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Gunmen Kill 26 In Sokoto Raids …Boko Haram Attacks Military Base In Borno …As Buhari Decorates New IGP, Adamu

At least, 26 people were killed after armed bandits raided several villages in Nigeria’s northern Sokoto State, police said yesterday.
Armed bandits on motorcycles attacked Warwana, Tabkin Kwasa and Dutsi, a trio of neighbouring villages in Rabah district, late Sunday, shooting residents as they fled. Gunmen hit police station “Twenty six people were killed in the attack — they included 24 males and two females,” Sokoto State Police Commissioner Murtala Usman Mani told newsmen.
The criminals came on motorcycles and attacked three herding settlements, shooting people,” said Mani, who attended the victims’ funerals last Monday.
Residents said the gunmen rode into the villages on two dozen motorcycles, three men on each. “They attacked around 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) and began shooting people without warning,” Warwana resident Kabiru Jabbi said. The three villages border Zamfara state where kidnapping and cattle rustling gangs operate.
The gunmen were believed to have launched the attacks from Zamfara forests where the gangs are based, Mani said.
In July last year armed bandits killed more than 30 people and torched homes in raids on five villages bordering Sokoto and Zamfara states, two of them in Rabah district.
Farming and herding communities in Zamfara state have long been terrorised by such gangs who raid villages, stealing cattle, kidnapping residents for ransom and burning homes.
The incessant attacks prompted villages to form local vigilante groups as a protection force but they are themselves accused of extrajudicial killings of suspected bandits.
The killings by vigilantes attract reprisals by motorcycle-riding criminal gangs who carry out indiscriminate killings and burn villages in retaliation. In April, the Nigerian central government deployed troops to Zamfara to combat the gangs while police outlawed the vigilantes to end the tit-for-tat killings.
It was not clear whether the latest attacks were connected with the face-off between the bandits and vigilante groups.
Also, Boko Haram fighters attacked a military base in remote northeast Nigeria, setting fire to shelters for those made homeless by the conflict, military and humanitarian sources told newsmen yesterday.
The attack in Rann, some 175 kilometres (110 miles) northeast of the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, began late on Monday afternoon and forced civilians to flee.
It followed a pattern by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction of Boko Haram that has called into question government claims the group is virtually defeated.
A similar attempt was made to take over a military base in Magumeri, 50 kilometres northwest of Maiduguri, last Sunday, a local community leader said.
Rann currently hosts some 35,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), according to the International Organization for Migration.
It has been repeatedly hit in the conflict, exacerbating already dire humanitarian conditions on the ground.
A military source in the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, said the attack began at about 5:20 pm (1620 GMT) last Monday.
“The terrorists took over a military position in Rann following heavy fighting,” he said on condition of anonymity.
Poor visibility because of seasonal Harmattan winds hampered the deployment of air force jets, and troops were forced to withdraw, he added.
“The terrorists went about setting fire to camps and shelters of IDPs. Most people have fled the town into the bush but we have no details of casualties at the moment.”
An aid worker in Maiduguri added: “We have been in touch with some aid workers in Rann, who said the town had been taken by ISWAP and camps were being burned.
“They had to flee towards Bulale on the Cameroon side of the border. The details are sketchy.”
The United Nations last week said more than 30,000 people fled after a similar attack in and around the Borno town of Baga in late December.
Meanwhile, President Buhari formally decorated the new acting IG at a ceremony at the Aso Rock Villa yesterday.
The president was assisted by the former police boss, Idris, who officially retired today at the age of sixty.
Buhari decorates new IGP Abubakar Adamu Idris, who was appointed in June 2016, thanked Buhari for giving him the opportunity to serve under his administration as Inspector General of Police.
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FG To Seize Retirees’ Property Over Unpaid Housing Loans

The Federal Government Staff Housing Loans Board says it has begun the compilation of list of retired civil servants who have defaulted on the full repayment of housing loans obtained.
Head of Information and Public Relations, FGSHLB, Mrs Ngozi Obiechina, disclosed this in a statement in Abuja, yesterday.
Obiechina quoted the Executive Secretary of the Board, Mrs Salamatu Ahmed, as saying that the move was aimed at recovering mortgaged properties from retirees who failed to meet their loan obligations.
Ahmed noted that the decision followed a recent memo issued by Mrs Patience Oyekunle, Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office, Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
According to her, the memo reminded public servants of the mandatory requirement to obtain a Certificate of Non-Indebtedness to the FGSHLB and MDA Staff Multipurpose Cooperative Society as a precondition for retirement.
The Executive Secretary said that the board would take necessary legal steps to repossess properties where applicable, in line with the terms of the loan agreements.
She said this was in line with the provisions of the Public Service Rules 021002 (p), issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
“I am directed to bring to your attention the provision of Public Service Rule (PSR) 021002 (p), which mandates all public servants to obtain a Certificate of Non-Indebtedness as a prerequisite for retirement.
“The Federal Government will commence the seizure of mortgaged properties belonging to retiring federal public servants who have failed to fully repay housing loans obtained from the board,” she said.
Ahmed explained that the FGSHLB reserves the legal right to repossess any mortgaged property in cases where a public servant exits service without fully repaying the loan.
She reiterated that the directive also applied to already retired officers who were still indebted.
She urged all affected public servants to regularise their loan status and obtain the required clearance certificate without delay.
“The board is currently compiling a list of such retirees, which will be forwarded to relevant regulatory agencies for debt recovery.
“The FGSHLB remains committed to enforcing compliance and ensuring proper loan recovery procedures are followed, “ she added.
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FG Begins Induction For New Permanent Secretaries, Accountant-General

The Federal Government has kicked off a three-day induction programme for newly appointed Permanent Secretaries and the Accountant-General of the Federation, aimed at equipping them for strategic leadership and effective policy implementation.
The induction, according to a statement yesterday by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Eno Olotu, which commenced on Wednesday, is being held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre in Abuja.
Speaking at the opening session, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, congratulated the new appointees and described their roles as pivotal to governance and national development.
“Permanent Secretaries are the engine room of the government. They are critical to driving policy implementation, institutional performance, and reform across the service”, she said.
The Federal Government has kicked off a three-day induction programme for newly appointed Permanent Secretaries and the Accountant-General of the Federation, aimed at equipping them for strategic leadership and effective policy implementation.
The induction, according to a statement yesterday by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation, Eno Olotu, which commenced on Wednesday, is being held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre in Abuja.
Speaking at the opening session, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, congratulated the new appointees and described their roles as pivotal to governance and national development.
“Permanent Secretaries are the engine room of the government. They are critical to driving policy implementation, institutional performance, and reform across the service”, she said.
“The expectations are high, and the responsibility is immense. But with commitment and teamwork, we can deliver a more efficient, accountable, and citizen-centred public service.
“This final lap of FCSSIP 25 calls for urgency, accountability, and strategic focus. You must translate vision into measurable results,” she stated.
In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Career Management Office, Mrs. Fatima Sugra Tabi’a Mahmood, described the programme as a strategic investment in leadership capacity and institutional effectiveness.
The sessions featured expert-led discussions, simulations, and strategic briefings facilitated by a distinguished faculty, including Engr. Suleiman Adamu, former Minister of Water Resources; Dr. Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination; Mrs. Beatrice Jedy-Agba, Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice; Alh. Yusuf Addy, retired Federal Director; Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji, former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation; Amb. Mustapha Lawal Suleiman, Mr. Adesola Olusade, and Dr. Ifeoma Anagbogu, all retired Permanent Secretaries.
Participants include Dr. Obi Emeka Vitalis, Mrs. Fatima Sugra Tabi’a Mahmood, Mr. Danjuma Mohammed Sanusi, Mr. Olusanya Olubunmi, Dr. Keshinro Maryam Ismaila, Dr. Akujobi Chinyere Ijeoma, Dr. Umobong Emanso Okop, Dr. Isokpunwu Christopher Osaruwanmwen, Mrs. Oyekunle N. Patience, Dr. Kalba U. Danjuma, Mr. Nadungu Gagare, Mr. Onwusoro I. Maduka, Dr. Usman Salihu Aminu, Mr. Ogbodo Chinasa Nnam, Mr. Ndiomu Ebiogeh Philip, Dr. Anuma N. Ogbonnaya, Mr. Adeladan Rafiu Olaninre, and Mr. Mukhtar Yawale Muhammed, alongside the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Shamseldeen Babatunde Ogunjimi.
The induction programme will feature sessions on public sector leadership, policy delivery, ethics in service, digital transformation, and performance management.
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NNPCL To Undergo Forensic Audit Soon -FG

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has announced that a forensic audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) will begin soon.
Edun revealed this at the ongoing Nigerian Investor Forum, held alongside the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC.
The minister explained that the recent changes in the NNPCL management are part of a broader effort by the Federal Government to clean up and examine the company closely.
While addressing top global investors, including representatives from J.P. Morgan, Edun shared key reforms the government has introduced to revive the economy and restore investor confidence.
He told the investors that the government’s bold economic steps have laid a strong foundation to attract private investment.
He stated, “Our goal is not just to maintain this momentum, but to accelerate it. We are targeting seven per cent annual growth, and we believe the policies we have implemented have laid the groundwork to achieve this.”
Edun highlighted that President Bola Tinubu’s administration has rolled out major reforms that are already making a difference.
He added that the Nigerian economy grew by 3.84 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024 and recorded a 3.4 per cent growth for the year.
Edun further stressed the importance of the reforms, describing them as “unprecedented,” adding that, “We said we would do it, and now we have done it. This time, we’re staying the course.”
He pointed out signs of progress such as lower budget deficits, a better trade balance, and a more stable exchange rate.
He also said that the focus is now on growing key sectors, especially agriculture.
According to Edun, agriculture is at the top of the government’s agenda, with the aim of improving food supply and increasing productivity.
“We aim to close the food supply gap, not by importing more, but by enabling domestic producers to scale and innovate,” he said.
On infrastructure, Edun revealed that the government has rolled out 90,000km of fibre optic cable to improve internet access.
He said this move is crucial for supporting young Nigerians and tech startups.
He also noted that 4,000km of roads have been offered for private sector participation, with the first 1,000km already approved for construction.
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