News
Boko Haram Frees 192 In Yobe …Captures Monguno In Borno
Some Boko Haram members yesterday released 192 out of the 218 people abducted at Katarko town, Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State.
A prominent politician, Alhaji Goni Katarko, who has reunited with his family members told our correspondent that the insurgents called them and asked them to pick the captives at Woron Yinwa village.
“They were so lucky to get lorry that conveyed them to Gazargana village were we picked them through the aid of military personnel. The military kept them in a camp, and pleaded with us to leave them for security reasons”, he said.
Goni said he has reunited with four out of his five family members abducted by the group. “I received four from my five family members abducted, the other one is among the 29 people that are yet to be released by the insurgents”, he said
One of the captives, Mallam Aysha, said that the insurgents gathered all of them and asked them to form two groups, saying those who want to stay with them should take one side and those not interested should go to the other.
“Many of us refused to accept their offer and the leader ordered that we should be taken out of the territory so that we can join the land of unbelievers out there. They took us to Woron Yinwa village before one herdsman led us to where we got a lorry driver that conveyed us to Gazargana village and we were finally picked by our relatives”, she said
She said that the insurgents divided them into camps after being kidnapped from their town.
According to her, “Some of us were taken to Ajigil, and some to Buni Yadi but they gathered all of us when they decided to release us”.
When newsmen visited the camp in Damaturu, the military in the area denied them access to the captives, saying that it was a directive from the authorities.
Many family members went to the camp to reunite with their released abductees but were also prevented access to them.
Meanwhile, the military appeared to have repelled yesterday morning’s assault on Maiduguri by Boko Haram fighters as the Defence Headquarters in an update said troops are in pursuit of ‘retreating’ terrorists.
It also announced a curfew on Maiduguri with immediate effect and until further notice.
“Coordinated Air and Land OPs being conducted now,” said an earlier tweet by Defence Headquarters.
As at the time of reporting, it appeared the military had succeeded in flushing the insurgents out of Maiduguri, the state capital, even as the curfew imposed on the city takes hold.
But the story is different for Monguno, as Boko Haram militants yesterday captured the town, including a military base, after a fierce battle with government troops, security sources said.
“Monguno has fallen, Monguno has fallen,” said a senior military officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Another security source confirmed that the Islamist militants had taken over the town, which lies about 125 kilometres (80 miles) north of the Borno State capital Maiduguri.
However, The Tide could not independently confirm the claim.
The two Borno towns were simultaneously attacked by Boko Haram fighters this morning, less than 24 hours after President Goodluck Jonathan held his re-election rally in Maiduguri.
Maiduguri had been calm for more than two weeks with no incident recorded, until yesterday when the terrorists struck again in Jintilo area of the town.
However, Amnesty International has said that failure to protect hundreds of thousands of civilians could lead to a disastrous humanitarian crisis, with reports of two large scale attacks in Maiduguri as well as the nearby Monguno.
“These ongoing attacks by Boko Haram are significant and grim news. We believe hundreds of thousands of civilians are now at grave risk,” said Netsanet Belay, Amnesty International’s Africa Director.
“People in and around Maiduguri need immediate protection. If the military doesn’t succeed in stopping Boko Haram’s advance they may be trapped with nowhere else to turn.”
“One resident told us: “If Maiduguri is attacked, we have nowhere else to go. Kano Road was the only way out,” said Netsanet Belay.
“All parties to the conflict urgently need to ensure that civilians who wish to evacuate Maiduguri are able to do so. In order to allow civilians to escape the fighting in Maiduguri, military operations should not be conducted along the main point of access: Kano Road.”
Amnesty International is also calling on all parties to the conflict to refrain from military operations in the vicinity of the hospitals in Maiduguri and any other medical facilities.
The African Union’s Peace and Security Council is expected to discuss on 29 January a possible regional force against Boko Haram.
L-R: Paramount Ruler of Elekahia, Chief A. W. Akarolo JP, Deputy District Governor, Rtn Sam Mba, Rotary President, Rtn Chidi Ikeji and Women Leader, Mrs Amadi, during the commissioning of water and sanitation projects at Rumukalagbor Market, by the Rotary Club in Port Harcourt, recently Photo: Dele Prince Dele
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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