By Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

Just like calling someone’s name often makes them look your way, there’s hardly a better way for brands to secure attention than by tying their messaging to human truths. Some of the best conversions happen when businesses step into their customers’ shoes. A story lands when audiences can glaringly see themselves in the narrative through a graphic representation of their lived circumstances. Brands that know what customers are grappling with will always outperform self-centred competitors.

Empathy storytelling targets human connections in public relations by deliberately making stakeholders heroes or protagonists of the plot. It subjects the brand or organisation to playing a supporting role in the lives, struggles, wins, and aspirations of audiences. It’s a strategy that puts the people first in order to win them over. Understanding and embodying the emotions, objections, and motivations behind a potential patronage is what separates the storytelling that gets read from the one that converts.

The best messaging isn’t built around businesses but inspires a dialogue about people, problems, and change. This is what will turn audiences into advocates. A post that engineers 100 genuine discussions is often more valuable than one that reaches 100,000 people and is forgotten the next day. Empathy storytelling is like human-interest journalism that funnels into conversations people actually want to join.

Factoring In the Critical ICP Framework 

ICP stands for Ideal Customer Profile. It involves getting a 360-degree picture of your archetypal audience so you can speak to them with empathy and effectively assuage their pain points. ICP makes for laser-focused messaging so that the writer can turn from a generic, scattered narrative into personalised storytelling that cuts through the noise. When you speak directly to an ICP’s specific problems and goals, your storytelling becomes significantly more persuasive.

The framework guarantees better word choice by enabling the storyteller to ditch corporate-speak and industry jargon, embracing vocabulary and tone that resonate with the reader. Businesses are prone to describing their products in argot, while customers express their problems in simple, emotional terms. The closer your messaging is to your audience’s language, the easier it is for them to feel understood and trust what you’re selling. Before delving into storytelling, the ICP framework should be used to flesh out the following:

Desires: What is the ideal customer’s end goal? What, in specific terms, are they trying to achieve?

Problems and Pain Points: What is standing in their way? Why are current solutions failing them? Taking note of negative 3-star reviews of your competitors on Amazon or Alibaba gets you the exact phrasing that will make your storytelling convert.

Voice of Customer (VoC): Great messaging usually sounds like the customer wrote it themselves. What are the exact words they use to describe their frustrations? You can analyse Amazon reviews, stalk Reddit threads, support tickets and YouTube comments to pull phrases that will make your reader be like, “You’ve got me there!”

Rehashing customers’ vocabulary and phrases is the ultimate hack for high-converting storytelling that feels deeply personalised. Finding and using the exact words people use to describe their problems will make your content land more naturally and relatably.

The Situational Theory of Publics

Empathy storytelling will miss the mark without audience segmentation or stakeholder mapping. Enter the Situational theory, which hypothesises problem recognition, constraint identification, involvement, and information seeking as the four determinants of how people react to an issue or an organisation.

This model helps the storyteller achieve empathy by identifying and segmenting publics, understanding their needs and preferences, so that communication with them can be meaningful. The following is how situational theory segments publics based on their levels of problem recognition and information seeking:

1. Non Publics: Individuals with zero connection to or interest in the issue. They are unlikely to engage with your message.

2. Latent Publics: People who are affected by an issue or an organisation but are unaware of it or do not perceive it as a problem. The opportunity here is to build awareness.

3. Aware Publics: Individuals who are aware of an issue or a business but do not seek information or take action. 4. Active Publics: People who are fully aware, personally invested, and actively discussing, organising, or advocating around the issue.

All of this can be deciphered from community discussions, forums and social media comment sections where patterns can be gleaned when similar questions and objections appear repeatedly. From the derivable insights, you can then use empathy storytelling to either increase the problem recognition of latent publics or reduce the constraint identification of aware publics.

The Bubble Trap: Company Excitement Doesn’t Approximate Audience Attention

Living inside your organisation’s bubble is one of the greatest pitfalls of PR. This is particularly true for complex industries such as tech, medicine, energy and finance. It plays out when an upcoming activity or launch attracts so much enthusiasm and anticipation within that you start feeling as if it’s the same without. That’s assuming that everyone else is as excited as the internal teams. But until the comms team comes to terms with “Why would anyone outside this room care?” they don’t yet have a story.

Probing every idea with an external lens brings fresh perspectives and puts PR tactics on the same page with prospects. Nothing beats having someone explain their frustrations, goals, and buying decisions in their own words. People need to feel heard and believe that the person or organisation communicating with them understands their concerns and values their perspective.

You will communicate with confidence when you come out of your company’s cocoon. Businesses with strong public confidence often enjoy increased customer trust, stronger partnerships, improved media relations, and sustainable brand recognition. A good sense of news judgement can be lost when buried in your own brand for long enough.

Having frequent conversations with people who aren’t in your company but active in the industry as audiences goes a long way in maintaining the filter. Given that PR doesn’t exist to reward effort, if you can’t explain why somebody outside your business should care, journalists won’t bother either. Neither will your customers give a hoot!

AI Must Remain an Assistant, Never the Master Storyteller

The imperative of field findings and human connection in broader storytelling (let alone the empathy variant) means that the crafting of stories and the thought process that goes into it must never be outsourced to a machine. The best stories aren’t stilted, formulaic or templated but are discovered, as has been expounded in the ICP framework and the situational theory of the publics.

If only for the resonance that the Voice of Customers guarantees, organisations can’t rely on automated summaries and other generative artificial intelligence that sounds professional but feels disconnected. AI knows the words but doesn’t know the people. You cannot stop scrolls, let alone convert audiences with banal AI-esque cliches like “Building resilience”, “Creating sustainable change”, “Empowering vulnerable communities”, “Transforming lives through partnerships”, etc.

From a mile away, experienced communicators can spot an AI slop, differentiating between a story that has been lived, listened to and understood – and one that has been generated. An organisation’s reputation is under threat when they rely on a soulless bot for content creation. An AI-generated piece of writing passed off as one’s own is deceitful and chips away at credibility. There are also ethical concerns, as information created by machine learning isn’t always factual. AI-generated images or videos can sometimes make it difficult to distinguish between real and manipulated content.

AI chatbots should therefore be confined to their assistant role, where they help with research, proofreading and polish for brevity, tone and clarity. Machine prompts shouldn’t go beyond transcribing interviews, organising ideas, improving grammatical structure and accelerating content production. A copy, writing, or asset that is nuanced in the attributes of audiences, portrays their concerns and dignity, identifies potential risks, and is ready at the right time would always trump synthesised content. The synthetic can never be as good as the authentic.

Ugochukwu is a branding specialist, storyteller and media trainer who can be reached via nmiringwu@gmail.com.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

Gunmen have attacked officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during a Permanent Voter Card (PVC) distribution exercise in Odo-Otin Local Government Area of Osun State, making away with election materials, including PVCs and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices.

The Osun State Police Command said the incident occurred at Oyinlola DC Primary School, Ward 2, where INEC officials were issuing PVCs to eligible voters.

In a statement, the command’s spokesperson, Abiodun Ojelabi, said about 10 suspected thugs invaded the venue, fired several shots into the air and forced electoral officials to flee before escaping with three packs of PVCs.

Ojelabi said the Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Gotan, had condemned the attack and directed a full-scale investigation to ensure those responsible are identified and prosecuted.

“Tactical and intelligence assets have been deployed, and efforts have been intensified to apprehend the perpetrators and recover the stolen PVCs,” the statement said.

The police spokesperson also disclosed that officers restored calm in Ile-Ife after suspected thugs caused a disturbance around the Mayfair Garage area, which briefly disrupted public peace.

He assured residents that the command remained committed to protecting lives and property and would continue to uphold professionalism and the rule of law. He also appealed to members of the public with useful information to report to the nearest police station.

Meanwhile, the Chief Press Secretary to the Osun INEC Chairman, Adedayo Oketola, confirmed that some BVAS devices were stolen during the attack. He said the commission was awaiting the outcome of the police investigation.

“We are still awaiting the outcome of the police investigation. The police are already investigating that matter, so we are waiting for the outcome of the investigation. I think they started a manhunt for those people, and of course, they promised that they would arrest them,” Oketola said.

“We are waiting for the police to get back to us on the matter, and the headquarters is also waiting for the police to revert to us. So, nothing new yet.”

Oketola explained that only a small number of BVAS machines were taken.

“It is not a lot of BVAS. They only took BVAS devices that were being used at the time of the attack. I don’t have the number. But I do not think it’s a lot,” he said.

He also assured voters that the theft would not affect the conduct of the forthcoming governorship election.

“I want you to know that stealing BVAS is not going to affect the election because the BVAS are useless in their hands,” he said.

“The BVAS cannot affect the election in any way, and of course, the commission will replace the stolen BVAS, and every other plan will go ahead.”

On reports that PVCs were stolen, Oketola said he could only confirm the theft of BVAS devices because the police were still investigating the incident.

“I only know of the BVAS for now, but as I said, whatever material has been stolen, the police are investigating,” he said.

“We trust the police not just to do the investigation; we trust the police to nab these hoodlums and make them face the music.

“But as I said, I cannot speak on the matter that is being investigated by the police.

“I trust that the police would do their job well and then the suspects would be nabbed and, of course, made to face the wrath of the law. That’s what we have for now.”

Osun State is scheduled to hold its governorship election on August 15, 2026.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

Global oil prices declined sharply on Monday after the United States and Iran reportedly paused military attacks, easing concerns over supply disruptions that had pushed crude prices higher in recent weeks.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell by 6.76 per cent to $90.24 per barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also recorded a 6.04 per cent decline, settling at $83.92 per barrel.

The drop followed reports that both countries had agreed to halt attacks over the weekend after nearly two weeks of hostilities.

Speaking to journalists on Sunday, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, said President Donald Trump had decided to suspend US military action against Iran to create room for diplomatic engagement.

“He’s giving talks some space, he’s ⁠giving it a little bit of room,” Waltz said.

Reuters also reported that a senior Iranian official confirmed Tehran would stop its attacks as long as the United States maintains the ceasefire.

The latest decline comes days after Brent crude climbed to $100 per barrel on July 23 following reports of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.

The earlier surge in crude prices triggered fresh increases in petrol prices across Nigeria.

On July 23, Dangote Petroleum Refinery raised its ex-gantry price of petrol from ₦1,075 per litre to ₦1,215 per litre. The refinery also resumed the sale of petrol in naira.

Earlier, on July 16, fuel importers had proposed an increase in the depot price of petrol from ₦1,230 per litre to ₦1,350 per litre.

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini 

The National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) has come under scrutiny after allocating N18.049 billion of its N26.47 billion 2026 budget to staff salaries and allowances, representing 68 per cent of its total budget.

The agency, responsible for standardising and certifying Arabic and Islamic education across Nigeria, plans to spend N15.414 billion on salaries and N2.636 billion on allowances and social contributions for its workforce, according to budget documents.

While N146.6 million is earmarked for allowances, N2.489 billion has been allocated for social contributions, including N770.15 million for the National Health Insurance Scheme and N1.540 billion for staff pensions.

The remaining 32 per cent of the budget covers N318 million for overhead costs and N8.104 billion for capital expenditure.

The board has also set aside over N2.5 billion for projects including road construction, solar streetlights, food distribution, and social media training across Kano, Katsina, Kogi, and Zamfara States.

Notable allocations include N210 million for road construction in Kano Central Senatorial District, N175 million each for solar street lights in three Kano LGAs, and N28 million for rice distribution in Zamfara State.

A combined allocation exceeding N1.5 billion has been made for solar street light installations across multiple Kano LGAs, with amounts ranging from N140 million to N175 million per local government area.

Dr Umar Yakubu, Executive Director of the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, called for the board’s scrapping, describing it as a duplication of existing agencies.

“First of all, we create agencies we don’t need. How can you create a whole agency just to conduct exams when you can easily give that role to WAEC, JAMB or other bodies?” he asked.

Yakubu alleged that “90% of the staff don’t have work to do,” adding that the EFCC has been investigating corruption allegations at the agency for years.

Public analyst Lasisi Olagunju highlighted the disparity in spending, noting that NBAIS’s personnel expenses exceed the entire personnel budget of NECO (N15.53 billion), NUC (N4.216 billion), NBTE (N1.843 billion), and NCCE (N1.306 billion).

“How many workers does the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies have in its employment to justify a personnel bill of more than N18 billion?” Olagunju queried.

Sources within the agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the board has approximately 6,000 staff members. Some employees admitted to having little to no work, with one headquarters staff member stating: “I come to work twice a week because there is nothing for me to do.”

NBAIS was recognised as a national examination and regulatory body in 2011 following approval by the National Council on Education, covering over 1,600 public and private schools and more than 5,000 Tsangaya schools.

The agency’s Head of Information, Abdul Salam Ramalan, promised to respond to inquiries after consulting with his principal but had not done so at the time of filing this report.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it has intercepted illicit drugs with a combined estimated street value of more than ₦10 billion in separate operations in Lagos.

The agency disclosed that its operatives recovered 4,777 sachets of Canadian Loud, a potent strain of cannabis, valued at over ₦7.1 billion during an inspection at the Apapa Seaport.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the NDLEA’s Director of Media and Advocacy, Femi Babafemi, said the consignment weighed 2,388.5 kilogrammes and had been concealed inside three vehicles.

Babafemi added that the seizure took place during a joint examination of a shipment on Monday.

The agency also said it confiscated 2.24 million pills of 250mg Tapentadol, estimated to be worth more than ₦2.2 billion, from a consignment that arrived from India aboard an Air Maroc flight on Friday.

“The exercise was based on an intelligence received and processed by NDLEA,” the statement reads.


“This came on the heels of the seizure of a consignment of tramadol buried in containers of black soap heading to the UK.


“The shipment was intercepted by NDLEA operatives at a courier firm in Lagos on Wednesday 22nd July.”


The agency also announced the arrest of a 55-year-old businessman, Onuigbo Ndubisi Chinedu, over an attempt to export 3.30 kilogrammes of cocaine concealed in cartons of food items destined for the United Kingdom.

According to the statement, Chinedu, who trades in clothing at Balogun Market on Lagos Island, was arrested on Thursday, July 23, after the cocaine shipment had been intercepted a day earlier at the export section of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

“Onuigbo was arrested on Thursday 23rd July 2026 following the interception of his cocaine consignment at the export shed of the Lagos airport the previous day, Wednesday 22nd July by NDLEA operatives.


“In the course of investigation, three cargo agents: Nkwor Onyekachukwu Justina; Adeleke Abiola Taoheed; and Ukanwa Grace Pilgrim, who handled the shipment were initially arrested leading to the arrest Kenneth Okakpu who delivered the consignment to the cargo agents for shipment to the UK.


“Okakpu’s arrest provided the lead to identifying Onuigbo as the kingpin behind the syndicate and his eventual arrest while attempting to send another consignment of cocaine to the UK.”


The NDLEA further disclosed that its operatives arrested 31-year-old entrepreneur Emmanuella Chukwu-Edo in Surulere, Lagos, after seizing 2.80 kilogrammes of Loud allegedly imported from the United States.

The agency also reported the arrest of two suspects found with military-grade ammunition in Katsina State and along the Abuja-Kaduna Expressway.

“A suspect Mustapha Sani, 30, was on Wednesday 22nd July nabbed by NDLEA operatives on patrol operation at Baure, Safana LGA, Katsina state where he was found with 323 rounds of military grade ammunition consisting of 200 pieces of 7.62mm and 123 rounds of 7.6mm neatly concealed,” the statement added.


“Another suspect, Abubakar Amadu, 30, was arrested by NDLEA officers on stop and search operation at Jere, along Abuja-Kaduna expressway where he was found with 73 RLA, 7.62mm ammunition hidden in kegs of red oil. Both suspects have been handed over to the relevant security agency for further investigation.”


Babafemi said the agency has continued to expand its War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) campaign through awareness programmes in schools, places of worship and workplaces.

The statement added that NDLEA Chairman, Brig.-Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (retd.), commended officers of the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation (DOGI) as well as personnel in the MMIA, Apapa, Edo, Kaduna and Katsina commands for the successful operations. He also urged commands across the country to sustain the agency’s strategy of combining enforcement with drug demand reduction initiatives.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

Troops of the Joint Task Force North-West under Operation FANSAN YAMMA have rescued 48 abducted residents after repelling a terrorist attack on Magami village in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

The operation followed a distress call received in the early hours of Sunday, July 26, which reported that dozens of armed terrorists had stormed the community.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the Media Information Officer of Operation FANSAN YAMMA, Aliyu Danja, said the attackers arrived on about 40 motorcycles and abducted several villagers.

According to him, the assailants assembled the victims with the intention of taking them into a nearby forest, while another group remained at the edge of the village to guard the motorcycles.

Danja said troops responded swiftly to the emergency and confronted the attackers.

“On arrival at the scene, the troops immediately engaged the terrorists in a fierce firefight, forcing them to abandon the kidnapped victims and flee into the surrounding bush,” Danja said.



“The prompt intervention led to the successful rescue of all 48 abducted civilians.”



He disclosed that one resident lost his life during the attack, while two others sustained gunshot wounds.

The injured victims were evacuated to the General Hospital in Kaura Namoda, where they are receiving treatment.

Following the operation, security personnel carried out patrols across the area to prevent another attack and maintain a security presence in the community.

The military command praised the troops for their performance during the operation.

“The Theatre Command commends the gallantry and professionalism of the troops for this successful operation and reassures residents of the North West of its unwavering commitment to protecting lives and property,” the statement added.



Danja also urged residents to continue supporting security agencies with useful and timely information to strengthen ongoing operations against terrorist groups in the North-West.

“Sustain the momentum in ridding the north-west of terrorist elements.”

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has urged President Bola Tinubu to give equal attention to all victims of insecurity across Nigeria. The opposition party asked the President to provide updates on efforts to rescue 176 residents of Woro community in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, who have remained in captivity since they were abducted on February 3, 2026.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the President’s celebration of the recent rescue of abductees in Oyo State had raised concerns about the fate of people still being held by kidnappers and insurgents in Kaiama, Borno and other parts of the country.

The ADC also pointed to the recent abduction of 40 residents from communities in Zamfara State, fresh deadly attacks in Benue State, and the kidnapping of Kebbi State High Court judge, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, as signs that insecurity remains a major challenge despite repeated assurances from the Federal Government.

According to the party, the administration must show through its actions that every Nigerian life is valued equally.

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is concerned by what is becoming an unmistakable pattern in the Tinubu administration’s response to insecurity: some victims receive swift presidential attention, while others are left to languish in silence.



“Every successful rescue of abducted Nigerians deserves to be celebrated. But the President must ensure that his actions do not create the impression that the value of a Nigerian life depends on where the victim comes from or whether the tragedy attracts national headlines. Leadership demands equal compassion for every citizen, because no country can build national unity on the basis of selective empathy and selective attention.”



The statement recalled that residents of Kaiama Local Government Area staged a peaceful protest on July 24 over the continued captivity of the 176 abductees from Woro community. It noted that more than 170 days after the incident, families were still waiting for answers from the government.

The ADC also expressed concern over the worsening security situation in other parts of the country.

“The tragedy is not standing still; it is spreading. In Zamfara State, no fewer than 40 residents from 11 communities in Mayanchi District of Maru Local Government Area were recently abducted by bandits, most of them women and children, forcing terrified families to flee their homes.



“On Friday, July 24, fresh attacks again claimed lives in Benue’s Sankera axis. And in the early hours of Sunday, July 26, 2026, suspected bandits abducted a Judge of the Kebbi State High Court, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, from his residence. Meanwhile, communities in Borno State continue to endure insurgent attacks and mass displacement. These are not isolated incidents. They are reminders that insecurity remains a daily reality for millions of Nigerians.”



Abdullahi said Nigerians deserved to know the progress made in securing the release of abductees still in captivity across the country.

“What progress has been made in securing the release of the 176 abductees from Kaiama? What is being done to rescue the women and children taken in Zamfara? What efforts are underway to secure the release of Justice Bunza? What updates are available on victims in Borno and other affected communities? The President owes Nigerians more than broad assurances. He owes them regular updates, timelines and evidence that no Nigerian community has been abandoned.”



The party also questioned the effectiveness of repeated presidential assurances on security.

“On Thursday, July 23, 2026, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu again assured Nigerians that insecurity in the North would soon come to an end. We sincerely hope that promise becomes reality. But hope cannot survive indefinitely on declarations alone. There comes a point when repeated assurances, unaccompanied by visible results, cease to reassure. They simply become another headline in a long cycle of official optimism and public disappointment.



“That is why many Nigerians no longer receive presidential statements on insecurity with the confidence they once did. The administration has become remarkably consistent in making reassuring pronouncements but far less convincing in delivering outcomes. On one of the defining challenges of this government, the President is increasingly seen as a professional statement-maker, while communities continue to bury their dead, search for the missing and wait for rescues that never seem to come.”



The ADC called on President Tinubu to prove, “through action rather than rhetoric”, that every Nigerian deserves equal protection and attention.

“The people abducted in Woro on February 3 matter.



“The women and children abducted in Mayanchi, Zamfara matter. The families living under siege in Borno matter. The victims of fresh attacks in Benue matter. Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza matters. They deserve the same urgency, the same empathy and the same presidential attention that every rescued Nigerian rightly receives. Leadership is not measured by how quickly government celebrates a rescue; it is measured by whether no Nigerian is left behind or forgotten.”

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

Troops of Operation HADIN KAI have arrested a soldier who was declared wanted by the Nigerian Army for allegedly supplying military equipment to terrorist groups.

Private Mohammed Yusuf, 23, who served at the Nigerian Army Ordnance Kits Factory in Lagos, was apprehended at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Jidari Bus Stop in Maiduguri while reportedly attempting to flee to the Republic of Cameroon.

The suspect had been declared wanted by the military on July 23 over allegations of supplying military accoutrements to terrorist and criminal elements, according to a statement from the Joint Task Force.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Yusuf deserted his unit on July 7 and relocated to Maiduguri, where he went into hiding in the Gomari Costain area of Jere Local Government Area with assistance from an associate.

Military officials said the arrest was made possible through credible human intelligence and demonstrates the effectiveness of intelligence-driven operations.

The suspect is currently in custody at 7 Provost Group, where investigations are ongoing to determine the full scope of his activities and identify any accomplices.

“We reiterate that there is no safe haven for individuals who support terrorism or any form of criminality, irrespective of their status,” said Captain Mohammed Goni, Acting Military Information Officer for the Joint Task Force.

The military has urged members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies to support efforts toward restoring lasting peace and security in the region.

By Anwar Usman

The management of Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, has suspended six lecturers allegedly found selling unauthorised handouts and textbooks, while another lecturer has been suspended over alleged sexual harassment as the institution investigates claims of sex-for-grades, cultism and other related offences.

This was disclosed by the institution’s spokesperson, John Onimisi, in a statement issued on Sunday in Lokoja.

“Six lecturers on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, were suspended by the management of the institution for the unauthorised sale of handouts and textbooks, while a lecturer was also suspended for alleged sexual harassment”, the statement partly read.

The incidence comes amid growing concerns over allegations of sexual harassment, cultism activities and other forms of indiscipline within the institution.

Sources within the polytechnic revealed that some lecturers had been requesting sexual favours or money from female students in order to obtain good grades, while cult activities had also resurfaced on campus.

One source claimed that disciplinary measures introduced by the previous administration had weakened, emboldening erring staff and students.

Reports further alleged that some female students who reported incidents of sexual harassment had received little institutional support and were instead subjected to intimidation.

Other claims included the alleged reintroduction of compulsory handout sales, relaxation of the institution’s dress code and enforcement of student identity cards, all of which, according to the source, had contributed to declining discipline on campus.

However, while reacting to the allegations, Onimisi said the management was already investigating the claims through the institution’s disciplinary committee.

He assured that appropriate action would be taken based on the outcome of the investigation.

He reiterated that “the school management is aware of the allegations, and the disciplinary committee of the Polytechnic is already investigating them. The outcome will be made available to journalists in due course.

By Uzair Adam

A Judge of the Kebbi State High Court, Justice Faruku Hassan Bunza, has been abducted by suspected bandits from his residence in Bunza Local Government Area of the state.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday along Zogirma Road in Bunza, shortly after the judge returned from a trip to Sokoto.

Sources told journalists that the gunmen stormed the judge’s residence around midnight and whisked him away.

“He had just returned from Sokoto when the gunmen invaded his residence and abducted him,” one of the sources said.

The source added that no member of the household was injured during the attack, although the assailants fired sporadically before fleeing with the judge.

“Immediately after the incident, we alerted the relevant authorities, including the leadership of the High Court,” the source added.

Confirming the incident, the spokesperson of the Kebbi State Police Command, SP Bashir Usman, said Justice Bunza was abducted from his residence around midnight.

According to him, the Commissioner of Police, CP Umar Muhammad Hadejia, immediately deployed tactical and intelligence teams to track down the abductors and secure the judge’s release.

“Our personnel are currently combing identified locations, including forest areas, to ensure that the judge is rescued alive and unharmed,” Usman said.

A senior official of the Kebbi State High Court, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, described the abduction as a painful development for the judiciary.

“It is deeply disturbing to learn that one of our judges was abducted from his residence,” the official said, adding that the High Court management had already met with heads of security agencies in the state to discuss strategies for the judge’s immediate rescue.

As of the time of filing this report, no group had claimed responsibility for the abduction, while security operatives continued efforts to rescue the judge and apprehend those behind the attack.