Category Nigeria News

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed has confirmed that over 60 bandits were killed during the recent attack on Mansur Village in Alkaleri Local Government Area.

The incident, which occurred two weeks ago, also claimed the lives of vigilantes and civilians.

During a condolence visit to the affected village on Thursday, Governor Mohammed revealed that 21 people from the community lost their lives in the bandits’ attack, including 13 vigilante members and 10 civilians.

He described the incident as a serious security challenge, but noted that the attackers also suffered heavy losses due to the bravery of the combined security forces.

“As they inflicted serious loss on us, over 60 of them died too in the fierce battle. So the loss is not only that our people have been killed. Our security forces also decimated over 60 of them. This shows the chivalry and courage of our people. Despite their superior firepower, we were able to contain them through these young and able-bodied vigilantes and security agencies,” he stated.

READ ALSO: Senate Asks Tinubu To Sign Forest Security Bill

The governor extended his condolences on behalf of the state and federal governments, and said he is working closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser to prevent future attacks.

“We are here on behalf of the government to commiserate with this community, especially the communities of Alkaleri, Gwana, Duguri, Yelwan Duguri, and parts of Bauchi Local Government.

“I want to convey to you the commiseration of the Federal Government, especially the Office of the National Security Adviser. We are going to get a lot of assistance to enable you to work with strength and encouragement,” Mohammed said.

He announced financial support for the victims’ families: ₦5 million for each of the families of the deceased vigilantes, and ₦3 million for the families of the civilians. Additionally, ₦20 million will be provided to support logistics for vigilante operations in the area.

Mohammed also revealed plans to recruit over 2,100 vigilantes across the state before the end of the year, starting with 300 to 500 personnel from the most affected communities. He emphasized that the recruits will be placed under a structured minimum wage scheme and trained by security agencies to ensure discipline and avoid extrajudicial actions.

He called on traditional leaders to help identify informants who may be undermining security efforts in their communities.

Meanwhile, Governor Mohammed has assured residents that the government is taking decisive action.

The Senate on Thursday asked President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Nigerian Forest Security Service (Establishment) Bill, 2025, which was recently passed by the National Assembly and is currently awaiting presidential approval to tackle insecurity.

This resolution was adopted after the submission of two bills sponsored by the Senate minority leader, Sen. Abba Moro and Sen. Sunday Karimi, strongly condemning the abduction of His Royal Highness, Oba James Dada Ogunyanda, the Obalohun of Okoloke, in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State as well as deadly attacks on communities in Benue State by suspected herdsmen.

In the first motion, the Senate expressed dismay over the abduction of a Kogi monarch by suspected kidnappers who stormed his palace around midnight on Thursday, May 15, firing gunshots before whisking him away to an unknown location.

READ ALSO: Senate Mulls Bill Compelling MDAs To Patronise Local Automobiles

As lawmakers called for immediate security intervention across affected regions, they noted that the bill could be revisited to accommodate the President’s proposed Forest Guard initiative, aimed at curbing rising insecurity, particularly in forested and rural areas.

The Senate further urged the Federal Government to direct all security agencies to deploy their resources for the immediate rescue of the monarch.

Moro had informed the chamber of coordinated attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Akpete and Ojantele communities in Apa Local Government Area of Benue State, which occurred on May 1 and May 7, respectively, killing more than a dozen residents.

The Senate also passed a bill seeking to make it mandatory for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to prioritise local automobile manufacturers and indigenous companies in their procurement processes through second reading.

The passage followed a submission by Sen Patrick Ndubueze during plenary.

Speaking in support of the bill, Deputy Senate President , Barau Jibrin, underscored the economic benefits of such a policy, noting that there has been a sustained public call for increased support for Made-in-Nigeria products.

“There has been a clamour for the government to patronize locally made goods. This is not just patriotic, it is a sound economic decision. Supporting indigenous companies will help grow our economy, create jobs, and reduce our dependence on imports,” he stated.

The Senate has passed a bill seeking to make it mandatory for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to prioritise local automobile manufacturers and indigenous companies in their procurement processes through the second reading.

The passage followed a submission by Sen Patrick Ndubueze during plenary on Thursday.

Speaking in support of the bill, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin underscored the economic benefits of such a policy, noting that there has been a sustained public call for increased support for Made-in-Nigeria products.

“There has been a clamour for the government to patronize locally made goods. This is not just patriotic, it is a sound economic decision. Supporting indigenous companies will help grow our economy, create jobs, and reduce our dependence on imports,” he stated.

READ ALSO: I’m Still Paying Debts From Funds Not Remitted To FIRS — Zamfara Gov

The bill, which was widely backed, aims to strengthen the local manufacturing sector, enhance job creation, and reduce capital flight by encouraging government patronage of Nigerian-made goods, particularly in the automobile industry.

Meanwhile, the upper chamber called on President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Nigerian Forest Security Service (Establishment) Bill, 2025, which was recently passed by the National Assembly and is currently awaiting presidential approval to tackle insecurity.

This resolution was adopted after the submission of two bills sponsored by the Senate minority leader, Sen. Abba Moro and Sen. Sunday Karimi, strongly condemning the abduction of His Royal Highness, Oba James Dada Ogunyanda, the Obalohun of Okoloke, in Yagba West Local Government Area of Kogi State as well as deadly attacks on communities in Benue State by suspected herdsmen.

In the first motion, the Senate expressed dismay over the abduction of a Kogi monarch by suspected kidnappers who stormed his palace around midnight on Thursday, May 15, firing gunshots before whisking him away to an unknown location.

As lawmakers called for immediate security intervention across affected regions, they noted that the bill could be revisited to accommodate the President’s proposed Forest Guard initiative, aimed at curbing rising insecurity, particularly in forested and rural areas.

The Senate further urged the Federal Government to direct all security agencies to deploy their resources for the immediate rescue of the monarch.

Peter Obi has commended the registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Ishaq Oloyede, for admitting to glitches in the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) but said such errors should be avoided in the future.

Oloyede had, in a rare admission while fighting back tears, said some errors affected candidates’ performance in the examination, which was conducted across the country earlier in the year.

Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, while lauding Oloyede for admitting to the mistakes, said efforts should be made to prevent a similar recurrence.

“His open admission of fault and the expression of deep remorse stand out as a rare but commendable display of accountability in our public institutions,” Obi wrote on his X handle on Thursday about the entrance examination into tertiary schools, saying it “raises a very concerning issue on glitches and the grave havoc it’s creating in our country, even in critical institutions like JAMB”.

“There must be no room for further glitches – not in JAMB, not in any arm of government. The cost of repeated failure is simply too high,” he said.

READ ALSO: JAMB Registrar Fights Tears, Apologises For Errors In 2025 UTME

Let’s not make Glitches Become a National Crisis

I recently watched the heartfelt press conference delivered by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, in which he acknowledged that technical glitches had affected the recently released JAMB results, impacting 379,997…

The former Anambra State governor said JAMB’s willingness to own up to its shortcomings is worthy of recognition, but “the incident has brought to light a far more troubling reality: the persistent fragility of our institutional systems”.

“The emotional and psychological toll on students, and even parents, some of whom have reportedly suffered severe trauma, and in heartbreaking cases, even death, serves as a reminder of what is at stake,” the LP chieftain said.

“The integrity of examination processes and the reliability of public institutions are not optional; they are foundational to any nation’s progress.”

He called on JAMB and other similar agencies to “adopt comprehensive quality assurance frameworks”.

The LP chieftain listed these to include “rigorous testing and constant auditing of technical infrastructure,” asking for “transparent communication with candidates and stakeholders” among others as “essential to restoring public confidence”.

During the press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the JAMB registrar said, “It is our culture to admit errors because we know that in spite of the best of our efforts, we are human; we are not perfect”. 

He announced that about 379,997 candidates in the just concluded 2025 exercise would retake the examination.

His admission followed an outrage and outcry over technical glitches, unusually low scores, and alleged irregularities in the questions and the answers in the 2025 UTME.

That prompted JAMB to review the conduct of the examination after establishing that a technical glitch affected 157 out of the 887 centres.