Author: Farouk Abbas

FOLLLOWING his electoral victory at Saturday’s by-election in the state, the sacked Speaker of the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Yusuf Liman, has been re-elected as Speaker of the state assembly. This newspaper reports that at Saturday’s re-run election, Liman of the All Progressives Congress scored 18,068 votes to defeat Solomon Katuka of the Peoples Democratic Party, who polled 17,404 votes. The Independent National Electoral Commission in Kaduna went ahead on Wednesday to present Certificates of Return to the former Speaker and those who emerged winners at Saturday’s re-run polls and by-election in the state. Other lawmakers who received their…

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THE World Bank has said seven states across the North-west and North-east regions of the country may suffer food crises due to high levels of insecurity and armed conflicts that has reduced the standards of living across the region. The bank in its latest Food Security report also stated that most areas in West and Central Africa would remain Minimally food insecure until May 2024. This is coming amidst plans by the government to cultivate 323,000 hectares of farmland producing wheat, rice, maize and cassava for the 2024 dry season farming. The states highlighted by the bank are Borno, Adamawa,…

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THE Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has met with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu to address the security situation in the country as well as the rising cost of food items. During the meeting that had a representative of the Department of State Services (DSS), the governors agreed to support the NSA office in the states to enhance the nature and quality of intelligence. They also called for the reduction of Foreign Exchange demand by use of moral suasion to reduce dependence on foreign exchange, imported goods and services as a way of nipping in the bud, the current security…

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THE Bauchi State Police Command has issued a declaration for the arrest of Islamic cleric, Imam Idris Abdulaziz, who is 63 years old. Imam Abdulaziz is wanted by the police for contempt of court. The Bauchi Police has issued a Special Police Gazette Bulletin stating that a handsome reward will be given to anyone with information leading to his arrest. The gazette provides details of his description, and the police are urging members of the public to report to the nearest police station if he is seen or to hand him over to the office of the deputy commissioner of…

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THERE was palpable fear in the Katapka community of Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State following the alleged killing of three soldiers and two vigilante group members by bandits who invaded the local government on Tuesday. Unidentified gunmen had on February 1, 2024, murdered three persons and destroyed properties worth millions of naira in the Katapka and Okudu communities in the area which prompted the Nigerian Army to deploy its personnel to the location for the maintenance of law and order. Our correspondent, however, gathered that while the military personnel were making efforts towards restoring normalcy in the area,…

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THE wife of the slain Olukoro of Koro Ekiti in Kwara State, General Segun Aremu-Cole (retd), and two others who were kidnapped have reportedly regained their freedom. They were said to have been released late on Monday. “The news just received from home confirms that Olori and the girl have been released and have returned to Koro about 30 minutes ago,” the Asiwaju of Koro, Chief Samuel Ayobola told National Pilot The monarch was killed by the kidnappers as he prepared to have his dinner on February 1, 2024. The gunmen were said to have stormed the palace at about…

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GUNMEN, who killed Oba Olusegun Aremu-Cole, Olukoro of Koro-Ekiti in the Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State and kidnapped his wife and another person last Thursday night have reduced N100m ransom placed on the abducted victims. It was gathered that the gunmen had reached out to the monarch’s family over the weekend for payment of N100m ransom, which has now been reduced to N40m for the release of the two captives after extensive negotiations with the family. Oba Olusegun Aremu-Cole was assassinated by suspected gunmen in his palace on Thursday night while his wife and another person were abducted.…

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GUNMEN, who killed Olukoro of Koro-Ekiti in Ekiti local government area of Kwara State, Oba Segun Aremu, on Thursday night, have demanded N100m ransom for the release of the deceased’s wife and another victim who were whisked away on the fateful day. This newspaper gathered that the suspected kidnappers reached out to the family of the late monarch through a beer parlour operator in the community. A source hinted this newspaper that the suspected kidnappers got the telephone number of the beer parlour operator from his female staff, who was also abducted on the same day. The chairman of the…

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A RECENT investigation  has uncovered that there is no truth to the rumours of a financial dispute between former President Muhammadu Buhari’s ex-personal assistant, Tunde Sabiu Yusuf, and billionaire oil mogul Alhaji Auwalu Abdullahi Rano, popularly known as AA Rano, over a purported $400 million. Contrary to earlier reports,  no evidence of Sabiu slapping AA Rano for alleged financial discrepancies was also confirmed. It was also gathered that  there was no business relationship between the two men that would warrant such a dispute over funds. Tunde Sabiu, has case files with anti-corruption agencies regarding alleged financial malfeasance between 2016 and…

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THE Senate has summoned service chiefs over the spate of insecurity in the country. This was a unanimous call by the lawmakers after an emergency session on the first legislative day of the year on Tuesday. The Senate had gone into the executive session after the leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele raised a motion on behalf of the Senators on the security situation in the country. After about two hours behind closed doors, the Senate then reconvened and resolved to invite the service chiefs next week, over the spate of insecurity in the country. The service chiefs are the Chief of…

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THE Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called for a tight security measure in the wake of the withdrawal of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger from the Economic Community of West African States. The military regimes of the three Sahel countries who have been at loggerheads with ECOWAS over sanctions imposed on them, announced their withdrawal forthwith from the regional bloc in a joint statement on Sunday. With the withdrawal, many believe Nigeria’s fight against terrorism could be affected considering the country borders Niger Republic up north. Concerned about the development, the former Vice President, Atiku, in a…

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AFTER 12 months, the Nigerian Air Force has finally accepted responsibility for the January 2023 air strike that killed 37 herders alongside their livestock in the Rukubi community of Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall, Hassan Abubakar, visited Nasarawa state Friday alongside senior officials of the Air Force. He paid a courtesy call to Governor Abdullahi Sule at the Government House in Lafia, the state capital predicated on the findings of the review committee on the airstrike report. “Sometime in January last year, airstrikes were conducted in the state after intelligence revealed…

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