A residential apartment in Kano has become the centre of a major drug trafficking investigation after security operatives uncovered approximately 3.18 million capsules of suspected Pregabalin and arrested a 34-year-old man. The discovery was made at No. 13 Apple Avenue, Normansland, Sabon Gari, in Fagge Local Government Area, during an intelligence-led operation by the Kano State Multi-Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The operation, which took place less than 24 hours after Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf inaugurated the state’s Rapid Response Squad, followed information received through the Task Force’s public reporting platforms. The arrested suspect was identified…
Author: National Update
Fatima Abubakar was 35. Her children were Maimuna, 17, Aisha, 16, Bashir, 13, Abubakar, 10, Faruk, seven, and Abdulsalam Haruna, a toddler. On January 17, 2026, at about 11:30 a.m., all seven were killed inside their home at Dorayi Chiranchi Quarters. On Friday, a Kano State High Court sentenced two men to death by hanging for their deaths. Umar Auwalu and Yakubu Dayyabu were also sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour each for conspiracy and armed robbery. The court heard that the attack came from someone the family knew. Auwalu was Fatima’s nephew. Justice Nasiru Saminu said the victims…
With the presidential election less than ten weeks away, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) is racing to save its leadership and its presidential ticket. It has asked the Court of Appeal to overturn a ruling that nullified the David Mark-led leadership, and it wants INEC to do nothing until the court decides. The stakes go beyond party offices. The November 5 judgment by Justice Peter Lifu also affected the process that produced former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate. The ADC says it has filed a notice of appeal. It has also applied for a stay of…
The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, says the party will not rig the 2027 election to keep President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in power. Yari said the President’s achievements are enough to earn the votes and trust of Nigerians. He spoke on Friday at the APC presidential campaign rally at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo. He said the party would depend on Nigerians who have benefited from the President’s economic reforms, infrastructure projects and social intervention programmes, instead of manipulating the election. Yari, a former governor of Zamfara State, also challenged…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved higher pay for its staff and 150 per cent more monthly funding for its state offices as it prepares for the 2027 general elections. INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, announced this on Friday at a meeting with staff in Lokoja. The meeting was held to check how ready the North-Central states are for the elections. He said the new salary structure started on January 1, 2026, and that work to provide the cash for it is still ongoing. The extra funding for state offices started on July 1, 2026. Staff will also…
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has urged the National Assembly to halt what it calls Nigeria’s dangerous slide into debt dependence, warning that the country risks mortgaging the future of generations yet unborn. This was contained in a statement signed and made available to to the media by HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko. The group in the statement also asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to stop further external borrowing and heed former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s warning that excessive debt destroys generations. Citing the World Bank’s International Debt Report 2026, HURIWA said Nigeria’s external debt stood…
By: Lamara Garba Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and one of the most influential thinkers on democracy and liberty, is widely credited with making a profound observation about the relationship between government and the press: that if he had to choose between a society with a government but no newspapers and one with newspapers but no government, he would not hesitate to choose the latter. Although the quotation has appeared in different forms over the years, the principle behind it remains remarkably relevant: a government, no matter how well-intentioned or accomplished, cannot sustain public confidence for…
National Leader of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, has promised to end the contributory pension scheme for police personnel if the party wins the 2027 presidential election. Dickson said an NDC government under the presidency of Peter Obi would introduce a better retirement arrangement that guarantees serving and retired police officers a decent life after years of service. He made the pledge on Friday when about 60 retired senior police officers from Bayelsa West visited him at his country home in Toru-Orua, Bayelsa State. The former Bayelsa governor expressed concern over the hardship faced by retired…
The Kano State Government is expanding its campaign against drug abuse beyond arrests and prosecution, with a renewed focus on rehabilitation, skills acquisition and reintegration of former drug users into society. Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf announced the approach on Thursday while inaugurating a Quick Response Squad of the Multi-Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and unveiling operational equipment worth hundreds of millions of naira. Yusuf said tackling substance abuse required more than enforcement, stressing that people who had undergone rehabilitation must be given opportunities to acquire skills and earn legitimate livelihoods. According to him, providing such opportunities…
By Douglas Baye-Osagie dbayeosagie@yahoo.com Some sporting teams win matches, some entertain while a rare few make a whole nation stop and believe again. At the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco the Nigerian girls have restored hope and pride, and a first African title is within reach. With just 90 minutes separating them from an extraordinary piece of history, the young girls have given the country something it badly needs: hope, pride and a glimpse of the future of women’s football. The journey did not begin smoothly. An opening-day defeat to Poland raised immediate questions about the team’s readiness…