Nation
THE STATES
Borno
The police in Borno State have denied media report on alleged abduction of the Caretaker Chairman of Bama Local Government Area, Alhaji Modu Ali, by suspected gunmen.
The spokesman of the command, Mr Victor Isuku dismissed the report while fielding questions from newsmen in Maiduguri.
Isuku explained that Ali was arrested by court orderlies using private tricycle.
“Modu Ali was not kidnapped or abducted by gunmen as reported in the media. He was arrested by court orderlies based on an order of a court in Maiduguri,” he said.
Isuku however said that Ali had been reunited with his family after he was released by the court.
Gombe
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has deployed 3,000 prospective corps members of 2016 Batch B Stream II to Gombe State.
The Chief Information Officer, Miss Magrate Dakama, stated this in a statement issued in Gombe.
“About 3, 000 prospective Corps members are expected to report at the NYSC temporary orientation camp, Science Technical College, Amanda 12 KL Gombe-Bauchi road’’, the statement said.
According to the statement, registration and verification will commence on January 24, while closing ceremony will be on February 13th.
Kaduna
Governor Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said that all those found culpable in the killing of innocent people in the recent crisis in Southern Kaduna will be prosecuted.
He described the incident as unfortunate and condemnable.
He said this when the Council of Traditional Chiefs and Emirs, led by Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Shehu Idris, paid him a solidarity visit.
“This is not something to talk about because I am not the first governor to receive this kind of treatment, every governor in the last 15 years in this state has been treated this way, and it is part of the challenges and burden of leadership. So, I am not disturbed.
Kano
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), says it empowered 60 victims of trafficking in the North-West Zone in 2016.
The NAPTIP Zonal Commander, Mr Shehu Umar, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Kano.
Umar said that the victims were trained in various skills including tailoring, interior decoration, catering, among others.
He said that the agency with support of a non-governmental organisation would soon provide working tools to the empowered victims.
Kebbi
The Association for the Promotion of Livestock Production in the African Sahel and Savannah regions says it will enlighten livestock breeders on modern livestock production.
The President of the association, Dr Buba Jalo, who led a delegation to Kebbi State, disclosed this in Birnin Kebbi after a closed door meeting with Governor Atiku Bagudu.
He told newsmen after the meeting that the training would end the incessant clashes between farmers and livestock producers.
Jalo said the association would ensure that farmers and livestock breeders embraced dialogue in dispute resolution and peaceful coexistence.
Kwara
Agbeyangi Community in Ilorin East local government Area of Kwara State has denied a reported influx of Boko Haram members into the area.
The Alagua of Agbeyangi, Alhaji Aliyu Baba, said in statement in Ilorin that a media report to that effect was not true.
A national daily had reported that some items, belonging to suspected Boko Haram insurgents, were found in the community.
But Baba, the community head, stated that the purported items belong to some Fulani herdsmen migrating from the North and awaiting screening before they could be allowed into the community.
Nasarawa
The Niger State Sanitary Industry Limited, Ikeja, Lagos State has distributed relief materials worth N500,000 to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), at their Kuta village camp in Karu local government of Nasarawa State.
The firm’s Marketing Manager, Mr Akuta Chinedu, who supervised the distribution, said that the company was moved to assist the IDPs because they found their conditions “very critical”.
Chinedu decried the living conditions of the IDPs and urged the Federal Government to intervene in the areas of education and healthcare.
He said that the Kuta camp was the first beneficiary of the gesture because it was the closest to the Abuja office of the company.
Niger
The Special Adviser to the Governor of Niger State on Empowerment and Social Protection, Mrs Afiniki Dauda, says the state government has so far trained and deployed 4,149 to the programme.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Minna, Dauda said 2, 883 have been deployed to teach, 611 to the agricultural sector , 355 were posted to health sector and 299 others were to serve under N-Community.
She said other candidates were being trained and on completion will be deployed to the programme.
“We have opted to use our discretion in terms of posting based on the state’s personnel needs. The review of the posting of N – Power beneficiaries is ongoing and zero posting issues will be addressed”, he said.
Osun
Students of the Osun State University, Osogbo, last Saturday protested the shooting of two of their colleagues by some policemen.
The protesting students lit bon fires on major streets and impeded human and vehicular traffic within Osogbo metropolis.
The shot students, Kazeem Adesola and Ibrahim Ajao, were playing football on a pitch at Oke-Baale area of the metropolis when the incident occurred.
The policemen, who came in plain clothes, had accused some students on the pitch of being involved in internet fraud.
Ondo
Olori, the wife of Oba Babatunde Faduyile, the Abodi of Ikaleland in Ondo State, Grace Faduyile, has appealed to government at all levels to provide jobs for the youth in the country.
She made the appeal while speaking with newsmen shortly after a thanksgiving ceremony at the Gospel Faith Mission Internatonal (GOFAMINT) in Okitipupa.
Olori Faduyile was rescued from the hands of a five-man gang of kidnappers in a foiled abduction saga on January 15 in Ikoya, Okitipupa local government area.
She said that unemployment was responsible for youths getting more involved in social vices.
Recounting her ordeal, she said the kidnappers took her and one of her aides through the waterways for over two hours to an unknown destination before they were rescued by local hunters and security agencies.
Oyo
A chieftain of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Dr Kunle Olajide, says regional integration is the key to the economic prosperity of the Yoruba nation.
Olajide stated this at a colloquium organised by the Yoruba Patriotic Movement (YPM) in Ibadan last Saturday.
The theme of the colloquium chaired by a former governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, was” Resetting the Yoruba Nation’s Agenda for Rapid, Systematic and Sustainable Development.”
Plateau
A PDP chieftain in Plateau State, Chief Alexander Mwolwus,
has urged Governor Simon Lalong to tackle corruption, especially in the conduct of election at the local government council level.
Mwolwus who made the call in an interview with newsmen in Pankshin, said the recently suspended some local government staff, including DPMs, DFSs and Directors for alleged shady financial deals, was commendable.
“We have not heard of anything about the Local Government Management committee Chairmen.
“In December 2016, the governor gave these chairmen another six months to keep managing the affairs of the 17 LGAs instead of conducting local government poll to right the wrong,” he said.
Sokoto
The Chairman, Sokoto State House of Assembly Committee on Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Tanimu Kyadawa, has urged Nigerians to patronise made- in-Nigeria products.
Kyadawa (APC-Gada West), who gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Sokoto, said doing so would boost the country’s economy.
The legislator called on government to mobilise more support for Nigerian industries in order to improve the standard of all products.
He also urged indigenous manufacturers to be ingenious for the benefit of the citizens.
Taraba
The police in Jalingo, Taraba State, have confirmed the arrest of an armed immigration personnel by a local vigilance group.
The spokesman of the police command, Mr David Misal, said that the suspect, Mahmood Idris, broke into a place of worship and destroyed some properties.
Misal explained that Idris, who sustained injuries during the incident, was receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Jalingo.
According to him, police preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect signed and collected the rifle on Saturday while on duty, only for him to engage in the dastardly act.
Zamfara
The police in Zamfara State have embarked on state-wide familiarisation campaign as part of efforts to improve police community relationship in the state.
The Commissioner of Police in Zamfara, Mr Shaba Alkali, said in Gusau on Sunday that the tour was designed to bridge the gap between the force and residents.
Alkali explained that the police would interact with various stakeholders across the state, including local government councils, traditional rulers, religious leaders and other security agencies, to get closer to people at the grassroots.
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that 26,592 public school students failed the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, raising alarm across the state’s education sector.
The state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, during a ministerial press briefing yesterday in Alausa, Ikeja, said that “45.7 per cent of the 58,188 students from public schools who sat for the exams did not pass.”.
This failure rate comes despite the state government’s significant financial backing N1.577 billion was paid on behalf of the students to cover WAEC fees.
“Suffice to say that the sum of N1,577,794,000 only was paid by the state government as examination fees for 58,188 students who were captured for the year 2024 WASSCE,” Alli-Balogun announced.
In a bid to tighten accountability and avoid wastage, the Commissioner disclosed that biometric and image registration was carried out to accurately determine eligible students for government sponsorship for the 2025 WASSCE.
“The exercise successfully captured and registered 56,134 students as bona fide beneficiaries of the Lagos state government’s sponsorship for the examination,” he added.
However, the Lagos State Government rolled out a bold educational intervention – the Eko Learners’ Support Programme for WASSCE and NECO candidates – aimed at reversing the tide of academic failure in the state’s public schools.
Launched on January 14, 2025, the initiative is part of a broader commitment by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to equip Lagos students with tools for success.
“This forward-thinking initiative was designed to support and empower young scholars in attestation of the ministry’s commitment to advancing interest and management of the educational system in Lagos State,” Alli-Balogun stated.
Ekiti State Government says it has vaccinated 226,429 eligible girls in the State against the Human Papilloma Virus, an infection believed to be a leading cause of cervical cancer.
The wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, said the HPV immunization exercise, which she flagged off in the State in May 2025 was a great success, noting that it reached targeted communities and protected children against cervical cancer.
The governor’s wife made the disclosure in Ado Ekiti yesterday during a one-day stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting on the introduction of Measles Rubella vaccines in Ekiti State.
She said, “The introduction of Measles Rubella Vaccines is a very crucial step towards protecting Ekiti children particularly the target age group of nine to 14 years from diseases.
“I urge all women in the State to regularly scan their breasts. This can be done with the aid of the Mammography machine which is available at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti”.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, noted that the Measles Rubella vaccines would be rolled out nationally in October, 2025.
Filani said that the State was taking proactive steps to sensitise residents of the State before the date to ensure adequate awareness on the vaccines by citizens.
The Acting Ochimba of Ogida in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, Eze Ndudiri Azuatalam, says peace remains paramount in the socio-economic development of Etche land.
Eze Azuatalam, however, called on his people to embrace and eschew violence at all times.
The Onwa Nagbara Oha made the call during the official commissioning of his palace at Ogida recently.
The epoch-making ceremony held at his palace saw the attendance of members of the Etche Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs; the academia; the political class; the clergy ; women as well relevant stakeholders within and outside Etche land.
The Ngbaragida of Azuafor re-emphasised the essence of peace and social harmony which he said open the window for meaningful development to take place.
He also sought the support and collaboration of his people to achieve the desired goals of development, progress and prosperity.
He noted that the peace being witnessed in the area must be sustained through collective effort, saying, contributions and sacrifices need to be made by all concerned to live in peace.
Eze Azuatalam said his aim towards building a better Ogida cannot be compromised as he and his people have no other place called home.
The Acting Ochimba said as part of efforts to build a better Ogida, he has instituted a number of development projects, adding that some of his kinsmen have been empowered through his hard-earned money and resources, saying, he will continue to assist the less- privileged around him.
He reaffirmed his desire to impact positively on the lives of his people as the engagement of the youths will help to reduce social vices in the area.
He thanked members of the Etche Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs for honouring his invitation.
He specifically thanked the Onyi Ishi Etche and Ochie of Etcheland, His Eminence E mmanuel Opurum for leading Etche on the path of prosperity, and described the revered King as a role model to the younger generation.
He said his fatherly role has been a source of hope and inspiration to his subjects.
The palace was unveiled by His Eminence with the assistance of Ochimba of Abara, Eze Jonah Nwala and other prominent Etche traditional rulers and chiefs while the Onyi Ishi Etche was represented by Eze Ken Nwala, Onyi Ishi Agwuru, Ulakwo/ Umuselem Clan.
The Onyi Ishi Etche urged other prominent sons of Etche to emulate the kind gesture of Eze Ndudiri Azuatalam as his magnanimity is being seen and appreciated by his people.
Eze Azuatalam also applauded the efforts of Prof Mekuri Ndimele, former Vice Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in the growth of Etche land.
According to him, during Ndimele’ s tenure, a lot of development projects were sited at the institution, including the development of Etcheland and empowerment of Etche people.