Author: Sani Nura

GOVERNOR Aminu Masari of Katsina on Monday called on residents of the state to assist the government in efforts to reintegrate those affected by banditry. The state, according to the governor, is witnessing a reduction in banditry due to a lack of money in circulation to pay for ransom unlike before. The government, he observed, must ensure that children of the displaced persons are educated and their mothers taught skills otherwise what is seen today will be a child’s play. Masari was speaking during a special dinner organised to bid him farewell by Friends of Labour held at the Presidential…

FORMER Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo has advised the outgoing governors to “be prepared for the visits of such institutions like the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit who may ask some questions that need answers.” Saraki, Dankwambo and others spoke on Sunday night at the farewell dinner for outgoing governors held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. They spoke to the outgoing governors on how to prepare for life after office. Saraki, a former governor of Kwara State, urged the 18 outgoing governors to make the…

THE Katsina State Police Command has said that its operatives have killed a suspected bandit and rescued five kidnapped women in the Dutsinma Local Government Area of the state. The command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP Gambo Isah, made the disclosure in a statement issued to newsmen in Katsina on Monday. Isah stated: “On May 14, 2023, at about 22:00 hours, a distress call was received that terrorists on motorcycles, shooting sporadically with AK 47 rifles, attacked Bajinawa Village, Dutsinma Local Government Area and kidnapped five women. “Area Commander, Dutsinma, led a team of policemen to Tashar Icce, a suspected…

NO fewer than 38 residents of Takalafia and Gwanja communities in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State have been reportedly killed by bandits who stormed the area recently. The Pastor-in-charge of the Evangelical Church Winning All in the area, Rev. Daniel Danbeki, and 37 others were gruesomely murdered by the assailants during the attack which lasted from 9 pm on Thursday night till the early hours of Friday. However, a mass burial was held on Saturday for the victims of the attack which included women and children. The deputy governor of the state, Emmanuel Akabe, led a government…

THE Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, has conferred an honorary doctorate degree to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad, and three others. The three others are Alhaji Muhammad Indimi, a philanthropist; former Gov. Boni Haruna of Adamawa, and Alhaji Dahiru Bobbo, a technocrat. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Abdullahi Tukur, made the disclosure at the university’s 27th convocation ceremony on Saturday. According to Tukur, the awardees are notable Nigerians that any university will be proud to have. Tukur congratulated the graduands and lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for assenting to the bill for the conversion of the university from a specialised institution…

INDEPENDENT Hajj Reporters, a civil society organization that monitors and reports Hajj and Umrah activities in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, has urged the Federal and State Governments to subsidize the differences in the prices of air tickets of Nigerian 2023 intending Hajj pilgrims. On Saturday, the commission has announced an increase of $250 in the flight tickets of the 2023 Hajj intending pilgrims due to the closure of Sudan airspace because of the ongoing war in the North African country. The 2023 Hajj fare was based on airlifting Nigerian pilgrims through Sudan airspace to Saudi Arabia, whereby flight ticket prices…

AHEAD of his inauguration on May 29, the Governor-elect of Niger state, Rt Honourable   Mohammed Umar Bago, has initiated a community violence reduction strategy to curb youth restiveness in Minna, the capital of the state. In recent years, Minna has been a hotbed of violence perpetrated by minors and youth who are known as yan-daba. Bago’s strategy is aimed at restoring peace and order to the city and reforming the perpetrators. The strategy is modeled after the United Nations’ Integrated Disarmament, Demobilsation and Reintegration (DDR) concept which directly contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.1. A…

GOVERNOR Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto state has approved the appointment of a 17-man government delegation for the 2023 Hajj operation. The delegation is headed by the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Muhammad Sa’idu Sifawa, who will also be the Amirul Hajj. Members include: Alh. Shu’aibu Sodangi Achida (Grand Khadi), Alh. Muhammad Jabbi Kilgori (Sa’in Kilgori), Malam Yahaya Na Malam Boyi (Sarkin Malamai), Sheikh Muhammad Isah Talatar Mafara, Prof Abubakar Abubakar Yagawal, Prof Sa’adiya Omar and Prof. Mansur Ibrahim Sokoto The remaining members are: Sheikh Bello Aliyu Yabo, Sheikh Abubakar Usman Mabera, Sheikh Amadu Umar Helele (Alkalin Malammai), Sheikh…

ARMED bandits on Wednesday released the remaining 12 children they kidnapped from Wanzamai village in Tsafe local government area of Zamfara state. The 12 victims were freed by the gunmen after N500,000 was paid to them. They, however, shot one of the remaining captives dead. The armed men had earlier released 70 out of 83 children they abducted from the community and killed three. A month ago, the armed men trapped the victims on farmlands and abducted them. The victims were mostly the residents of Wanzamai — a community that has suffered a series of bandits’ incursions in the past.…

THE Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has alerted residents of some northern states to prepare for heavy rainfall in the coming days. According to a release issued on Thursday “Thunderstorm cells are currently observed over the northern parts of the country including Borno, Taraba, Gombe, Bauchi and Kano. These are expected to propagate westward to give equally thunderstorm to some cities.” The statement added that the current thunderstorm cells are expected to propagate easterly to give thunderstorms accompanied with squall to cities in Plateau, FCT, Nasarawa, Jigawa, Adamawa, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina states in the next 2-6…

THE police command in Zamfara State have neutralised three armed bandits after a gun duel at different communities in Tsafe and Bakura local government areas (LGA) of the state. The Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Bunu, stated this on Wednesday during a press conference at the Police Command Headquarters in Gusau, the state capital. The freshly deployed police chief expressed the readiness of the command to collaborate with traditional rulers, religious leaders, and other security agencies, to tackle the security challenges facing the state. He revealed that operatives of the Anti-Violence Squad had neutralised two terrorists and recovered one AK-49 and…

AT least seventy-four (74) suspects have been arrested by the Police in Katsina State in connection with various crimes in the state. The suspects mostly social miscreants otherwise known as Kauraye, mobile phone snatchers, armed robbers, drug and Indian hemp dealers, commercial sex workers, and serial rapists, alongside bandits informants were reportedly terrorising Katsina and its environs. Parading the suspects on Monday before the Police Command Headquarters, Katsina, the police spokesman in the state, Gambo Isah, told reporters that the suspects are made up of seventy (70) males and four (4) females. He explained that most of the suspects were…

TROOPS of the Joint Task Force, Northwest Operation Hadarin Daji have destroyed several camps belonging to Notorious bandits’ leader, Bello Turji, rescued several kidnap victims and recovered ammunitions. The troops in clearance operations conducted on Saturday from Magarya to Dutsi general area of Zurmi Local Government Area in Zamfara State, discovered and cleared bandits’ hideouts located in Keta, Gidan Galadima, Modawa, Mazuma and Dutsi villages respectively. A top military source who craved anonymity confirmed this to News Point Nigeria on Sunday, saying during the operations, troops had encountered the deadly terrorist group at Keta and Dutsi camp belonging to Turji…

GOMBE State Governor,  Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has won 2 awards at the Business Day’s State Competitiveness and Good Governance Award, 2022. The event was held Thursday,  4th May, 2023 at the Abuja Continental  Hotel ( Sheraton Hotel and Towers). The Governor’s awards were received on his behalf by Dr. Manassah Daniel Jatau,  the Deputy Governor of Gombe State. The publisher and chief executive officer of Business Day Media, Mr. Frank Aigbogun said the event was created to ensure leaders at the sub-national levels of governance imbibe the culture of hard work and deliver the dividends of democracy to the citizens.…

THE Governor of Adamawa State, Umaru Fintiri, has approved the release of N1 billion for the payment of West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO), the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and other fees for the 2022-2023 examinations. The Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Wilbina Jackson, made the disclosure in Yola during the flag-off of the distribution of instructional materials to 56 primary schools in the state across the 21 local government areas (LGAs). According to the commissioner, in the past four years, the administration has made appreciable progress in education,…

THE Nigerian Army on Thursday said it had rescued two additional girls from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, nine years after their abduction by Boko Haram in 2014. This is even as one of the victim, who was about 8 months and 2 weeks pregnant during the time of her rescue delivered a bouncing baby boy on 28 April 2023 while undergoing thorough medical examination along with her baby Fatima at 7 Division Medical Hospital and Services. The Theatre Commander, North-East Joint Operation, Hadin Kai, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Ali, disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the Maimalari Cantonment in…

TROOPS of the Nigerian military have killed over 70 suspected terrorists in counterinsurgency operations in the North-East region. The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Musa Danmadami, disclosed this on Thursday while briefing journalists about the operations of the military in the last two weeks. He said more than 140 terrorists were also arrested during the period, with several weapons including Improvised Explosive Devices recovered. According to the defence spokesman, over 500 members of the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) have surrendered to the military. “Troops equally neutralized 40 terrorists, and arrested 25 terrorists as well as…

AS Journalists in Gombe State join their counterparts the world over to commemorate the world Press Freedom Day, today 3rd May, 2023, Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya has again charged the media practitioners to continue to uphold the ethics of their profession by promoting the ideals of democracy, justice, accountability, peace and unity. In a goodwill message, Governor Inuwa paid tribute to media practitioners in the state for their commitment in enlightening and sensitizing the citizenry on government policies and programmes as well as updating the general public on developments around the world through their reportage and editorial contents. While making…

THE Commandant of Zamfara State Anti-Thuggery Agency, Bello Bakyasuwa has escaped gunmen attack on his way to Kaduna from Gusau, the Zamfara State capital. In a statement signed and issued to newsmen on Tuesday, Bakyasuwa said he was attacked by the heavily armed men along Kaduna-Zaria Road on Thursday evening. Bakyasuwa, a retired soldier said, ”I narrowly escaped death, last Four days on my way to Kaduna along Funtua-Zaria. “I am currently on hospital bed, my life is in danger, I am facing incessant attacks by suspected sponsored gunmen.” Bakyasuwa stressed that when he left Gusau to Kaduna in his…

TROOPS of 114 Task Force Battalion, Bita in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno state have rescued yet another abducted Chibok schoolgirl. Twenty-six years old Hauwa Maltha, serial number 2 in the abducted Chibok schoolgirls list since 14th April 2014, was rescued on April 21, 2023, along with her three-year-old baby by the troops during operations at Lagara. She is from the Kibaku tribe in Jila in Chibok LGA of Borno State. This is even as troops of Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF, have arrested 19 Boko Haram terrorists and recovered several weapons from their hideouts in the…