The scale of the tragedy unfolding in Niger State has widened dramatically, with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) confirming that 315 students and teachers were abducted during the brutal raid on St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwarra Local Government Area. The updated figure—far exceeding the earlier count of 227—followed a painstaking verification exercise led by the CAN Chairman in the state, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who is also the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese. “88 More Children Were Taken” — Fresh Headcount Reveals Hidden Horror According to Bishop Yohanna, the revelation came after anxious…
Author: National Update
The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Arc. Sonny Echono has expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Chief Dan Agbese, OFR, describing him as one of Nigeria’s most influential journalism icons whose legacy will endure for generations. In a heartfelt condolence message addressed to the family of the late media legend, Echono said the news of Chief Agbese’s death came as a painful loss not only to his immediate family, but to the entire Nigerian media community and the Idoma Nation. Chief Agbese, co-founder of the trailblazing Newswatch magazine, was celebrated for his unmatched contributions to…
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has demanded that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu resign if he cannot protect citizens, particularly schoolchildren, from terrorist attacks. The group condemned recent abductions in Niger and Nasarawa States, where hundreds of students were kidnapped from Catholic schools in Nasarawa’s Rukubi and Niger’s Papiri. HURIWA also slammed Catholic clerics Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama, Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, and suspended Reverend Father Hyacinth Alia for opposing U.S. military intervention against terrorists targeting Christians. The group warned that their stance amounts to betrayal of their flocks and pledged to petition the Pope for sanctions, including defrocking…
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has dismissed claims by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, that over 13,000 terrorists have been killed and 17,000 arrested since President Bola Tinubu assumed office. In a statement on Saturday, HURIWA said the government’s “propaganda” is no longer credible, citing the continued presence of armed Islamic and Fulani terrorists in states including Niger, Kwara, Borno, and Kebbi. “Given widespread access to information, Nigerians can no longer be persuaded by half-truths or unverifiable statistics,” HURIWA said. The rights group stressed that the only way to convince citizens of success…
A high-profile forgery and property fraud case took a dramatic turn on Thursday as the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Justice minister Lateef Fagbemi assumed full control of the prosecution of Miss Uzoamaka Onukwubiri, Managing Director of Sow Real Estate Nigeria Ltd. Onukwubiri, accused of orchestrating a scheme involving forged documents and the unlawful acquisition of property, was arraigned before Justice Musa Liman of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on a nine-count charge. She pleaded not guilty. Despite efforts by her legal team to secure bail, Justice Liman ordered that the 42-year-old developer be remanded in Suleja Correctional…
The Niger Delta’s riches are so vast that they exceed the entire 250-year economic output of the United States by a factor of 18, former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has declared. Adebayo delivered the startling assessment in Abuja during the unveiling of the book The Hidden Treasure of the Niger Delta, describing the region as “a paradise where poverty should be impossible.” He observed that a fraction of what is available in the Delta could match everything America has achieved in over 250 years hence poverty should be impossible in that paradise. “Consider this:…
***Mass Graves Everywhere’ Plateau Bishop Cries Out ***Want international community to act immediately ***Muslim Cleric: ‘Kidnappers Strike as Checkpoints Vanish’ A one-day peace summit in Abuja on Friday became a searing rebuke of Nigeria’s political leadership, as Senator Shehu Sani and prominent Muslim and Christian clerics warned that the nation is bleeding, vulnerable, and locked in a relentless cycle of killings and kidnappings. Sani, the convener of the summit, launched into a fierce takedown of the ruling elite, accusing them of neglecting citizens, stifling the truth, and running a military “flush with hotels and event centres but starved of weapons.”…
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja The Kogi State Scholarship Board (KSSB) says it has submitted 23,828 valid applications for the 2025 Students Bursary Award to the state-appointed consultant, Fast Mita Nigeria, for verification. Mr Afolabi Joseph‑Raji, Executive Chairman of KSSB, who disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday in Lokoja, said the data were presented to the state appointed independent Consultant, Fast Mita Nigeria, for verification. The Executive Chairman noted that the board received a total of 42,743 applications through its Bursary Management Portal at the end of the online registration exercise, out of which 23,828 were validly…
***Marks New Milestone in Tech Leadership Hon. Adedeji Dhikrullahi Stanley Olajide has taken a significant leap in his digital policy career, as the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) admitted him into its prestigious College of Fellows—an honour reserved for trailblazers shaping the nation’s technology future. The induction took place at the 2025 Nigeria Information Technology Merit Award (NITMA) ceremony on Tuesday at the MUSON Centre, Lagos. The event, attended by innovators, government officials, tech executives and global ICT partners, celebrated personalities at the forefront of Nigeria’s digital progress. For the lawmaker representing Ibadan North-West/Ibadan South-West Federal Constituency, the fellowship signals a…
***Whisked Away in Two Trucks Armed men suspected to be bandits invaded a missionary school in Papiri Ward, Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State in the early hours of Friday, abducting more than 100 students. The attackers stormed St. Mary Primary and Secondary School at about 3:00 a.m., according to community sources. The school, which has operated for over 50 years and runs both day and boarding systems, is renowned for providing quality education across the Borgu Kingdom. A source in Papiri said the gunmen, heavily armed, first cordoned off the entire area before forcing their way into the…