Author: Sani Nura

AS Gombe State gears up for the upcoming 2024 Local Government Councils Election to shape the future of governance at the grassroots level, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has unveiled its slate of candidates for chairmanship and deputy chairmanship positions. The list, which emanated following a consensus process, was  submitted to the Gombe State Independent Electoral Commission ( GOSIEC) and duly signed by the APC Chairman, Nitte Amangal, and Secretary, Abubakar Umar S. Goro. It presents a lineup of individuals poised to lead their respective local government areas with vision and a commitment to progress in line with the development…

A DEVASTATING fire in the Madina quarters area of Bauchi metropolis has resulted in the death of two young girls identified as Zainab Bashir Mohammed, aged 8, and Ummu Salma Bashir Mohammed, aged 5. The Bauchi State Police Command, in a press release, said a distress call was received on the 17th of March 2024, alerting authorities to the outbreak of a fire in a residential building. In response to the emergency, the police said a team of policemen from the ‘C’ Divisional Police Headquarters, along with the Federal Fire Service team, promptly rushed to the scene. Tragically, by the…

THE Sokoto Central market is currently on fire, with the motorcycle section of the market affected. An eyewitness who spoke with our correspondent said the fire started early this morning, but its cause cannot be immediately established. However, another source revealed that the Sokoto Central market fire emanated from a dump site close to the motorcycle section. Reacting, the chairman of Motorcycles Marketers Association, Shehu Muhammad, said they could not quantify the number of motorcycles destroyed by fire because the fire was still raging. “We cannot quantify the number of motorcycles burnt down by the fire now because the fire…

THE Katsina State Ministry of Internal Security says the Civilian JTF in the state on Friday night killed a renowned bandits leader, Kachalla Maude. The civilian JTF under the support of security agents ambushed a terrorist group led by Kachalla Maude at Garin Rinji, a village in the western part of Batsari Local Government. In a Sunday statement, the Katsina State Commissioner for Information and Culture Bala Zango said during the ambush, the JTF rained heavy fire on the terrorists, leading to the capture of the gang leader. He said Maude and his group have been terrorizing the western part…

THE Comptroller, Nigeria Customs Service, Kebbi State command, Iheanacho Ojike, has reopened Kamba land border in compliance with the directive of President Bola Tinubu on immediate reopening of land border with Niger Republic. The Public Relations Officer of the Kebbi Customs, Mohammed Tajuddeen Salisu, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday. Shortly after reopening the border, in the midst of district head of Kamba, Alhaji Mamuda Fana, stakeholders and other sister agencies, the CAC said Kamba is a strategic border with major share in Kebbi Revenue generation. He further stated that the border reopening was aimed at paving way for…

THE Chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum and Governor of Gombe State has echoed the growing consensus among stakeholders that addressing the complex security challenges plaguing the northern region and Nigeria at large requires a united front and coordinated action among security forces and government agencies at all levels. Governor Inuwa made this assertion during a press briefing held after a high-level security meeting involving the 19 Northern Governors, Ministers of Defence, Police Affairs, and Interior, as well as the nation’s security chiefs. The meeting, convened by the National Security Adviser in Abuja, was aimed at strategizing on combating the…

SEVEN dead bodies of passengers including women, a baby, the mother and a man have been recovered in a forest located in Taraba State. The recovery followed an attack on an 18 seater bus that loaded passengers from Zaki/Biam Benue State to Maihula in Bali Local Government Area of Taraba State on Tuesday. The gunmen suspected to be bandits attacked the bus at Gamkwe village located along Mararaban Baisa axis in Donga Local Government Area of the state while enroute Maihula. The driver of the bus, Jimen Angera, who escaped the attack with Machete injuries, revealed that the armed men…

THE Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, has described the death threat against the wife of the President, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, as a national embarrassment. It will be recalled that a Bauchi cleric, Sunusi Abubakar, recently described the wife of the president as an infidel who should be killed in a viral video, although he later retracted his statement. The governor tendered the apology to the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, yesterday at the palace of the Emir of Bauchi, Dr Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu. The governor said he was disappointed and frustrated about the threat but that the president’s wife proved herself…

THE bandits, who abducted 16 students of a Qur’anic school in Sokoto State have demanded a N20 million ransom. The proprietor of the school locally known as Tsangaya, Liman Abubakar, revealed this to our reporter on Tuesday. “I received two calls from them this morning (Tuesday’s morning). In the first call, they asked me whether I don’t care about the plight of my students that was why I didn’t contact them. I told them I didn’t have their contact. “They then asked me to wait for another call around 11am. Some minutes after 11am, they called again and directed me…

TRAGEDY struck in Borno on Tuesday as fire gutted the Muna Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the Muna area of the state. The incident that happened in the Muna Alamdari IDP camp in Maiduguri led to the loss of two children’s lives. As of the time of filing this report, the remote cause of the fire could not be ascertained. Also, the Borno State Police Command or the state government are yet to comment on the incident. Borno has been ravaged by the Boko Haram insurgency for over a decade which has left thousands dead and displaced many people.

AS the Ramadan fast commences today, the Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum and Governor of Gombe State,  Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, has urged the Muslim Ummah and the entire citizenry to utilize this sacred month for fervent prayers, seeking relief amid present economic hardships, and praying for peace, development, and prosperity of Gombe State and Nigeria at large. In a goodwill message, Governor Inuwa called for collective efforts in finding new solutions to the security and socio-economic challenges facing the nation, acknowledging the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the governors to address the current difficulties. He…

NINE out of the 102 Gamboru-Ngala, Borno State IDPs reportedly abducted by Boko Haram insurgents while fetching firewood in the bush on Sunday, March 4, have returned home. While media reports confirmed by locals that the young IDPs were abducted Boko Haram, with further confirmation by the UN, which condemned the abduction of over 200 IDPs, the Borno State government dismissed the abduction narrative, arguing that they only lost their way back home from the wilderness. “In fact, we don’t even believe that they were abducted,” Dr. Barkindo Mohammed Saidu, the Durector-General, Borno SEMA, who led the state government fact-finding…

BANDITS have reportedly kidnapped dozens of Tsangaya students at Gidan Bakuso in Gada local government area of Sokoto state. Our reporter gathered that the students were abducted from their school around 1:am on Saturday. The propiretor of the school, Liman Abubakar, told our reporter that 15 students were unaccounted so far but “we are still counting.” According to Abubakar, the bandits invaded the town around 1am, shot one person and abducted a woman. “As they were leaving the town, they sighted our students rushing into their rooms and they kidnapped many of them. “We have so far counted 15 who…

THE Federal Government has raised the alarm over maternal and infant mortality in Sokoto State, saying 44 out of 100 newborn babies in the state die. It, therefore, sought homegrown solutions to maternal and infant fatality in and across the state. The Special Adviser in charge of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Health, Salma Ibrahim, made the recommendation during a courtesy call on Governor Ahmed Aliyu on Thursday. She disclosed that Sokoto State still has the highest burden of maternal and infant death in the country. “Most of the newborn deaths occurred in the state. According to the NBS survey…

THE Area Controller of the Sokoto/Zamfara Area Command of the Nigeria Customs, Comptroller Kamal Mohammed, has assured stakeholders at the Illela border that all is set for the reopening of the border pending the last order from higher authorities. Speaking at the Nigeria Customs Illela border Station during a working visit, Mohammed said with the lift of ECOWAS sanctions on Niger Republic and subsequent restoration of power supply to Niger Republic, the reopening of the border will follow sooner than later. Accompanied by members of his management team, the Comptroller appealed to members of the border community to remain calm…

CONCERNED by the epileptic supply of electricity in Kebbi State, Governor Nasir Idris has invited the Managing Director of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) for a roundtable discussion on how to achieve 24 hours uninterrupted power supply to the state throughout the holy month of Ramadan. Governor Idris, while expressing dissatisfaction over the electricity challenge in the state, said he has entered into agreement with the electricity distribution company to ensure regular power supply to the state during the Ramadan. “I have invited the managing director of KAEDCO for a roundtable discussion. We need to put smiles on the faces…

BOKO Haram insurgents have reportedly abducted dozens of female internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Ngala, the headquaters of Gambarou Ngala in Borno State, a local source told Daily Trust. A security source, who confided in our correspondent, also confirmed the abduction but said, “what we heard is around 113” were abducted. However, a source from the Babban Sansani IDPs camp, told our correspondent that the incident happened last Sunday, when the women went to fetch firewood in the bush for domestic and commercial purposes. “They were surrounded by the insurgents in Bula kunte bush in the western part of Ngala…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has intercepted 21 food trucks heading to neighbouring countries. Announcing the seizure in a statement on its X handle on Tuesday, the anti-graft agency said the items were heading towards N’djamena, Chad Republic, Central African Republic and Cameroon. According to the statement, the seizure was made by operatives of the EFCC Maiduguri Zonal Command. “The trucks were intercepted in a sting operation at major exit routes along Kalabiri/Gamboru Ngala and Bama roads, Borno State,” the statement read. “Investigation showed food items cleverly concealed in the trucks that would have gone undetected but for…

THE Katsina State Police Command has announced a substantial reward of N50m to any individual who provides valuable information that will lead to the arrest of two bandits’ kingpins in Katsina. The wanted individuals, according to a statement issued by the police spokesperson in Katsina, ASP Abubakar Sadiq Aliyu, are Modi Modi and Jan Kare, both operating within Katsina State, particularly in the regions of Kankara and Safana Local Government Areas. “The safety and well-being of the residents of the state are of paramount importance and the Katsina State Government and Katsina State Police Command, as well as other sister…

ZAMFARA State Government says it has verified 3,079 retirees in an effort to pay the backlog of gratuities owed by previous administrations. Retired state and local government workers in Zamfara State have not received their gratuities since 2011, which have accumulated over the years according to the state government. A statement by the spokesperson for the Zamfara Governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, revealed that a total of 1746 pensioners from both the state and local government received two tranches of payment amounting to N2,312,841,065.08. The statement added that the second tranche of verified pensioners’ gratuity payments began last Friday, bringing relief…