Author: Umar

At least 323 people have been killed in a series of violent attacks on rural communities across Benue, Katsina, Kwara, Kebbi, Niger and Zamfara states within the first 20 days of February, according to documentation by Amnesty International. Amnesty International said the escalating death toll highlights what it described as the federal government’s failure to develop and implement an effective strategy to end years of mass atrocities by armed groups operating across northern Nigeria. READ MORE: Amnesty International calls for DSS probe over killing of two men in Abuja “The rising death toll clearly shows that President Bola Tinubu and…

In Erena town, Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, deforestation has quietly crept into the classroom. At dawn, children aged 10 to 16 embark on hours-long treks along dusty footpaths into depleted forest in search of firewood — a daily routine that often leaves them late for school or absent altogether. “We sell the woods that we get from the bush”, Muhammadu Ibrahim, a 14-year old boy told New Daily Prime. “In every piece of logging that we get from the bush, we sell them at the rate of  N2000 or N25000.” Ibrahim spent nearly four years away from…

Saraki calls for probe as Plateau mining death toll rises to 47 Former Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has described the mining tragedy in Kampani Zurak Community of Wase Local Government Area as a “gut punch,” following reports that the death toll has risen to 47. Saraki, in a statement issued on Friday, expressed deep sorrow over the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday and was reportedly caused by carbon monoxide exposure at an illegal mining site. “The news of the mining tragedy that occurred in Kampani Zurak Community of Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State…

Former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai is set to be arraigned on February 25 by the Department of State Services over allegations of cybercrime and threats to national security. According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the arraignment date was fixed by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, following the assignment of the case by the Chief Judge, Justice John Tsoho. The DSS filed a three-count charge against El-Rufai, accusing him of unlawfully intercepting the telephone communications of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu. The charge, marked FHC/ABJ/CR/99/2026, alleges violations of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Amendment Act,…

President Bola Tinubu and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation between Nigeria and Germany, focusing on security, power transmission, and railway development. The agreement was reached during a telephone conversation between the two leaders on Wednesday afternoon, according to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. Both leaders also expressed willingness to collaborate in creative arts and skills development as part of efforts to deepen bilateral ties. Speaking on the Presidential Power Initiative, President Tinubu said Nigeria would require assistance to strengthen its power transmission infrastructure. In…

The Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, arraigned two men, Kelvin Usiholo and Osaigbovo Aikoriogie, before Justice B. O. Quadri of the Federal High Court sitting in Benin City, Edo State, over an alleged N143 million fraud. The defendants were charged on a three-count indictment bordering on conspiracy, money laundering, and obtaining money by false pretence. The EFCC told the court that the offences were committed alongside other members of a syndicate currently at large. According to the prosecution, Usiholo, who acted as a lawful attorney for Eghosa Aikorogie, had…

The Nigeria Police Force in Niger State has recovered three AK-47 rifles and six magazines following a motorcycle crash involving two suspected arms couriers along the Boyi Sarki–Toll Gate axis of the state. Police sources told Zagazola Makama, a counterinsurgency expert based in LakeChad that the incident occurred at about 9:50 p.m. on Feb. 17 after officers on stop-and-search duty at Gawu Babangida received a distress call about a lone accident near the toll gate. READ MORE:Police in Niger arrests 9 suspected armed robbers with weapons  EXCLUSIVE: Boko Haram attack Niger villages, slaughter children, burnt down police station “The patrol…

Kano court jails bank staff five years for ₦22.35m investment fraud The Kano Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction and sentencing of Janet Theophilus Danjuma to five years’ imprisonment for defrauding an investor of ₦22.35 million. Danjuma was convicted on Monday by Justice S. M. Shuaibu of the Federal High Court, after pleading guilty to a one-count charge of obtaining money by false pretence. According to the charge, Danjuma, a staff member of Taj Bank Limited, Nai’bawa Branch in Kano, fraudulently obtained the sum of ₦22,350,000 from Wade Bamaiyi in October 2024.…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has mourned the death of American civil rights leader and Baptist preacher, Jesse Jackson, describing him as a great friend of Nigeria and Africa. Reverend Jackson died on Tuesday at the age of 84. In a condolence message, President Tinubu said he joined people across the world and the United States in mourning the passing of what he described as a servant-leader whose life was devoted to justice, equality, and human dignity. “Reverend Jesse Jackson was a servant-leader who captured the global imagination as a young activist, alongside civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., fighting…

Operatives of the Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have begun investigation into a 31-year-old trader, Oduburu Lucy Oluchi, also known as Eze Chiamaka Lucy, over alleged possession and circulation of counterfeit currency amounting to ₦192,000. According to the Commission, Oluchi was arrested on December 23, 2025, at Eke Nibo Market in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State after fellow traders allegedly caught her attempting to use fake banknotes to purchase goods. “She was apprehended by traders at the market and subsequently handed over to operatives of the Agunechemba Quasi Security outfit, who…