News

By Uzair Adam

A Nigerian Navy officer on Sunday evening narrowly escaped what appeared to be an assassination attempt in Abuja after he was reportedly trailed by unidentified men dressed in black and riding in two unmarked Hilux vans.

Military sources said the incident occurred around 6:30 p.m. when the officer, who recently had a confrontation with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory over a disputed land site in Gaduwa, noticed the vehicles following him from the NIPCO Filling Station off the Line Expressway to Gado Nasco Way.

He was said to have carried out a tactical maneuver that enabled him to evade the suspected assailants.

According to the source, the matter is being investigated with the “seriousness it deserves,” while further information is being withheld to avoid jeopardising the process.

The development follows a tense encounter earlier in the week involving Lt. A.M. Yerima and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike during a demolition exercise in Gaduwa District.

The clash, which was captured on video, triggered nationwide reactions and compelled the Presidency to halt the operation.

After the incident, military veterans condemned the minister’s verbal attack on the officer and rejected calls for disciplinary action against him.

Spokesman of the Coalition of Retired Veterans, Abiodun Durowaiye-Herberts, warned that ex-service members would occupy the minister’s office and residence if the officer was punished, stressing that military personnel owe allegiance to the nation and not to individual public officials.

He insisted that Wike must apologise for his remarks.

Minister of Defence Mohammad Badaru Abubakar has since reassured service members that no officer acting within the law will face sanctions over the confrontation, noting that the government remains committed to protecting personnel performing their duties responsibly.

Veterans had earlier vowed to mobilise and occupy the FCT Ministry should any action be taken against Lt. Yarima.

By Hadiza Abdulkadir

The Department of State Services (DSS) has announced the arrest of Musa Abubakar, believed to be a major supplier of arms to criminal groups in Plateau State and northern Nigeria. The operation was based on intelligence reports leading to his detention on November 12, 2025.

A DSS source confirmed that Abubakar admitted to producing and distributing high-calibre weapons and ammunition used in violent attacks across Plateau and neighbouring regions.

The arrest followed a targeted raid on his weapons manufacturing facility in Mista Ali, Bassa Local Government Area, Plateau State. Authorities reportedly found Abubakar with IED components, chemicals, and manufacturing equipment, all seized by DSS operatives.

This development comes days after the recapture of Abdulazeez Obadaki, alias Bomboy, a prison escapee linked to the Owo and Deeper Life Church attacks. DSS headlined recent successes in counterterrorism efforts, including the detention of nine high-profile suspects involved in incidents in Plateau and Benue states.

Among those detained is Timna Manjol, 46, who pleaded guilty to firearms charges related to the attacks, according to court documents. Manjol is affiliated with First Baptist Church in Mangu, Plateau.

Security analysts view these arrests as part of the DSS’s ongoing crackdown on violent extremism in the region.

By Uzair Adam

Stress and worsening mental health challenges have been identified as escalating threats to the journalism profession in Nigeria and beyond, a leading psychiatrist has warned.

A Consultant Psychiatrist at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Dr Aminu Ibrahim Shehu, sounded the warning while presenting a paper titled “Pressure Amid Deadline: Psychiatric/Mental Health Precautions” during the 2025 Retreat of the Kano Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), held at Pyramid Hotel, Kaduna.

He explained that the fast-paced and pressure-filled nature of journalism has exposed many practitioners to chronic stress, trauma, depression and other psychological disorders.

“Journalists are stressed and always under pressure to meet deadlines and break the news. What can we do about it? Even though stress is always around us, the only place you stay without stress is the graveyard,” he stated.

Dr Shehu noted that journalists often witness tragic and disturbing events first-hand, which can gradually weaken their mental stability.

He observed that, like military personnel, reporters frequently find themselves at scenes of violence and tragedy, making them highly prone to trauma.

He warned that unless journalists begin to take mental health seriously, the profession may continue to lose members to depression, suicide and stress-related illnesses.

The psychiatrist advised journalists to seek medical and emotional support whenever they feel overwhelmed, develop healthier work routines, identify stress triggers early, and ensure adequate rest and sleep.

He also cited cases of journalists who died by suicide or from untreated depression, stressing that psychological wellbeing should be given the same level of attention as physical health.

By Uzair Adam

Former Kano State Governor, Engr. Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, has warned the Federal Government to take the security situation in Kano seriously, emphasizing that recent attacks along the state’s borders should not be underestimated.

Kwankwaso made the statement on Saturday during the 4th convocation ceremony of Skyline University, held at the Amani Event Centre, Kano.

Addressing the audience, he said, “The security challenges in Kano, especially along the border with Katsina State, must not be taken lightly.

“Lives and properties are at risk, and the government must act decisively to protect the people,” he added.

He further added that Kano has historically been one of the more secure states in northern Nigeria.

“When I served as the governor, the state invested heavily in security infrastructure and training, successfully curbing threats from Boko Haram and other criminal groups.”

However, in recent years, he added, banditry has surged, particularly along local government borders with Katsina State. Areas such as Tsanyawa, Shanonu, Bagwai, Gwarzo, and Karaye have reportedly faced repeated attacks, with criminals crossing state lines, committing crimes, and returning to their bases.

Kwankwaso criticized local accords with bandits in neighbouring states, arguing that such arrangements create safe havens that allow criminal activities to spill into Kano.

He stressed that the federal government, as commander-in-chief, has the ultimate responsibility to secure the nation’s borders and protect citizens.

“The banditry started like a joke in Zamfara and has now spread to Sokoto, Kebbi, and parts of Kaduna. Kano and Jigawa were the only relatively safe areas in the northwest, but recent attacks from neighbouring Katsina show that the problem is growing,” Kwankwaso added.

He called on the government to implement more effective measures to curb banditry and safeguard lives and properties, warning that the ongoing security challenges should not be underestimated or ignored.

By Uzair Adam

Former Kano State Governor, Engr. Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, on Saturday affirmed that Emir Muhammad Sanusi II is the only legitimate Emir of Kano, dismissing all other claims.

Speaking during the 4th convocation ceremony of Skyline University at Amani Event Centre, Kano, Kwankwaso said, “Muhammad Sanusi II is the only Emir recognised by the people and government of Kano State.

“Any other person claiming to be emir, whether appointed from Abuja or elsewhere, is not recognised and is therefore fake,” he added.

The Daily Reality reports that the remarks come amid a longstanding emirate dispute in Kano.

The crisis began in 2019 when the state government split the historic Kano Emirate into five, reducing the authority of Emir Sanusi II.

In 2020, Sanusi II was dethroned and replaced by Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero as the 15th Emir.

The NNPP-led government in 2023 later reversed the changes, abolishing the new emirates and reinstating Sanusi II, sparking ongoing disagreements over the legitimacy of the emirship.

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

Fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) ambushed a Nigerian Army convoy in Borno State on Friday night, reportedly kidnapping a serving brigadier general and killing several soldiers.

According to a report from HumAngle, a publication focused on conflict zones, the senior officer is a brigade commander who was leading the troops at the time of the attack.

Members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) were also among the casualties.If verified, this incident would mark the first known instance of an extremist group in Nigeria capturing a serving general directly from the front lines.

While insurgents have killed high-ranking officers in the past, the abduction of one is exceptionally rare.

Nigerian military authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the ambush.

The number of soldiers killed remains unclear, and the Army spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

By Ishaka Mohammed

A man serving under the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has come under fire for publicly threatening to sleep with his female secondary school students, whom he considered voluptuous.

According to a Nigerian Army officer and Facebook user, Kolawole Oludare Stephen, the Corps member, Oyaje Daniel (KD/25A/0494), currently serves at Judeen International School, Mando, Igabi Local Government Area, Kaduna State. The officer tagged the NYSC in a Facebook post for urgent action.

Another Facebook user, Ọluchi Eze, who tagged the NYSC in a post, mentioned Oyaje Daniel as a Corps member in a secondary school in Kaduna State.

Reacting to Ọluchi Ezeʼs post, the Corps member, with the Facebook name Comr Oyaje Daniel, confirmed his local government of national service and tendered an apology, but expressed shock at people’s judgment of his character.  “I am shocked by the news surrounding my character, and I want to assure everyone that I am not a rapist or a perpetrator of any form of abuse,” part of the post reads.

While some Facebook users considered him remorseful and deserving of forgiveness, others called for penalties. 

The Daily Reality gathered that Comr Oyaje Daniel had earlier commented on a Facebook post in which he had threatened to sleep with any SSS 3 female students who failed to “coordinate” themselves, stressing how their bodies were more voluptuous than those of 400 level undergraduates.

At the time of filing this report, the National Youth Service Corps has yet to comment on the matter.

By Ibrahim Yunusa

One day before the elective convention of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the party to stop it is planned convention preparations and sell the form of the chairman to the former governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido, and screen him.‎‎

The seating was presided by Justice Peter Life by 2:12 pm and the judgement added that the tomorrow’s convention of the party will be null and voided if the party failed to adhere with the court judgement and the judge asked INEC to distance itself with the convention.

‎‎Sule Lamido who is a former governor of Jigawa and former minister of Foreign Affairs during Obasanjo’s democratic regime and one of the founding fathers of the party has disagreed with the consensus of Northwest Caucus of the party under Zamfara state governor, Lawal Dare in which the caucus unanimously agreed that Tanimu Turaki is the consensus candidate of the chairman of the party that is zoned to northwest, the agreement that resulted in denying to sell the chairmanship form to Lamido.‎‎

By Sabiu Abdullahi

A court in Moscow has delivered a posthumous conviction against an LGBTQ travel agent who died in custody one year ago, intensifying concerns about Russia’s clampdown on people it claims oppose “traditional” values.

The ruling, issued on Friday, declared 48-year-old Andrei Kotov guilty of extremism. His death was reported in November 2024 after he was found lifeless inside his cell at a Moscow pre-trial detention facility.

Kotov, who operated a travel company named Men Travel, had previously told the court that officers assaulted him on the night of his arrest in November 2024, stating: “Fifteen people came to me at night, beat me, were punching me in the face.”

Despite his death, authorities continued prosecuting the case.

Rights groups said this decision was intended to instil fear within the LGBTQ community, which has faced escalating pressure under President Vladimir Putin.

Reports from Mediazona indicated that the Moscow Golovinsky Court found Kotov guilty of engaging in “extremist activity” and of allegedly involving minors in pornography.

His lawyer said in December 2024 that investigators informed her the cause of death was suicide.

Human rights advocates argued that the government used the case to send a message. Russia has intensified legal and social restrictions against LGBTQ individuals, especially since its military campaign in Ukraine, which pushed the country further into strict conservative policies.

Putin has long criticised anything he believes contradicts “traditional family values,” describing such influences as foreign and un-Russian. In 2023, the Supreme Court outlawed what it referred to as the “international social LGBT movement” and labelled it an “extremist organisation.”

Human Rights Watch said that decision “opened the floodgates for arbitrary prosecutions of individuals who are LGBT or perceived to be, along with anyone who defends their rights or expresses solidarity with them.”

Although LGBTQ people have never experienced broad public acceptance in Russia, activists say conditions have worsened sharply in recent years, with increased risk and intensified state hostility.

By Maryam Ahmad

Thousands of doctors across England began a five-day strike on Friday, marking the 13th walkout in three years by resident doctors. The unprecedented action threatens to intensify pressure on the British government as it struggles to reduce long hospital waiting lists.

Resident doctors — qualified medical professionals still in specialist training — are demanding pay restoration, arguing that their earnings have declined by approximately 20% in real terms since 2008. The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents doctors, insists that the strike is necessary to address long-standing pay erosion and poor working conditions.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting condemned the action, accusing the BMA of behaving “like a cartel” and holding the government to ransom. Despite the government’s claims of financial constraints, official figures show that resident doctors’ salaries have increased by 29% over the past three years.

The walkout, which comes just weeks before the busy winter season for the National Health Service (NHS), is expected to cause the cancellation of tens of thousands of appointments and procedures. With patient backlogs already high, public frustration is likely to mount as the dispute drags on.