SECURITY agencies have intensified operations along the Nigeria-Niger Republic borders, particularly in the Sokoto axis, following new reports of activities by a new terror group known as Lakurawa, this newspaper reports. Officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), however, assured the public that there is no cause for alarm, stating that proactive measures have been implemented to prevent illegal migrants from infiltrating the country. A senior NIS official told our correspondent that the agency, in collaboration with other security operatives, is maintaining strict surveillance to monitor and address any developments along the borders. “Since the new alert on the presence…
Author: Farouk Abbas
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THE Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has stated that the increasing incidents of vandalism targeting critical power transmission equipment hindered the achievement of the ambitious goal to generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity by December 2024. He explained that the government had implemented measures to reach the milestone and was on track until multiple incidents of vandalism to electricity towers disrupted the plan. The Special Adviser on Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, revealed this during an exclusive interview with Sunday PUNCH when asked about the reasons behind the failed projections. Nigeria’s power generation currently ranges between 4,000 MW and…
PRINCE Abdulkadir Mahe, the Chief of Staff to Kwara State Governor, AbdulRaman AbdulRazaq, has died. Mahe passed on in the early hours of Saturday, the Kwara State Government said in a statement. The Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, told journalists that that the governor mourned the death of the late Chief of Staff. “In total submission to the will of Allah, we regret to announce the passing of the Chief of Staff to His Excellency, Prince AbdulKadir Mahe. He died this morning, December 28, 2024, as has been destined by Allah,” the statement read. “The late CoS…
THE Transmission Company of Nigeria has notified residents of the Federal Capital Territory about impending blackouts in some areas. In a statement issued on Saturday by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, TCN announced that its engineers would conduct planned maintenance exercises at two transmission substations between Saturday and Sunday. The statement noted that from 9am to 1pm on Saturday, “maintenance will be carried out on a 60MVA power transformer and its associated switchgear at the Gwagwalada 330/132/33kV Transmission Substation.” According to TCN, during the maintenance period, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (Abuja DisCo) “will not be able to…
IN 1996, a pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, administered a drug known as Trovan to children in Kano State, leading to deaths and permanent disability. Twenty-eight years after the incident, survivors lament how their lives have been negatively altered. In 1996, Nigeria experienced the worst outbreak of meningitis which swept through the northern part of the country. An estimate given by the World Health Organisation in March 1996 revealed that there were 8,423 cases with 1,181 deaths. The cases were reported in Adamawa, Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, Sokoto and Taraba states. Kano was the worst hit by the epidemic.…
THE National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has expressed deep sorrow and condolences to the Governor of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi, over the tragic loss of his beloved mother and son. A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary Edwin Olofu, Ganduje described the incident as an irreplaceable loss not just to the Namadi family but to the entire Jigawa State. He noted that the deceased were pillars of strength in their family and community, leaving behind a legacy of kindness, humility, and service. In his message, the National Chairman stated: “On behalf of…
THE National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, has described as baseless the fresh allegations raised by the Nigerien military leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani. Tchiani had during an interview with Radio-Télévision du Niger, the country’s state media, on Wednesday, accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of conniving with France to destabilise Niger Republic. Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa service, Ribadu said the fresh allegations raised by Tchiani against Nigeria were both frightening as they were false and baseless. He said just because Nigerien military forces are fighting France doesn’t mean that Nigeria must also be dragged into the fight, adding…
THE seventh edition of the public presentation of the “State of the Nigerian Environment (STONE)” has revealed the cleanest states of the federation. The report, with the theme: Stone 2024 Unplugged, scored Akwa Ibom (Southsouth), Enugu (Southeast), Lagos (Southwest), Plateau (Northcentral), Borno (Northeast), and Kaduna (Northwest) as the cleanest states in Nigeria. Cleanup Nigeria’s National Coordinator Ene Baba Owoh, announced the states at an event the group organised in Abuja. Owoh said Cleanup Nigeria’s study showed that 179 million people across Nigeria live in unclean environment. “Comparing this to 183 million in 2023, life expectancy in Nigeria fell from 44…
SOME travellers abducted on Emure-ile Road in Emure Local Government Area of Ekiti State have regained their freedom from the kidnappers’ den. The victims, who were traveling in an 18-seater bus, were abducted on Sunday night by gunmen while returning from Onitsha in Anambra State to Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital. The gunmen reportedly contacted the families of the victims, demanding N30 million per person for their release. However, the victims were released in the early hours of Wednesday morning after paying ransoms ranging from N1 million to N2 million to the kidnappers. Narrating his ordeal, the driver of the…
THE Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, on Thursday visited Sokoto State. His visit comes a day after a fighter jet mistakenly bombed two communities in the Silame Local Government Area of the state, killing at least 10 innocent villagers and injuring several others. Addressing journalists at the Giginya Cantonment Sokoto, the CDS reiterated that the Nigerian Government will not allow any foreign base to use its soil to attack neighboring countries. Musa said the military tried to avoid mistakes from the operation in Silame LGA, adding that investigation would be launched into the matter. “We have individuals that…
A SECURITY expert, Kingsley Uzoma, says there is a need for a holistic investigation to exactly identify those that lost their lives during a military air strike in Sokoto State on Wednesday. The Sokoto State Government claimed that a fighter jet mistakenly bombed two communities in Silame Local Government Area of the state, killing about 10 innocent villagers and injuring several others. “The military jets were on their mission to eliminate criminals armed groups terrorizing the state, and mistakenly bombed innocent people of this community,” the Press Secretary to the Sokoto State Governor, Abubakar Bawa said. “We consider this as…
TELECOMMS operators may get approval to increase call and data tariffs before the end of first quarter of 2025, a top official of one of the four big telecom companies said. The top official who pleaded anonymity stated that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) might give the telcos approval to increase rates of calls, SMS, and internet bundles. If the approval is given, it will mark the end of over a decade of lobbying by telecom giants like MTN Nigeria, Airtel, and 9Mobile, who have been consistently calling for price adjustments to reflect economic realities. This newspaper reports that despite…
THE Joint Task Force North West Operation Fansan Yamma has refuted reports alleging that a military jet targeted civilian structures in Silame Local Government Area of Sokoto State. Lieutenant Colonel Abubakar Abdullahi, Coordinator of the Joint Media Coordination Centre, issued the clarification in a statement made available to News Point Nigeria, Wednesday night. This newspaper had reported that many villagers were feared dead while several others injured as a fighter jet targeting Lakurawa terrorist group mistakingly bombed two communities in Silame Local Government Area of Sokoto State. A resident of Silame, who gave his name as Malam Yahya, noted that…
MANY villagers were feared dead while several others injured as a fighter jet targeting Lakurawa terrorist group mistakingly bombed two communities in Silame Local Government Area of Sokoto State. The affected communities were Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa. According to locals, the incident occured around 7am on Wednesday. A resident of Silame, who gave his name as Malam Yahya, noted that the two villages were located close to Surame Forest identified as another hideout of Lakurawa and bandits. Another source told this newspaper that over 10 villagers were killed and several others sustained varying degrees of injury during the airstrike. The…
THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, on Monday, December 23, 2024, arraigned the Managing Director of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, Akindele Akintoye at the Federal High Court, Abuja, over an alleged $35 million fraud. He was arraigned before Justice Emeka Nwite on charges bordering on money laundering and contract fraud. On October 31, 2024, Akintoye was arrested by the EFCC and detained at its holding facility in Abuja. According to a tweet via the commission’s X handle on Wednesday, Akintoye allegedly collected $35m from the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board to build a 2,000 barrel-per-day refinery, jetty,…
NO fewer than 14 Nigerians have been declared wanted by the International Police for offences ranging from human trafficking, drug trafficking, robbery, cheating, and forgery, among others. This newspaper gathered on Tuesday from Red Notices published on the INTERPOL website that the 14 Nigerians were wanted by different countries where they had allegedly committed the crime. The notices identified the wanted persons as Felix Omoregie, Jessica Edosomwan, Uche Egbue, Jude Uzoma, Chinedu Ezeunara, Benedict Okoro, Ikechukwu Obidiozor, and Alachi Stanley. Others are Bouhari Salif, Timloh Nkem, Austine Costa, Okromi Festus, Akachi Vitus and Mary Eze. According to the notices, Omoregie…
THE Police Service Commission (PSC) has approved the appointment and posting of six new Commissioners of Police. The appointments and postings, PSC said were sequel to the recent promotions in the Nigeria Police Force released by the Commission last week. In the new appointments, CP Shettima Jauro Mohammed was posted to Nasarawa state Command; Rabin Mohamned, now CP, Kaduna State Command and Adepoju Olugbenga Adewale posted to Rivers State Command. Others are; Mohammed Baba Azare, now CP, Akwa Ibom State Command; Wilfred Olatokunbo Afolabi new CP Ondo State Command and Joseph Eribo, former CP, Akwa Ibom State now moved to…
THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has phased out high-interest foreign exchange (FX) swaps to stabilise financial markets. It has settled 80 per cent of FX forward obligations, thereby boosting liquidity and market confidence. Deputy Governor, Monetary Policy, Mohammed Sani Dattijo, said the CBN has also maintained robust external reserves to support exchange rate appreciation. He stated these in a presentation titled “Enhancing FX Market Efficiency” at a meeting of the Economic Management Team (EMT) convened by the Federal Government to assess critical economic policies and progress in key sectors. Sani highlighted the launch of the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching…
GOMBE State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, CON, has signed the 2025 Appropriation Bill of N369. 9 into law. This follows its successful passage by the Gombe State House of Assembly. Speaking during the signing ceremony held at the Government House in Gombe, Governor Inuwa Yahaya described the 2025 budget as a blueprint for economic growth and social development, stating that the appropriation law has reflected his administration’s resolve to deepen its development agenda as it focuses on sectors that directly impact the lives of our citizens. He commended the Gombe State House of Assembly for the swift passage of the…
THE Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has said that the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun did not instruct Nigerians to attack officers during stop-and-search operations. In a statement on Monday, the force spokesperson, Muyiwa Adejobi said Egbetokun has never encouraged violence against law enforcement agents. The statement said “The Nigeria Police Force wishes to address a viral fake news story that has emerged, claiming that Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, Ph.D., NPM., has instructed citizens to physically assault and throw stones at police officers who request to search their phones. “This claim is entirely false and has no basis…