Author: Sani Nura

AT LEAST 55 persons are said to have been kidnapped by a terrorists gang while escorting a bride along Damari town in Sabuwa Local Government Area of Katsina State. Although security agencies are yet to confirm the incident officially, a resident however, told News Point Nigeria on Friday in a telephone call that the incident occurred on Thursday at about 9pm. He noted that three security volunteers however lost their lives in effort to rescue the victims. “Before the hoodlums attack the victims on a canter vehicle, the victims were initially over 70 mostly friends to the bride in which…

TENSIONS are running high in Katsina State due to a controversial social media post made by a Christian resident who has been identified as Mani Abubakar. The Facebook post, which is considered blasphemous of the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), has caused outrage. Some persons set Abubakar’s house and car on fire after the post wnet viral in the state. Abubakar reportedly managed to escape from his residence in Babbar-Ruga. The Vice Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Katsina, Muyiwa Segun, stated that the situation has been resolved thanks to the prompt actions taken by the state Commissioner of Police,…

THE Taraba State Police Command has arrested thirteen suspected bandits and kidnappers on their watchlist for terrorizing residents of Jalingo, Yorro, Lau, and Zing local government areas of the state. This was disclosed by the state commissioner of Police Joseph Eribo while parading the suspects and their exhibits at the police headquarters in Jalingo, the state capital on Wednesday. The arrest follows a public outcry over the nefarious activities of the hoodlums which according to the police has assumed an alarming dimension. According to the police, the bandits use the adjoining mountains as a shield and any attempt to rescue…

THE Zamfara State Government stepped up its war on insecurity as Governor Dauda Lawal on Wednesday formally unveiled the Community Protection Guards (CPG), designed to complement efforts of the regular security forces. The ceremony at the Trade Fair complex in Gusau, the state capital, attracted the six other governors from the North-West states of Jigawa, Kebbi, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Sokoto. A statement by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, noted that the government is utilising a multi-faceted and multi-dimensional approach to addressing security challenges in the state. According to the statement, “last year, Governor Dauda Lawal approved the engagement…

A FIRE has destroyed several shops at Gusau Central Market, killing one person. The fire reportedly broke out at around 9 p.m. last night in the furniture section of the state capital’s largest market. The Commander of the Nigerian Fire Service, New Market office, Hamza Mohammed, informed Channels Television that a shop owner whose name is yet to be identified died while attempting to enter his shop to extinguish a fire forcefully. Firefighters from the state command have been battling the inferno since 9 p.m. yesterday, preventing it from spreading to other shops. Mohammed reported that several shops were affected…

GOMBE State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON has presented Cheques to 343 property owners affected by the ongoing erosion control project spanning through several communities in the suburb of Gombe metropolis. Gombe State Government, in collaboration with Agro- Climate Resilience in Semi Arid Landscape (ACReSAl), a world Bank assisted projec,  had in November last year awarded over 12 billion naira contract to control a 21 kilometers gully erosion meandering through the Federal College of Education (Tech) Gombe, Railway, London Mai Dorawa, Malam Inna, Wuro Ledde, Wuro Kesa and Arawa quarters. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Governor Inuwa Yahaya said: “Our…

GOVERNOR Dikko Radda of Katsina State on Monday donated the sum of N100,000 to each of the 35 persons rescued by troops of the Nigerian Army for them to revive their normal business when they arrive home. The victims kidnapped by armed bandits at Tashar Nagulle and Nahuta villages in Batsari Local Government Area of the state were said to have been rescued at Dumburum Forest after an intensive gun battle between soldiers and the bandits. The victims were eventually handed over to the Governor at the Katsina State Government House by the Commander of the 17 Brigade of the…

ELEVEN farmers have been killed in Firgi community, Pulka Ward of the Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State after stepping on Improvised Explosive Device (IED). An open-body vehicle conveying the farmers to their farmlands stepped on an IED and immediately exploded, killing the farmers and two others on their bicycles. According to a source in the humanitarian sector, the IED was planted on the shoulder of the main road leading to the farm. The passengers of the vehicle died while the driver sustained serious injuries that left him in a critical condition. The time of the explosion was not…

BANDITS stormed Madabanciya village in Bungudu local government area of Zamfara State, on Sunday night, where they abducted a newlywed husband and wife. An indigene of the area, Ibrahim Sani, said the bandits arrived in the village on foot around 11.45pm on Sunday, leaving their motorcycles outside the village. Sani said the bandits, who were in large numbers, were wielding sophisticated weapons and immediately they arrived at the village, they began to shoot indiscriminatelg to scare residents. According to him, the bandits went from house to house in search of food items and other valuables. He added, “They stole large…

IMPROVISED Explosive Device – IED (bomb) detonated in Gubio local government area of Borno State, resulting in the tragic death of six Quranic school pupils popularly known as Almajirai in Hausa parlance. The incident took place Saturday when a metal scavenger unknowingly collected and stored various metallic items in a building in close proximity to a Tsangaya school. Unfortunately, little did the scavenger know that among the collected metal was an abandoned undetonated IED, which exploded at approximately 2pm, claiming the lives of the children and causing severe bodily harm. All efforts to get confirmation from security agencies on the…

BORNO State governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, has described the recent explosion of landmines killing commuters, security agents and locals across different locations as renewed attempts to frustrate the rebuilding of destroyed communities and resettle internally displaced persons to their ancestral homes. Zulum, who was touring some of the communities, in Dikwa, Marte, and Ngala Local Government Areas, said his government is working to find the conspirators from within the government and locals for appropriate sanctions. Explosions along Maiduguri-Dikwa-Marte-Ngala roads resulting in the deaths of security personnel, civilian Joint Task Force members, humanitarian workers and farmers have been recurrent in the…

THE Supreme Court, on Thursday, affirmed the election of Ahmed Aliyu as the governor of Sokoto State, dismissing the appeal of Saidu Umar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).  The judgement of the apex court panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun was delivered by Justice Tijani Abubakar. The appellant had challenged the election of Governor Ahmed Aliyu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Umar and the PDP had asked the Supreme Court to set aside the concurrent judgements of the Court of Appeal of the Tribunal. He cited malpractices, non-compliance with the Electoral Act as grounds to nullify the election…

BOKO Haram insurgents have allegedly killed an army lieutenant and two vigilante members in an ambush in the Lake Chad area of Borno State on Saturday. Efforts to reach the military high command for their reaction was not successful as calls to the mobile phone of the Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba was not unanswered. He was also yet to reply to a text message sent to his line as at the time of filing this report last night. Sources told our correspondents that the attack came after the military takeover of the Boko Haram enclave in Krenowa…

GOMBE State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, earlier today,  participated in an international business forum organized by the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC) in collaboration with the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA). The event, themed “Expanding trade and investment opportunities between Nigeria and India,” provided a platform for investors to connect with potential partners, government agencies, regulatory bodies, and others to enhance their presence in the Nigeria-India business landscape. Governor Inuwa utilized the opportunity to network with prospective investors, highlighting the huge market potential of Gombe State and its status as the best in Ease…

THE Taraba State Government has banned the use of motorcycles of any kind within the Jalingo metropolis, the state capital, and restricted the movement of tricycles between 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. The measure, according to the state government, is a result of the sudden spike in the activities of criminals in Jalingo. This follows the constitution of a task force committee on a total ban on the use of motorcycles (okada) and control of tricycles (Keke). This is contained in a press statement issued from the office of the secretary to the government of the state. The committee constituted…

GUNMEN suspected to be bandits dressed in military uniforms have kidnapped 31 villagers in a coordinated attack carried out in Tashar Nagule village of Batsari local government area of Katsina State. A credible source in the area disclosed that the armed men in large numbers appeared in military uniforms inside the community on Sunday night and seized both women, children and men, numbering about 31. He explained that the assailants had first besieged the community before sending some of their men through the main entrance to kidnap the villagers, while their motorcycles were left outside the community. “I was sitting…

HAJIYA Inna Galadima of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has been declared Chairman-elect of Jere Local Government Area (LGA) of Borno. This newspaper reports that Galadima’s emergence automatically makes her the first female to be elected council chairman in the state. Galadima, a one-time commissioner and special adviser in Borno was declared the winner by the Returning Officer of Jere LGA, Prof. Mohammed Konto. Konto said Galadima scored 110,459 votes to defeat her closest rival in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who scored 2,478 votes. Results from other LGAs in Saturday’s election have started trickling in, with APC candidates in…

GOVERNOR Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya CON, has hailed the Supreme Court judgement which affirmed his re-election as Governor of Gombe State in the March 18, 2023 governorship election. While reacting to the verdict of the apex court on the case involving him and the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Muhammad Jibrin Barde, as well as that of African Democratic Congress ( ADC) and its candidate, Nafiu Bala, delivered by a five-member panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun,  Governor Inuwa Yahaya described the judgements as affirmation of the will of the people of Gombe as expressed through the ballot in…

AN OFFICER of Katsina State Police Command has lost his life after bandits reportedly dressed in Hijab attacked his duty post at Saki Jiki village, Batsari Local Government Area of the state. The Command’s spokesman, Abubakar Aliyu confirmed this to newsmen on Friday, noting that another policeman sustained injury in the attack. He said the incident occurred at 8pm on Thursday, adding that the police were already on top of the situation at the duty post. The statement read, ” Yesterday( Thursday) at about 8pm, some suspected armed bandits, deceitfully dressed in hijab, attacked officers at their duty post situated…

THE Sokoto State government has recovered 70 out of 745 vehicles said to be in the possession of former government officials in the state. The chairman of the Committee for the Review of Wasteful and Unnecessary Government Assets, Alhaji Jelani Kalgo, disclosed this while presenting the interim report of the committee to Governor Ahmed Aliyu on Thursday. According to him, 745 vehicles were identified by the committee. He said, “302 vehicles were in the possession of former Commissioners, Special Advisers and Chief Executives while 443 were in the possession of local government areas. “We have so far retrieved 32 vehicles…