By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja The Kogi NGOs Network (KONGONET) has urged stronger coordination and proactive engagement between government agencies, security forces, traditional authorities, and civil society to curb the escalating insecurity across Kogi State. Chairman Hamza Aliyu made the call in response to recent incidents of kidnappings, armed attacks, and banditry, particularly along the Kabba–Obajana–Lokoja corridor and in rural communities of Yagba East, Okene, and Koton-Karfe. “Over the past several months, Kogi State has experienced a sharp rise in security threats affecting both urban and rural areas. These incidents have instilled fear, disrupted economic activities, and displaced families,” Aliyu said.…
Author: National Update
The Nigerian Senate has urged swift federal action to tackle the surge of insecurity in Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger States, insisting that kidnappers face the death penalty as a decisive deterrent against violent crime. Senators also called for a comprehensive review of the country’s firearms laws, aiming to empower law-abiding citizens in defending themselves and their communities—an approach aligned with practices in over 175 countries globally. The resolution stemmed from a motion on the urgent need to tackle rising insecurity in Kwara, Kebbi, and Niger States, moved by Lola Ashiru (Kwara South). The motion highlighted a recent wave of attacks…
Four years after the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) came into effect, the Niger Delta has yet to see the benefits of two major environmental funds, the House of Representatives Committee on South South Development Commission (SSDC) revealed on Tuesday. Hon. Julius Gbabojör Pondi, committee chairman, warned that the Abandonment and Decommissioning Fund and the Environmental Remediation Fund—intended to hold oil companies accountable for cleaning up degraded lands and waterways—have been largely inactive, denying the region an estimated N1.65 trillion since 2021. “If properly operationalised, these funds could have amassed between N850 billion and N1.1 trillion for decommissioning and N420 billion…
The Global Friendship City Association (GFCA), a U.S.-based international cooperation organisation, has appointed Nigerian politician and diplomat Ambassador Timi Frank as a Senior Advisor, in a move designed to deepen Africa–U.S. relations through city-to-city collaboration, youth-focused programmes and cultural exchange. The appointment was announced on November 25 in San Francisco, California, signalling GFCA’s renewed push to expand sustainable partnerships between African cities and communities across the United States. GFCA’s Executive Director, Jonathan Ginsberg, said Frank brings strategic political and diplomatic insight that will strengthen the organisation’s mission. “Ambassador Timi Frank’s experience across African political and diplomatic circles makes him an…
In one of its biggest operations of the year, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has taken down a major opioid syndicate in Lagos, storming a covert warehouse stacked with drugs worth N6.7 billion and arresting a suspected kingpin, Onyekachi Pius Nwanagu, along with five members of his network. The operation, driven by weeks of intelligence gathering, targeted a drug trafficking organisation that was allegedly preparing to flood the market with millions of opioid pills ahead of the festive season. The warehouse—hidden inside a quiet residential estate at 23 Sunny Billa East Street, Bucknor, Isheri-Isolo—was found to contain staggering…
***Launches Biggest Security Recruitment Drive in Decades President Bola Tinubu has declared a national security emergency, unveiling the most sweeping security overhaul Nigeria has seen in years as violence surges across multiple states. In a bold push to reinforce the country’s overstretched forces, Tinubu approved the recruitment of 20,000 additional soldiers and police officers, raising the total number of new security personnel to 50,000 when combined with earlier approvals. The massive intake is expected to be fast-tracked. To speed up deployment, the President ordered that NYSC orientation camps be converted into police training centres, a move aimed at producing thousands…
Gunfire erupted outside Guinea-Bissau’s presidential palace on Wednesday, plunging the already-tense West African nation into yet another political crisis just three days after its general elections. By afternoon, senior military officers appeared on national television to announce they had assumed “total control” of the country, closed all borders, and suspended the ongoing electoral process. The declaration was delivered by General Denis N’Canha, head of the presidential military office, who sat flanked by armed soldiers as he read out the statement. According to N’Canha, a joint command drawn from all branches of the armed forces is now leading the country “until…
By Fatima Ndagi The House of Representatives Committee on the South South Development Commission has raised serious concerns over Nigeria’s failure to activate two major funding mechanisms established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), warning that the delay has deprived the Niger Delta of critical resources for environmental remediation. The Committee disclosed that the lapse has denied the region an estimated ₦1.27 trillion to ₦1.65 trillion earmarked for environmental cleanup and decommissioning of obsolete oil facilities. Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Julius Gbabojör Pondi, issued the warning during an interactive session at the National Assembly on Tuesday, convened to review…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) suffered a major setback on Wednesday in its asset-declaration case against Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Abba Kyari at the Federal High Court in Abuja, as the cross-examination of the first respondent ended in confusion and little progress. The case, which alleges that Kyari failed to declare his assets, saw the prosecution, led by counsel Sunday Joseph, struggle to establish inconsistencies in Kyari’s statements, particularly regarding inheritance and property ownership. At a previous sitting, Joseph attempted to assert that all properties left by Kyari’s late father were solely his. Kyari firmly refuted this,…
The Nigerian Senate has taken renewed action in the quest for justice for Ochanya Ogbanje, the 13-year-old whose death in 2018 triggered widespread outrage over allegations of prolonged sexual abuse. During Wednesday’s plenary, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (Kogi Central) presented a petition urging the Senate to intervene decisively in the stalled case. The petition, submitted by Inibehe Effiong Chambers on behalf of the Ogbanje family, called for urgent legislative steps to revive the matter and hold all responsible parties to account. It specifically requested the immediate arrest and prosecution of the prime suspect, Victor Ogbuja, who has been on the run,…