News

By Uzair Adam Imam

There was a gun battle between the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and drug traffickers in Lagos that lasted for about thirty minutes on Thursday.

The NDLEA spokesperson, Mr Femi Babafemi, stated this in a statement he issued to journalists on Sunday.

Babafemi added that acting on credible intelligence, NDLEA operatives had laid an ambush on the traffickers along the Eleko Beach road in Lekki and at 4:51 am on Thursday.

He further stated that two long trucks conveying the illicit consignments were flagged down, but rather than stopped, the trucks escorted by armed men sped off, as a result of which there was an exchange of gunfire that lasted 30 minutes

He stated that “After they were overpowered by the NDLEA operatives, the truck drivers and their armed escorts escaped into the bush, abandoning the trucks and the drug consignments.

“While one of the trucks painted red has 149 jumbo bags weighing 6,548kgs, the second one with blue colour has 53 big bags with a weight of 2,304kgd, bringing the total number of bags to 202 and gross weight of both to 8,852kgs.

“Meanwhile, operatives are already on the trail of the drug lord who shipped the illicit consignment into the country,” Babafemi said.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Hajiya Turai Yar`adua, the wife of a former Nigerian President, the late Umaru Musa Yar`adua, went on a mental trip lane as to when her husband was alive and how his good memories crossed her mind daily.

Turai, who spoke on the 13^th memorial of the death of her husband, described how life has become difficult for her years after her husband’s demise to the world of our silent fathers.

She said that she still regrets her last moment with Yar`adua to the extent that she often quarrels with herself about why she left the place he was lying to break her fasting.

She stated, “I was fasting on that day. In fact, I had been fasting non-stop from when he took ill and even after he died, I did not stop. So when it was time for me to break my fast, he was lying down looking at me.

“I felt he did not want me to leave, so I told him I was going to break my fast. He then shook his head, and I left. I was later called, and I met him struggling with his breath. That moment still lingers in my mind. I even quarrelled with myself on why I left to break my fast, I should’ve stayed.”

She went on to say, “I think about him every day. Every day seems like any other day. The only difference is that today, people gathered to pray for and eulogise him, and I’m happy. I thank them.

“He was simple. Worldly things did not carry him away. For example, he could continuously use a wristwatch until the strap gets broken into two. Then, unless I see it, he would continue to use it like that,” she stated.

“My husband was not taking alcohol, would not go after women, and was not corrupt. He was a straightforward person who did not attach importance to worldly things. Even leadership, Allah destined he would be, but he wasn’t that ambitious about it”.

“Our marriage was full of happiness. People were saying they had never seen our kind of relationship. I was like a new bride every day. That was why he always returned home straight from the office.

“So, even if I travelled, he would be the first person I would call once I reached my destination. That was what I really missed. The first time I travelled, no one called me to say, ‘Turai, how was your trip?’ That was the first time I cried over his death,” she stated.

By Muhammad Sabiu

The famous Hausa film star, Ali Nuhu, states why he would allow his own children to choose the career of their choice.
 
He added that he would like his son to succeed him in the Kannywood film industry.
 
However, in an interview he granted to the Hausa Section of the BBC, he says his son is more interested in football, which is why he supports him so that he can achieve his goal.
 
Ali Nuhu was quoted as saying, “What the modern age has brought is that if you see your son or daughter wanting something, as long as it is not against religion, then support him and give him encouragement to achieve his goals.”
 

By Muhammadu Sabiu  

Representatives of the warring factions in Sudan have gathered in Saudi Arabia for face-to-face peace talks for the first time since the war broke out in mid-April. 

There will be talks sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the United States between the country’s military and the RSF security forces. Several previous ceasefire agreements have failed since the start of the war a few weeks ago. 

Both sides said they would agree to a ceasefire to allow civilians to leave the areas where the war is most intense. On Saturday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Faisal bin Farhan, welcomed the representatives of both parties who arrived in the country for the reconciliation talks. 

He said he hoped the talks would end the conflict and restore peace and security to the country. General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who leads the RSF forces, stated on his Twitter page that the RSF welcomed the decision to cease fire in order to be able to send support into the country. 

He also said that the RSF is ready to return power to the hands of civilians in the country.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Abdulaziz Ahmad Adam, a final year student of the Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has passed on. 

The deceased was admitted to the university sickbay on Tuesday due to an unverified illness and died on the evening of Thursday. 

Mr Adam, before his admission to the hospital on Tuesday, wrote the Legal Research Methodology examination with other classmates. 

As of the time of writing this report, plans are underway for his funeral at the Alhaji Haruna Danja Mosque in Zaria.

Classmates and friends of the deceased have expressed shock and deep sadness over his demise. 

Yakubu Muhammad Abubakar, the Chairman Council of Principal Partners and classmate of the deceased described Abdulaziz’s death as a great loss that has left many disheartened. 

He said: “I was shocked to the marrow when I received this sad news today, But we all remember that God loves him much more than us. He was a kind, humble and dedicated someone that everyone would love to be with. May Allah forgive him and Grant him Jannah”

Abdulaziz passed on at the age of 30, and he is survived by his aged father, siblings, his wife and daughter.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
Ibrahim Musa, alias Iro Kwarangwal, 22, from Kano, allegedly killed his 50-year-old biological mother, Jummai, by stabbing her during an argument.
 
The unfortunate incident occurred on Wednesday at around 5:30 p.m. in the Karshen Kwalta and Rimin Kebe apartments in the Ungogo Local Government Area of the state.
 
An eyewitness said, “I was standing outside my house when I suddenly heard screaming from the deceased residence.”
 
He stated that when he ran in to see if he could help, he discovered the dead woman wailing for assistance in a pool of her own blood.
 
The culprit is said to have left the scene quickly after allegedly committing the horrible crime against his mother, according to the eyewitness.
 
The deceased was later brought to the hospital on a tricycle with blood all over her body, according to the witness, and was later declared dead there.
 
“She had since yesterday been buried in accordance with Islamic rites. May Allah forgive her and admit her to paradise,” the witness prayed.
 
When reached, Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, the Kano Police Command’s public relations officer, confirmed the incident.

DSP Kiyawa later added, via his verified Facebook page, that they arrested the suspect at a hideout in Dawakin Tofa, after which he (Iro) “confessed to the crime and also confessed to dealing in illicit drug abuse.

He will be charged to court upon completion of the investigation.”

The report was updated on 5.5.2023 at 12:50 pm.

By Ibrahim Uba Yusuf

The Centre for Media, Policy and Accountability (CMPA) has continued its advocacy to seek collaboration with sister agencies on the successful implementation of the Nigeria Anti-Corruption Performance Public Reporting (NAPPR) project. 

The Executive Director of the Centre and project lead, Dr Suleiman Amu Suleiman, who led the project team to Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch, explained that the project has four components: research, advocacy, training and developing a harmonised template for anti-corruption reporting.

He lamented the differences in the pattern of reporting corruption by Anti-Corruption Agencies (ACAs) as a result of the different indicators used and hope that the project will fill this gap by developing a harmonized template that the ACAs will use in reporting corruption in Nigeria.

Also speaking, the Deputy Project Manager, Naziru Mikailu, said at the onset of the project, ‘the Centre faced difficulties in convincing the ACAs to key into this project’. 

‘We hope that the Centre will help us in the implementation of this project and development of the template in view of your field experiences’, Naziru noted.

The Executive Director Center for Fiscal Transparency and Integrity Watch, Mallam Umar, described the NAPPR project as brilliant which will give civil society organizations, the media and members of the public an opportunity to check those who check others. 

‘We will support CMPA Implement this project’, Umar assures.

Also speaking, Chairman of the Centre Abdulrahman A. Mustapha expressed the hope that the template, when developed, will give the required result of unifying various variables of measuring corruption which will facilitate development.

‘The centre is ready to provide CMPA with all the technical support needed to ensure that the template is accepted by the ACAs in Nigeria’, he added. 

By Ishaka Mohammed

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, has announced an online test for recruitment to its superintendent cadre, including professional and general duties. 

According to the statement by the agency’s director of media and advocacy, Femi Babafemi, the recruitment test will be held between May 8 and 10, 2023 (Monday and Wednesday).

The statement further urges those with successful applications for the superintendent cadre to start checking their email inbox and spam folder from Wednesday, May 3, for notification and further instructions.

The agency has also scheduled a Twitter space for Friday, May 5, between 3 and 5 p.m. to guide applicants on the online test. The session will also be “streamed live on our Facebook, YouTube and Instagram accounts”, part of the statement reads.

Applicants can also make enquiries by visiting www.ndlea.gov.ng or the following social media handles: @NDLEA01 on Facebook and @ndlea_nigeria on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Recall that the recruitment applications were submitted between March 12 and April 17, 2023.

By Muhammadu Sabiu
 
Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly suspended Lionel Messi with immediate effect following his unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia this week.
 
According to veteran football journalist Fabrizio Romano, the suspension begins now and will take effect for the next two weeks.
 
This means that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner will not play for the French side if things go as planned.
 
“Leo Messi’s side now still waiting on the official communication from PSG in order to clarify the situation,” Fabrizio Romano wrote on his official Facebook page.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 
 
Shehu Sani, a former senator, has bemoaned the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria and lamented that many young people in have turned to seeking higher degrees as a result of the joblessness.
 
The former senator shared his concern in a tweet on Monday.
 
Recall that, according to a report in 2022, the joblessness rate in Nigeria rose to 37.7 percent.
 
During the “Workers’ Day” celebration, Sani noted that many young people were forced to pursue graduate studies due to unemployment.
 
He wrote, “Unemployment has forced so many youths to pursue masters and Doctorate degrees.