News

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has made a significant seizure of arms and ammunition at the Port Harcourt Area II Command in Onne, Rivers State.

According to the Comptroller General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, the seizure was made on June 21, 2024, following credible intelligence. 

The intercepted container from Turkey contained 844 rifles and 112,500 rounds of live ammunition, concealed among other items.

The total duty-paid value of the seized items is ₦4,171,710,000.00. Three suspects have been detained in connection with the seizure, and an investigation is ongoing. 

The CGC stated, “This interception underscores our commitment to national security and public safety. We remain vigilant and committed to our duty.”

The seizure is a result of the NCS’s robust Risk Management System and collaboration with local and international intelligence communities. 

The container will be handed over to the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons for further investigation and prosecution.

Licenses and permits for warehouses and terminals involved have been suspended, and officers found complicit will face severe sanctions. 

The Comptroller General commended the Customs Area Comptroller Onne Port, Mohammed Babandede, and his team for their professionalism and acknowledged the support from local and international partners and other government agencies.

He warned, “This seizure serves as a strong warning to others contemplating similar misadventures. We will run you out of business; the NCS continues to demonstrate its dedication to protecting Nigeria’s borders and ensuring the security of its citizens.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) held a prestigious event to mark the investiture of the Kano and District Society’s 43rd Chairman, Sa’idu Musa Bala, for the 2024/2025 term.

The ceremony, which brought together distinguished guests, including professionals in the accounting industry, business leaders, and government officials, took place on Sunday at the Grand Central Hotel in Kano State.

Other notable personalities attended to witness the formal induction of the new chairperson and celebrate the continued commitment to excellence in accounting practice.

A traditional title holder, Sarkin Shanun Kano, Shehu Muhammad, called on the new chairman to work diligently to ensure progress, emphasizing the importance of making significant achievements within the one-year tenure.

He stated, “The new chairman should work tirelessly to ensure that he makes wonderful achievements within the span of twelve months of his tenure. We also wish him the best of luck.”

Professor Kabiru Isa Dandago presented a paper titled “Spirituality and Godliness in Accounting Practice,” highlighting the promise of the accounting profession in the fundamental accounting equation, which represents moral truth: every transaction has a giver and receiver of the same value. He emphasized that accountants must act ethically, faithfully, and consistently in the best public interest.

He was quoted as saying, “However, in real life, accountants have not been able to harmonize or reconcile the latter and the spirit of accounting with happenings in society and to extricate the accounting profession from unethical and unspiritual transactions.”

Professor Dandago further stressed that Nigeria needs all practicing accountants and accounting officers in various public and private sector organizations to be ‘vaccinated’ with SAV (Spirituality, Accountability, and Vigilance) to protect the country’s wealth against the high level of fraudulent practices.

After his inauguration, the new chairman, Sa’idu Musa Bala, expressed his commitment to improving accountancy in Kano State.

He stated, “We are aware of the situation of the accountancy profession in Kano. Kano is the center of commerce in the country. However, many companies are failing every day, and the reason must not be unconnected to the lack of professionalism.”

He added, “Any company that you see making significant progress, if you look behind that company, you will see that they have many chartered accountants guiding them. A chartered accountant is like a medical doctor to any business. A businessman will come, and the chartered accountant will analyze that business, see where it is ‘sick,’ and provide a solution.”

The new chairman and the newly inaugurated executives are determined to ensure the highest standards of professionalism and ethics in accounting practice in Kano State.

By Uzair Adam Imam

According to authorities, two female suspects have been arrested in connection with the detonation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Gwoza local government area of Borno State on Saturday.

A local government official confirmed that 30 female suicide bombers were sent to Gwoza to detonate IEDs at different locations within the area. However, only four suicide bombers had carried out the attack so far.

One of the female bombers, who came from the Pulka axis, detonated the IED at a checkpoint, killing herself, a soldier, and a civilian JTF member. The women were said to have entered Gwoza from different locations, including Pulka and the Mandara mountains.

Security operatives are currently on the lookout for the remaining would-be suicide bombers to prevent further disasters. The source explained that one of the female bombers that came from Pulka axis was responding to military interrogation at the checkpoint when she panicked and detonated the IED.

The Borno State government has condemned the attacks and vowed to continue the fight against insurgency. The governor of Borno State visited the victims of the bomb blast and reiterated the government’s commitment to ending the insurgency.

The investigation is ongoing, and security operatives are working to prevent further attacks in the region.

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

The reason for the query is the non-participation of some districts in the traditional Durbar during the last Eid-al-Adha celebrations, two weeks ago.

However, as some observers pointed out, there has been a cold war between the Emir and Governor Dikko Umar Radda in the last six months.

They added that Governor Radda is bent on checkmating the Emirs’ perceived excessess.

Part of the governor’s plan, the observers who prefer to remain anonymous said, is to restructure the Emirate, bring on board some of the Emir’s sworn “detractors,” and appoint them to strategic traditional stools.

Incidentally, the governor and the Emir are blood relations. The Emir himself said so publicly during the 2023 electioneering campaign.

By Ibrahim Yunusa

The National Association of Kano State Students (NAKSS) held its convention yesterday, where new leaders were elected.

The association’s convention was held at the Murtala Muhammed Library under the auspices of the Convention Planning Committee (CPC) constituted by the association’s stakeholders.

The mother union of all students of Kano has 136 registered local chapters in different universities and colleges, and 42 of them appeared at the convention and cast their votes. The president and secretary of each chapter are the delegates and are mandated to vote at the convention.

Announcing the results of the election, the chairman of the election committee, Yaseen Sulaiman Saye, said that the seats of Secretary General and Sports Director were the only seats that were duly contested by two aspirants each, while the remaining seats had single contestants.

The new leaders of the NAKSS national body are: Isyaku Ali Kanwa from Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil, who emerged as the association’s president, and Rabi’u Muhammad Sa’ad, Zainab Musa Isma’il, Sabi’u Rabilu Kabo, and Muhammad Ghali Muhammad as Vice President 1, Vice President 2, Secretary General, and Assistant Secretary, respectively.

Others are: Abdulyasar Muhammad Dabo, Treasurer; Abdulkarim Idris Namadina, Financial Secretary; Mustapha Abdu Saye, Welfare 1; Maryam Bala Isa, Welfare 2; Fiddausi Abdulkarim Salihu, Women Mobilizer; Abubakar Abdullahi Tabuke, Social Director; Abdullahi Ali Gambo, Auditor General; Ahmad Khamis Umar, Sports Director; Mustapha Mustapha Bashir, PRO 1; and Shehu Amiru, PRO 2.

The newly elected administration of the NAKSS National Body has a tenure of one year.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Superintendent of Police, Ibrahim Sini, has been honoured for rejecting an N150m bribe from a Lagos-based businessman, Akintoye Akindele. 

Akindele was arraigned in August 2023 for allegedly diverting $5.6m and N73.5m belonging to Summit Oil International Ltd. Sini led the investigation team and was offered the bribe to permit Akindele’s escape abroad and write a favourable report.

Sini said, “I am very happy to be here and I want to appreciate the organisers of this programme. They have beat my imagination and added more grease to my elbow.”

He recalled the incident: “The person in question asked me, ‘Do you want to be rich?’ He said this is an opportunity for you to be rich. So, what I said was that it depends on the kind of riches. 

“I would like to have money so that I can lay my head down and sleep at night. I don’t want to have something that will make me think twice and be running from one hole to another. 

“So, I decided to do the right thing so that I can have peace of mind and also stand to do what is right for myself, for my organisation, that is, the Nigeria Police, and also for the country at large,” he added.

Sini advised youths not to trade their integrity for anything, stating that he would like to have money that would allow him to sleep at night and have peace of mind.

Presenting Sini with the document of the land, the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, Benneth Igweh, said Sini’s conduct has brought pride to the Nigerian Police Force.

The charge sheet revealed that Akindele and his company, Duport Midstream Company Limited, were accused of conspiring to commit a felony, stealing, and dishonest conversion of the sum of $5,636,397.01 and N73,543,763.25 belonging to Summit Oil International Limited.

By Abdullahi Khairalla

Borno State Police Command has confirmed that eight people were killed and fifteen others sustained various degrees of injuries following a bomb explosion in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno State, which is about 100 kilometres away from Maiduguri.

Police Public Relations Officer ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso reported that the tragic incident occurred on June 29, 2024, at approximately 15:40 hours. 

The command further notes that ” a woman carrying a baby detonated an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at a busy motor park in Mararaba T. Junction in Gwoza town. 

The explosion claimed the lives of the woman, her baby, and six others, with fifteen individuals who sustained injuries currently receiving treatment at General Hospital Gwoza”.

This is happening in the wake of the cropping season, which many observe is part of the sinister efforts of the insurgents to cause havoc and instil fear in the people, thereby preventing them from accessing their farmlands.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a 36-year-old driver for allegedly attempting to steal his boss’ car after dropping her off at Tejuosho Market, Yaba.

The driver was trailed to Shubiri Road, Ojo, where he was arrested and the car, a Lexus ES 350 with registration number EXY 950 FZ, was recovered.

The police spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrest and stated that the suspect will be charged to court upon conclusion of the investigation.

The complainant, whose identity was not disclosed, reported the theft of the car and her laptop to the police at about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The suspect will face charges for the attempted theft, and the police are continuing their investigation into the incident.

By Uzair Adam Imam

An Abeokuta Magistrates Court has remanded a 32-year-old housewife, Rahmat Abdulateef, for allegedly arranging her own kidnap to extort money from her husband.

The defendant was arraigned on a one-count charge of self-kidnapping and was remanded in prison for 60 days pending legal advice from the Department of Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

According to the police counsel, Insp Adekunle Opayemi, the defendant committed the offence on June 20 at about 2:42 p.m. at Elite Road in Abeokuta.

She allegedly arranged for herself to be kidnapped to extort money from her husband, Mr Ogunbummi Lateef.

The offence committed contravened section 27 of the Prohibition of forcible occupation of landed properties, armed robbery, kidnapping cultism and other anti-violence and related offence laws of Ogun 2016.

The Magistrate, Mrs O.O Odumosun, adjourned the case until September 19 for mention.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau I Jibrin, has expressed profound sadness over the tragic loss of 14 worshippers who were crushed by a trailer after Friday prayers in Kano State.

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) confirmed the incident, which occurred in Imawa town, Kura LGA of Kano State.

Senator Barau commiserated with the families of the deceased and prayed for the repose of their souls and the speedy recovery of the injured.

He described the incident as “shocking” and offered his deepest condolences to those affected.

The statement read, “With profound sadness, we mourn the tragic loss of 14 worshippers crushed by a trailer after Juma’at prayers on Friday in Kano.

“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones of the victims. We offer our deepest condolences in this hour of unimaginable grief.

“We pray for the souls of the departed to rest in Aljanatul Firdausi and for the Almighty Allah to grant strength and comfort to those they left behind,” the statement added.