Author: Gloria Lamar Johnson

THE Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has removed its Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, exactly six months after he assumed the role. News Point Nigeria gathered that approval for his removal commenced on Thursday, March 5, 2025, although details surrounding the development remain unclear as of the time of filing this report. The development comes amid a series of internal shifts and restructuring within the police hierarchy, barely 24 hours after his inauguration as the substantive Inspector-General of Police by President Bola Tinubu, IGP Tunji Disu. Disu was appointed last week as the 23rd IGP following the removal of…

THE Kogi State Government has confirmed that a rescued kidnap victim has safely delivered twin girls at the state’s Internally Displaced Persons camp. News Point Nigeria reports that the disclosure was made on Monday by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, who said the identity of the mother was being withheld for security reasons. According to him, Governor Usman Ododo has directed immediate medical attention for the mother and her newborns. “Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has directed the State Security Adviser and the Commissioner for Health to immediately transfer the mother and her newborn babies to the State…

OPERATIVES of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested a suspect linked to the attack on a church in Kogi State. News Point Nigeria reports that the suspect, identified as one Shafiu Usman, is said to have been the mastermind of the 2025 deadly assault on the First ECWA Church in Ayetoro Kiri, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of the North-Central state. A DSS source confirmed the arrest to News Point Nigeria via the telephone on Friday. However, the source did not provide further details as to where or when the suspect was apprehended. Gunmen suspected to be terrorists had,…

FRESH political tension erupted in Edo State on Tuesday following an alleged attack on former presidential candidate Peter Obi, former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, and several chieftains of the African Democratic Congress (ADC). News Point Nigeria gathered that the alleged incident occurred in Benin City during political activities surrounding the formal declaration of Olumide Akpata into the ADC. The development was disclosed in a statement issued in Abuja by Dr. Yunusa Tanko, former campaign spokesman for Obi and National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement Worldwide. According to Tanko, armed individuals allegedly trailed Obi and…

FRESH violence rocked Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State on Sunday night as armed bandits launched coordinated attacks on Jol community and Dorowa Babuje (Rob District), killing at least 10 persons between 8:00pm and 9:00pm, local leaders have confirmed. The National President of the Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYMA), Barrister Solomon Dalyop, disclosed this in a phone interview with News Point Nigeria in Jos. He said nine people were killed in Dorowa Babuje, while one person lost his life in Jol during the separate but near-simultaneous attacks. According to Dalyop, the assailants who attacked Jol arrived on motorcycles from…

THE Kogi State Government has directed all primary and secondary schools in the state to reopen on Monday, February 23, with immediate effect. The Director of Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Matthew Eri Salami, disclosed this in a statement sent to News Point Nigeria on Friday and made available to newsmen on Saturday in Lokoja. Earlier, the state government had ordered the temporary closure of schools across the state for two weeks from February 4, stating that the move was part of efforts to safeguard lives and property. According to the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, the…

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…