Author: Gloria Lamar Johnson

AN unconfirmed number of miners, reportedly up to 37, have died following suspected exposure to toxic gas at a mining site in Company Zurak, Wase Local Government Area of Plateau state.      News Point Nigeria reports that the tragic incident, which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, has sparked renewed concerns over unsafe mining practices and weak regulatory oversight in rural communities. The Wase Youth Leader, Shafi Sambo, who first made the incident public, said he received a distress call early in the morning due to his position in the community. “It happened at a mining site in…

THE Benue State Government has confirmed the rescue of nine worshippers who were abducted during a midnight prayer session at Saint John Catholic Church in the Ojije area of Utonkon community, Ado Local Government Area. In a statement sent to News Point Nigeria by the Governor’s Technical Adviser on Media, Publicity and Strategic Communication, Solomon Iorpev, Governor Hyacinth Alia commended security operatives for their swift response. The governor described the rescue as a “significant breakthrough.” Alia assured residents that security agencies and local vigilante groups would continue to collaborate to combat kidnapping and prevent future incidents. He also urged members…

GUNMEN have kidnapped 15 travellers along the Utonkon–Okpoga Road in Benue State. News Point Nigeria reports that the travellers were in a bus, plying the road situated in Utonkon axis, Ado Local Government Area of the North-Central state, before the gunmen struck. The incident happened around 7 pm on Monday along the road linking Ado and Okpokwu local government areas of Benue State. A youth leader in Utonkon district, Jude Onwe, narrated to this newspaper how the incident happened. According to him, the commercial bus conveying 16 passengers was outward bound from Utonkon through Okpoga in Okpokwu local government area.…

GUNMEN have abducted nine worshippers of Saint John’s Catholic Church, Ojije, Utonkon District of Ado Local Government Area, Benue State. News Point Nigeria reports that the victims were reportedly whisked away on Sunday during a vigil in the church premises. A former councillor representing Ukwuenyo Ward in the Ado local government legislative council, Emmanuel Udah, confirmed the incident on Monday. In a telephone conversation with News Point Nigeria, Udah described the abduction as “a targeted and planned crime against the Church, when innocent worshippers were at the most sacred ground, a place of worship, a place for peace, and refuge,…

THE Kogi State Government has ordered the temporary closure of selected markets and motor parks across parts of Kogi West Senatorial District to support intensified security operations aimed at flushing out terrorists, bandits and other criminal elements. The directive was announced in a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Sunday by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo. He said the measure is in support of ongoing clearance operations being carried out in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser and heads of security agencies in the state. According to the government, the closures are designed…

NO fewer than 184 persons have been arrested by the Plateau State Anti-Human Trafficking Taskforce following overnight raids across several locations in Jos and surrounding areas. News Point Nigeria reports that the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Philemon Daffi, who also chairs the Plateau State Taskforce on Anti-Human Trafficking, disclosed this on Saturday while addressing journalists at the Ministry of Justice Secretariat in Jos. He described the operation as a breakthrough in the state’s fight against human trafficking and child exploitation. According to Daffi, the intelligence-driven operation was carried out simultaneously at multiple locations late Thursday night and stretched into…

GUNMEN suspected to be bandits have kidnapped a Catholic priest and several other individuals, and killed three security operatives during rescue efforts in Ningi village, Kauru Local Government Area of Kaduna State. News Point Nigeria reports that the Catholic Archdiocese of Kafanchan confirmed the abduction of Reverend Father Nathaniel Asuwaye, the parish priest of Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Karku community. Although the police authorities have yet to officially confirm the incident, locals reported that the attack occurred in the early hours of Saturday, at about 3:20 a.m., when armed men stormed the priest’s residence. Church authorities stated that the…

PLATEAU State has confirmed an outbreak of Lassa fever affecting seven local government areas, with 11 positive cases and four deaths recorded since December 2025. News Point Nigeria reports that the Commissioner for Health, Dr Nicholas Baamlong, disclosed this during a press briefing on Saturday at the Ministry of Health in Jos, where he provided an update on the outbreak and the state’s response efforts. “We were first alerted on December 20, 2025, following a case from the Quanpan Local Government Area, and immediately, we activated our incident management team,” Baamlong said. He explained that two cases were initially confirmed,…

TARABA State Governor, Dr. Agbu Kefas, has dismissed rumours of a fallout between him and former Minister of Defence, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd), describing their relationship as “sound, firm and solid.” News Point Nigeria reports that the governor clarified over the weekend during a solidarity visit by traditional rulers from Wukari Local Government Area to the TY Danjuma House in Jalingo, the state capital. Kefas’s remarks followed months of political speculation suggesting a strained relationship between the duo, a development that had fueled uncertainty over Taraba State’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 governorship election. Receiving the delegation, the…

NO fewer than four persons, including a soldier and three suspected bandits, have been killed in a coordinated attack on Sabon Gari and Zurak communities in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State, while two soldiers have been declared missing. Military sources told News Point Nigeria that troops of Operation Enduring Peace (OPEP) thwarted the attack after receiving intelligence that armed bandits had mobilised about 200 motorcycles in preparation for an assault on Kampani community. The troops were immediately placed on red alert to prevent the planned invasion. “At about 1703 hours, the bandits moved towards Sabon Gari and fired…

THE Kogi State Government has ordered the temporary closure of all schools across the state for a period of two weeks, citing security concerns and the need to safeguard lives and property. The directive was announced on Tuesday by the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Femi Fanwo, in a statement sent to News Point Nigeria. According to the government, the decision followed the receipt of credible security intelligence, necessitating urgent preventive measures around educational institutions to protect pupils, students and teachers. Fanwo stressed that the move was not informed by panic, but by a sense of responsibility on…

NINE suspects linked to the attack on a Benue State community have pleaded not guilty to the 57-count charge of terrorism preferred against them by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. News Point Nigeria reports that the nine suspects: Ado Lawal Mohammed Dunu, Alhaji Haruna Abdullahi, Yakubu Adamu, Mohammed Musa, Abubakar Adamu, Yakubu Mamman (at large, struck out), Shuaibu Adamu, Isa Yusuf Nagogo, Ado Mohammed Saidu and Jibril Bako, denied involvement in the June 13, 2025 attack on Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area of Benue State. In the 57-count charge read to them…

SOME suspects arrested and linked to the killings in Yelwata, a town in Benue State, will be arraigned on Monday, February 2. News Point Nigeria reports that they will be arraigned before Justice Joyce Abdul-Malik of the Federal High Court, Abuja. In a statement on Sunday, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice assured Nigerians that justice will be ensured in the matter, sending a strong signal to enemies of the country acting under any disguise. “The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to the protection of the lives and properties of…

SEVEN persons have been confirmed dead following a night attack on an illegal mining site at Capitex, Kuru community, Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, the Nigerian Army has said. News Point Nigeria reports that the attack occurred at about 1:00 a.m on Thursday when suspected armed bandits stormed the site with the intention of carting away illegally mined minerals. Troops of Sector 6, Operation Safe Haven (OPSH), were alerted to the incident at about 8:40 a.m. by a local resident and immediately mobilised to the area to restore normalcy. A top military source told this newspaper that…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has detained several principal officers of the Benue State Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, alongside private consultants, over an alleged N4.6 billion fraud linked to local government finances in the state. News Point Nigeria gathered that the officials were picked up about a week ago and are currently being held at the EFCC zonal office in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, as investigations continue into the alleged diversion of funds meant for the state’s 23 local government councils. According to sources familiar with the investigation, the anti-graft agency is probing allegations…

AT least six students reportedly returning to school have drowned after the boat they were travelling in capsized at the Buruku crossing point in Buruku Local Government Area of Benue State. Witnesses told News Point Nigeria that the incident occurred on Sunday night while the students and other passengers were being ferried across the River Benue at the Buruku crossing point. The witnesses said the mishap happened while the ill-fated boat was enroute to the Buruku side of the river from the Logo LGA axis with passengers mainly from the Sankara axis. A maritime worker at the crossing point, who…

OPERATIVES of the Department of State Services (DSS) in Niger State have rescued two pastors and a church member abducted by armed bandits in Kaduna State. News Point Nigeria reports that the victims, Idi Buhari, Emmanuel Jacob, and Suleiman Adamu, were kidnapped on January 9, 2026, at the Gwagwada area of Chikun Local Government Area while travelling through Kugosi to Sarkin Pawa in Niger State to officiate a wedding ceremony. Receiving the rescued pastors, Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, Joseph Hayab, said the victims were safely rescued…

TWENTY-FOUR parishioners abducted from a branch of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) in Aiyetoro-Kiri, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, have regained their freedom after weeks in captivity. News Point Nigeria reports that the worshippers were among about 37 parishioners kidnapped when gunmen suspected to be bandits stormed the church during a service on December 14, 2025, throwing the community into shock and grief. The victims, comprising elderly women, men, and teenagers, were forcefully taken away during the attack, prompting frantic efforts by families, community leaders, and local groups to secure their release. Confirming the development, the community…

SUSPECTED gunmen have ambushed and killed two security personnel, a soldier and a senior officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Udeku community, Kwande Local Government Area of Benue State, heightening fears over worsening insecurity in the area. News Point Nigeria reports that the fatal attack occurred on Saturday evening when the security operatives reportedly ran into a deadly ambush along a community road while returning from Aga Market, where they had gone to refill cooking gas. Local residents said the incident happened at about 5:00pm when the assailants allegedly blocked the road, trapping the officers…

THE Plateau State Government has confirmed the rescue of 25 children abducted in the Wase Local Government Area by armed men who posed as vigilantes. News Point Nigeria reports that the children were reportedly kidnapped on December 21, 2025, along the Zak–Sabon Layi Road at about 7 p.m. while travelling to attend a Maulud celebration. Three other children reportedly escaped during the incident. Briefing journalists in Jos on Thursday, the Secretary to the State Government, Samuel Jatau, described the rescue as a breakthrough by security agencies in the state. “This afternoon, I am here to inform the public that security…