By Lamara Garba The Executive Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has been honoured with the prestigious Best Governor in Nigeria for the 2026 Hajj Exercise Award by Sana Company, one of the leading Saudi hospitality and service providers responsible for the welfare of pilgrims in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The award was presented during a colourful dinner and recognition ceremony held at Iskan, Makkah, where Saudi officials, Hajj administrators, Islamic scholars, and dignitaries gathered to celebrate individuals and institutions that distinguished themselves during this year’s pilgrimage. Presenting the award, the Head of Sana Company, Alhaji Abdullah…
Author: National Update
By Douglas Baye-Osagie Nigeria missing the World Cup is painful, but it also creates a rare window. This is a sober time for fans as the biggest sporting event on earth is just days away. With the talent at our disposal, the next three years give us time to stop fire-fighting and start building for 2030. The U23 team, aimed at the Olympics in Los Angeles 2028, is the perfect project to reset our football identity with purpose and direction. The Olympics football tournament is unique. It’s U23 with 3 overage players, so it forces investment in youth. Countries like…
***Warn Against Moves to Alter Presidential Ticket A coalition of Accord Party stakeholders and members of the Hashim Progressives Movement (HPM) from the North-West has issued a strong warning against what it described as attempts to tamper with the party’s presidential mandate, insisting that Dr. Gbenga Olawepo Hashim remains the only validly nominated presidential candidate of the party. The declaration was made on Tuesday during a well-attended press conference in Kaduna, where party loyalists from Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara states gathered to publicly reaffirm their support for Hashim’s candidacy. Speaking on behalf of the group, North-West…
Momentum is building for the creation of state police in Nigeria as the Senate prepares to take decisive action on a constitutional amendment that could reshape the country’s security architecture. Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has revealed that lawmakers are set to prioritise the state police bill this week, citing an unprecedented level of agreement among key stakeholders, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, state governors and the National Assembly. According to Bamidele, the proposal has gained broad national support, prompting lawmakers to separate it from other constitutional amendment bills and accelerate its passage. The move follows intensive consultations involving federal lawmakers,…
***Demands Justice, Compensation, Structural Response to Xenophobia The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) says it is receiving with deep concern and cautious approval the Federal Government’s announcement to evacuate over 1,000 Nigerians from South Africa following renewed waves of xenophobic attacks targeting African migrants, including Nigerians. While the Association acknowledges the government’s decision to fund and facilitate the evacuation as a necessary emergency response, it warns that evacuation alone is a dangerously incomplete response to what is clearly a recurring pattern of violence, discrimination, and state failure to protect foreign nationals. In a statement by its National coordinator…
By Lemmy Ughegbe, Ph.D. When Nigerians think about national security, they think about soldiers. They think about troops advancing through difficult terrain, fighter jets pounding enemy positions, and dramatic gun battles. What they rarely think about is intelligence. Yet intelligence is where victory usually begins. Before the arrest comes surveillance. Before the rescue comes information. Before a terrorist commander is eliminated, somebody must first know who he is, where he hides, how he moves, and who sustains him. That is the work of intelligence. And if recent events are anything to go by, Nigeria’s intelligence community deserves far more recognition…
The Kebbi State Police Command has arrested seven suspected terrorists during ongoing intelligence-led operations targeting criminal networks operating within the Soda Forest axis and surrounding border communities in Bagudo Local Government Area of the state. The arrests, which took place on June 5, 2026, were part of intensified efforts by security operatives to disrupt the activities and logistics of criminal groups involved in terrorism, banditry and other violent crimes in the area. According to the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bashir Usman, Mobile Police operatives acting on credible intelligence intercepted three suspects along the Illo–Lolo Road while they were travelling…
By Ipole Amajama The African continent is once again at the centre of a geopolitical storm. From the Sahel to Nigeria, insecurity is spreading at an alarming speed, threatening fragile states and destabilising entire regions. While local dynamics and systemic weaknesses play a role, Russia’s involvement raises troubling questions about its motives and the consequences for Africa and beyond. Nigeria faces a growing terrorist threat that is no longer confined to its borders. The collapse of governance in several states of the Alliance of Sahelian Juntas (AES) has created fertile ground for extremist groups. These failed states have become incubators…
Fresh cracks have emerged within the Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) following the resignation of several prominent loyalists of former National Secretary, Senator Iyiola Omisore, raising concerns about the party’s unity ahead of the governorship election. The development has triggered anxiety among party stakeholders, with insiders pointing to growing dissatisfaction within the Omisore camp over what members describe as marginalisation and exclusion from key political arrangements in the state. Sources within the party disclosed that tensions escalated after Omisore’s unsuccessful bid for the APC governorship ticket. Although he was among seven aspirants disqualified from the race,…
Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has waded into Nigeria’s heated conversation on insecurity and identity, warning against the growing tendency to link criminality to entire ethnic groups. In a message that appeared aimed at easing rising ethnic tensions across the country, Obi argued that criminal acts should be attributed to individuals and not used to stigmatize millions of innocent citizens who share the same ethnic background. The former Anambra State governor said the practice of profiling communities based on the actions of a few bad actors is unjust, divisive and dangerous to national cohesion. Drawing from his personal experience, Obi…