Category Nigeria News

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated a former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd) on his 83rd birthday anniversary.

Tinubu saluted Abubakar for his decades of exceptional service to Nigeria, both in uniform and in retirement.

He also commended his steadfast commitment to peace, stability, and good governance across the African continent.

“General Abubakar’s legacy, particularly his role in leading Nigeria through a peaceful transition to democratic rule in 1999, remains a watershed moment in the nation’s history.

“His selfless act of handing over power paved the way for Nigeria’s Fourth Republic and strengthened the principle of constitutional democracy,” the President said in a statement on Sunday.

He said that as Chairman of the National Peace Committee, General Abubakar had continued to play a significant role in promoting dialogue, defusing tension, and ensuring credible electoral processes in Nigeria.

He said the former Head of State’s voice of moderation, reason, and statesmanship was deeply valued in a time where unity and leadership are more critical than ever.

“He is a patriot of uncommon integrity whose service inspires generations of Nigerians in public life.

“As he marks another year of life, Nigeria honours his sacrifices, wisdom, and unyielding devotion to the peace and unity of our great nation.

The Kaduna Police Command has arrested 182 suspects for various offences during operations in different parts of the state, as part of a renewed effort to rid the area of criminal elements and safeguard lives and properties.

The suspects were arrested in their hideouts and black spots during a coordinated operation spearheaded by Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) in metropolitan areas, particularly Rigasa, Kawo, Tudun Wada, Sabon Tasha, and other communities, in line with the directive of the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Muhammad.

A statement by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Mansir Hassan, said the crackdown, which was part of ongoing efforts to restore public confidence and enhance internal security, led to the recovery of dangerous weapons and hard drugs.

Hassan said 30 bags of hard drugs suspected to be marijuana and other dangerous weapons were recovered by the police in one of the raids carried out in the Rigasa area on June 13, 2025.

A bag containing 31 rounds of live ammunition of an AK-47 rifle magazine abandoned by suspected criminals during a hot chase at Rafin Guza was also intercepted.

Similarly, police operatives acting on a tip-off arrested two suspected car thieves at Kakuri in Kaduna North Local Government Area. The 35-year-old prime suspect, Ziya Abdullahi, was arrested by police officers while he was attempting to sell a suspected stolen vehicle. His accomplice, one Bashir Usman (aka yellow), was later apprehended.

READ ALSO: Many Feared Dead In Fresh Suspected Herdsmen Attack On Benue Community

The suspects, according to the police, confessed to robbing a residence in Gona, using knives and cutlasses, and stealing a Honda Accord. The stolen vehicle was later recovered in Zaria, while efforts are ongoing to arrest other fleeing gang members.

The police said some of the suspects have been charged to court. Others are currently undergoing a thorough investigation and will be charged to court if found culpable per the law.

A fresh suspected herdsmen attack on a Benue community may have led to the death of many residents.

Channels Television gathered that the suspected herdsmen, on Friday, attacked Yelwatda, a Benue border town with Nasarawa state.

The Chairman of Guma Local Government Area in Benue State, Maurice Orwough, confirmed the attack.

According to him, many have been killed while more than 26 people have been hospitalised.

Speaking to Channels Television after visiting the scenes of the attack on Saturday, the chairman accused herdsmen of attacking his people unprovoked, following an early attempt to attack Daudu town before the military halted the attack.

According to Orwough, the herdsmen then moved towards Yelwatda at about 11.30 pm to attack Yelwatda, where there were just four soldiers posted, while over one hundred of the herdsmen opened fire on the people.

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While he is unable to confirm the actual casualty figures, the chairman called for increased surveillance in the area to protect his people.

Informal sources from Yelwatda said more than 50 people were killed in the fresh attack.

A Lagos court has ordered the deportation of four Filipinos over cyberterrorism and internet fraud.

A Friday statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the sentence was handed down by Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court, sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The EFCC stated that its Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 also secured the conviction and sentencing of seven Nigerians for the same offences.

The Filipino convicts are Reyna Mae Eriba, Chyna Samonte, Zara Fabian and Dominique Medina.

In addition to their sentences, the judge ordered the Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to ensure their deportation to their country of origin within seven days of completing their sentences.

The Nigerians are Chidera Ezechukwu, Favour Oluchukwu, Egwenum Ifeanyi, David Okezie, Gbenga Shittu Solomon, Ibraheem Olamilekan and Oghomienor Jotham.

They were prosecuted on separate charges bordering on cyberterrorism and internet fraud.

Samonte charges read: “That you, Chynna Samonte, sometime in December 2024, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, willfully caused to be accessed, computer systems organized to seriously destabilize and destroy the fundamental economic and social structure of Nigeria when you procured/employed Nigerian youths for identity theft and to hold themselves out as persons of foreign nationality, with the intent to gain financial advantage for yourselves and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 18 of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Ete) Act, 2015 (As amended 2024) and Section 2(3)(d) of the Terrorism (Prevention, Prohibition) Act, 2022.”

That of Ezechukwu read: “That you, Chidera Ezechukwu, sometime in May 2025 at Lagos, within the Judicial Division of this Honourable Court, did retain the sum of N12,750,318.63 (Twelve Million, Seven Hundred and Fifty Thousand, Three Hundred and Eighteen Million, million, Sixty-three Kobo) in your UBA account with account number 2330149541, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of the proceeds of your unlawful act to wit: engaging in an online dating scam and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 14(1)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 as amended and punishable under Section 14(2) of the same Act.”

The EFCC said that they pleaded “guilty” to the charges when they were read to them. Following this, prosecution counsel Anita Imo, S.I. Suleiman, H.U. Kofarnaisa, and B.M. Isah requested that the court convict and sentence them accordingly and that all items recovered from them be forfeited to the federal government.

Justice Bogoro convicted and sentenced Eriba, Samonte, Fabian, and Medina to one year in prison each or to pay a ₦1 million fine, respectively.

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Gbenga was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment or to pay a fine of ₦700,000, while Jotham, Olalekan, Ezechukwu, David, Ifeanyi, and Oluchukwu were each sentenced to one year’s imprisonment or to pay a fine of ₦500,000.