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NSA Probes Mistreatment Of Tambuwal By Security Agents
Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (Nan), Mr Ima Niboro (right), welcoming the chairman, Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (Sure-p), Retired Gen. Martin Agwai to Nan Headquarters in Abuja last Wednesday. With them is National Nuj President/Member, Sure-p Board, Malam Mohammed Garba. Photo: NAN
The National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, has raised a panel to investigate last Monday’s alleged harassment of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, by security operatives, who allegedly insisted on searching his car for bombs, top security officials have told newsmen yesterday in Abuja.
The incident occurred at the 17th Hotel Kaduna, the venue of an international conference on security and development challenges of pastoralists in West and Central Africa.
The Speaker, who was one of the keynote speakers at the conference, arrived the Hotel at about 9:16 a.m.; but soldiers at the gate were alleged to have insisted his cars would only be allowed entry after it is certified free of bombs.
An angry Mr. Tambuwal then stormed out of the car and walked the remaining distance to the event venue.
Mr. Dasuki, whose office organised the event, has now ordered a probe of the incident, to determine what happened and why the security officials acted the way they did.
“The issue has been blown out of proportion, creating the impression that the Speaker was targeted for raw treatment because of his perceived cold relationship with the President,” a top security official familiar with the matter said. “So the NSA has ordered an investigation. He wants an internal review of what happened. Our suspicion is that it was overzealous officers who misbehaved to the Speaker. But the NSA wants to get to the bottom of it all.”
The officials did not disclose the membership of the investigative team and whether the outcome of the probe would be made public.
When further pressed for comments, he said, “It’s an internal investigation and members were drawn mainly from the office of the NSA.”
When contacted, the NSA, Mr. Sambo, confirmed he has commissioned a probe.
“I just want to know what really happened,” he said. Mr. Sambo declined further comments.
The Tide learnt of the investigative panel just as two officials of the Department of State Security, alias SSS, were telling one of our reporters that there was never an attempt to search Mr. Tambuwal’s car for bombs.
“Detectives from the Department of State Services were trying to verify whether or not it was the actual vehicle of the Speaker and he hurriedly disembarked and walked to the hall,” the official said. He requested not to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the matter.
“The service chiefs parked their vehicles 300 metres away from the venue and walked to the venue. And the Speaker is aware of security protocols because anytime he came to Mambilla Barracks in Abuja for Friday prayers, his vehicles are usually verified. It is customary,” he added.
Another officer with the SSS said, “The speaker came with just two cars and no siren blaring. The car in which he rode had tinted glasses and the soldiers wanted to be certain who was in the car.
“There was no attempt at frisking the car for bombs. On his own, he came down from the car and walked into the venue and nobody, how much more the speaker, was harassed or embarrassed in any way.
“There was no attempt by soldiers and other security agents to search the Speaker’s vehicle and all dignitaries and participants were accorded due respect.”
He said the presence of security agents at the venue was for safety of participants, adding that top dignitaries, including Governors Mukhtar Ramalan Yero (Kaduna) and Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu (Niger) and the Deputy Governor of Plateau state as well as the NSA, service chiefs and traditional leaders had their vehicles searched.
The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.
The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.
This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.
The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.
Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.
The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.
From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.
From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.
Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.
From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.
The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.
The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.
The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the Polytechnic, recently.
Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.
He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.
This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly, Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.
The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.
Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.
He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.
The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.
Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.
Chinedu Wosu
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