Author: Sadiq Abdullateef

KEMI Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party and a rising political force, has sparked intense debate following her recent comments targeting Nigerian immigration and citizenship policies in the UK. In a wide-ranging interview with CNN on Sunday, Badenoch pledged that under her leadership, acquiring British citizenship particularly by Nigerians would no longer be as easy as it has been in the past. “Loads of Nigerians come to the UK and stay for a relatively free period of time, acquiring British citizenship. We need to stop being naive,” Badenoch told CNN’s anchor during the exclusive interview. “That is why,…

GOVERNOR Dikko Umaru Radda of Katsina State was involved in a road accident on Sunday evening, sparking concern and widespread reactions from citizens and political observers alike. According to initial reports obtained by News Point Nigeria from a close family source, the accident occurred along the Daura-Katsina Road while the governor was on transit. The source claimed the governor sustained a fracture and was receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) in Daura. “Thankfully, he has been stabilised,” the source added. The news quickly spread across social media, with many expressing their prayers and well-wishes for the governor’s recovery.…

IN a startling twist to a global cybercrime trend, British musician and mental health advocate, Jordan Stephens, has uncovered a Nigerian sextortion syndicate operating from a modest barber’s shop in a small town near Ibadan, Oyo State. The discovery forms the core of his newly premiered Channel 4 documentary, “Untold: Hunting My Sextortion Scammer,” which investigates the harrowing rise of online sexual extortion  especially targeting teenage boys and brings the issue uncomfortably close to home. Stephens, best known as one-half of the UK hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks, travelled over 3,000 miles from the UK to Nigeria after tracing a fake…

THE immediate past National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, was notably absent during President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s condolence visit to Kano State on Friday, a development that has sparked media speculations and public curiosity. However, a former top aide, Malam Muhammad Garba, has clarified the situation, saying Dr. Ganduje’s absence had nothing to do with ill health or political exclusion. According to Garba, who served as Chief of Staff to the former APC National Chairman, Ganduje had travelled to London for a personal engagement that had been scheduled well in advance of President Tinubu’s…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday paid a solemn condolence visit to the family of the late elder statesman and business mogul, Alhaji Aminu Dantata, in Kano State, describing him as “a titan of integrity, humility, and generosity.” The President, who met with the Dantata family at their Koki residence in Kano, offered prayers and tributes to the nonagenarian philanthropist, who passed away in Dubai on June 28, 2025, at the age of 94. Dantata was laid to rest in Madina, Saudi Arabia, days later. “This is a deeply personal visit for me,” Tinubu said. “Alhaji Dantata was not just…

NIGERIA’s recently acquired ₦150 billion presidential aircraft, an Airbus A330-200, has returned from South Africa after undergoing full exterior repainting and interior touch-ups to reflect Nigeria’s national identity. The aircraft, now officially bearing green-white-green markings and the Nigerian Air Force crest, was spotted at the Presidential Wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja on Thursday, according to aviation-tracking platform @Abuja_Aviation. Photographs showed the jet-tail number 5N-FGA parked with its engines capped, indicating it wasn’t prepped for an immediate departure. Ground crew could be seen around the aircraft, though no passengers were visible on the airstair. A presidency official,…

PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Friday, undertook a solemn condolence visit to Kano State to pay his respects to the late elder statesman and renowned philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Dantata, describing him as “a titan of integrity, humility, and generosity” whose life exemplified compassion, public service, and quiet leadership. During his visit to the Dantata family residence in Kano, the President met with members of the bereaved family, state officials, traditional leaders, and dignitaries from across Nigeria, paying heartfelt tribute to the legacy of the revered business magnate who passed away in Dubai on June 28, 2025, at the age of…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu is in Kano State, where he is paying a condolence visit to the family of late businessman Aminu Dantata, who died in June. The plane carrying Tinubu taxied into the Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano aat about 4pm on Friday. The president was received by Governor Abba K Yusuf, deputy Senate President, Barau I. Jibrin, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 2023 election in Kano, Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna, among other dignitaries. On Thursday, Sunusi Bature, the spokesman to Governor Abba Yusuf, said the President would visit the North-West state to condole the Dantata…

PROFESSOR Ibrahim Gambari, former Chief of Staff to the late President Muhammadu Buhari, has revealed how members of the influential inner circle often referred to as “the cabal” bypassed official protocols to sneak memos directly to the former leader, despite presidential directives that all communications should pass through him. Gambari, who served as Buhari’s Chief of Staff from May 2020 to May 2023, disclosed this in a candid interview on Channels Television’s Inside Sources programme on Friday monitored by News Point Nigeria. The session, which aired days after Buhari’s death on July 13, 2025, offered rare insight into the internal…

Minister Of Arts, Hannatu Musawa, Only Cabinet Member Present On All Five Major Platforms DESPITE Nigeria being one of Africa’s most digitally engaged nations, with over 40 million people active daily on social media, a recent report has revealed a stark mismatch between government leadership and citizen engagement in the digital space. According to a latest report by COLUMN, a digital communications and strategy firm obtained by News Point Nigeria, FG’s 51 cabinet ministers collectively command a mere 17 million followers across five major platforms: Twitter (X), Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok as of April 11, 2025. The firm warns…

IN an emotionally charged moment at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Chamber in Abuja on Thursday, Yusuf Buhari, son of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, delivered a heartfelt message of appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Nigerian government, and the Nigerian people for the profound honours accorded to his father. News Point Nigeria report that the special FEC session was convened in memory of Buhari, who passed away in London on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at the age of 82. His body was flown back to Nigeria and buried on Tuesday in Daura, Katsina State, in a state…

SENATOR Basheer Lado, Special Adviser to the President on Senate Matters, has described the late President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, as more than a national leader calling him a father figure, mentor, and personal friend whose life of sacrifice and integrity shaped his own public service journey. In a moving tribute issued in Abuja on Thursday and made available to News Point Nigeria, Lado expressed grief over the passing of the former president, saying Nigeria has lost a patriotic icon, while he has lost a trusted confidant and guiding light. In his words: The passing of His Excellency, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR,…

THE Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) has entered into a landmark $2 billion joint venture agreement with SP Offshore Nigeria Limited, aimed at reviving Nigeria’s defence industrial base and drastically reducing the nation’s reliance on imported military hardware. The deal was signed on Wednesday in Kaduna, marking a significant milestone in the Federal Government’s effort to reposition the country as self-sufficient in military production by 2027, a vision clearly articulated in the recently signed DICON Act 2023. According to Major General Babatunde Ibrahim Alaya, the Director General of DICON, the joint venture is a “transformative step” towards building a…

THE Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has strongly refuted claims by Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Mehmet Poroy, alleging that a Turkish-designated terror group is operating within Nigerian territory under the guise of education and healthcare services. In a statement issued Thursday by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Markus Kangye made available to News Point Nigeria, the DHQ described the assertion as “unofficial” and lacking credible basis, noting that Nigeria, as a sovereign nation, does not accept foreign intelligence without independent verification. “Information from the person you are talking about, as far as the Defence Headquarters is concerned, is an…

THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has uncovered no fewer than 9,460 illegal admissions across 20 tertiary institutions in Nigeria for the 2024 academic session, sparking concerns over widespread violations of the Central Admissions Processing System (CAPS). According to official data obtained by News Point Nigeria, the admissions were conducted outside CAPS, JAMB’s centralized and regulated admissions platform, thereby rendering them illegal and void under existing education policy. The breakdown of the illegal admissions reveals that the Aliko Dangote University, Kano is the highest offender, with 2,215 unapproved admissions. Trailing Dangote is Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) with…

THE Federal Government has dismissed recent claims by the Turkish government alleging that members of a terrorist group known as the Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) are operating within Nigeria. Responding on Wednesday, the Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre, Maj Gen Adamu Laka, assured Nigerians that there is no new terrorist group in the country and urged the public to remain calm. “There is no need to panic,” Laka said in an interview with this newspaper, following statements made by Mehmet Poroy, Türkiye’s Ambassador-designate to Nigeria. Poroy had made the remarks during a dinner hosted by the Turkish Embassy in…

CHIEF of Staff to President Bola Tinubu and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has paid glowing tribute to the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, describing him as a principled leader who stood firm in protecting the independence of the Nigerian legislature during a politically turbulent era. In a heartfelt statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja, Gbajabiamila recounted his personal and political relationship with Buhari, praising the former president for resisting pressure from within his own administration to interfere with the workings of the National Assembly. “From the moment I received news of former President…

THE Turkish government has issued a fresh warning over the continued presence and operations of the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) in Nigeria, stating that the group remains active particularly in sectors like education and healthcare. This was disclosed by Mehmet Poroy, Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, on Tuesday night at a dinner event hosted by the Turkish Embassy in Abuja to commemorate Türkiye’s Democracy and National Unity Day. The annual observance marks the anniversary of the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye, which the government attributes to FETO. “The FETO terrorist organisation still maintains its activities in Nigeria,” Poroy…

A HOST of Nigeria’s top political leaders and public figures gathered in Daura on Wednesday to attend the Fidau prayer for the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who passed away in a London hospital on Sunday and was buried on Tuesday. Vice President Kashim Shettima led the delegation of dignitaries, which included Governors Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina State and Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State. The solemn ceremony, deeply rooted in Islamic tradition, was held to seek Allah’s forgiveness and mercy for the deceased, in accordance with Fidda’u rites. Other high-profile attendees included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; former…

IN an unusual yet respectful turn of events, the body of Nigeria’s former President Muhammadu Buhari was transported from the United Kingdom to Nigeria inside the main cabin of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jet rather than the cargo hold typically used for caskets. According to informed sources, the decision became necessary after it was discovered that the presidential casket could not fit into the aircraft’s cargo compartment. With British airport authorities insisting on strict safety protocols and ruling out alterations to the aircraft or use of a larger plane, handlers faced a critical choice. Rather than resort to placing…