By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja In a decisive blow to criminal networks in Kogi State, troops of the Nigerian Army’s 12 Brigade, operating under Operation ACCORD III, in collaboration with Other Hybrid Forces (OHF), have eliminated feared bandit warlord Babangida Kachala—a breakthrough military officials say will cripple bandit activity in the region. Lt. Hassan Abdullahi, Acting Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, announced the operation in a statement on Friday, describing it as a major step in ongoing efforts to reclaim Kogi’s forests from armed gangs. Babangida, long regarded as the ruthless second-in-command to notorious gang leader Kachala Shuaibu, had terrorized communities…
Author: National Update
By Ochiagha Reagan Ufomba Nigeria’s democracy has just entered a dangerous zone. The letter of the Clerk of the Senate to Senator Natasha, communicating that she cannot resume her legislative duties after serving six months illegal suspension because the matter is “subjudice” is a spit on our democracy This is not just an assault on democracy, it is an institutional attempt to rewrite the Constitution and silence her constituents. Why the Clerk’s Position Is Fundamentally Wrong The doctrine of subjudice restricts debate in parliament on matters pending before a court. It does not, and cannot, justify barring an elected senator…
In 1973, Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko visited Mauritania for three days. At the time, Mauritania was one of the poorest nations in Africa, relying on fishing, farming, and sheep herding. Throughout the visit, Mobutu noticed something unusual: Mauritania’s President, Moktar Ould Daddah—the country’s first leader after independence from France—wore the same suit every day. Realizing his host could not afford fine clothing, Mobutu decided to act quietly. At Nouakchott Airport before his departure, he discreetly gave a check for $5 million to Ould Daddah’s secretary, along with a note listing Parisian fashion designers where he himself ordered suits. It…
The quiet town of Karshi, Abuja, was awash with grief on Saturday as friends, parishioners, and journalists from across Nigeria gathered to bid farewell to Dr. Leon Usigbe, the revered Abuja Bureau Chief of the Nigerian Tribune. His burial, attended by colleagues, dignitaries, and church members, became a poignant celebration of a life defined by integrity, humility, and service. Under a grey, solemn sky, the late journalist’s casket, draped in white was carried by pallbearers into St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. At the entrance, the priest received it with holy water, candles, a Bible, and a white pall, symbols of faith…
A fierce political row has erupted in Anambra State after Nonye Soludo, wife of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, publicly rebuked former Senator Uche Ekwunife over recent comments she said were aimed at tarnishing her family’s reputation. In a strongly worded statement shared on Friday, Soludo accused Ekwunife of crossing “a red line” by dragging her family into political disputes. She defended her integrity and called on Ekwunife to retract her claims within 72 hours or face legal action. The confrontation stems from a series of exchanges following Governor Soludo’s earlier questions about Ekwunife’s academic credentials and political record. What began as…
By Fatima Ndagi Former legislators from Nigeria’s southern states have thrown their full weight behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, declaring him the “sole candidate of the South” for a second term. They have also urged Nigerians to rally around him to complete what they described as “the southern mandate” before power shifts northward in 2031. Meeting at a high-energy summit on Saturday at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, the Southern Caucus of the National Forum of Former Legislators issued a communique applauding Tinubu’s reform agenda—from regional development commissions and local government autonomy to the student loan scheme and…
***Only Councillors Can Impeach Local Leaders, Not State Assembly, Lawyer By Ahmed Rufa’i, Dutse Some councillors in Garki Local Government Area of Jigawa State have accused the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Haruna Aliyu Dangyatin, of violating constitutional provisions and a Supreme Court ruling on local government autonomy by interfering in their legislative affairs. The councillors, who spoke to National Update on condition of anonymity, alleged that Dangyatin pressured them to reinstate their impeached local council speaker, Hon. Jamilu Adamu, despite what they described as a valid constitutional process for his removal. They claimed the interference…
By Fatima Ndagi Members of the Kebbi State Caucus in the National Assembly have gone on the offensive, demanding the arrest and prosecution of former Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), accusing him of instigating violence in their home state. Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Friday, Senator Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central)—flanked by fellow senators and House of Representatives members—dismissed as “false and politically motivated” the petition Malami filed on 10 September 2025. Malami’s petition had accused Governor Nasir Idris and other political figures of importing thugs, hiring foreign mercenaries, and engaging in secret arms…
Abuja-based legal practitioner, Onyedikachi Ifedi, has issued a blistering rebuke of Nigeria’s judiciary, declaring that the Supreme Court’s December 15, 2023 judgment—now being used to prosecute Biafra agitator Nnamdi Kanu—amounts to nothing less than a catastrophic betrayal of the Constitution and the rule of law. In a fiery statement released Saturday, Ifedi implored the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Senior Advocates of Nigeria, civil rights organizations, and the media to “call out the grave dangers embedded in the apex court’s ruling” and mobilize efforts to have the decision reversed. “The case of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,” he warned, “is the ultimate test…
By Lamara Garba Azare They carried chalk, files, and stethoscopes in their youth. Today, they carry pain, waiting for gratuities that never came. Dr. Ali Pate says their waiting must end, and 2027 could be their dawn. For more than a decade, thousands of retired civil servants in Bauchi State have lived with pain and disappointment. Men and women who built schools, manned hospitals, and kept the machinery of government running have been left without the gratuities that should sustain them in old age. Some have waited since 2012. Many have died waiting. Others are bedridden, unable to afford basic…