By Uzair Adam

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has won the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential primaries held in Kano State.

Announcing the outcome, chairman of the electoral committee, Dr. John Ayuba, said the exercise was successfully conducted across the 44 local government areas and 484 wards of the state.

The collated results showed that Atiku polled 155,595 votes to emerge ahead of other contenders. Mohammed Hayatu-Deen secured 15,914 votes, while Rotimi Amaechi received 9,994 votes.

Dr. Ayuba explained that the results would be forwarded to the party’s National Coalition Centre in Abuja for ratification and official confirmation of the party’s presidential candidate.

He urged party members to remain united and committed ahead of the 2027 general elections to ensure the ADC produces Nigeria’s next president.

Meanwhile, the party has delayed the announcement of results for the Kano governorship primaries pending further directives from the national leadership.

The governorship race is being contested by Ibrahim Ali Amin Little and Malam Ibrahim Khalil, with the party reportedly considering a consensus arrangement to choose its candidate.

By Uzair Adam

Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has expressed grief over a tragic road accident that claimed the lives of 12 persons along the Kano–Katsina highway.

The fatal crash occurred on Monday night at Gidan Mutum Daya and involved a head-on collision between a trailer and a vehicle operating under a Public–Private Partnership arrangement with the Katsina State Transport Authority.

According to reports, six victims, including the driver, died instantly at the scene, while another six later lost their lives while receiving treatment at the hospital.

Two injured passengers are currently undergoing treatment at Katsina General Hospital, while five others who sustained minor injuries have been treated and discharged.

Governor Radda described the incident as heartbreaking, saying the state had lost valuable citizens in a painful and unfortunate circumstance.

He noted that the tragedy happened during the first ten days of Dhul-Hijjah, a sacred period in Islam, which has further deepened the sorrow among grieving families and the Muslim community.

“We have lost precious lives in a heartbreaking and unfortunate circumstance. This tragedy is a painful reminder of the fragility of life and has plunged our state into mourning,” the governor said.

Radda prayed for Allah to forgive the shortcomings of the deceased and grant them Al-Jannah Firdaus, while also asking God to give their families the strength and patience to bear the loss.

He further urged motorists to obey traffic regulations and exercise caution on highways to prevent similar incidents.

The governor also extended condolences to the families of the victims, the management and staff of the Katsina State Transport Authority, and all those affected by the tragedy.

By Uzair Adam

Operatives of the Kano State Police Command have arrested four suspected drug dealers during coordinated raids across parts of Kano metropolis.

The operation, carried out by the Command’s Special Intervention Squad (SIS) and officers from the Gezawa Police Division, followed directives from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, on intelligence-led and community-oriented policing.

Police said the arrests were made after credible intelligence gathered from public tips and surveillance operations.

On May 23, 2026, SIS operatives arrested Abdulsalam Muhammad, 30, of Hotoro in Nassarawa Local Government Area, and Murtala Sani, 34, of Zangon Dakata in Ungoggo Local Government Area, along Nassarawa GRA.

The suspects were allegedly found with a Bagco sack containing suspected illicit drugs.

During interrogation, Abdulsalam reportedly confessed that the sack contained Tramadol supplied by two accomplices who are currently on the run.

A subsequent search of the sack led to the recovery of 23 rolls of Tramadol, with each roll containing 10 packs.

Police said both suspects confessed to the crime, while efforts are ongoing to arrest the fleeing accomplices.

In a separate operation, officers attached to Gezawa Police Division arrested Sama’ila Ado, 40, from Dabi Village in Ringim Local Government Area of Jigawa State, at a known black spot in Bangare Village for allegedly selling Cannabis Sativa openly.

Police recovered 130 wraps and half a block of dried leaves suspected to be Cannabis Sativa from the suspect. Authorities said he would be arraigned before a Magistrate Court.

Similarly, Umar Salisu, 25, of Yunbu Village in Gabasawa Local Government Area, was arrested at Gezawa Mesanda black spot.

Recovered from him were 10 wraps of suspected Cannabis Sativa and two bottles of rubber solution.

The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, commended the officers involved in the operations for their professionalism and dedication.

He also appreciated residents of the state for providing useful information that aided the arrests, urging members of the public to continue reporting suspicious activities to security agencies.

Bakori reaffirmed the Command’s commitment to tackling crime and ensuring the safety of residents across the state.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has issued a fresh message that centred on reducing American influence in the Middle East and promoting a new regional order.

The statement came through Iran’s state television. Khamenei has not appeared publicly on video since he became the country’s supreme leader.

In his latest remarks, Khamenei said countries in the Middle East would no longer serve as “a shield” for American military installations. He also declared that the United States would no longer enjoy a “safe haven” in the region.

The comments reflect one of Tehran’s long-standing positions during the conflict in the region. Iranian authorities have repeatedly argued that the American military presence in the Middle East should come to an end. Iran has also maintained that it would respond to any threat it identifies against its interests.

Khamenei also praised what he described as the success of the “axis of resistance”, which includes groups allied with Iran in countries such as Lebanon. According to him, Iranian-backed forces have delivered lessons to both the United States and the “Zionist entity”.

He further urged Muslim nations and other countries to build partnerships that would influence the future political and economic direction of the region and the wider world.

“With sincerity and purity, I invite all Islamic countries and governments to friendship and cooperation for the common good,” Khamenei stated.

The message strongly emphasised Iran’s desire for a new balance of power in the Middle East that would reduce Washington’s role in regional affairs.

By Ibrahim Abubakar Diso 

The Kano State Police Command has arrested several suspects in a series of intelligence-led operations targeting illicit drug distribution across the state.

In one of the operations carried out at Nasarawa GRA, operatives of the Special Intervention Squad intercepted two men allegedly in possession of a sack containing 23 rolls of Tramadol, each made up of multiple sachets. 

The suspects, identified as Abdulsalam Muhammad, 30, and Murtala Sani, 34, reportedly admitted involvement in the illegal trade, while police say efforts are ongoing to track down additional suspects linked to the supply chain.

In a separate operation in Gezawa Local Government Area, officers raided a known black spot in Dangari Village, where they arrested a 40-year-old suspect allegedly selling Cannabis Sativa. 

Police recovered 130 wraps and a half-block of suspected cannabis from him. In another arrest in Gezawa Misanda, a 25-year-old suspect was found with 10 wraps of suspected cannabis and bottles of rubber solution, believed to be used as inhalants.

The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, commended the operatives for their professionalism and praised residents for providing timely intelligence that aided the operations. He reiterated the Command’s commitment to intensifying the crackdown on drug-related crime in the state.

The police said all suspects will be charged to court upon completion of investigations.

By Hadiza Abdulkadir

The Governor of Abba Kabir Yusuf has approved a special Eid-el-Kabir goodwill package of N20,000 for civil servants in the state and across the 44 local government areas.

The gesture, announced in a statement issued on Sunday by the Press Secretary to the Office of the SSG, Musa Tanko Muhammad, is intended to support workers ahead of the Sallah celebration. Beneficiaries include civil servants on Grade Levels 01 to 14 in state ministries and local government councils.

According to the statement, the intervention comes shortly after the payment of May 2026 salaries and reflects the administration’s commitment to workers’ welfare amid current economic challenges. The governor said the package is intended to ease financial pressure during the festive period and enable workers to celebrate with their families in comfort.

Governor Yusuf also reaffirmed his administration’s dedication to improving workers’ welfare and maintaining a productive public service, while extending Eid-el-Kabir greetings to the people of Kano State.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has renewed calls for stronger cooperation among security and regulatory agencies to tackle terrorism financing, money laundering, wildlife trafficking, and other transnational crimes.

Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, spoke on Wednesday during a study visit by participants of the Operational Level Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Regional Security Course Two from the National Defence College. The event took place at the Customs Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja.

Adeniyi said crimes linked to international trade and border activities now pose major security and economic threats. He noted that the responsibilities of the Customs Service have expanded beyond revenue collection and border monitoring.

He identified offences such as undervaluation, overvaluation, wildlife trafficking, and the illegal export of African resources as key financial crimes that require coordinated action from relevant agencies.

The Customs boss also praised ongoing efforts to improve the capacity of officers within the Service. He acknowledged the participation of personnel from different formations across the country in programmes aimed at strengthening enforcement and intelligence operations.

Speaking on Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list, Adeniyi described the development as a major achievement for the country’s financial system and international reputation.

He explained that Nigeria’s inclusion on the grey list previously created difficulties for citizens and businesses abroad, especially in relation to the use of Nigerian bank cards for international transactions.

Adeniyi also revealed that the NCS is working closely with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and airline operators to introduce automated currency declaration systems.

“For us to get ahead of these criminals, we must continue to work together and subject our individual mandates to broader national security objectives,” he said.

Earlier, the Team Lead and Course Director Coordinator of the Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency/Countering the Financing of Terrorism Unit at the National Defence College, Dr Adam Abdullahi, described terrorism financing as a major driver of insecurity across the world.

He said agencies such as the Department of State Services (DSS), the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Armed Forces, Customs, and other institutions must strengthen cooperation to improve results in the fight against terrorism.

“The lifeline of terrorism is financing, and tackling it cannot be done by one institution alone,” he said.

Also speaking during the programme, the officer heading the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Unit of the NCS, Assistant Comptroller of Customs Mas’ud Salihu, said criminal groups continue to exploit global supply chains and international connections to move illicit goods and funds across borders.

Salihu stressed the importance of enforcing currency declaration policies and preventing the movement of prohibited items such as arms and drugs. He also called for stronger collaboration at both local and international levels to combat organised crime.

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The United States military has confirmed fresh strikes on targets in southern Iran despite ongoing diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran in Qatar.

According to the US Central Command (CENTCOM), the operation targeted what it described as threats against American troops in the region. The strikes happened while senior Iranian officials were in Doha for negotiations aimed at securing a broader peace agreement.

CENTCOM described the operation as “self-defence strikes”.

“Targets included missile launch sites and Iranian boats attempting to emplace mines,” Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesperson, said in a statement to Al Jazeera late on Monday.

“US Central Command continues to defend our forces while using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”

The US military did not release additional details about the operation.

Iranian sources told Al Jazeera that members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had earlier targeted a vessel at sea before the US response. The sources also claimed that several IRGC personnel died in the attacks.

The latest military action comes even though a ceasefire between the United States and Iran has officially remained in effect since April 8.

Al Jazeera correspondent Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, DC, said the incident could affect ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the US-Israel conflict involving Iran. He noted that President Donald Trump appeared eager to secure an agreement.

“There have been a number of skirmishes like this, particularly just after the start of the ceasefire. At the time, Trump said he didn’t consider these to be a breach of the ceasefire,” Fisher said.

“There is very limited information coming from the US side; we don’t know the extent of the operation,” he said.

“It’s hard to say whether this skirmish is unusual.”

Earlier on Monday, a senior Iranian delegation arrived in Doha to address obstacles delaying a permanent peace agreement. The delegation included Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Trump later said negotiations were “proceeding nicely”, although he stressed that Washington would only accept a major agreement.

“It will only be a Great Deal for all or, no Deal at all — Back to the Battlefront and shooting, but bigger and stronger than ever before — And nobody wants that!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The US president also linked the talks to efforts aimed at persuading more Muslim-majority countries to establish formal relations with Israel through the Abraham Accords.

“It may be possible that one or two have a reason for not doing so, and that will be accepted, but most should be ready, willing, and able to make this Settlement with Iran a far more Historic Event than it would, otherwise, be,” Trump wrote.

The Abraham Accords, signed in 2020 during Trump’s first term, led to diplomatic ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco. Sudan also agreed to normalise relations with Israel, although the agreement has not yet received formal approval.

In another social media post, Trump said he expected Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile to either be handed over to the United States or “destroyed in place or, at another acceptable location, with the Atomic Energy Commission, or its equivalent, being witness to this process and event”.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry acknowledged that progress had been made in discussions with Washington, but officials insisted that a final agreement was still some distance away.

“To say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion would be correct. However, to say that this means an agreement is on the verge of being signed is not something anyone can claim,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.

Baghaei also told reporters in Tehran that the current discussions were focused on ending the conflict rather than Iran’s nuclear activities, which he said were not under discussion “at this stage”.

By Haroon Aremu 

I remembered an article I once wrote, titled “After NYSC, A call for National job Creation and Youth Empowerment”. It was a piece born not from research papers or policy documents, but from lived experience. I wrote it at a time close to the completion of my service to the nation, armed with certificates, skills, energy, and hope, yet utterly directionless. 

No roadmap. No safety net. No assurance that the years spent in classrooms, lecture halls, and service camps would translate into something as basic as dignity through work. That article was a lament, yes, but more importantly, it was a warning. Today, that warning has become reality for millions.

In Nigeria, the idea of job security, especially for young people, has become almost mythical. It is spoken of like folklore: something people claim once existed, but which no one can quite prove anymore. Every year, universities, polytechnics, and colleges release fresh graduates into the labour market, and every year the market responds with silence. 

The government is often the first to be blamed, and rightly so. A state that cannot productively absorb its youth is sowing the seeds of long-term instability. But even when we turn to the private sector, supposedly the saviour, the door is only slightly ajar, and guarded by impossible conditions like “Five years’ experience,” “Six years’ experience”, and even “Prior industry exposure required.”

The question that screams but is never answered is simple: where does a young graduate get five years of experience without first being given an opportunity? How does one prove competence without access? How does potential survive when every door demands proof that can only come from another locked door?

Government jobs, which should ideally serve as a stabilising force, offer no refuge either. Age limits of 25, 30, and sometimes 35 are rigidly enforced, as though unemployment itself does not age people. What happens to the graduate who has been searching for work for six, seven, or eight years? By the time opportunity finally knocks, they are too old. They are now “too old” to be hired, yet too young to retire. Suspended in limbo.

The harsh truth is this: Nigeria’s population has outgrown its job opportunities. The numbers no longer lie. And in that imbalance, hope is often the first casualty.

Ironically, this is happening in a country that once celebrated progress with the signing of the Not Too Young to Run Bill by the late former President Muhammadu Buhari. That legislation symbolised inclusion, youth participation, and generational renewal. 

And to some extent, it has worked; young people are more visible in politics today than ever before. But visibility is not the same as empowerment. Representation without economic opportunity is cosmetic. 

Youth may now sit at tables of power, but they are largely absent from the tables of employment. Jobs are still distributed through networks, connections, patronage, or, as many whisper, through outright payments. Merit, in too many cases, has been demoted.

Today, employment in Nigeria often feels like a lottery where knowing someone matters more than knowing something. Or worse, like a spiritual pursuit, where success is attributed to “divine intervention” rather than transparent systems. 

Exams are written. Portals are filled. Interviews are attended. Then silence. No feedback. No closure. Just another unanswered email and another year added to one’s age.

Yes, vocational skills are important. Yes, entrepreneurship is valuable. But we must ask difficult questions: what structures has the government put in place to make vocational pathways truly viable? 

Our polytechnics, once designed to be hubs of technical and practical excellence, are themselves struggling for relevance, funding, and modernisation. The Ministry of Education must answer why vocational education has been reduced to rhetoric rather than strategy.

Even within the civil service, recent extensions of retirement age, while beneficial to those currently employed, have inadvertently shut the door further on younger Nigerians. If those inside cannot exit, those outside cannot enter. The system becomes a closed loop, recycling the same faces while millions wait endlessly at the gate.

Add to this the persistent rumours sometimes whispered about federal agencies where jobs allegedly come with price tags, and one must ask: what hope is there for the common Nigerian without money, without godfathers, without connections?

Unemployment does not exist in isolation. It feeds insecurity. It fuels crime. This is not abstract advocacy. This is not borrowed outrage. This is me speaking for myself and for countless others like me who are willing, able, and eager to work. 

Not all Nigerian youths are lazy. Many want to serve. Many want to build. Many want nothing more than a fair chance to contribute to the nation they call home.

So, Mr President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this conversation must reach you. Yes, we acknowledge the complexities of governance. Yes, we recognise the economic challenges you inherited. But youth unemployment cannot remain a footnote in national policy. It is an emergency.

What is the future of NYSC if service only becomes a transition into joblessness? Are we merely increasing the pool of unemployed graduates every year? What systems exist to absorb them? What hope do we offer those who cannot immediately pivot to vocational work, even as we encourage skills acquisition?

The youth are not just important to your government—they are its foundation. Without deliberate, transparent, and inclusive employment policies, frustration will continue to grow. And a nation where its youth feel abandoned is a nation sitting on a ticking clock.

We are not asking for favours. We are asking for an opportunity. We are asking for fairness. We are asking to be seen, heard, and included.

After NYSC, what’s next? Until Nigeria answers that question convincingly, the silence will remain louder than any promise.

Haroon Aremu Abiodun is a Nigerian Writer and can be reached via exponentumera@gmail.com.

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

The Federal Government has announced Wednesday, 27th and Thursday, 28th May, 2026 as public holidays to commemorate this year’s Eid ul Adha.

The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the declaration in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja.

The minister conveyed the Federal Government’s warm felicitations to Muslim faithful in Nigeria and across the Diaspora, noting that Eid ul Adha is a festival of deep spiritual significance rooted in the values of sacrifice, obedience to God, and compassion for fellow human beings.

According to the statement signed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, the declaration affirms the Federal Government’s profound respect for the faith and spiritual heritage of millions of Nigerian Muslims who join the global Islamic community in observing this sacred occasion.

The Federal Government urged all Nigerians to use the period for prayer and sober reflection, seeking divine guidance for the country as it continues its pursuit of peace, security, and prosperity for every citizen.

“In the spirit of brotherhood, shared humanity, and national unity, the Federal Government wishes all Muslims a peaceful, blessed, and joyous celebration,” the statement read.

The holidays are expected to allow Muslims across the country to join their counterparts worldwide in performing the symbolic sacrifices and prayers associated with the festival.