Author: Sani Nura

AS part of his preparation to take charge of the affairs of Niger State, the Governor-Elect, Rt Honorable Mohammed Umaru Bago has accompanied the outgoing Governor, Abubakar Sani Bello to Cairo, Egypt to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Niger State, AFREXIM Bank and ORASCOM in respect of the Suleja Smart City Project, which was conceived in 2015. According to Alhaji Aminu Takuma, a member of the Niger State transition committee who was part of the delegation he said the MOU covers a clause to further conduct feasibility studies on the project to enable ORASCOM to validate the previous Feasibility…

GOVERNOR Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State has approved the posting/redeployment of fifty-one serving and new Permanent Secretaries and Directors-General. Twenty-five Permanent Secretaries affected were posted accordingly. They are: Muhammad Sani Audu, Asihatu Hassan, Salisu A. Shehu and Tanko U. Garba; moved from Min. of Culture and Tourism, Min. of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Devt, Min. of Industry, Trade and Investment as well as Min. of Energy and Petroleum Resources respectively; to Min. for Local Governments, Min. of Youth and Sports Development,  Min. of Internal Security and Min. of Works Others from the administration department: Lawal Sadiq Sanusi, Usman Buhari Sani,…

THE Zamfara State Police Command has rescued five students of the Federal University Gusau in the state, following their abduction. The Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State, Mohammed Bunu, in a statement on Friday, said armed men suspected to be kidnappers invaded the house of one Isah Mai Bread in the Sabon Gari area of Damba village, Gusau Local Government Area (LGA). Bunu, through the Second-in-Command, Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Yazid Abubakar, disclosed that the assailants collected N200,000 from the occupant of the home and proceeded to the student apartment of the area. They allegedly abducted two male students…

TROOPS of Joint Taskforce North-West Operation Hadarin Daji in its clearance operations, have neutralized several armed bandits in the Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara state. The troops on Wednesday and Thursday conducted intense operations and cleared all bandits’ camps in Danbokolo, Malam Ila, Malam Sale, Kagara, Gangara, Fakai, and Manawa villages all under the Shinkafi council. A top military source who pleaded anonymity told News Point Nigeria that heavy contact was made with the armed bandits during the operations, and several of them were neutralized while others escaped with gunshot wounds to the mountains beside Fakai Village. He said,…

FIVE hundred and eleven (511) Boko Haram terrorists and their families have surrendered following a recent offensive by troops of the Nigerian Army in the North-East region. The figure comprises 99 adult males, 161 adult females, and 251 children who surrendered to troops at different locations within the theatre of operations. This was disclosed in a Thursday statement by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Musa Danmadami. “Troops also rescued one kidnapped Chibok school girl while a total of 511 Boko Haram terrorists/Islamic State of West Africa Province and members of their families comprising of 99 adult males,…

THE Niger State Governor-elect, Rt Honorable Mohammed Umar Bago has asserted that private enterprise alongside institutional government support was an integral part of sub-regional economic development. He made the assertion while throwing his weight behind the Tech ecosystem in Niger State at the opening of Labspace, a new tech innovation hub in Minna, the Niger State capital. This is coming against the background of the ICT sector contributing N21.15 trillion Naira to Nigeria’s GDP in 2022 according to the National Bureau of Statistics NBS, which represents about 18 percent of Nigeria’s GDP. The Labspace Hub was set up to coalesce…

THE National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has facilitated the return of 13 Nigerian students that fled from the war in Sudan into Saudi Arabia to be back home. The students are scheduled to depart Jeddah Wednesday onboard Qatar Airways and will arrive Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja tomorrow, Thursday 18 May 2023. The return of the 13 Nigerian students from Saudi Arabia is part of the evacuation of stranded Nigerian citizens in the war torn Sudan by the Federal Government through NEMA and other relevant Agencies. These students had fled by using boats through the Red Sea into Saudi Arabia,…

GOVERNOR Aminu Masari of Katsina on Monday called on residents of the state to assist the government in efforts to reintegrate those affected by banditry. The state, according to the governor, is witnessing a reduction in banditry due to a lack of money in circulation to pay for ransom unlike before. The government, he observed, must ensure that children of the displaced persons are educated and their mothers taught skills otherwise what is seen today will be a child’s play. Masari was speaking during a special dinner organised to bid him farewell by Friends of Labour held at the Presidential…

FORMER Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo has advised the outgoing governors to “be prepared for the visits of such institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit who may ask some questions that need answers.” Saraki, Dankwambo and others spoke on Sunday night at the farewell dinner for outgoing governors held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. They spoke to the outgoing governors on how to prepare for life after office. Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State, urged the 18 outgoing governors to make the…

THE Katsina State Police Command has said that its operatives have killed a suspected bandit and rescued five kidnapped women in the Dutsinma Local Government Area of the state. The command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP Gambo Isah, made the disclosure in a statement issued to newsmen in Katsina on Monday. Isah stated: “On May 14, 2023, at about 22:00 hours, a distress call was received that terrorists on motorcycles, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles, attacked Bajinawa Village, Dutsinma Local Government Area and kidnapped five women. “Area Commander, Dutsinma, led a team of policemen to Tashar Icce, a suspected…

NO fewer than 38 residents of Takalafia and Gwanja communities in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State have been reportedly killed by bandits who stormed the area recently. The Pastor-in-charge of the Evangelical Church Winning All in the area, Rev. Daniel Danbeki, and 37 others were gruesomely murdered by the assailants during the attack which lasted from 9 pm on Thursday night till the early hours of Friday. However, a mass burial was held on Saturday for the victims of the attack which included women and children. The deputy governor of the state, Emmanuel Akabe, led a government…

THE Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, has conferred an honorary doctorate degree to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad, and three others. The three others are Alhaji Muhammad Indimi, a philanthropist; former Gov. Boni Haruna of Adamawa, and Alhaji Dahiru Bobbo, a technocrat. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdullahi Tukur, made the disclosure at the university’s 27th convocation ceremony on Saturday. According to Tukur, the awardees are notable Nigerians that any university will be proud to have. Tukur congratulated the graduands and lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for assenting to the bill for the conversion of the university from a specialised institution…

INDEPENDENT Hajj Reporters, a civil society organization that monitors and reports Hajj and Umrah activities in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, has urged the Federal and State Governments to subsidize the differences in the prices of air tickets of Nigerian 2023 intending Hajj pilgrims. On Saturday, the commission has announced an increase of $250 in the flight tickets of the 2023 Hajj intending pilgrims due to the closure of Sudan airspace because of the ongoing war in the North African country. The 2023 Hajj fare was based on airlifting Nigerian pilgrims through Sudan airspace to Saudi Arabia, whereby flight ticket prices…

AHEAD of his inauguration on May 29, the Governor-elect of Niger state, Rt Honourable   Mohammed Umar Bago, has initiated a community violence reduction strategy to curb youth restiveness in Minna, the capital of the state. In recent years, Minna has been a hotbed of violence perpetrated by minors and youth who are known as yan-daba. Bago’s strategy is aimed at restoring peace and order to the city and reforming the perpetrators. The strategy is modeled after the United Nations’ Integrated Disarmament, Demobilsation and Reintegration (DDR) concept which directly contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.1. A…

GOVERNOR Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has approved the appointment of a 17-man government delegation for the 2023 Hajj operation. The delegation is headed by the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Muhammad Sa’idu Sifawa, who will also be the Amirul Hajj. Members include: Alh. Shu’aibu Sodangi Achida (Grand Khadi), Alh. Muhammad Jabbi Kilgori (Sa’in Kilgori), Malam Yahaya Na Malam Boyi (Sarkin Malamai), Sheikh Muhammad Isah Talatar Mafara, Prof Abubakar Abubakar Yagawal, Prof Sa’adiya Omar and Prof. Mansur Ibrahim Sokoto The remaining members are: Sheikh Bello Aliyu Yabo, Sheikh Abubakar Usman Mabera, Sheikh Amadu Umar Helele (Alkalin Malammai), Sheikh…

ARMED bandits on Wednesday released the remaining 12 children they kidnapped from Wanzamai village in Tsafe local government area of Zamfara state. The 12 victims were freed by the gunmen after N500,000 was paid to them. They, however, shot one of the remaining captives dead. The armed men had earlier released 70 out of 83 children they abducted from the community and killed three. A month ago, the armed men trapped the victims on farmlands and abducted them. The victims were mostly the residents of Wanzamai — a community that has suffered a series of bandits’ incursions in the past.…

THE Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has alerted residents of some northern states to prepare for heavy rainfall in the coming days. According to a release issued on Thursday “Thunderstorm cells are currently observed over the northern parts of the country including Borno, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi and Kano. These are expected to propagate westward to give equally thunderstorm to some cities.” The statement added that the current thunderstorm cells are expected to propagate easterly to give thunderstorms accompanied with squall to cities in Plateau, FCT, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina states in the next 2-6…

THE police command in Zamfara State have neutralised three armed bandits after a gun duel at different communities in Tsafe and Bakura local government areas (LGA) of the state. The Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Bunu, stated this on Wednesday during a press conference at the Police Command Headquarters in Gusau, the state capital. The freshly deployed police chief expressed the readiness of the command to collaborate with traditional rulers, religious leaders, and other security agencies, to tackle the security challenges facing the state. He revealed that operatives of the Anti-Violence Squad had neutralised two terrorists and recovered one AK-49 and…

AT least seventy-four (74) suspects have been arrested by the Police in Katsina State in connection with various crimes in the state. The suspects mostly social miscreants otherwise known as Kauraye, mobile phone snatchers, armed robbers, drug and Indian hemp dealers, commercial sex workers, and serial rapists, alongside bandits informants were reportedly terrorising Katsina and its environs. Parading the suspects on Monday before the Police Command Headquarters, Katsina, the police spokesman in the state, Gambo Isah, told reporters that the suspects are made up of seventy (70) males and four (4) females. He explained that most of the suspects were…

TROOPS of the Joint Task Force, Northwest Operation Hadarin Daji have destroyed several camps belonging to Notorious bandits’ leader, Bello Turji, rescued several kidnap victims and recovered ammunitions. The troops in clearance operations conducted on Saturday from Magarya to Dutsi general area of Zurmi Local Government Area in Zamfara State, discovered and cleared bandits’ hideouts located in Keta, Gidan Galadima, Modawa, Mazuma and Dutsi villages respectively. A top military source who craved anonymity confirmed this to News Point Nigeria on Sunday, saying during the operations, troops had encountered the deadly terrorist group at Keta and Dutsi camp belonging to Turji…