Author: Vincent Osuwo

The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, has declared Sunday, July 7, 2024, to be the first day of Muharram, the Islamic year 1446 after Hijrah.  Sambo Junaidu, Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Religious Affairs, Sultanate Council, Sokoto, issued the statement on Friday. Junaidu added that there had been no reports of moon sightings by national or regional committees throughout the country. He said, “The national and the various moon sighting committees across the country did not receive any report on the sighting of the new moon of Muharram…

Concerned about the rising number of out-of-school children in the country, President Bola Tinubu has approved the start of the DOTS project to restructure the education system, improve enrollment, and assure the academic security of the nation’s children.  DOTS stands for Data Repository, Out-of-School Children’s Education, Teacher Training and Development, and Skill Development and Acquisition. Dr. Yusuf Tanko Sununu, Minister of State for Education, made the announcement on Friday in Shabu, a suburb of Lafia, the capital of Nasarawa State, while also performing the groundbreaking ceremony for the National Examinations Council offices in Nasarawa, Abia, Sokoto, Taraba, Jigawa, Lagos, and…

US President Joe Biden has stated that there is nothing that would lead him to consider withdrawing from the presidential race.  Following a weak performance in the presidential debate against former President and Republican contender Donald Trump on June 27, there have been calls for Biden to drop out. Some US citizens, political commentators, and stakeholders have expressed concern about the president’s health and mental alertness following the discussion. In an interview with ABC News on Friday, Biden declared that only the “Lord Almighty” could persuade him to withdraw his re-election bid. He said, “I mean, if the Lord Almighty…

Nigerian Grammy Award winner Burna Boy has berated his colleague David Adeleke, popularly called Davido, over his unending babymama drama. Burna Boy, in a series of replies on X on Friday, mocked Davido for being at loggerheads with the mother of his baby, Sophia Momodu, over the custody of their daughter, Imade. Burna Boy made the derogatory statement when an X user advised him to emulate Davido by marrying and raising his children. “Burna Boy, you should start planning for your future by getting married and starting a family,” the X user advised. “OBO (Davido) has already set an example.…

The Kano State Government has proclaimed Monday a public holiday to mark the start of the new Islamic calendar year 1446 AH.  This was announced in a statement on Friday by Baba Dantiye, Kano State Commissioner for Information. According to the statement, Governor Yusuf Abba encouraged the inhabitants to take the holiday to reflect on the previous year and engage in good activities. He urged the people of the state to use the vacation to reflect on the previous year and engage in mutually beneficial activities that will help them in these difficult and challenging times. “The state government, on…

No fewer than nine members of a notorious kidnapping gang who had plotted to abduct some wealthy people in Lagos State were killed during a raid at Ladipo by operatives of the state’s police command. According to a reliable source, it was gathered that some shootings took place at Oloje Street, Papa Ajao, in the Mushin area on Thursday night, which they thought were cult-related. The source said, “There was pandemonium in our area when we heard some shootings at the Papa Ajao area yesterday night, and it was a shoot-out. We thought it was cult activity in the area…

The Nigerian Army recovered ammunition, neutralised 177 terrorists, and arrested 263 during operations across the country this week. This was revealed in a statement released by the Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Edward Buba, during a performance review on Friday. Buba said, “During the week, troops neutralised 177 and arrested 263 people. Troops also arrested 41 perpetrators of oil theft and rescued 158 kidnapped hostages. In the South-South, troops denied the oil theft of the estimated sum of N501,089,400 million. “Furthermore, troops recovered 170 assorted weapons and 4,692 assorted ammunition. “The breakdown is as follows: six PKT guns,…

Olalekan Amos, a commercial driver on the Edo/Osun State route, has been caught by police after fleeing with electrical goods worth N4.5 million that he was supposed to deliver in Osogbo, Osun State.  Amos, who was among the suspects detained across the state for crimes ranging from armed robbery to kidnapping and participation in illegal organisations, was paraded before the state Police Command headquarters in Osogbo on Friday. According to the command’s spokeswoman, Yemisi Opalola, the suspect collected the devices from Edo State in March of this year, refused to deliver the gadgets to the agreed-upon location in Osogbo, and…

Chaos erupted in Ughelli, Delta State, on Friday after suspected gunmen attacked a bank customer at a new-generation bank in the city. It was gathered that the gunmen, who arrived in a Toyota Venza, followed the unidentified customer to the bank before shooting intermittently while attacking their target. Witnesses reported that the customer had yet to enter the banking hall when the gunmen struck, taking three ‘Ghana Must Go’ bags containing money. In the following melee, the bank’s private security guard and two others were believed to have been shot by the hoodlums, who were apparently loaded with sophisticated weaponry…

No fewer than six bandits were arrested during clearance operations by personnel of the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigerian Army Guards Brigade in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. During the raids, security personnel demolished identified bandit camps in Kaduna and Niger states. According to a statement issued on Friday by the FCT police command spokesperson, Josephine Adeh, the six bandits were apprehended in the Gidan Dogo and Jerei forests of Kaduna State, where a bandit kingpin hides. The statement read, “In the continued effort and stride against criminality in the Federal Capital Territory, the operatives of the FCT police…