Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The Adamawa State Police Command has arrested eight persons suspected to be behind kidnapping cases in the state.
The State Commissioner of Police, Mr Moses Jitoboh told newsmen yesterday in Yola that the suspects were arrested on September 23 in Mubi South Local Government Area of the state .
Jitoboh explained that their arrest was as a result of intensive security patrol by men of his command.
“Exhibits recovered from the suspected kidnappers include one locally made pistol, two live 7.62 millimeter ammunition, 58 live cartridges and seven empty cartridges.
“Others are one double-barreled gun, two masks, one ear protector, two military helmets and SIM cards, among others,” Jitoboh said.
FCT
The Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission (NCPC) last Monday in Abuja signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Turkish and Israeli companies for the 2017 Christian pilgrimage operations.
The companies are Tailor Made Tours (TMT) of Israel and Atlas Jet, a Turkish airline which emerged as the preferred bidders for the 2017 Christian pilgrimage operations to the Holy Land.
TMT will handle ground operations including hotel accommodation, transportation and feeding of the pilgrims in Israel while Atlas Jet Nigeria will handle flight to and from Israel.
Executive Secretary, NCPC, Rev. Tor Uja, signed the MoU on behalf of the commission, while Mr Ercument Filiz, Executive Director, Atlas Jet, signed for Atlas Jet and Mrs Josephine Zinder, President, TMT signed on behalf of the TMT.
Gombe
The Gombe State Government has advised residents to avoid places with reported cases of monkey pox.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Kennedy Ishaya gave the advice in Gombe yesterday while briefing journalists on the state’s level of preparedness against the disease.
“Since monkey pox is a viral infection, I am appealing to the general public to avoid places with the reported case,” Ishaya said.
He also urged residents in the state to report any constituted signs such as fever, headache and common cold to health facilities and avoid self-medication.
According to him, since the outbreak of the disease in some parts of the country, the Ministry of Health had put machinery in place to contain the outbreak of the disease.
Kaduna
Gwauro Community in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State has embarked on the building of maternity to stem the high maternal and infant deaths in the area.
Head of the community, Malam Umar Galadima told newsmen last Monday in Gwauro that lack of access road and hospital had led to the death of several pregnant women and infants in recent times.
“We have been losing lives of so many pregnant women and children as a result of the distance between our village and near-by towns to access hospital services.
“We have to travel about 25 to 30 kilometres from this community to locate any hospital outside the town for medical attention”, Galadima said.
Kebbi
The Kebbi State Police Command has arrested a 23-year-old girl, Gambo Suleiman who allegedly dumped a day-old baby boy near a house in Yauri, Kebbi State.
An eye witness, Malam Musa Yauri told newsmen in Yauri that the new born baby was found dumped behind a building at about 5 p.m. last Sunday evening.
“They have handed over the baby to the Yauri Local Government Authority, which in turn, handed over the baby to the Kebbi Orphanage Home for proper care,” he said.
The Command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Mustapha Suleiman, confirmed the incident, saying the baby’s mother had been arrested.
Kogi
A socio-cultural group, the Movement for the Emancipation of Kogi State People has slammed some youths in the state for allegedly blocking the delivery of relief materials including food to the striking state civil servants.
The group described the action of the youths as misguided and wicked in a statement signed by its Chairman, Alhaji Yakubu Asipita and the Secretary, Mr Bodunrin Olufemi, last Sunday in Lokoja.
“It is shameful for paid jobless youths to carry out such a disgraceful act of trying to prevent relief materials meant for the striking workers from entering the state,” it said.
Our correspondent reports that some youths on October 27 reportedly laid an ambush on Lokoja-Abuja highway in an attempt to hijack bags of rice donated by some senators to the striking workers.
Lagos
An anti-corruption group has commended President Muhammadu Buhari over the removal of Babachir Lawal as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Ayo Oke as Head, National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
The Chairman of the group, Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), Mr Debo Adeniran gave the commendation in an interview with newsmen yesterday in Lagos.
According to him, the development will further boost the anti-corruption fight.
Nasarawa
Chairman, Interim Management Committee (IMC), Kokona Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Hajiya Jamila Sarki, has advised newly sworn-in councillors of the council to shun corruption and other sharp practices.
Sarki gave the advice at the swearing-in ceremony of the new members of the interim management committee yesterday in Garaku, headquarters of the local government area.
The council boss urged the IMC members to be transparent and accountable in the discharge of their duties for the overall development of the area.
Niger
The Emir of Agaie in Niger State Alhaji Yusuf Nuhu has appealed to herdsmen and farmers in the emirate to continue to live in peace for meaningful development of the emirate.
Nuhu made the call at a town hall meeting at IBB School of Preliminary Studies, Agaie in the state yesterday.
He said that the meeting was convened to bring the herdsmen and farmers together, and to encourage them to live in peace because the country needed them for a viable society.
“The dry season is setting in now, we should all appreciate it as God’s routine for humanity, herdsmen should meticulously shepherd their herd and avoid their cattle from trespassing into farm lands”, the Emir said..
Ondo
The Ondo State Government has inaugurated a four-day validation workshop on 2017-2021 Strategic Health Development Plan II.
Inaugurating the workshop yesterday in Akure, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Wahab Adegbenro,said the training was meant to produce an all-encompassing and harmonised strategic health development document for the health sector of the state.
“The purpose of this final validation workshop is to produce document with its appropriate costing which will serve as the basis for collective ownership, adequate resource allocation, inter-sectoral collaboration, decentralisation, equity, harmonisation, alignment and mutual accountability in Ondo State.
“The document will also stipulate requirements for future health investment towards achieving sustainable universal access and coverage with a defined package of essential services within the planned period,” Adegbenro stated.
Plateau
The Federal Government last Monday said it planned to train 800,000 youths and women on vocational and skills acquisition in Plateau State.
National Coordinator, Basic Skill Acquisition Training Programme in Nigeria, Mr Lawrence Kyuka, disclosed this during a three-day training programme for youths and women in Pankshin Local Government of Plateau.
Kyuka disclosed that nine local governments had been selected for the programme being anchored by the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Youths and students Affairs, Mr Nasir Adhama.
He gave the names of the areas as Shendam, Langtang North, Langtang South, Pankshin, Mangu, Bokkos, Jos North, Jos South and Riyom.
“The Federal Government is out to ensure that the teeming youths and women are empowered with skills to be self-employed and become employers of labour to boost the nation’s economy.
Sokoto
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) says it has intensified manhunt for a woman suspected of harbouring under -age girls for sexual exploitation.
The Zonal Commander of the agency in charge of Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states, Mr Hassan Tahir, told newsmen in Sokoto recently.
He said that the suspected woman allegedly engaged in the unlawful act at Gidan Sauro in Sokoto metropolis.
Tahir said the agency had also arrested a businessman, Umar Babuga for allegedly caging two underage girls for sexual exploitation.
He said that investigation was in progress and the suspect would soon be prosecuted.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) has inducted and given orientation to 100 Ogoni youths for training on Creative Arts. The beneficiaries were drawn from Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
The induction and orientation ceremony, which took place at the CRAB of the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt on Wednesday, was a prelude to the training proper, billed to commence next Tuesday.
As usual, HYPREP issued undertaking forms to the trainees, for them to complete and submit as a guarantee that they would subject themselves to the requirements of the programme as well as be of good behaviour throughout the four-month duration of the training.
HYPREP also announced that it would pay N150,000 to each of the beneficiaries monthly, as transport and feeding allowance, stressing, however, that only those who fully participate in the training would be entitled for the allowance.
Speaking at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, welcomed the trainees to the programme, saying, HYPREP’s projects are evolving and that one thing that is happening today is that the Project has gotten leadership right, by making promises and keeping those promises.
According to him, the Project had equally promised to move away from rudimentary skills acquisition to high impacts acquisition levels, which it has kept today by sponsoring the training on Creative Arts.
He noted that in planning its livelihood programmes for Ogoni youths, HYPREP has taken time out to look for skills that would add value to the lives of the beneficiaries.
Zabbey, who was represented at the event by the Director of Technical Services, Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi said by packaging the Creative Arts training, it was expected that the Ogoni people would have their own version of Nollywood known as Ogoniwood just as Nigerians are familiar with Hollywood, Bollywood, Kannywood and Nollywood.
To achieve this goal, the Project Coordinator explained that it was the reason for choosing a reputable establishment like Halibiz Consult Limited, to partner with the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt, which he described as one of the most prestigious in the Niger Delta, for the training of the beneficiaries.
He also indicated that in doing this, HYPREP was desirous of going for talents that would help the Ogoni people grow in the film industry, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously.
Zabbey equally enjoined the trainees to put in their best so that in the next three to five years, they would carve a niche for themselves and become forces to reckon with in the film industry.
On her part, HYPREP’s Head of Sustainable Livelihood, Mrs Josephine Nzidee said HYPREP does what it says it will, stressing that the process of training Ogoni youths on specialised skills started three years ago.
According to her, the selection process for the training was rigorous and transparent, and was carried out by renowned actors actresses.
She disclosed that the training consists of three major aspects, which include acting, script writing and make-up, while Nollywood actors like Charles Nnoje, Ngezu J. Ngezu and award-winning make-up artist, Jude Odo would be on hand to drill and groom the beneficiaries.
Mrs Nzidee noted that the programme is a specialised training that does not have anything like starter packs but that it is purely a professional certification programme that would launch the beneficiaries into the Nollywood industry in Nigeria.
According to her, the Creative Arts training is one of the four specialised trainings organised by HYPREP to ensure that the Ogoni people are well positioned in vital industries like Aviation, Maritime, Creative Arts and Mechatronics.
She said the last of such trainings on Mechatronics would take place in the coming months, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously so as to put the Ogoni people on the Nollywood map.
She further indicated that while Charles Nnoje and Ngezu J. Ngezu would take the beneficiaries on the practical aspects, Jude Odo would take them on the make-up aspects.
Also speaking, the External Relations Manager of Halibiz Consult Limited, Alabo Experience Douglas said his company gives much premium to standard and quality, and assured that the firm would give the trainees value for the money spent on the programme.
While charging the beneficiaries to be dedicated and punctual, he stressed the need for them to approach the programme with the mindset of being empty so that at the end of the day, they would benefit maximally.
On his part, the Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Ovunda Ihunwo said the CRAB is an acronym for Creative Review of Arts and Books, stressing that it was named by renowned playwright, Prof Ola Rotimi.
According to him, the CRAB had nurtured, groomed and produced Nollywood actors and actresses like Bobmanuel Udokwu, Ejike Asiegbu,Francis Duru, Hilda Dokubo, Monalisa Chinda, Julius Agwu, and a host of others, assuring the beneficiaries that they were on fertile environment to hone their talents.
He noted that symbolically, the crab is a nutritious seafood common in the Niger Delta, and reiterated the need for the beneficiaries to come empty for the training, as it were.
Ihunwo disclosed that the theory classes of the programme would run for three weeks while the fourth week would be for the master classes, and urged the trainees to avail themselves of the opportunity to make a difference by telling the Ogoni story, which he described as inexhaustible by themselves, in order to put Ogoni on the map.
A 23-year-old student of Nasarawa State University identified as Jatau Rilokwah, has been reportedly found dead in the university’s senior staff quarters.
A counter-insurgency expert, focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed this on his X handle on Tuesday.
According to him, the discovery was made on April 27, 2025, by a security officer at the university, Emmanuel Gyawo.
He stated that Gwayo was directed by Prof. Shedrack Jatau to check on his son upon arriving at the residence, and he found Rilokwah hanging from the ceiling.
“Professor Jatau, who was reportedly out of the State at the time, was informed of the incident. A team of police detectives, led by the Divisional Crime Officer of Angwan Lambu, was dispatched to the scene.
“The body showed no signs of violence, and no suicide note was found. Rilokwah was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he further stated.
He added that the student’s corpse had been deposited in the hospital morgue.
He also quoted police sources as saying that investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Ogun State Government has partnered with Nike Art Gallery to establish a new exhibition space at the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre in Abeokuta, a move Governor Dapo Abiodun says is aimed at boosting annual tourist visits from 20,000 to over 100,000.
Abiodun disclosed the plan on Wednesday while receiving the founder of the Nike Art Gallery, Chief (Mrs) Nike Davies-Okundaye, at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“I went to Olumo Rock about a month ago and I decided that we needed to do something about restoring Olumo Rock to its old glory. From statistics, Olumo Rock hosts about 20,000 people a year in its current state, and I felt that we could increase that to at least ten times,” the governor said.
As part of the plan, an events hall within the tourist centre will be repurposed as a permanent gallery operated by Nike Art Gallery.
“I told them to shut it down. Practically, we want to bring it down and turn it into a gallery for you to use as an exhibition gallery,” he told Davies-Okundaye.
He added that the gallery will be ready before the National Sports Festival in May, when the State will host about 15,000 visitors.
“I want them to be able to see our tourist sites,” he said, listing attractions such as the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the Ransome-Kuti family home, and the Adire market among key heritage spots to be showcased.
Highlighting Ogun’s improved infrastructure, the governor said, “Now that we’ve succeeded in having the intra and inter-state roads in place, you can come to Ogun State by rail; you can come by air. We’ve constructed one of the best airports in Nigeria, and very soon, you will be able to come by sea.”
Davies-Okundaye, in her remarks, praised the state’s efforts to promote tourism and pledged to use the new gallery to attract global attention.
“This gallery will bring many Heads of State. The one I opened in Abuja already has more than 10 Heads of State, including those from South Korea and the Czech Republic. The same will happen here,” she said.
She also applauded the Governor for his commitment to the Adire fabric industry.
“Adire is all over Nigeria, but Ogun has been promoting Adire for over 50 years. Today, the only cloth we can call our own is called Adire. This is what we can sell to the Europeans,” she said.
Abiodun reaffirmed his administration’s backing of the Adire industry, citing policies such as the Adire Ogun Digital Marketplace, compulsory wearing of Adire in the state, and provision of solar-powered production equipment to support artisans.
He also revealed plans to open a creative arts and entertainment village in partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters, expected to be completed within two months.