Category Nigeria News

The Plateau State Police Command has provided an update on the recent night attacks on Jol community and Dorowa Babuje of Ropp District in Barkin Ladi and Riyom Local Government Areas, as affected communities begin preparations to bury victims of the violence.

Speaking off camera to Channels Television correspondent, the Commissioner of Police in Plateau State, Bassey Eteh, confirmed that security operatives swiftly moved into the areas after distress calls were received and worked in collaboration with other security agencies to repel the attackers and restore calm.

The CP disclosed that reports from his DPO indicated that four persons were killed, while several others sustained injuries during the attacks.

He added that the police have continued to maintain a strong security presence in the affected communities to protect lives and property and to ensure that normalcy is fully restored.

Earlier accounts by community leaders had put the casualty figure higher following the coordinated attacks, which occurred between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m on Sunday.

READ ALSO: 10 Killed In Fresh Attacks On Two Plateau Communities

The National President of the Berom Youth Moulders Association (BYMA), Barrister Solomon Dalyop, had said the attackers struck Jol and Dorowa Babuje from different routes, alleging that armed men rode into Jol on motorcycles from the Manga axis, while those who attacked Dorowa Babuje emerged from the Jong-Wereh area, where they were believed to have been camping.

Dalyop commended the military for what he described as a swift response in Dorowa Babuje, noting that the intervention prevented further loss of lives.

He also acknowledged the role of Operation Rainbow in repelling the attack on Jol community.

The Kaduna State Police Command says it neutralised several suspected bandits during intelligence-led clearance operations across Kajuru, Tafa, Igabi and Kauru Local Government Areas of the state in February 2026.

Addressing journalists in Kaduna, the Commissioner of Police, Rabiu Muhammad, said the operations targeted identified bandits’ camps and criminal hideouts.

Several camps were dislodged during gun battles, with some suspected bandits neutralised, while others reportedly escaped with injuries. Police also apprehended suspected informants and drug suppliers linked to criminal networks.

READ ALSO: 10 Killed In Fresh Attacks On Two Plateau Communities

Muhammad disclosed that suspected notorious bandits and five alleged gunrunners were arrested during the operations. Items recovered include three AK-47 rifles, 21 fabricated firearms, one submachine gun, two pistols, four locally made pistols and a large quantity of hard drugs.

Earlier, on February 17, police operatives acting on credible intelligence intercepted three suspects — Peter Pama, Saleh Monday and Sunday Makama — at Kasuwan Magani over an alleged illegal arms transaction. The suspects were reportedly found in possession of a locally fabricated AK-47 rifle and a pump-action gun.

In a separate operation on February 20 at about 9:00 p.m., detectives from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit arrested Adamu Aminu of Jaji Town in Igabi Local Government Area.

The suspect was allegedly found with six fabricated AK-47 rifles, three fabricated revolver rifles, two fabricated pistols, seven AK-47 magazines and a pair of black Wellco boots. Another suspect, Abubakar Hassan of Unguwar Rogo in Jos North, was also arrested in connection with the case.

Police said preliminary investigations indicate that the suspects were involved in illegal arms fabrication and supply, allegedly fueling criminal activities within and outside Kaduna State. The Command added that investigations are ongoing to dismantle the syndicate and trace the distribution network of the recovered weapons.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) says the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is constitutionally entitled to support any candidate of his choice in an election.

In an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka said Wike’s political choices should be viewed within the context of his rights as a citizen.

According to Morka, “Nyesom Wike is, first and foremost, a Nigerian, a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who also, just like you and I, has freedoms guaranteed by the constitution of our country: freedom to engage, freedom to participate in our democracy, freedom to hold his own opinions and to express them, and to take lawful, legitimate action to back his opinion, especially in the situation of an election or a contest.”



READ ALSO: APC, PDP Trade Words Over 2026 FCT LG Election Results

He added that the issue was not about Wike’s relationship with the Federal Capital Territory, but about his personal political convictions.

“If Nyesom Wike wants to go on campaigning for a candidate in whatever party, he has the freedom to do that… You cannot question their liberty to choose to support one system of politics or the other. We must all wait and let this play out in the coolness of time,” Morka said.

Asked whether the APC would be comfortable if Wike were a member of the party while engaging in similar actions, Morka declined to speculate, stressing that the minister is not an APC member.

“Nyesom Wike is not a member of the All Progressives Congress. You’re asking me to speculate, and I will not speculate. He’s a member of the PDP. You should direct that question to the PDP as to how they organise their party and handle matters like this,” he said.

Wike remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party despite serving in the APC-led administration of President Bola Tinubu.

He has often dismissed “plans” to defect to the APC and describes the PDP as a “house he built” and vows to stay and “fight” against what he calls internal injustices.

Despite his PDP membership, Wike is an outspoken supporter of President Tinubu.

He recently declared his loyalty to Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda” through 2031 and stated he will not run against the president in the 2027 elections.

In the most recent FCT Area Council elections on Saturday, Wike openly campaigned for candidates aligned with President Tinubu, leading to APC victories in five out of six area councils.

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NSDC), Dr. Olajide Idris, has said the agency aims to reduce the incidence of Lassa fever to an appreciable level within the next 10 years.

Idris made this known during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday, explaining that vaccine development for Lassa fever takes time.

“We would reduce the incidence of Lassa fever to an appreciable level in the next 10 years. I said that because developing a vaccine for Lassa fever takes a long time.

“I am not going to lie to you telling you I’m going to reduce Lassa fever in the next two to three years whether I say that I will reduce the incidence of Lassa fever in this country appreciably to an attemptable level,” he said.



READ ALSO: NCDC Reports 318 Lassa Fever Cases With 70 Deaths 

The Director-General noted that the death rate remains high and that efforts are underway to bring it down to less than 10 per cent.

He said a group of experts is working on vaccine development in collaboration with colleagues and stakeholders from parts of Africa and outside the continent.

“If I tell you I would stop Lassa fever in the next five years, I would be lying to you because it’s not only a health issue, it is an environmental issue, an animal issue and we need to deal with those rats that carry the virus,” he added.

Lassa Fever Can Be Treated

Idris stressed that Lassa fever can be treated if patients present early at healthcare facilities.

“Lassa fever can be treated if people present early to health care facilities. It presents like normal malaria and starts treating until they start seeing the terrible symptoms like bleeding, that it’s called the hemorrhagic fever.

“But most importantly, the people who contract this disease do not report on time and the longer you wait, the more fatal it can be.”

According to him, about five states account for nearly 90 per cent of reported cases, which he described as alarming.

“That’s why we sent out our teams again to support this states to find out what could be going on, what they are doing right or wrong,” he said.

He added that certain gaps were identified and teams were redeployed to train personnel on case management. He noted that some states have treatment centres that are not adequately manned, some lack treatment centres entirely, and others do not know how to manage the cases.

Idris said advisories have been sent to states and that the agency has been engaging commissioners of health across the country.

“One of the problems occurs within local governments and states and that’s why states are being encouraged again to establish or build up the capacity for emergency preparation and response,” he explained.

He also highlighted the importance of infection prevention and control measures for health workers.

“That is what they call the infection prevention and control, what to wear to protect your self, either google, face mask, hand gloves, etcetera.”

Lassa Outbreak

The NCDC has confirmed 318 cases of Lassa fever and 70 deaths nationwide since the beginning of 2026.

Dr. Idris disclosed that 1,469 suspected cases have been recorded, resulting in a case fatality rate of 22 per cent.

He said five states — Edo, Ondo, Taraba, Bauchi and Ebonyi — account for 91 per cent of confirmed cases, while 10 local government areas account for 68 per cent of infections.

Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness caused by the Lassa virus, a member of the arenavirus family. It is an animal-borne disease transmitted by the common African rat, also known as the Mastomys rat.

The All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party have traded words over the outcome of the 2026 Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, offering sharply different interpretations of the results.

The disagreement follows the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which announced the APC as winner in five of the six chairmanship seats contested, while the PDP secured one.

Appearing on The Morning Brief on Channels Television, APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka described the outcome as a natural reflection of voters’ choices.

“The fact is that an election was called and Nigerians who were eligible to vote went out to cast their ballots, and the authority empowered to regulate, conduct and monitor the election did so and declared the results in favour of the APC. The votes were collated and counted, and every requirement was met. The APC won the majority of the councils in the FCT,” he said.

READ ALSO: INEC Denies Migrating FCT Voters, Explains Split Polling Units

Morka added that the ruling party’s strong performance should not be surprising, arguing that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has created favourable public sentiment.

“The APC is the ruling party, and President Bola Tinubu is doing a fantastic job. The economic indicators are strengthening and moving at a pace many did not expect,” he stated.

Process Flawed, Turnout Poor

Also speaking on the programme, PDP spokesman Ini Ememobong warned that opposition parties may take a collective position ahead of future elections and signalled the possibility of legal action over alleged irregularities.

Ememobong criticised the conduct of the election, citing low voter turnout and logistical concerns.

“This is the first election testing the new Electoral Act, and it reinforces our concerns about voter apathy. In many polling units, you saw only a handful of voters, while in others no one voted because people believed their votes would not count,” he said.

He questioned delays in result collation, particularly in the Kuje Area Council.
“How could an election that ended in the afternoon only have results available the following day? That clearly shows why real-time electronic transmission is important,” he added.

Ememobong insisted the PDP was not rejecting the results out of bitterness but out of concern for electoral integrity.

“We are not sore losers. The contests were largely between the PDP and APC, but many things went wrong, including the movement restriction before the election, which stakeholders said was unnecessary,” the PDP spokesman stated.

Wike’s Role

Addressing questions about the presence of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike at the polls despite being a PDP member, Morka defended his participation.

“Mr Wike is a citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria who enjoys the constitutional freedom to participate in democracy, hold opinions and express them. It is about his personal views and actions within the law. We should not overthink it,” he said.

On allegations of anti-party activity, he added, “That question should be directed to the PDP. How they handle their members is within their domain.”

Also appearing on the programme, PDP National Publicity Secretary Ini Ememobong also criticised the minister’s visible presence at polling areas, saying it could undermine confidence in the process.

“The minister is not a voter in the FCT, yet he was on parade with a crowd. That alone could compromise the integrity of the election. There are many issues we need to fix,” he said.

FCT Council Elections

The FCT Area Council elections were held on Saturday, February 21, 2026 to elect six chairmen and 62 councillors across the territory’s six area councils.

INEC declared the APC winner in AMAC, Bwari, Kuje, Kwali and Abaji, while the PDP won Gwagwalada.

The poll was conducted under the amended Electoral Act, with observers noting generally low turnout despite a largely peaceful voting process.

Meanwhile, President Tinubu has congratulated the winners of the FCT Area Council elections as well as successful candidates in the Rivers and Kano by-elections, commending voters for participating in the democratic process.