THE Sokoto State House of Assembly has passed the Sokoto Emirate Council Amendment Bill through the first and second readings. The amendment bill, if passed into law, will strip the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, of powers to appoint the kingmakers and to appoint district heads without government approval, among other things. This development comes a day after the Muslim Rights Concern raised concerns about an alleged plan by the Sokoto State Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, to depose the Sultan of Sokoto. In a statement on Monday, MURIC’s Executive Director, Prof. Isiaq Akintola, expressed alarm over the potential move,…
Author: Sani Nura
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STUDENTS of Federal Polytechnic Bauchi residing in Gwallameji, an off-campus community near the school, took to the streets on Tuesday to protest the alarming surge of armed robberies and rape cases in the area. The students during the protest blocked the federal highway along Bauchi-Dass Road. According to a press release by the Bauchi State Police Command, the protest was sparked by an incident where a group of hoodlums trespassed into student housing and robbed one Cletus Chomo, a 50-year-old resident of Sarauniya Lodge. The statement noted that Chomo was reportedly injured during the incident. In response, a team of…
THE Sokoto State Government says contrary to speculations by some persons and groups, the current administration of Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State has no plan to depose the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III. In a statement on Tuesday, a spokesman for the state government, Abubakar Bawa, condemned campaigns “to smear the cordial relationship existing between the state government and the Sultanate Council”. A religious organisation, the Muslims Rights Concern (MURIC), had alleged a plot by the state government to dethrone the Sultan. Subsequently, Vice President Kashim Shettima on Monday said the throne of the Sultan is an…
BOKO Haram insurgents have abducted Justice Haruna Mshelia, a High Court judge, alongside his wife, driver and orderly. It was gathered that the incident occurred on Monday afternoon along the Buratai-Buni-gari road as Justice Mshelia was returning to Maiduguri, where he serves at the Borno State High Court. Sources reveal that the judge’s vehicle was intercepted by armed men who emerged from the bush, and then barricaded the road. One of the sources said despite an attempt to manoeuvre and escape, the vehicle was stopped by another group of insurgents. “The abductees were subsequently taken into the Sambisa Forest,” he…
THE Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Saad Abubakar III, says it will take decades for the bandit-ravaged North-West geopolitical zone to come out of the menacing security challenge. The President General of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) stated this at the North-West Peace and Security Summit in Katsina State on Monday. “What we must do is to challenge these bandits because we all know the consequences of banditry and insurgency on our lives. But it will take decades to get out of it if all we get out of it. We all know the consequences and the problems,”…
AT least seven persons were killed in a fresh bandits attack on Saturday night on Mai Dabino village in Danmusa Local Government Area of Katsina State. The attack, according to an eyewitness, saw the abduction of unspecified number of persons mostly women and children whom have been taken to a nearby forest. The eyewitness told News Point Nigeria on Sunday that the hoodlums operated for about three hours after invading the village at about 10:00 pm, shooting sporadically to scare the residents. He said that those killed by the hoodlums were set ablaze. The hoodlums armed with sophisticated weapons said…
FARMERS in Katsina State on Saturday lamented the rate at which a strange worm continues to destroy their grain plantations. In a visit to a cross-section of the affected farmlands in the state capital, News Point Nigeria learned that the strange worm population has continued to increase in size over the past few days. Two of the affected farmers, namely Umar Masoyi and Ahmad Labaran said, the increasing population of worms was predominant over the week presumably due to rainfall shortage as most farmers were rounding up this year’s farming season plantations. They said the worms are only interested in…
THE Bauchi State Police Command has confirmed a tragic incident that occurred in Nasaru Village Wednesday, resulting in the loss of life. According to a press release issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Ahmed Wakili, an individual named Usman was involved in sharing information about a new religious movement known as the Fera Movement. This led to an altercation, ultimately leading to Usman’s death. The Commissioner of Police, CP Auwal Musa Muhammad, has strongly condemned the actions of those involved, emphasizing the importance of upholding the law. The police have vowed to step up surveillance patrols in the area…
THE Chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya CON, has on Wednesday, joined the Vice President of Nigeria, Sen. Kashim Shettima and other officials for the foundation laying ceremony of the North East Development Commission (NEDC) Head Office in Maiduguri. Speaking at the event, Governor Inuwa Yahaya said since its inception, the NEDC has been playing a pivotal role in supporting the six states of the sub-region especially in addressing critical infrastructure deficits, intervention in agriculture, education and several other initiatives. The NSGF Chairman applauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim…
ARMED men suspected to be bandits have killed six people and abducted many others at a village in Gwadabawa Local Government Area of Sokoto State. The gunmen were said to have stormed Tudun Doki village at about 1:30 am on Sallah day. The Public Relations Officer of the Police Command in Sokoto, Ahmed Rufa’i, confirmed the attack. He said six bodies have been retrieved so far, but the police have yet to ascertain the number of abducted persons.
A COMBINED effort of the security agencies, led by the Officers and men of 2 Battalion under I Division of Nigeria Army, Kaduna, has led to the rescue of one of the remaining two prospective corps members kidnapped in Zamfara in August last year. With this, a total of seven out of the eight corps members have been rescued. A statement by Director, Information and Public Relations, Eddy Megwa, said efforts are still ongoing, to secure the safe release of the remaining male prospective corps member, who is still in custody of the kidnappers. Speaking on the rescue, the Director…
THE Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission has declared that All Progressives Congress (APC) won all 17 chairmanship seats and 178 councillor positions in the just concluded local government elections. Announcing the winners after the collation of all results, the Chairman of the Commission, Dr Mamman Mohammed, explained that other political parties participated but could not win at any level. The state electoral umpire is expected to present certificates of return to the winners while their swearing-in by Governor Mai Mala Buni would be at a later date. Governor Buni had while voting at his home town said his concept when…
GOVERNOR Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno state has handed over power to his deputy, Umar Usman Kadafur, and embarked on a trip to Saudi Arabia for the 2024 Hajj exercise. This newspaper reports that Zulum joined 1,815 Borno pilgrims in Saudi Arabia. During an emergency session on Friday, Speaker of the Borno House of Assembly, Rt Hon Abdulkareem Lawan, announced that the governor was on 28-day vacation. According to the speaker, the deputy governor would be in charge of governance from 10th June to 8th July, 2024. He noted that the formal notice was in compliance with provisions of section…
IN a strategic move to address key developmental challenges, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya , CON has initiated a partnership with the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) to unlock new opportunities in line with his vision of a prosperous and sustainable future for Gombe state. During a round table discussion with the AMCI officials led by the Director-General, Ambassador Mohamed Methqal in continuation of his trade and investment mission to the North African country, Governor Inuwa Yahaya expressed commitment to leveraging international partnerships to drive socio-economic growth. He emphasized the importance of collaboration between his government and the agency in…
THIRTY people are feared dead following fresh multiple attacks by armed bandits on several villages in Dutsinma and Safana local government areas (LGAs) of Katsina State. Dutsinma and Safana are two of the frontline LGAs where activities of bandits have been on the increase despite security agencies and government interventions to decimate insurgency in the areas. Eyewitnesses told this newspaper on Friday that the affected villages, thirteen in number, were attacked in the evening hours of Tuesday 4th June 2024. They identified the villages as Dogon Ruwa, Sabon Gari Unguwar Banza, Tashar Kawai Mai Zurfi, Sanawar Kurecen Dutsi, Unguwar Bera,…
THE Zamfara State Police Command has arrested high-profile persons including a member of the State House of Assembly, and a former local government chairman in connection with banditry in the state. Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State, Muhammad Dalijan, revealed this while hosting the officer in charge of the Counterterrorism Unit, under the United Nations Office On Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Thomas Parker, at the command headquarters in Gusau, the Zamfara State capital. He did not mention the names of the high-profile persons arrested in connection with the crime. CP Dalijan also appealed to the United Nations, to help establish…
GOMBE State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, has charged the state’s intending pilgrims to use their spiritual journey to the Holy Land to pray for the state and the country to overcome the enormous socio-economic challenges facing its citizens. The governor gave the charge during a farewell address to the state’s intending pilgrims at the Gombe State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board office. Speaking on the current socioe-conomic realities in the country, Governor Inuwa Yahaya urged the pilgrims to intensify prayers for Allah’sintervention. “Intensify prayers for yourselves, Gombe State, and Nigeria for Allah’s intervention in the current situation. Specifically, pray for…
THE Katsina State Government has stressed the need for the Federal Government, to support the security agencies in the state with sophisticated weapons to fight bandits and other criminal elements terrorising the state. The State Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Dr Nasiru Danmusa, made the call on Monday night shortly after attending an emergency security meeting with stakeholders chaired by the state governor, Malam Dikko Radda. He said that the state government had realised, that bandits disturbing the peace of the state, now use more sophisticated weapons such as the RPG, citing an occurrence where one of the…
GOMBE State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON has flagged off the Tumfure Road Projects in Gombe Metropolis as part of activities to commemorate his fifth-year anniversary in office. The highly anticipated 11-kilometer Tumfure road network is the first of its kind in the area’s history since the creation of Gombe State in 1996. Governor Inuwa said his government would continue to execute projects that have a direct bearing on the lives of ordinary people. “Many administrations have come and gone without constructing a meter of road here, but our administration is today flagging off the construction of an 11-kilometer road…
SIX Boko Haram members, including a terrorist commander, Adamu Muhammad, known as Abu Busara, have surrendered to troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).’ The insurgents gave up their terrorist activities and handed themselves over to the military on Thursday, May 23. Disclosing this in a statement on Friday, the MNJTF’s Chief Military Public Information Officer Lieutenant Colonel Abubakar Abdullahi, identified the terrorist commander as Adamu Mohammed. He also listed other terrorists as Isah Ali, 18 years old; Hassan Modu, 18 years old; Nasir Idris, 23 years old escort for the Commander of Jubillaram Usman Rash; Abba Aji, 21…