THE Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has fixed February 20 to rule on a bail application that was filed by Ali Bello, a nephew of the Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello. Bello is facing trial over his alleged complicity in a three billion fraud. News Point Nigeria reports that, Bello was arraigned on February 8, 2023, alongside Abba Adauda, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege and Iyadai Sadat, who are facing 18 count criminal charges before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ahmed Raji on Tuesday asked the court to admit to bail,…
Author: Bala Muhammad
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GUNMEN suspected to be bandits, on Tuesday morning, attacked Mahuta town of Dandume Local Govt Area of Katsina State, killing two persons and abducting over a dozen women and children. A source close to the district head of Mahuta told News Point Nigeria that, the bandits attacked the village early hours of Tuesday on their trademark motorcycle barge. According to him, the bandits conducted a house to house attack in the town, shooting male occupants who tried to resist capture of their wives, after gathering over a dozen women and children, they shot their way out of the town. The…
THE National Population Commission has said the 2023 census will cost more than N400 billion. The Head, NPC Public Affairs Department in Plateau State, Jick Lawrence, revealed this on Monday during a one-day capacity-building workshop for journalists on effective reporting of census in Jos. He revealed about N100 billion had so far been spent on arrangements ahead of the April exercise. He said, “Over N400 billion has been earmarked to be expended on the 2023 census. About N100 billion has so far been expended on preparations ahead of the exercise, census is a very big and capital-intensive exercise.” He explained…
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, are expected to visit Imo State on Tuesday for the former’s inauguration of road projects as the latter continues his campaign. Ahead of the both events, Governor Hope Uzodimma on Monday inspected the newly completed and reconstructed MCC-Toronto dual carriageway to be commissioned by Buhari as well as the Dan Anyiam Stadium, the venue of the rally. During the inspection tour in Owerri, the state capital, Uzodimma said all is set to host the President who will be visiting Imo for the second time in five months.…
THE Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has warned that the continuous scarcity of the N200, N500 and N1,000 new notes may lead to economic recession as well as severe food inflation. The Forum, in a communique issued at the end of its meeting on Saturday, lamented that though the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), said the Federal Government would comply with the order of the Supreme Court of Nigeria nullifying the February 10 deadline for the validity of three old notes, Nigerians have not experienced any change so far. “The inability to use the new notes has had…
THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the International Criminal Court (ICC) to “promptly seek authorisation from the ICC Chamber to commence an investigation into the situation in Nigeria in relation to the growing cases of pre-election violence.” In a statement on Sunday, SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare warned that if cases of pre-election violence were not addressed, it may escalate and lead to post-election violence in the country. The rights group wrote a petition dated February 11 and sent to the ICC Prosecutor, Mr Karim Khan. It urged Khan to “urgently send the ICC legal team to…
ZAMFARA State Commissioner for Budget, Alhaji Aliyu Mafara, on Friday, resigned his position, dumped the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Zamfara State, News Point Nigeria gathered. Alhaji Aliyu Mafara who is the incumbent Commissioner for Budget in Governor Bello Matawalle’s cabinet declared his full support for the PDP governorship candidate in the state, Dauda Lawal-Dare. Speaking on Friday during the brief ceremony at the residence of the Zamfara PDP governorship candidate in Gusau, the former commissioner reiterated that his conscience would not allow him to stick to failure. He said, “I informed…
THE Federal Government has directed all Universities and Inter-University Centres to shut down and academic activities suspended from February 22 to March 14 over the forthcoming February 25 and March 11, 2023 general elections. The order is to allow the over 3.8 million registered voters, accounting for 40.8 per cent of students, to participate in the elections. The directive was contained in a circular dated February 3, 2023 and addressed to all Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities and Directors/Chief Executives of Inter-University Centres by the National Universities Commission (NUC), which was sighted by News Point Nigeria on Thursday. NUC Deputy Executive…
NO fewer than fifteen (15) suspects have been arrested and paraded by the Police for committing various crimes in Katsina State and its environs. The first category of the suspects comprised three (3) suspected thieves led by one Mohamed Abdurrahman of Saulawa Quarters, Katsina State. The suspects according to the Katsina Police Spokesman, SP Gambo Isah, specialized in breaking into houses to commit armed robbery and car snatching in the state capital. Two Corolla motor vehicles, two brand-new motorcycles, and a locally-made gun were recovered from them. Other suspects arrested and paraded before the command headquarters on Tuesday include; two…
THE death toll from the clash between terrorists and the Yansakai Group in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State has risen above 100, residents say. This figure comes shortly after Governor Aminu Masari of the State sent a delegation under the leadership of Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Muntari Lawal to condole with families of the victims. Residents of the affected communities put the number of those killed at over one hundred, stating that more corpses are being recovered from the area as some persons in the communities are still missing. One of the residents who hails from…
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attack on vigilantes at Yargoje forest in Jibia Local Government Area of Katsina State, where many lives were lost. The insurgents had ambushed a convoy of vigilantes in the forest as they went to recover stolen cows leading to the killings on Thursday. The President, according to a release issued on Sunday by his spokesperson, Malam Garba Shehu, paid tribute to all those vigilantes and family members who have been killed, saying the sacrifices of the brave men who are working to prevent and punish crime in their communities will not be forgotten. According…
THE death toll from the attack by bandits on some communities in Bakori and Kankara local government areas of Katsina State has risen to 84. News Point Nigeria broke the news that, no fewer than 30 members of vigilante group and residents were confirmed killed in an ambush by bandits as an unspecified number were injured in Kankara Local Government Area of the state, on Thursday. However, residents of the affected communities had on Friday put the number of those killed at 58 and expressed fear that more corpses could be recovered from the area as others were still missing.…
THE Police Service Commission has approved the appointment of three Assistant Inspectors General of Police to the rank of Deputy Inspectors of Police. In a statement on Sunday by the commission’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, the promotion of eight Commissioners of Police to the rank of Assistant Inspectors General (AIGs) was suspended. This is because the CPs failed to appear before it for the mandatory promotion interview. “As part of an effort to fill up the leadership vacuum in the Nigerian Police Force, The Police Service Commission has approved the appointment of three Assistant Inspectors General…
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has arrived Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, to unveil the Federal Government projects including the Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Development Institute. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that AMEDI is one of the Buhari regime’s legacies meant to make Nigeria a hub and supplier of agro-allied technology, equipment, and machinery. The project is also aimed at making the nation self-sufficient in food production as well as creating more sustainable jobs for Nigeria’s teeming youths. AMEDI, a multi-billion naira product of the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure is equipped with modern laboratories and machines for…
THE Katsina State Government is to set up a commission of inquiry on Thursday’s terrorist ambush in the Kankara Local Government Area of the state which led to the death of 41 persons while two were injured. Governor Aminu Masari’s Special Adviser on Security Matters, Mallam Ahmad Katsina, made the disclosure on Friday night after a review of the incident. He said, “The incident jolted everybody and His Excellency, Governor Aminu Masari, is very sad about it. Firstly, he has directed the reinforcement of security in the area. He has also directed that a commission of inquiry be instituted on…
THE Katsina State Police Command has confirmed the death of 41 members of local vigilance groups, popularly known as “Yansakai” in an ambush by bandits in Yargoje forest. This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, on Friday in Katsina. “On Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, at about 22:00 hours, terrorists in their numbers, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles, attacked the house of one Alhaji Muntari at Unguwar Audu Gare, Kandarawa, Bakori Local Government, and rustled 50 cows and 30 sheep. “Subsequently, on Feb. 2, at about 10:00 hours, Yansakai…
BANDITS have killed 30 numbers of vigilantes and residents in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State in an ambush, News Point Nigeria gathered. Although residents alleged that 30 people were killed in the ambush, the spokesman for the Katsina State Police Command, Gambo Isah, disputed the figures. He insisted the real figures of the victims would be known after the police operatives who had gone to the scene of the incident provided a feedback. Isah said, “Our team led by the Area Commander is there already and until I receive a feedback from them, I cannot give you the…
VICE President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday expressed worry over the difficulty faced by Nigerians in getting the new naira notes. Osinbajo met with some players in the FinTech space to explore possible ways of mitigating the hardship. He urged regulators and the banks to deploy more FinTechs and money agents to the hinterlands to address the worrying situation. “You need cash to pay for transport. For instance, in Abuja how do you take ‘drop or along’ or use a Keke NAPEP without cash, or buy foodstuff on the road or in canteens, or even buying recharge cards?” he stated. “Parents…
NATIONAL Board for Technical Education (NBTE) has said the current curriculum used by tertiary institutions were obsolete and not in tune with present reality. Executive Secretary, NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, stated this at the public presentation of the new and reviewed National Diploma (ND), Higher National Diploma (HND) curricula NOS and ODFeL in Abuja. Noting that the nation cannot afford to continue teaching students with such a curriculum, he said building infrastructure in higher institutions, especially polytechnics without relevant curricula is ‘like having a good and well-decorated body but without a soul’. “Some of the already reviewed curricula were more…
THE leadership of the Jama’atu Nasril Islam led by of the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has condemned the killing of 47 herdsmen during the accidental airstrikes by the Nigerian Air Force in Nasarawa, calling on the Federal Government to fish out the perpetrators for prosecution. The JNI through its Secretary-General, Dr. Khalid Abubakar-Aliyu, in a terse statement in Kaduna on Thursday, also called on the Federal Government to compensate victim families over the loss of their beloved ones during the attack. According to the group, the government should thoroughly interrogate the events that culminated in the most…