Author: Farouk Abbas

Says Bello’s Name Not Linked To Documents Presented As Evidence THE fourth prosecution witness in the ongoing alleged money laundering trial of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, has refuted, strongly, claims by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s lawyer that he was harassed by security aides of the former governor. Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, said, at the conclusion of cross-examination on Friday, that he felt the need to make the clarification on the allegation, raised by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, at the beginning of the day’s proceedings. “My Lord, I wish to clarify the…

THE Board of Trustees and Ex-Officio Forum of the Peoples Democratic Party have rejected recent actions taken by the party’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, insisting that the 100th National Executive Committee meeting scheduled for June 30 must go ahead as planned. The BoT also reaffirmed the appointment of Setonji Koshoedo as Acting National Secretary, amid claims that Senator Samuel Anyanwu remains the substantive secretary. In separate statements, BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, and the Chairman and Secretary of the PDP National Ex-Officio Forum, Faboyede Clement and Comfort Yassan, respectively, described Damagum’s efforts to cancel the NEC meeting and reinstate…

THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has denied claims circulating online that he allocated over 2,000 hectares of land in Maitama and Asokoro districts to one of his sons. An online report had claimed that FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, secretly allocated 2,082 hectares of land in Asokoro and Maitama, two of Abuja’s most exclusive districts, to his son. The publication cited a Right of Occupancy allegedly issued in the name of JOAQ Farms and Estate Limited, which it linked to Wike’s family. The report insinuated that the land, officially meant for agricultural purposes, was being used as…

GOMBE State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, has flagged-off the 2025 farming season with a major intervention, aimed at supporting the farming  population. While launching the sales and distribution of subsidized fertilizer for this year’s wet farming season, Governor Inuwa Yahaya announced the procurement of 10,000 tonnes of the input to be sold to farmers at a subsidized rate, in a major step aimed at strengthening agricultural productivity in the state. He said the quantity represents over twice the volume distributed during the 2024 wet season, which he said is part of a sustained efforts to scale up support for…

Then Those Handling Political Matters Should Prepare To Take Over, Judge Responds JUSTICE Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday, rejected a move by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to ‘cross-examine’ its third witness in the ongoing alleged money laundering case against the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello. While delivering his ruling, Justice Nwite noted that there was no provision in law that permits the court to allow the prosecution to re-examine its witness in the manner proposed. This was just as the EFCC lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro, during the proceedings, described the case…

THE National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted that the party’s 100th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting will proceed as scheduled on Monday, June 30. The PDP NWC, in a statement on Wednesday, also insisted that Samuel Anyanwu has not been reinstated as the party’s National Secretary. This came after a press briefing by the PDP Acting Chairman, Umar Damagum, earlier on Wednesday, where he announced the cancellation of the NEC meeting and reinstated Anyanwu as the secretary. However, the NWC denounced Damagum’s pronouncement, saying that only the NEC had the power to take such…

Case Adjourned To Oct 8 For Continuation Of Hearing THE Federal Capital Territory High Court has adjourned hearing in the alleged money laundering case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, and two others, to October 8, 9, and November 12, 13, 2025, for continuation of hearing. When the case was called, on Wednesday, for continuation of hearing, the Second Prosecution Witness, PW2, told the court that he had no dealings with the three defendants throughout the transactions on the property at the centre of examination. When asked to…

THE main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reinstated Samuel Anyanwu as its National Secretary. Ambassador Iliya Damagum, Acting National Chairman of the party, announced this at a press briefing, on Wednesday. Damagum, flanked by Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed, former president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and other stakeholders, said the decision to accept Anyanwu into the National Working Committee(NWC), “was a difficult decision but it was accepted by many members of the party lead by the organs of the party.” He also said the planned NEC meeting had been canceled. He said, “We will have an expanded Caucus,…

AMID the escalating crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party, the National Working Committee has called for an emergency meeting, following a deadlocked session between PDP governors, party leaders, and the Independent National Electoral Commission. A reliable PDP source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of authorisation, told The PUNCH that the NWC is scheduled to meet today (Wednesday). According to the source, INEC advised the party to consult its members, its constitution and other documents to resolve its internal disagreements. The PDP Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, while addressing journalists after the meeting with INEC, stated that…

THE Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has announced the arrest of 26 persons suspected to be masterminds of the killings in Yelwata, Benue State. Addressing a news conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the IGP said the police were on the heels of other suspects who participated in the Yelwata killings that led to the death of 47 persons. He assured Nigerians that the police are not overwhelmed as they are mopping up light and small weapons illegally acquired by some persons. Egbetokun added that the police is also intensifying its border patrols in order to curtail the influx of…

THE Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has identified hunger and poverty as serious social challenges that are largely responsible for the continuous national security threats being experienced in the country. General Musa stated this in Abuja on Monday at the 14th National Security Seminar organised by the Alumni Association of the National Defence College. The Chief of Defence Staff, who was represented by the Chief of Defence Training at the Defence Headquarters, Rear Admiral Ibrahim Shetimma, called for a unified national approach to combating hunger and poverty in addition to timely reporting of suspicious movements. “Insecurity is no…

THE Senate has directed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to raise its revenue target for 2025 from six to 10 trillion naira, citing the urgent need for enhanced enforcement and surveillance amid rising smuggling and insecurity challenges across the country. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Customs, Isah Jibrin, stated this on Monday when the NCS’ Deputy Comptroller General Jibo Bello appeared before the committee for its budget defence. The tariff policy of the government became the crux of the matter as the committee identified gaps, frowning upon the lack of enforcement of a 4% freight on board (which…

HAJIYA Rabi Idris ( Hajiya Umma), mother of Daily Trust Editor- in-Chief, Malam Hamza Idris, is dead. Confirming Hajiya Rabi’s death, one of her sons, Aminu Idris, said she passed away in the early hours of Monday 23rd June, 2025, at her residence in Kano, after a brief illness. Burial arrangement will be held at 11:00am at Wali Maigeza Cemetery, popularly known as Kofar Mazugal Cemetery, in Kano metropolis. More details soon…

AFTER more than two decades, former employees of the defunct Nigeria Airways will receive their pensions, as the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has facilitated the long-awaited approval of their pension benefits. This development marks a significant milestone in Nigeria’s aviation history, ending a prolonged struggle that began after the national carrier shut its doors on September 30, 2004. Many of the affected Nigeria Airways staff have since passed on, while others lived in despair, waiting for justice and compensation. The approval was announced during a gathering at the Secretariat Headquarters of the Air Transport Services Senior…

A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has expressed displeasure over the failure by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to comply with its order directing the anti-graft agency to vacate one of the houses seized from former Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Allison-Madueke. Justice Musa Liman, in a ruling on Friday, held among others, that it was disrespectful of the court for the EFCC to disregard the court’s earlier order directing it to vacate the property – House 6, Aso Drive, Asokoro, Abuja – only to return to the same court for an order staying its said order pending appeal.…

THE immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has bagged a Lifetime Achievement Award on Media Empowerment by the national body of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. The award was bestowed on him on Saturday, at the 70th anniversary of the Union and book presentation held at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, in Abuja. A former President of the NUJ, who represented Kogi West Senatorial District in the 9th National Assembly, Senator Smart Adeyemi, received the prestigious award on behalf of the former governor. The honour, according to the President of the Nigeria Union Journalists, who signed former…

THE National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has arrested a 43-year-old female make-up artist, Adekoya Adebukonla Mary, after 2.20 kilograms of cocaine were discovered factory-fitted in the walls of her bag. In a statement by the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, on Sunday, the agency said Adekoya, who claimed to be travelling to India for fibroid surgery, was arrested by its operatives at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos. It said the suspect was arrested on Monday, June 16, 2025, based on credible intelligence. It explained that under surveillance, Adekoya was allowed to check in…

NO fewer than five people have been killed by a suspected explosion involving a military-grade mortar bomb in Kano. 15 others sustained varying degrees of injuries. This newspaper reports that the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday, caused panic in the affected area and drew emergency responders to the scene, including security personnel and medical teams. The State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, who arrived at the scene shortly after the explosion, said the blast may have originated from a military ordnance believed to have been improperly handled or transported. “I received a call that something…

THE Minister of Works, David Umahi, has ordered the immediate deployment of ministry officials and engineers from China Harbour Operations and Maintenance Company to restore and find a lasting solution to persistent flooding on the Abuja-Keffi-Akwanga-Lafia-Makurdi road, after torrential rains disrupted traffic and forced President Bola Tinubu to cancel his visit to Yelwata, Benue State. The President was expected in the town on Wednesday to sympathise with grieving residents following the killing of over 100 persons, but his convoy was halted by a flood that rendered the road impassable. Umahi, who described the incident as “embarrassing,” blamed the private concessionaire…

A TOTAL of 542 senior Non-Commissioned Officers retired from the Nigerian Armed Forces on Thursday after 35 years of service. The retirement ceremony, held at the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre in Oshodi, Lagos, included 362 soldiers from the Nigerian Army, 134 from the Navy, and 46 from the Air Force. Speaking at the event, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, represented by Major General Aligbe Obhiozele of TRADOC, praised the retirees for their dedication. Obhiozele stated, “Today we celebrate your courage, discipline and selfless service to our great nation. Your 35-year journey embodies the finest military…