Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The Adamawa State Agency for Mass Education enrolled 14,643
adult students in its 2011 mass education programme, Mr Solomon Adzigare, the
Executive Director of the agency, said.
Adzigare told our correspondents in Yola on Tuesday that out
of that number, 6,659 were females while 7,984 were males aged between 30 years
and 70 years.
“In 2011, the agency admitted a total of 14,643 adults for
mass education programme. And about 8,765 graduated and issued with
certificates,” Adzigare said.
According to the director, the agency is presently offering
about seven courses under the national mass education guidelines and
supervision, explaning that the courses offered by the agency include basic
literacy class for those that did not have access to primary education from
their childhood.
Bauchi
Bauchi State Government has banned all mining activities in
the state, the Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Mahiru Maiwada, has said.
Maiwada disclosed this in an interview with our
correspondent in Bauchi on Tuesday,
saying that the ban would remain in
force until the law regulating the exploration of mineral resources was amended
by both the Federal and State House of Assemblies.
He said that the state was not comfortable with the
arrangement whereby prospective miners would obtain permission from the Federal
Government to operate in the state.
“We know that mining
is on the exclusive list of the Federal Government, but we’ve domesticated it
here. We have our own local laws which will soon be passed by the State House
of Assembly to regulate the activities of all these illegal miners in the
Bauchi.
Benue
Rehabilitation camps set up by the Benue State Government to
accommodate displaced flood victims in Makurdi need more food supplies to cope
with the feeding of victims, camp workers say.
Some camp workers told The Tide in Makurdi on Tuesday that
the populations in the camps surpassed food supplies to the victims.
At the Wurukum camp, the Assistant Camp Commandant, Mr Justin
Depuun, complained of difficulties in meeting the feeding needs of the people,
especially the children.
Depuun said for a camp with a population of 4,290 people
that comprised 501 families, it was difficult to adequately meet their feeding
requirements and appealed to corporate organisations, political and religious
organisations as well as individuals to donate food items, especially for the
use of the children.
FCT
A black Honda saloon car with registration number CY 691 LND
on Tuesday fell off a bridge near Wuse Market, Abuja, killing the driver.
The driver, a police corporal, died on the spot.
The Tide correspondent, who visited the scene, reports that
the car knocked off the concrete embankment on the bridge before crashing into
the ravine below.
The impact tore the car into pieces with the engine
separated from the body.
Mr Kassim Yusuf, the Divisional Traffic Officer at Wuse
Police Station, confirmed the death of the driver who, he said, was a police
corporal at the FCT command.
Gombe
The transportation of Muslim pilgrims from Gombe State to
Saudi Arabia will commence on October 2,
the state Amirul Hajj, Alhaji Usman Baba-Liman, has said.
The Amirul Hajj told newsmen after inspecting facilities at
the Gombe Airport that arrangements had been made to ensure that this year’s
exercise was the most successful in the history of the state.
Baba-Liman commended Hajj officers in the local governments
for their efforts in properly organising the pilgrims and urged them to remain
focussed throughout the duration of the exercise.
He called on the state Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board to
address the problems the pilgrims often encounter while at the Hajj Camp,
adding that the board had succeeded in
getting visa for the pilgrims with the exception those sponsored by the
government.
Baba-Liman advised the pilgrims to attend induction courses
to get acquainted with the modalities for the Hajj and the laws of Saudi Arabia.
Kano
A Kano-based
electrical engineering consultant, Malam Ibrahim Sani has advised the federal
and state governments to provide special recycling plants for electronic scrap
materials to protect the environment.
Sani, who spoke to The Tide in Kano on Tuesday, described
electronic waste as “dangerous and harmful to human beings”, saying that recycling plants could sort out the waste
into useable and non-useable components.
Sani suggested that as an alternative to the expensive
recycling plants, landfills may be excavated at special locations to dispose of
the wastes. He, however, warned that when buried, certain poisonous chemical
components of the electronic wastes could be passed to underground water,
causing soil pollution and health problems.
Kebbi
The Kebbi State Pilgrims Welfare Agency has said it had
transported 2,000 out of 5,670 pilgrims registered for this year’s Hajj in the
past three days.
Alhaji Usman Suru, the Executive Secretary of the agency,
told our correspondent in Birnin Kebbi
that pilgrims from Aliero, Augie, Bagudo and Koko/Besse local government areas
had departed.
He said the agency had prepared adequately for the
accommodation, welfare, medical and transportation needs of the pilgrims in
Saudi Arabia. “For the 2012 Hajj, Kabo and Max Airlines will transport the
pilgrims to the holy land and back with their luggage on time.”
Kogi
The Federal Government has
directed Julius Berger and two other construction companies to free the
submerged Lokoja-Abuja Road from flooding within three days.
The Minister of
Works, Mr Mike Onolememen, gave the directive in Lokoja when he paid a courtesy
call on Governor Idris Wada.
Onolememen described the flood as a disaster that deeply
touched President Goodluck Jonathan because it affected key national structures
and threatened the link between the northern and southern parts of the
country.
He said he also brought the managing directors of the three
construction companies; Julius Berger, RCC and Dantata and Sawoe and their
teams to assess the impact and address the situation.
Lagos
Public primary and secondary schools in Lagos State could
not resume for the new academic session on Monday because of a teachers’
strike.
The state chapter of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) on
Thursday declared an indefinite strike starting from Monday following the
failure of government to pay them the 27.5 per cent Teachers Peculiar
Allowance.
Some of the schools visited by our correspondent include
Zumratul Isamiyya Senior High School, Yaba, Surulere Girls’ junior and senior
schools, Jibowu, Biney Memorial Primary School as well as Anglican Primary
School, Jibowu.
Others are Holy Trinity and Anglican primary schools,
Ikorodu, Iponri Estate Junior and Senior School, Iponri, Ola-Olu Primary
School, Shomolu, and Shyllon Primary School, Ilupeju. Oriwu Model College and
Igbogbo High School both in Ikorodu and Ransome Kuti Memorial Junior and Senior
Grammar schools, Jibowu.
Niger
The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), in
Niger State, Mr David Usman, has said that the corps would soon personalise
vehicle number plates to help track offenders.
Usman made the plan known when he paid a courtesy visit to
the Niger State Assembly, saying: “that
is why the number plates have to be changed. Right now, the number plates are
registered with the vehicles.’’
He said when operational, the owner of the vehicle would own
the number plate not the vehicle.
The commander said: “if you decide to sell your vehicle at
any time, you detach your number plate from the vehicle and keep it. When you
have a new vehicle, you register it with the number.
Ogun
The Thai Farm International Limited, Ososa in Ogun, has
urged cassava farmers to pool their resources in order to benefit from the
opportunities offered by the Federal Government’s Agricultural Transformation
Agenda.
The Tide reports that
the company is one of Nigeria’s leading producers of high quality cassava
flour.
The Managing Director of the company, Mr Louw Burger, gave
the advice in Abeokuta while presenting a paper at the international symposium
on root crops.
In his paper titled: ‘Building a Strong Partnership for
Cassava Development’, Burger noted that an average Nigerian farmer faced
daunting challenges in cassava production.
Oyo
Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Oyo State, Mr
Oluseun Abimbola, on Tuesday advised security operatives to focus more on
intelligence gathering in their operations.
Abimbola gave the advice in an interview with The Tide in
Ibadan.
He described intelligence gathering as the most critical
factor in any security operation, pointing out that security was beyond
deploying armed personnel at check points, but more of intelligence gathering.
He said that the security challenges was not peculiar to
Nigeria and advised that the country’s security agencies to learn from the
experiences of other countries that went through similar challenges.
Plateau
Worried by the incessant theft of cattle largely blamed for
violence in Plateau north and parts of Bauchi, the military Special Task Force
(STF) in Plateau has banned grazing at night.
In a communique after a peace meeting with stakeholders from
nine local government areas held on Monday in Barkin-Ladi, Plateau State, the
STF also banned any movement of cows at night.
“There should be no movement of cattle in the night even on
the highways within these states,’’ the communiqué declared.
The STF and stakeholders from seven Plateau crisis-prone
local government areas – Jos East, Riyom, Barkin-Ladi, Kanke, Pankshin, Bokkos
and Kanam, and two others – Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa in Bauchi State, agreed to
arrest anyone with cows at night.
Zamfara
The Zamfara State Pilgrims Welfare Agency has transported
2,140 intending pilgrims to Saudi Arabia one week after the commencement of the
exercise.
The Spokesman of the agency, Malam Yakubu Mafara, gave the
figure in an interview with The Tide in Gusau on Tuesday.
Mafara said that the more than 3,000 pilgrims from the state
would be transported to Saudi Arabia through the Sutan Abubakar International
Airport, Sokoto, adding said that the
intending pilgrims, who had arrived in Saudi Arabia included those from
Maradun, Mafara, Gusau, Kauran Namoda, Shinkafi , Zurmi, Tsafe and parts of Bukkuyyum
local governments.
He said that all pilgrims from the state had arrived in
Saudi Arabia and in Medinah except some female pilgrims, who had been detained
by the Saudi immigration officials.
Mafara noted that
high level talks between Nigerian and Saudi Arabian authorities were on to
resolve the issues surrounding the controversial detention of the 400 Nigerian
female pilgrims.
He said that reports from Zamfara pilgrims’ officials
indicated that pilgrims from the state were in good health and had adequate
welfare facilities to enable them commence the Hajj rites.
Bikers were among prominent dignitaries who recently attended the burial ceremony of late Mrs. Nimi Obata Grant Offor (née Lawson) in Omagwa Community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The burial service, held at the St. Martin’s Anglican Church field, attracted a large turnout of religious leaders, business executives, political figures, celebrities, bikers’ groups, traditional rulers and community members from different parts of Nigeria. Also present were the Bishop of the Anglican Province of the Niger Delta, Most Rev. Blessing Enyindah, and popular businessman and socialite, Obi Cubana, among other notable personalities.
The remains of Mrs Grant Offor, a respected professional, philanthropist and devout Christian, were laid to rest amid an elaborate and well-coordinated funeral ceremony that reflected her wide-reaching influence and the high regard in which she was held by family, associates and the larger community.
The ceremony drew public attention due to its unique logistics, as two helicopters were deployed. An air ambulance helicopter conveyed the casket to the church field, while another helicopter transported members of the deceased’s family from Abonnema to Omagwa Community.
Dignitaries and mourners gathered in large numbers to pay their final respects.
In an emotional tribute, High Chief Engr. Grant Offor, described his late wife as everything to him, stating that her passing had created a deep void in his life and in the lives of their children. He disclosed that he committed his time, resources and efforts in a bid to save her life, adding that if money or human effort alone could prevent death, she would still be alive.
Mrs. Nimi Obata Grant Offor was born on May 4, 1978, at the Ibiso Maternity Clinic, Port Harcourt, and passed away on November 15, 2025, after a prolonged illness that lasted nearly three years. She was born a twin and grew up in a family noted for service and leadership. Her father, the late Engr. Benoni Lawson, served as Managing Director of the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA), while her mother, Mrs. Irene Lawson, is a nurse.
She attended Port Harcourt Primary School and International Secondary School (ISS) before proceeding to the University of Science and Technology (UST), Port Harcourt, and later the University of Port Harcourt, Choba, where she studied Accountancy and graduated with honours. She was widely known during her academic years for her discipline, focus and reserved lifestyle.
After completing her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, Mrs. Grant Offor began her professional career in the banking sector, including service with the defunct All States Trust Bank, and later worked in other professional capacities. She earned a reputation for integrity, diligence and ethical conduct.
She was married to Engr. Grant Offor for over 20 years, a union blessed with three children. As a wife and mother, she was described as deeply devoted to her family, instilling values of faith, patience, kindness and discipline. Her home was known among close associates as one built on prayer, love and godly counsel.
A committed Christian, Mrs. Grant Offor was known for her strong faith and love for gospel music, particularly songs of healing and deliverance. Even while receiving specialist medical care in the United Kingdom, she reportedly remained steadfast in her belief, trusting in God until her final moments.
Adding to the show of solidarity, the President of the Rivers State Chapter of the Pantas Female Bikers Group, Mr. White Timano, disclosed that High Chief Engr. Grant Offor is a major sponsor of Uyo Micah’s Carnival, one of the group’s major events. He said bikers and supporters travelled from Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa and Delta States to commiserate with the family and show support during the period of mourning.
Mr. Timano described death as inevitable and encouraged the family to remain strong, stressing that only God grants the grace required to endure such painful loss.
The church field was tastefully decorated, creating a solemn and dignified atmosphere. The burial ceremony featured hymns, live music, scriptural exhortations, eulogies and tributes celebrating the life and legacy of Mrs. Nimi Obata Grant Offor. Messages from notable personalities highlighted her contributions to family life, philanthropy, professional service and community development.
On behalf of the family, High Chief Engr. Grant Offor expressed appreciation to all who stood by them throughout the period of mourning, thanking guests for their prayers, presence and support.
The burial ceremony stood as a testament to the enduring legacy of Mrs. Nimi Obata Grant Offor, whose life of service, faith and quiet generosity left a lasting impact on many across Rivers State, the Niger Delta and beyond.
Asecurity guard has been reported missing following the demolition of a fence at a property located at No. 19D, Golf Course Layout, Old Government Residential Area (GRA), Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The incident reportedly occurred late Sunday night at the disputed property said to be owned by Ozone Global.
Eyewitnesses revealed that a group of men, some of whom were dressed in what appeared to be naval uniforms, arrived at the premises on motorcycles and allegedly pulled down the fence surrounding the property.
During the incident, a security guard on duty, identified simply as Abubakar, was allegedly taken away by the group to an unknown destination.
A relative of the missing guard, Musa, said efforts to get immediate help, including alerting a nearby police point, proved abortive as the incident had already occurred before any intervention could be made.
“I escaped because I noticed them early, but my brother was taken away. Up till now, we don’t know where he is or how he is doing. We are appealing to the authorities to help locate him,” Musa said.
Meanwhile, one of the intermediaries involved in the land transaction, Mr. Chimezie Bright, alleged that the incident may be connected to an ongoing land dispute over the property.
Bright claimed that the land was purchased by Ozone Global from one late Mr Felix Orie and that documents from the Rivers State Ministry of Lands and Housing indicate that the land was allocated to Mr Orie.
He further alleged that another claimant to the land, Mr. Mac Oruche, had allegedly challenged the ownership and opposed development on the property, despite the matter being the subject of a court case.
According to Bright, tensions over the property had previously resulted in disagreements during attempts to fence the land.
“We carried out due diligence before the purchase, including verification at the Ministry of Lands. However, the dispute has persisted,” he said.
Bright expressed concern over the alleged involvement of uniformed personnel in a civil land dispute and called for a thorough investigation into the incident, particularly the whereabouts of the missing security guard.
As at the time of filing this report, Abubakar’s location had remained unknown.
Efforts to reach Mr. Mac Oruche for his reaction were unsuccessful, while the police are yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
The apex socio-cultural and development association of the ancient Ohafia Kingdom, the Ohafia Improvement Union Incorporated (OIU) has formally petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, expressing grave concern over the arrests of several individuals from the Okon Aku community who were cooperating with a state-constituted Panel of Inquiry investigating the recent communal crisis in the community located in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State.
The union also called for the immediate release of those arrested.
In a letter dated February 6, 2026, and received at the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters in Abuja, the union described the arrests as troubling and procedurally irregular, noting that the affected individuals had either testified or were preparing to testify before the government-sanctioned panel.
Those reportedly arrested include Udo Ukoha of Ndi Envoke; Okereke John, Udonsi Obin, Eteo Ayo, Idika I. Kalu, and John Ukwakwe of Ndi Owom; and Ukpabi Uche Idika of Ndi Ebin.
While emphasizing that it does not seek to prejudge the legal culpability of any individual, the OIU stressed that the timing, context, and manner of the arrests could undermine the credibility, independence, and integrity of the Panel of Inquiry.
“The arrest of individuals cooperating with an official inquiry poses a serious threat to the fact-finding process, creates fear among potential witnesses, and may discourage public participation,” the union stated, warning that such actions could obstruct efforts to uncover the root causes of the crisis.
The union further noted that panels of inquiry rely heavily on voluntary and truthful cooperation, and any action that instills fear in contributors risks eroding public confidence in the justice system, violating principles of fairness, transparency, and natural justice.
Consequently, the OIU urged the Office of the IGP to immediately review the circumstances surrounding the arrests, suspend any further actions perceived as targeting witnesses, and issue clear directives to guarantee the safety and freedom of all individuals participating in the inquiry.
The President General of Ohafia Improvement Union, Chief Prince Kalu Ikpemini, signed the petition, which was also copied to the Executive Governor of Abia State and the Commissioner of Police, Abia State Command, Umuahia.
The union reiterated that the Ohafia community desires lasting peace and reconciliation, which can only be achieved through a transparent, fair, and uncoerced investigation into the Okon Aku crisis.
The Okon Aku communal crisis erupted in early January 2026, prompting the Office of the Deputy Governor of Abia State to immediately establish the Panel of Inquiry to determine both the immediate and underlying causes of the conflict, with the aim of preventing future occurrences.
It is against this backdrop that the Ohafia Improvement Union has raised an alarm over the arrests, calling for the immediate release of those detained and emphasizing the need to protect witnesses rather than intimidate them.
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