Author: Bala Muhammad

THE Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency  investigate the circumstances surrounding the killing of 40 pastoralists and butchers around Doma, Nasarawa State, allegedly by a drone strike on 25th January, 2023. News Point Nigeria had broke the news of how herders were killed in the Rukuni community of Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa last week. The herders were said to have been trailed by the guards and killed while offloading the cattle shortly after reaching their destination in Nasarawa. But the ACF, while reacting to the killing, through its…

THE Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, was at the weekend in Lagos, decorated with the 2022 Regulator of the Year Award at the prestigious 11th Edition of the Vanguard Personality of the Year Award where men and women who have distinguished themselves as achievers of excellence in their various fields of endeavours were honoured. The award was conferred on Danbatta in recognition of the EVC’s effective regulatory achievements through cutting-edge initiatives, especially during his first five years in office during which Nigeria’s telecom sector has shown spectacular landmarks, at a…

THE Nigeria Police Force (NPF) says it has effectively concluded the training of its officers attached to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal – Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) Unit. The training which discussed established protocols for safe explosives disposal and preventive measures ahead of the 2023 General Elections was approved by the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, as part of his vision to ensure strategic and timely training and retraining of police officers, particularly those with dynamic specializations. Upon conclusion of the training and quarterly conference of Commanders and heads of EOD formations across the country, where the…

NO fewer than 8,150 persons were displaced from Galadima-Kogo and environs in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger when an aircraft bombed the area on Jan. 24. Many members of a vigilance group in the area were killed, while their commander sustained serious injuries. The area bombed had Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) taking refuge at some facilities. Secretary to Niger State Government, Alhaji Ahmed Matane, said in Minna on Saturday that the aircraft belongs to the Nigeria Air Force and was not aware that security personnel were in the area. He added that it was not a mysterious aircraft as…

THE death toll from the bomb blast that struck a group of herders has risen to 54 from 28, following an alleged airforce attack on Rukubi, a village on the border between Nasarawa and Benue states, Tuesday. Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore spokesman, Tasiu Sulaiman, confirmed this to News Point Nigeria via a telephone conversation, Saturday. According to him, 26 more bodies have been recovered in the bushes, and a dozen more still missing according to the communities’ head count. This is coming a few hours after, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN visited Governor Abdullahi Sule, the Emir of Lafia, Alhaji…

GOVERNOR Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State says 37 persons have so far been buried following a bomb blast in the area. The incident occurred earlier in the week in the Doma Local Government Area of the state. While giving an update about it, Governor Sule said 37 persons were buried on Wednesday. “We buried 37 people yesterday. That is what I can tell you for sure. My colleague from Benue State also said some persons were buried yesterday all from the same incident,” he said on Thursday when he featured on Channels Television’s Politics Today. “I would not be able…

AFTER the recent inauguration of an Endowment Fund’s Board of Trustees for the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, on Thursday declared that the task for NIPSS “is to determine how it will affect human history beginning with our nation.” At a meeting held at the Presidential Villa, the need to reposition NIPSS, recalibrate its visibility and attract significant financial backing from the private sector and other non-public sector sources were emphasized. The consensus was that the time had come for the National Institute to take its place as a foremost institute along the…

GUNMEN have abducted Chief Joshua Ahmadu, the District Head of Chawai in Kauru Local Government of Kaduna State. Ahmadu’s abduction was confirmed on Wednesday by Mr Abel Adamu, President, Chawai Development Association (CDA). Adamu, in a statement signed by Mr Raphael Joshua, Public Relations Officer of CDA, said that the traditional ruler was kidnapped Tuesday night “by unknown gunmen who invaded his house at Zambina”. “It was reported that the kidnappers stormed the house of the traditional ruler in their numbers around 9:30 p.m. and took him away,” Adamu was quoted as saying. The CDA President was further quoted as…

NO fewer than 27 Fulanis have been killed after a bomb exploded at the border linking Nasarawa and Benue states in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa state. The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Ramhan Nansel, made the disclosure to our correspondent in Lafia on Wednesday. He narrated that the sad incident occured in the Rukubi community of Doma LGA on Tuesday. He, however, said the state police command was working in collaboration with sister security agencies and the state government to unravel the circumstances that led to the bombing, and arrest the perpetrators of the dastardly act.…

IN furtherance to the delivery of the President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, administrative ambitious policy of uplifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is harnessing the innovative talent of the nation’s youths and providing them with the necessary support to build the required digital skills and viable tech businesses to significantly contribute to job creation and economic prosperity for Nigeria through the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) Scheme. The Director General and CEO of NITDA Kashifu Inuwa CCIE officially flagged off the TIES Scheme during a hybrid session that took place live at…

KADUNA State government says the neonatal and the infant mortality rate has reduced in the state. Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni said neonatal mortality rate dropped from 63 per 1,000 live births in 2018 to 47 per 1,000 births in 2021. She made the declaration while addressing the 12th Kaduna State Council on Health meeting in Kaduna on Tuesday. Mohammed-Baloni also said that Under-five mortality rate dropped from 187 per 1,000 births in 2018 to 127 per 1,000 births in 2021. The Under-five mortality rate for Kaduna State at 127 per 1,000 births in 2021 was the lowest in…

ON the campaign trail in Asaba, the Delta State capital, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, said his choice of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as running mate was due to longstanding support from the state. Atiku told PDP supporters on Tuesday that the campaign team was not in the state to campaign but to show their gratitude and identify with them in all respects. “[We are here] because of the support we have received and have received all along, particularly myself. In all my political career, from 1999 to date, Delta State has never failed me,”…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has asked the senate to confirm Solomon Arase, a former inspector-general of police (IGP), as the chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC). Buhari’s request was contained in a letter read by Ahmad Lawan, the senate president on the floor of the upper legislative chamber on Tuesday. The president based his request on sections 153 (1) and 154 (1) of the constitution as amended. Arase, the 18th IGP, retired as the head of the Nigeria Police about a year after President Buhari assumed office. The former IGP was appointed by former president Goodluck Jonathan. In October 2020,…

THE Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), has apologised to passengers for the delay in rendering train services to passengers along the Abuja-Kaduna train route on Monday. Mr Pascal Nnorli, Manager, Abuja-Kaduna Train Service (AKTS), in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday, said the delay was due to a shortage in the supply of diesel. “The management of the NRC sincerely apologises to our esteemed customers who may have experienced delay in our Abuja-Kaduna train service on Monday, Jan. 23. “The delay was caused by the supply of diesel/AGO, which fell short of the specification required to operate…

THE Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, says Nigeria needs a benevolent dictator to put things right in the country. Sulu-Gambari said this on the sidelines of the sensitisation visit of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the redesigned Naira notes to the Emir’s palace in Ilorin on Monday. He said Nigeria lacks good leadership inspite of good ratings the country has all over the world. ”Nigeria is already dangling with the present situation, we pray it should not collapse. ”We are well rated all over the world, it is only leadership we lack. ”It was only General Murtala…

GOVERNOR Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has described the late High Commissioner of Nigeria to South Africa, Alhaji Shehu Malami (Sarkin Sudan of Wurno) [1937-2022] as a stateman, philanthropist and industrialist of repute. The Governor who was receiving former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chairman, Audu Ogbeh, who came to pay him a condolence visit on Monday, said the late Sokoto prince touched many lives while he was alive. “He was virtually a friend to all: the elderly and the younger ones,” Tambuwal emphasized, while noting that although he has passed on, he would not be so much missed because…

THE Chairman of Shiroro Local Govt, Akilu Kuta narrowly escaped death as bandits invaded some communities surrounding his hometown of Kuta in Niger state. News Point Nigeria learnt that, the bandits killed three persons and abducted another four including a five-year-old girl during the attack. Kuta, who was en route to Minna via Egwa-Kuta road with the Niger State All Progressives Congress assistant youth leader, Suleiman Galkogo, narrowly escaped the attack, while their vehicle was damaged by gun bullets. Among those also abducted were a woman and her daughter-in-law in Bmanape community. The attack came 24 hours after the killing…

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari will depart Lagos for Senegal on Tuesday where he will attend the 2nd edition of Dakar International Conference on Agriculture. The high-level Dakar 2 Summit hosted by President Macky Sall of Senegal and the Chairperson of the African Union is holding under the theme “Feeding Africa: Food Sovereignty and Resilience.” The conference, which seeks to create favourable conditions toward achieving food security in Africa, is convened jointly by the government of Senegal and the African Development Bank. There will also be side meetings to discuss agreements on the delivery of food and agricultural products in some countries, including Nigeria. With Africa accounting for 249 million…

DANGOTE Cement Plc., Ibese Plant, says it has donated 25,000 pieces of 100kg waste bags for the management of agro-waste in communities across Nigeria. The Ibese Plant Director, Mr Azad Nawabuddin, made this known on Sunday in a statement signed by Mr Francis Awowole-Browne, the Media and Communication Officer, Dangote Group. Nawabuddin said that this was part of the company’s social investment to restore the ecosystem. He restated the plant’s commitment to providing a total of 100,000 pieces of waste bags to positively engage and stimulate the communities and their youths to the use of agro-waste as alternative fuel in…

THE Taraba State Police Command on Friday confirmed the abduction of eight family members of the Chief of Mutum-Biyu in Gassol Local Government Area, Justice Sani Muhammad (retd). The command’s Public Relations Officer, Usman Abdullah, confirmed the development to newsmen in Jalingo on Friday. Abdullahi said the kidnappers on Thursday night invaded the Jalingo residence of the traditional ruler and kidnapped his two wives and six children. He also disclosed that police had already commenced an investigation into the incident to ensure the victims were released unhurt. A family source told journalists in Jalingo that the abductors have already made…