Senator Sunday Karimi, representing Kogi West Senatorial District, has condemned the deadly attack on Iluke-Bunu community in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area, where a vice principal and two others were killed and students abducted during Wednesday’s assault on a WAEC examination centre. The senator described the incident as “unfortunate and unacceptable,” amid growing concern over renewed insecurity targeting rural communities and schools in Kogi State. The attack, which disrupted the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), has continued to spark outrage across the state, with residents and stakeholders calling for stronger security presence around vulnerable communities. Karimi, in a…
Author: National Update
The Senate on Tuesday took a more forceful step in its ongoing investigation into the financial operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), ordering the issuance of a warrant of arrest against former Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, over his repeated failure to appear before its Public Accounts Committee. The resolution came as lawmakers intensified scrutiny of audit reports covering 2017 to 2023, which contain disputed entries and unexplained figures running into over N210 trillion, according to documents submitted by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation. The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, said…
Tragedy struck on Wednesday in Kogi State as armed bandits invaded Government Secondary School, Iluke Bunu, in Kabba-Bunu Local Government Area, killing three persons, including a vice principal, and abducting an unspecified number of students during the ongoing West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The attack, which occurred at about 9:45 a.m., threw the community into panic as the gunmen reportedly targeted students writing their WAEC examinations at a designated centre within the area. Eyewitnesses said the attackers stormed the school in large numbers, riding on motorcycles and shooting sporadically as they advanced into the examination venue, forcing students,…
Fresh details emerged on Wednesday in the ongoing trial of former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Hadi Sirika, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) told a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the aircraft unveiled as Nigeria Air in May 2023 was actually a short-term chartered plane from Ethiopian Airlines used for a ceremonial display. The EFCC made the disclosure through its 12th prosecution witness, Christopher Odofin, who testified before Justice S.C. Oriji in the case involving Sirika and three others over alleged abuse of office and misappropriation of public funds estimated at over N2…
By Lamara Garba in Makkah The Executive Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has assured pilgrims from the state currently performing Hajj in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that adequate arrangements are being made to ensure a smooth, safe and hitch-free return to Nigeria. Governor Yusuf gave the assurance while addressing Kano pilgrims in Makkah, where he commended them for their patience, discipline and exemplary conduct throughout the pilgrimage period. The governor also urged the pilgrims to continue offering prayers for lasting peace, unity, tranquility and prosperity in Kano State and Nigeria as a whole, stressing that the…
Panic swept across Niger State on Wednesday after rumours of an impending bandit attack on schools triggered a mass withdrawal of students from classrooms, forcing several schools and churches to suspend activities amid fears of possible abductions. The scare, which spread rapidly across Minna, the state capital, and several local government areas, caused anxious parents to abandon workplaces and businesses to pick up their children following reports that armed bandits riding motorcycles had been sighted moving towards the state capital. By mid-morning, the rumour had sparked widespread confusion, with many public and private schools shutting down academic activities as teachers…
In a major push to tackle mounting case backlogs and accelerate the delivery of justice, the Senate has begun the process of significantly expanding the manpower of Nigeria’s superior courts, advancing legislation that would add 60 new judicial officers to the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal. The proposed reforms, which sailed through second reading during plenary, seek to increase the number of judges of the Federal High Court from 70 to 90 and raise the complement of justices of the Court of Appeal from 70 to 110. The bills, sponsored by Senate Leader Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti…
***Says Rising Debt, Poverty Contradict Claims of Fiscal Success Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has launched a blistering critique of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s three-year economic record, questioning how government revenue could have more than doubled while poverty, debt and economic hardship deepened across the country. Reacting to the administration’s assessment of its performance since assuming office in 2023, Obi said the government’s own figures expose what he described as a troubling contradiction at the heart of Nigeria’s economic management. According to him, President Tinubu recently announced that federal revenue increased from N16.8 trillion in…
Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Comrade Timi Frank, has raised fresh concerns over alleged attempts to use the judiciary to weaken opposition politics, warning judges against delivering rulings that could undermine Nigeria’s democratic process ahead of future elections. Frank, in a statement issued on Tuesday, called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the National Judicial Council (NJC), and judicial officers at all levels to protect the independence of the courts and resist political interference in sensitive cases. His warning comes amid ongoing legal disputes involving the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its former deputy…
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has raised concerns over what it described as a growing trend of “elite capture” in Nigeria’s political party primaries, warning that the development is undermining internal democracy and distorting candidate emergence ahead of the 2027 general elections. Speaking at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) quarterly consultative meeting, IPAC Chairman Yusuf Dantalle said recent changes in the Electoral Act 2026—particularly the scrapping of indirect primaries—have unintentionally concentrated power within a narrow circle of party elites, weakening broad-based participation in the selection of candidates. Dantalle said the removal of indirect primaries has disrupted established internal party…