Author: Amina Ibrahim

THE Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has confirmed that seven of its personnel alongside five other persons were ambushed and killed at Kuriga mining site, Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The NSCDC Director of Public Relations, Mr. Olusola Odumosu told journalist on Tuesday in Abuja that the five others were from a sister security agency and local vigilance group. He said that one NSCDC personnel escaped the attack with injuries and is currently undergoing treatment. Odumosu said that the attack which occurred on Monday at about 10 a.m, was unfortunate and a big loss to…

THE immediate former Wazirin Bauchi, Muhammadu Bello Kirfi, has said that he will remove the state Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, from office the same way he brought him to power. Kirfi, an elder statesman, stated this for the first time after he was sacked by the state government as Wazirin Bauchi. The state emirate council said it sacked the former Waziri because of what it described as “disloyalty and disrespect toward the state governor”. A letter signed by the Council Secretary, Alhaji Shehu Mudi Muhammad and dated 3rd January 2023 disclosed his removal. But speaking during a media chat with…

AGGRIEVED students of Taraba State University in Jalingo, the state capital, took to the streets on Monday to protest as unpaid lecturers boycotted the school’s semester examinations billed to commence today. The students were supposed to start their examination today but the inability of the lecturers to get paid impeded the process. In protest, the students blocked all roads leading to the institution, hindering vehicular movement around the axis. They also burnt tyres and chanted solidarity songs. The students later blocked the Jalingo-Wukari Expressroad hindering vehicular movement. Business activities were also brought to a halt. The students’ leader at the…

A RENOWNED professor of law and former legal adviser to the former Nigerian president, General Sani Abacha, Prof. Auwalu Yadudu has lost his wife, Hajiya Zainab Auwal Yadudu. According to a short message sent by the professor, a former dean, Faculty of Law at the Bayero University Kano, his wife died in the United State of America on Sunday. He said the late Hajiya Zainab, who he had spent over four decades with died in the hospital while reciting Kalimah Ashshhada, adding that arrangements are underway to bring her body to Nigeria for the funeral. Allahu Akbar, I have just…

THE Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has dismissed reports of the suspension of train services on the Itakpe-Warri axis following an attack by gunmen on Ekehen Train Station in the Igbuebem Local Government Area (LGA) of Edo State. The Managing Director of NRC, Fidet Okhiria, told Channels Television via telephone that the train services have not been suspended, contrary to reports making the rounds. He confirmed that there was an attack which the police and the NRC are currently looking into, but said the incident has not disrupted operations at the station. “As I speak to you now, a train is…

A COALITION  of civil society organizations have backed the call by the Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, urging the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the National Assembly to investigate the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) over 2022 hajj operation finances and contracts. Governor Ganduje made the call in Kano recently while receiving the 2022 Hajj Operations report from the management of Kano Pilgrims Welfare Board, led by the Chairman of the Board, Professor Abdullahi Pakistan, and Executive Secretary of the Board, Abba Danbatta. Mr Ganduje said,…

MAJOR General IS Ali has been appointed the new Theatre Commander of the Joint Task Force North-East Operation Hadin Kai in a major shakeup announced by the Nigerian Army on Saturday. Those affected by the redeployment include some Principal Staff Officers of the Army Headquarters, Corps Commanders, Commandants of Army Training Institutions, Brigade Commanders, Commanding officers and several others. Notable among the new General Officers’ Commanding (GOC) are Major General AB Ibrahim now appointed as the Commander Operation Safe Haven, Major General AS Chinade now GOC of Headquarters 82 Division, while Major General GM Mutkut is to assume command as…

FORMER Jigawa Governor, Sule Lamido, on Friday said Peter Obi’s endorsement, the Presidential candidate of Labour Party by former President Olusegun Obasanjo was “a big mistake.” Lamido, who was a Foreign Affairs Minister under Obasanjo’s administration, made the remarks while answering questions from newsmen at Bamaina, his country home, near Birnin kudu Local Government Area of Jigawa state. “Obasanjo is my boss, I believe in him, but he is also a human being, he can make mistakes. So he made a mistake. “It’s a big mistake for him to endorse candidate outside his own party which gave him the relevance,…

SAUDI Arabia is reportedly set to bend its marriage law to allow Al Nassr new star signing  Cristiano Ronaldo to live with his partner, Georgina Rodriguez. Saudi Arabia marriage law forbids couples that are not married from living together. However, Spanish news outlet, Sport, revealed that Ronaldo and Rodriguez will be living together in Saudi Arabia and are most likely not going to be punished for breaking the law. Ronaldo joined Al Nassr from Manchester United after his contract with the club was terminated by mutual agreement following an explosive interview the Portuguese star had in November with British presenter, Piers…

THE Former Speaker, Kogi House of Assembly, Alfa Imam, on Thursday led scores of supporters of the ruling APC to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The former speaker described their defection as “decisive” and “a step in the right direction.” Receiving the defectors on behalf of the PDP in Lokoja Local Government Area of Kogi, Sen Tunde Ogbeha, former Senator representing Kogi West, said the ruling party had failed the country. He applauded the defectors’ decision to “move out of APC to join PDP that holds the ace, to take Nigeria to the promised land. He welcomed Alfa…

THE Coming of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the campaign in Kano has boosted the morale of APC not only in Kano but Nigeria at large. This was contained in a statement issued to reporters in Kano on Friday by the Director of the North West Tinubu/Shettima campaign support group, Baffa Babba Dan’Agundi. Dan’Agundi explained that, the mammoth crowd that came out to support the Tinubu/Shettima and Gawuna/Garo candidacies has demoralized the opposition including the presidential candidate of The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwanso. “This is because right from the…

SOKOTO state Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has continued to mobilize electoral support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its gubernatorial candidate and other candidates for different positions in the forthcoming elections. Governor Tambuwal, who is himself, seeking to become a Senator representing Sokoto-South senatorial district of the state, has been in the forefront of a statewide campaign to garner votes for the party at all levels. A recurrent theme in the campaign slants of the Governor, who is also the Director General of Atiku/Okowa presidential campaign organization, has been the rallying of party members and other supporters to vote for…

THE Emir of Bauchi, Dr. Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, Thursday, appointed Alhaji Muhammad Uba Ahmed Kari as the new Waziri of Bauchi Emirate. The appointment of the new Waziri, a Senior Councilor in the Bauchi Emirate Council, followed the removal of Alhaji Muhammad Bello Kirfi from the same position two days ago, for alleged disrespect and disloyalty to Governor Bala Mohammed and Bauchi State government. News Point Nigeria reports that Kirfi was a Minister of Special Duties and a political ally of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. A press statement signed by the Information Officer of the Bauchi Emirate Council, Babangida…

AGGRIEVED governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) known as the G5 or the Integrity Group on Thursday stormed the ancient city of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, for the campaign flag-off for the reelection of Governor Seyi Makinde. Makinde’s allies including Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu attended the event at the Mapo Hall in Ibadan. The PDP Deputy National Chairman in the South-West, Taofeek Arapaja; the party’s Chairman in Oyo, Bayo Ogungbenro; amongst other party faithful were also in attendance. Decked in traditional attire synonymous with Yorubaland,…

AN Abuja High Court has stopped an application seeking to remove the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu from office over alleged false asset declaration. Justice M. A. Hassan on Wednesday refused the application alongside the 14 reliefs brought by the claimants. The judge held that Prof Yakubu’s asset declaration was was lawful, valid and in compliance with the law. The presiding judge barred the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigeria Police, and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) from arresting Yakubu. In an Originating Summons filed by one Somadina Uzoamaka against the Attorney…

HEALTHCARE providers and the general public have been notified by the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) that the Indonesian authorities have revoked the licenses of two pharmaceutical companies (PT Yarindo Farmatama and PT Universal Pharmaceutical industries) to prevent them from producing syrup-type medicines following the death of 159 children under-5 years, due to acute kidney injury. In the alert, posted on the Agency’s website, it explained that the two companies used propylene glycol as a raw material in the production of medicinal syrups. “The syrups, often used by children, contained excessive amounts of ethylene glycol…

THE Department of State Services (DSS) on Wednesday, said it arrested the mastermind of a December 29, 2022 explosion near the Palace of the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland in the Okene area of Kogi State. The secret police said the suspect, Abdulmumin Otaru aka Abu Mikdad and one of his associates, Saidu Suleiman were arrested on January 3, 2023. The DSS identified Otaru as a high commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) who had carried out many attacks in the North-Central and other parts of Nigeria. “Otaru operated terrorist cells in and around Kogi State. Similarly, he and…

FORMER Nigerian Ambassador to Jordan, Amb. Farouk Malami Yabo today dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Amb. Yabo announced his defection on Wednesday at Yabo town of Yabo local government area of Sokoto at the venue of the statewide PDP electioneering campaign. He was received into the PDP by the state Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, the party’s gubernatorial candidate, Mallam Saidu Umar (Mallam Ubandoman Sokoto) and other party bigwigs. Details soon.

GOVERNOR Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has been commended for churning out sound policies, programmes and projects that have direct bearing geared on the life of a common man. This is even as the Governor’s reelection bid received an overwhelming boost with support of community leaders and critical stakeholders. The commendation was made by the Emir of Nafada, His Royal Highness,  Muhammad Dadum Hamza as Gombe APC campaign team paid him a courtesy call at his palace in Nafada. The Emir expressed delight over the visit, describing it as historic and home-coming. He applauded the governor’s concern over the plights of the…

TROOPS of Operation Forest Sanity have eliminated four terrorists and recovered arms and ammunition as well as other items in two encounters in Kaduna State. Maj-Gen. Musa Danmadami, Director, Defence Media Operations, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. Danmadami said the troops had on Sunday and Monday responded to distress calls of bandits’ attacks at Rafin Sarki village in Giwa Local Government Area, Kaduna State. He said the troops engaged the terrorists in a gunfight and neutralised two , recovering one AK 47 rifle. He added that troops had also on Tuesday, carried out an ambush…