Kaduna
Activist asks court to compel Kano, others to refund VAT generated from alcohol
An Abuja-based activist, Sesugh Akume, has filed a suit before a Federal High Court in the nation’s capital, asking it to compel states that outlawed the sale of alcohol to refund the sums received through Value Added Tax imposed on alcoholic beverages. About 12 states practise Sharia law in Nigeria. They are Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Borno, Yobe, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Zamfara and Niger. Based on Sharia law, some of the states prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages and usually hold public events where bottles of alcoholic drinks are destroyed while gambling is also illegal. However, all the states receive VAT collected from alcoholic beverages sold in other states that permit the sale of the product. In an originating motion brought pursuant to Section 1(3), 4(5), 162(3), (4...
Nigerian Army appoints new NDA commandant
Major-General Sagir Yaro has been appointed as the commandant of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA). The NDA is a military university based in Kaduna. Bashir Jagira, the academy’s spokesperson, in a statement on Wednesday said Yaro is taking over from Jamil Sarham, also a major-general who is now to proceed on a senior research course at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) Kuru, Plateau state. Jaguar described Yaro as a seasoned military officer of the Nigerian Army Corps of Engineers, and member of the 36th regular course of the NDA, who has held several appointments cutting across command, staff and instructional. Until his appointment, Yaro was the general managing director, Nigerian Army Welfare Limited by Guarantee (NAWLG). While addressing principal staff o...
Kaduna governor: Bandits have challenged the sovereignty of Nigeria
Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that bandits have challenged the sovereignty of Nigeria, and must therefore be wiped out. He reiterated that the state government would never negotiate with the criminals. According to the governor, the activities of the criminals have driven farmers from their land and shaken the confidence of the people. The governor, who stated this yesterday at the Government House in Kaduna while receiving the 2020 Security Report from the state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, warned that food security of Nigerians is seriously at risk in view of activities of criminal elements across the country. Kaduna is one of the states in the North-west region that is worst hit by activities of bandits and kidnappers, ...
EFCC arraigns three for contract scam in Kaduna
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Wednesday, arraigned the trio of Abdulmumin Ohikwo, Usaini Shehu and Rilwanu Abdullahi before Justice Tukur Muazu of the Kaduna State High Court, Kaduna, on a 10-count charge of obtaining by false pretense. The defendants allegedly conspired among themselves to defraud the complainants under the pretext of helping them procure contracts with Jigawa State Government. Investigation revealed that the defendants obtained the total sum of N2, 310,000 (Two Million Three Hundred and Ten Thousand Naira) only from the complainants by falsely representing that they are in a position to procure contract for them. One of the charges reads, “that you Abdulmumin Ohokwo, Usaini Shehu and Rilwanu Abdullahi sometime in 2019 within the jurisdiction of this...
Senator Okon: Nigerian government handling insurgency, banditry with kid gloves
Pioneer National publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Anietie Okon has expressed concern that President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is handling insurgency and banditry in the northeast and north-west with kid gloves. Okon who is also the Spokesperson of Akwa Ibom Leaders Vanguard, made the assertion yesterday during an interaction with newsmen in Uyo, the state capital. He regretted that the same government left the armed bandits, and Boko Haram insurgents destroying lives and property to be moving freely but deployed military forces to the Southeast to descend on unarmed agitators. His words, “It is unfortunate that the Buhari-led Federal government is treating insurgents and armed bandits with kid gloves by leaving them to operate freely on daily bas...
PDP accuses APC of plot to take over Zamfara
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of plotting a forceful take over of Zamfara State because of the security challenges confronting the state. The party levelled the accusation in a statement on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan. The North-west state is governed by a PDP governor, Bello Matawalle. Hundreds of students were abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School, Jangebe, Zamfara State by some bandits on Friday last week. They were, however, released in the early hours of Tuesday. On the same day, the APC-led the federal government declared the state a ‘no-fly-zone’ just as it again banned mining activities in the state to curb the rising insecurity. Before the Zamfara incident, at least 27 male students were abduct...
Court dismisses NUT’s suit against Kaduna governor over competency test
Nigeria Union of Teachers The Kaduna Division of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria has dismissed the case between the Nigerian Union of Teachers and Governor Nasir El Rufai for lacking in merit and substance. A statement titled, ‘Teachers sack: Court dismisses NUT’s suit against KDSG,’ issued by the Commissioner of Justice and Attorney General of Kaduna State, Aisha Dikko on Saturday, said that Justice S.O. Edeniyi delivered judgment on the matter on February 2. The statement which said that NUT and Comrade Audu Titus Amba were the claimants, further said that they sought nullification of the termination and compulsory retirement of those who failed the competency test for all primary school teachers. The Attorney General recalled that “in the bid to restore the competency of the te...
Northern governors condemn Zamfara schoolgirls abduction
The Northern States Governors Forum on Friday condemned another attack on Government Secondary School, Jangebe, in Zamfara State where hundreds of schoolgirls were abducted, saying enough is enough. Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, in a statement, said this trend is unacceptable and that strong measures must be taken to put an end to it before it escalated into a monster that would consume educational pursuit and national aspirations. Lalong said this development, which is coming on the heels of the abduction of school children in Kagara, Niger State still being addressed, called for serious concerns among all Nigerians. He said “as Northern Governors, we are deeply saddened by this embarrassing and unfortunate attack on our children who are in schools to ...
Security: Northern governors, NSA, IGP meet in Kaduna
Governors of the 19 Nothern States and traditional rulers of the region are meeting in Kaduna over security challenges bedeviling the region. Newsmen report that the two-day meeting, which opened on Thursday, is also being attended by Senate President, Ahmad Lawal, Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and Information Minister, Lai Mohammed. Others are National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Monguno, Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Ibrahim and Director General, State Security Service, Yusuf Bichi. The participants are expected to discuss current security challenges bedevilling the Northern region and youth unemployment. Governors at the meeting, holding at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, include those of Plateau, Adamawa, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Jigawa and Katsina. Niger, ...
Coronavirus: Nigeria records 18 more deaths, 645 new infections
A total of 1,831 deaths have now been recorded from COVID-19 in Nigeria after 18 more people died on Saturday, health authorities have said. The 18 deaths on Saturday indicated a significant increase from the eight fatalities recorded on Friday. Nigeria also reported 645 new infections on Saturday, increasing the total number of known cases in the country to 151,553. This is according to an update by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Saturday night. Low testing figures in many states has limited Nigeria’s ability to determine the true extent of the spread of COVID-19. A recent general fact sheet published by the NCDC showed that Kogi, Cross River and some other states were not conducting enough tests. More than two-third of the over 151,000 people infected by COVID-19 in Nigeri...
Sheikh Gumi: GSC Kagara victims to be released in days
Staff and students kidnapped from GSC Kagara early Wednesday are expected to be released in days, according to a source on the delegation of Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh Ahmed Gumi. Gumi has been on a tour to visit bandit leader Dogo Gide and other top commanders at Dutsen Magaji forest for talks. The source said Niger government, which initially ruled out payment of any ransom to secure freedom of the kidnappees, would enter a dialogue and had sent a strong delegation. Passengers abducted earlier and the students are in good state, the source said. During the visit, Gumi was shown an entire community said to have been razed in a military bombardment and corpses dumped in wells. Gumi and his entourage are back in Minna, after travelling more than seven hours from Dutsen Magaji. Earlier, anot...
Sheikh Gumi: GSC Kagara victims to be released in days
Staff and students kidnapped from GSC Kagara early Wednesday are expected to be released in days, according to a source on the delegation of Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh Ahmed Gumi. Gumi has been on a tour to visit bandit leader Dogo Gide and other top commanders at Dutsen Magaji forest for talks. The source said Niger government, which initially ruled out payment of any ransom to secure freedom of the kidnappees, would enter a dialogue and had sent a strong delegation. Passengers abducted earlier and the students are in good state, the source said. During the visit, Gumi was shown an entire community said to have been razed in a military bombardment and corpses dumped in wells. Gumi and his entourage are back in Minna, after travelling more than seven hours from Dutsen Magaji. Earlier, anot...
