News
Insecurity: Zamfara Gov Offers To Resign …Masari Declares Kastina Unsafe
Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari has said he would not hesitstate to relinquish his position as governor, if a state of emergency is imposed in his state
The state has in recent time been enmashed in security criris, with several citizens falling vicitims to armed bandits in the state.
Governor Yari who stated this while briefing State House correspondents after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.
He said the bandits responsible for the insecurity breed their cattle in the forest and strike occasionally.
The governor also accused the security agencies especially the police of not doing enough, lamenting that some of the officers that were transferred out of the state after serving three years have not been replaced.
Meanwhile, a new commissioner of police, Zanna Ibrahim, has been posted to the troubled northwestern state of Zamfara and has assumed duty.
The command spokesperson, Muhammad Shehu, in a statement yesterday said Mr Ibrahim, an indigene of Borno State, was born on November, 26, 1962.
He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Master’s degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies both from the University of Jos, Plateau State, he added.
Mr Shehu described the new police commissioner as a professional and an experienced police officer.
“He was enlisted into the Nigeria Police Force, on 15th March, 1988,” he said.
“On successful completion of training at the Nigeria Police Academy Annex, Kaduna, he was posted to Borno State Police Command, where he had a one year compulsory attachment at Biu Divisional Police Headquarters, and later served in various Commands and formations across the country which includes,” the statement said.
“As a proficient and astute investigator, CP Zanna Mohammed Ibrahim, mni, was appointed a member of the Presdential Investigation Team on “crude oil theft” in Nigeria set up by former President Goodluck E. Jonathan.
“The new CP while addressing officers and men of the Command reiterated his determination and total commitment to enhance robust Policing to actualise the transformation and repositioning Agenda of the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris,” the release added.
Despite the deployment of troops and policemen to the troubled state, sporadic attacks by armed bandits have left hundreds dead and more homeless.
The embattled state governor, Abdulaziz Yari, yesterday restated his willingness to stand aside so the federal government can declare a state of emergency on the state to stem the bloodletting.
In another development, Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State, yesterday, raised the alarm that the state is under security siege, stating categorically that no one, not even himself, is safe.
According to him, reports from security agencies reveal that kidnapping, armed robbery, banditry and cattle rustling are now the order of the day in the state.
The alarm by the governor is coming barely 24 hours after his Borno State counterpart, Kashim Shettima, raised similar concern about worsening security situation in his state, following the escalation of attacks on soldiers and civilians by Boko Haram.
Only a few days ago, Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari, also expressed helplessness about the security situation in state, declaring that he wouldn’t mind the Federal Government imposing a state of emergency on the state.
Governor Masari, who spoke at an extraordinary security meeting In Katsina to find a lasting solution to the resurgence of insecurity in the state, said: “Today (yesterday), reports I received from security agencies are all about threat of kidnapping, armed robbery and banditry.
No one, not even myself, is safe. So, this is the situation and that is why we are here to find a way out, which is a must. There is no option because we are thinking of the survival of our people and state. “It is now a daily occurrence as no day passes without a case recorded.
It is not even rustling of cows but now kidnapping of people.
“Our state is currently under serious siege by armed robbers, kidnappers and armed bandits who arrest rural people at the grassroots at will and demand ransom, which if not paid, they kill their victims.
“The Permanent Secretary was just informing me that his close relative was kidnapped and a ransom of N5 million was demanded and the person who took the money to them was shot.
“Some people visited me, and as they left, they were trailed and robbed of their belongings. The armed robbers could not go away with the vehicle because it has security lock on it.
“In the past, they carried out their activities in the middle of the night, but now, they operate at midnight, 10pm and gradually in broad day light.
“It is not up to a month, right here in front of Government House, five electricity poles were carted away. It is getting out of hand that we should not fold our arms. Let’s return to God, let’s pray to Him to salvage the situation. So we must reach a lasting solution at this meeting to curtail this ugly trend.
“The citizens are on daily basis being harassed by bandits and kidnappers that are on rampage in the state.
“The Katsina government organised this one-day joint security and stakeholders meeting to proffer solutions to the state’s current insecurity challenge.
“The people of Katsina in the 34 local governments now sleep with one eye closed and the other opened.
“Our state is in a dangerous situation. Travelers are afraid of being stopped on the highway and arrested by kidnappers who demand ransom.”
The meeting, which later went into closed-door session, had in attendance top government functionaries, security chiefs and traditional leaders from the worst hit eight local governments areas, bordering Zamfara State and other selected local government areas.
Defence Minister in Maiduguri
Also yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the Defence Minister, Mansur Dan Ali, to Maiduguri, following escalation of attacks on military formations in Borno State by Boko Haram.
The Defence Minister, who had a marathon meeting with Service chiefs at the Theatre Command Centre, Maimalari Canntonnment, Maiduguri, told journalists after the meeting that he is in the theatre on Buhari’s orders to get first hand information on the security situation in the north east.
He added that after a meeting with security forces, his team would head to N’Djamena, Chad, to seek bilateral cooperation with government and security forces in the border country, with a view to fighting Boko Haram to finish.
“I was instructed by President Muhammadu Buhari to come and find out what happened and what needs to be done from the commanders.
“I have been briefed by the field commanders and the Chief of Army staff has added his own. I will take home to the President all the recommendations and briefings done by each commander here.
“I was directed to visit Chad on the same mission. Right now, I am proceeding to Chad on the instruction of Mr. President,” Dan-Ali said. He, however, called on all and sundry to support government and security operatives in the fight against Boko Haram and other criminal activities for peace to reign.
Facts available to newsmen,yesterday, revealed that the situation in some parts of Borno is still very dire, following the invasion and dislodgement of troops in Baga town of Kukawa Local Government Area.
Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) yesterday arrested over 100 suspects at Proxy Night club located at No. 7, Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, where a drug party was going on.
Spokesman of the Agency, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this yesterday, said the suspects arrested include the owner of the club, Mike EzeNwalieNwogu, alias Pretty Mike, who was taken into custody for screening.
“Cartons of illicit substances, including Loud and laughing gas, were recovered from suspects at the party and the club’s store,” Babafemi said.
The raid followed intelligence about the drug party. NDLEA operatives who were embedded in the party between 11 pm on Saturday, 25th October, however, disrupted the gathering at 3 am on Sunday, 26th October, in line with Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Similarly, NDLEA said a total of 70 parcels of cocaine factory packed in walls of cocoa butter formula body cream containers heading to London, United Kingdom, were uncovered at the export shed of the MurtalaMuhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, with three suspects arrested in a series of follow-up operations across Lagos.
According to the statement, “The cocaine consignments weighing 3.60 kilograms were discovered on 14th October 2025 during examination of cargoes packaged as personal effects going to London, UK on an Air Peace flight.
“A cargo agent, Lawal Mustapha Olakunle, who presented the consignment for airfreight, was promptly arrested while investigations stretching into two weeks led to the arrest of two principal suspects linked to the attempt to export the concealed Class A drug to the UK.
“In a follow up operation on 18th October, a female healthcare worker OgunmuyideTaiwo Deborah was arrested following which Mutiu Adebayo Adebiyi, the Chief Executive Officer of a travel agency, MutiuAdebiyi& Co, was arrested at his 23 LadokeAkintola Street, Ikeja GRA Lagos office on Monday 20 th October”.
In a similar development, an attempt by a 35-year-old Lesotho national, Lemena Mark, to export 103.59 grams of methamphetamine concealed in a diabeta herbs coffee tea pack to the Philippines on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from the AkanuIbiam International Airport (AIIA) Enugu on Wednesday, 22nd October, was thwarted by NDLEA officers who arrested him and recovered the illicit drug.
No fewer than 21,950 capsules of tramadol 250mg concealed inside a 100-litre water heater were recovered from a suspect, Umar Abubakar, 40, who was arrested by NDLEA operatives at Bode Saadu, Morro local government area of Kwara state, following credible intelligence on Tuesday, 21st October.
In Taraba, the duo of Auwal Musa, 26, and SalihuBala, 22, were arrested on Tuesday, 21st October, with 450,000 pills of tramadol and Exol-5 at Dan-anacha checkpoint while conveying the consignment in a truck loaded with building materials from Onitsha, Anambra state, to Mubi, Adamawa state.
Also, NDLEA officers on patrol along the Okene/Lokoja highway, Kogi state, seized 162.200kg skunk, a strain of cannabis, from a truck on Friday, 24th October. Operatives in Nasarawa state on Wednesday, 22nd October, recovered 128kg of the same psychoactive substance from a suspect, Abubakar Muhammad, 55, in the Keffi area of the state.
A mother of two, Oyonumoh Glory Effiong, who is a major distributor of Canadian and California Loud, both strong strains of cannabis, in Lekki, Ajah, Ikoyi, Victoria Island and VGC areas of Lagos, has been arrested by NDLEA operatives on Friday, 17th October, during a raid at her Lekki home, where 500 grams of the illicit substances were recovered.
In the Ikorodu area of Lagos, NDLEA officers on Thursday, 23rd October, raided the home of a suspect, OgunyaboAdenigbigbe, at Solomade estate, where 275 litres of skuchies, a new psychoactive substance produced with black currant drink, cannabis and opioids, were recovered.
A 75-year-old grandpa, EchenduOnuoka, was arrested on Wednesday, 22nd October, at Ovum village, Obingwa LGA, Abia state, with 4.7kg skunk seized from him, while a 60-year-old grandma, Aukana John, was nabbed with 225 grams of the same substance at Apanta village, in the same LGA.
While a 150kg skunk was recovered during a raid operation at Lot camp, IkunAkoko, Ondo state, two suspects: Bashir Mohammad, 50, and Samini Ahmed Tijjani, 35, were nabbed with 234.5kg of the same substance at Yan aya ,Saminaka in Lere LGA, Kaduna on Friday, 24th October, just as another set of suspects: IsahUsman, 50, and Salvation Okoler, 18, were arrested with 8,600 pills of tramadol 225mg and rohypnol along Abuja/Kaduna highway.
At the Seme border area of Lagos, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, 22nd October nabbed Jacob Ojugbele with 55kg skunk at Ashipa area of Badagry, while AmusaOluwabukola was arrested with 121.3 litres of skuchies at ItogaBadagry.
In Zamfara state, NDLEA operatives on patrol along Gummi-Anka road on Monday, 20th October arrested a suspect, Abubakar Ibrahim, 30, in possession of an AK-47 rifle and 1,746 assorted calibres of ammunition, for AK-47 and GPMG rifles while moving them from Sokoto to Bagega forest, Anka LGA, Zamfara. Both the suspect and the exhibits have since been handed over to the appropriate security agency for further investigation.
With the same vigour, Commands and formations of the Agency across the country continued their War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) sensitization activities in schools, worship centres, workplaces, and communities, among others, in the past week.
These include: WADA sensitization lecture to students and staff of Asabari Grammar School, IluwaIsaleOke, Saki West LGA, Oyo; Government Day Girls Secondary School, BirninKebbi, Kebbi; St. Mark’s College, Nsude, Enugu; Kusaki Secondary School, Gboko North, Benue; Government Day Secondary School, Serti- Baruwa, Gashaka LGA, Taraba; Police Children School 2, Port Harcourt, Rivers and Hajara Ahmad International School, Tudun Wada, Kano state, among others.
While commending the officers and men of MMIA, AIIA, Lagos, Kwara, Abia, Nasarawa, Kogi, Ondo, Anambra, Taraba, Kaduna, Seme and Zamfara Commands for the arrests and seizures, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed BubaMarwa (Rtd) urged them and their colleagues across the country to continue the Agency’s balanced approach to drug control efforts.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), BayoOjulari, to provide a detailed account of oil revenues reportedly flagged by the Auditor-General of the Federation in the 2022 annual report.
The report, published on September 9, 2025, raised questions over the management of multi-billion-naira transactions, including over N22 billion, $49 million, £14 million, and €5 million in oil-related revenue, handled by the national oil company.
In a letter dated October 25, 2025, and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, KolawoleOluwadare, the organisation called on Ojulari to ensure transparency by identifying those responsible for any unaccounted funds and forwarding the findings to the appropriate anti-corruption agencies.
“These findings raise serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the management of public resources,” SERAP said.
The group urged the NNPCL to recover any unremitted or misapplied funds and return them to the national treasury, stressing that proper management of oil revenues was crucial for national development.
“The allegations, if not promptly and transparently addressed, could undermine public confidence and economic stability,” SERAP stated.
According to the organisation, the Auditor-General’s report drew attention to issues such as irregular payments, uncompleted projects, and documentation lapses relating to oil sector transactions.
SERAP argued that corruption and financial mismanagement in the oil sector had long hindered Nigeria’s ability to channel its vast petroleum wealth into improved public services.
“Despite the country’s enormous oil resources, citizens continue to face hardship due to a lack of accountability and transparency in revenue management,” the statement noted.
The organisation maintained that if the flagged funds were properly accounted for, more resources could be made available for sectors such as education, healthcare, and social welfare.
It added that the NNPCL must take proactive steps to comply with audit recommendations, including closing identified loopholes and enhancing oversight on contract execution.
SERAP also warned that it would take legal action should the NNPCL fail to respond within seven days.
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and publication of this letter.
“If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel compliance in the public interest,” the organisation said.
The group cited Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution, which mandates public institutions to prevent corrupt practices and abuse of power.
The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has approved the creation of an additional state in the South-East geo-political zone.
According to a statement by the media unit of the committee, the resolution was reached on Saturday at a two-day retreat in Lagos, where it reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.
The session, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, BarauJibrin, and co-chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, resolved that, in the spirit of fairness and equity, the Federal Government should create another state for the region.
Kalu, who joined other lawmakers to champion additional state creation for the region, argued that a new state would give the people a sense of belonging.
When created, the South-East will be at par with the South-South, South-West, North-Central, and North-East zones, each having six states.
The South-East is the only geo-political zone with five states comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.
The North-West comprises seven states: Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Jigawa.
According to the statement, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) moved a motion for the creation of the new state, which was seconded by Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State) at the retreat.
“The motion received the unanimous support of committee members and was adopted,” the statement read in part.
Similarly, the committee also established a sub-committee to consider the creation of additional states and local government areas across all six geo-political zones, noting that a total of 278 proposals were submitted for review.
Speaking at the event, Jibrin urged members to rally support among their colleagues at the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to ensure the resolutions sail through during voting.
“We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process.
“By the time we get to the actual voting, we should already have the buy-in of all stakeholders—from both chambers and the state Houses of Assembly,” the Deputy Senate President was quoted as saying.