Minister is to remain in Kebbi until all efforts…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared Ufoma Joseph Immanuel, the managing director and chief executive officer of Chappal Energies, wanted over allegations of obtaining money by false pretence and forgery. The anti-graft agency made the announcement in a public notice sighted by News Point Nigeria late on Wednesday, calling on Nigerians to assist with credible information that could lead to his arrest. According to the EFCC, Immanuel, 46, hails from Edo State and was last known to reside at 77 Nelson Mandela Street, Maitama, Abuja, before allegedly fleeing to evade arrest. “The public is hereby notified that…

THE Chairman of Danko-Wasagu Local Government Area in Kebbi State, Hussaini Aliyu, has dismissed claims by a U.S. lawmaker, Riley Moore, suggesting that the abduction of 25 female students from Government Secondary School, Maga, occurred in a Christian community. Aliyu, in a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Wednesday, said the claim was false, misleading, and capable of inflaming religious tensions in the country. He stressed that all the abducted schoolgirls are Muslims, contrary to the narrative being circulated by the American politician. The local government chairman urged Moore to stop making statements without verification, especially on sensitive national…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu has dispatched Vice President Kashim Shettima to Kebbi State to commiserate with the government and families of students abducted from a boarding school in Maga, even as he assured anxious parents that the Federal Government is committed to securing the schoolgirls’ safe and swift return. The President’s directive follows the devastating abduction carried out by bandits, who stormed the community despite earlier intelligence alerts warning of a possible attack. The incident has triggered nationwide outrage and renewed concerns over the safety of schools in vulnerable regions. In a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Tuesday…

THE Federal Capital Territory Police Command has dismissed reports claiming that a Nigerian Navy officer, Lieutenant Ahmed Yerima, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in Abuja, describing the circulating story as false, misleading, and capable of inciting public panic. News Point Nigeria reports that the claims, which spread widely across blogs and social media platforms over the weekend, alleged that Yerima was pursued by two unmarked black Hilux vans without number plates on Saturday evening. According to the unverified reports, the purported chase began around 6:30pm near the NIPCO filling station along the Kubwa Expressway and continued through Gado Nasco Way…

THE Nigeria Police Force has detained Alwan Hassan, convener of the Grassroots Initiative Concept and former presidential aide, days after he publicly accused Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin of blocking the confirmation of Abdullahi Garba Ramat as Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Hassan was taken into custody at the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Abuja on Friday after honouring a police invitation. Sources told News Point Nigeria that he arrived at the facility in the afternoon but was not released as of the time this report was filed. Details of the petition or allegations that triggered…

FORMER Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has insisted that he will not attend the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national convention scheduled for November 15 in Ibadan, declaring that doing so would amount to renouncing his recently restored legal rights and dignity. Lamido, speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today monitored by News Point Nigeria, said he approached the court to reclaim his constitutional right to contest for leadership positions within the party after he was blocked from obtaining the nomination form for national chairman. According to him, the suit was not a battle against the PDP but…

MINISTER of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has explained his recent confrontation with a naval officer at a disputed plot of land in Abuja, saying his intervention was necessary to protect government officials performing their lawful duties. Speaking during a briefing with journalists on Thursday ahead of the FCT Executive Council meeting, Wike faulted the alleged deployment of serving naval officers to guard a property linked to a retired Chief of Naval Staff, describing the act as “audacious and unacceptable.” The altercation reportedly occurred on Tuesday at Gaduwa District, where officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA)…

THE Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Thursday said it is no longer considering implementing the planned 15 per cent duty on imported petroleum products. The development was announced by the Director, Public Affairs Department, NMDPRA, George Ene-Ita, in a statement while warning the public to shun panic buying. President Bola Tinubu, on the 29th of October, approved an import tariff on petrol and diesel, a policy expected to raise the landing cost of imported fuel. The President’s approval was conveyed in a letter signed by his Private Secretary, Damilotun Aderemi, following a proposal submitted by the…

THE Senate has rejected the explanations provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) regarding the ₦210 trillion outstanding against the oil firm. It came to the conclusion on Wednesday that the money, which had not been accounted for, must be refunded to the Federation Account by the company. The Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada, which has been on the probe for months, took the decision on Tuesday after the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPCL, Bayo Ojulari, failed to turn up at its resumed sitting at the National Assembly. The session was…