Author: Platform Times Newspaper

…Insist Sustainable Peace Must Begin Within Communities …Security Agencies Alone Cannot Restore Stability Daud Olatunji  Nigeria’s leading security and religious figures — National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah; and the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III — have warned that the country cannot overcome insecurity through the barrel of a gun alone, insisting that sustainable peace must begin within communities. The leaders spoke on Thursday in Abuja at a high-level dialogue on preventing violence and conflict in northern Nigeria, organised by the National Peace Committee (NPC) in partnership with the Kukah Centre…

The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Thursday said Nigerian troops arrested 74 terrorists and their collaborators while rescuing 318 kidnap victims during counter-insurgency and internal security operations across the country in November. Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Michael Onoja, disclosed that in addition to the arrests, 25 oil thieves were apprehended in the South-South, while 69 terrorists and their families surrendered to troops in the North East. Speaking at a media briefing in Abuja, Gen. Onoja said the military also destroyed 16 illegal oil refining sites and recovered stolen petroleum products valued at over N217 million, including 201,700 litres…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday arraigned a serving Gombe State magistrate, Mohammed Suleiman Kumo, on charges of bribery and extortion totaling ₦1.4 million. Kumo appeared before Justice H.H. Kereng of the Gombe State High Court on a three-count charge filed by the EFCC’s Gombe Zonal Directorate. The charges allege that the magistrate received monetary benefits through the bank account of a court registrar, identified as Adamu Ahmed, in violation of Section 10(a)(i)(ii) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000. One of the charges stated, “That you, Mohammed Suleiman Kumo, being a Magistrate at…

A 51-year-old man, Emeka Nwangwu, has allegedly killed his 19-year-old cousin, Uloma Nwangwu, days after she accused him of sexual abuse and threatening her life, the police said on Tuesday. The tragic incident occurred on Monday at a pharmacy in Nsukka, Nsukka Local Government Area, where the victim had gone to receive treatment. Police spokesperson Daniel Ndukwe said the suspect, who is a member of a Neighbourhood Watch in the area, attacked Uloma, repeatedly striking her head on the floor, causing fatal injuries. She was rushed to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead, and her body was taken to…

The National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Engr. Saleh Alhassan, on Thursday claimed that Fulani pastoralists have been victims of systematic killings, displacement and criminalisation across several states for more than two decades, describing the situation as the “closest thing to genocide” in Nigeria. Alhassan made the claim during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, where he faulted ongoing narratives describing herders as aggressors. According to him, the country has failed to acknowledge years of unchecked violence against Fulani pastoral communities. “If we must be honest, anything close to genocide in this country is the genocide against…

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld a judgment stopping the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), officially known as the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, from arresting motorists, impounding vehicles, or imposing fines on road users across the Federal Capital Territory. A three-man panel of the appellate court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed the appeal filed by the agency and affirmed that its officers lack constitutional powers to stop vehicles on the road. Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi held that the VIO’s appeal had “no merit whatsoever,” insisting that the agency had acted outside the scope of its…

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Wednesday vowed to mobilise millions of workers for nationwide protests and declare a national day of mourning as kidnappings and violent attacks escalate across the country. NLC President, Joe Ajaero, speaking at the opening of the Congress’ National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos, said the country was “under siege” and warned that the labour movement would not sit idly while criminal gangs overrun communities, abduct schoolchildren and kill workers. A visibly angry Ajaero said the recent abduction of schoolchildren, following the sudden withdrawal of security operatives from their school, raised troubling questions about…

Controversial Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has invoked a fierce divine curse on individuals he accused of sponsoring the lingering insecurity ravaging parts of the country, declaring that Nigeria’s banditry and terrorism crisis is being deliberately fuelled by powerful interests. In a viral video sermon delivered in Hausa on Wednesday, Gumi prayed that Allah’s wrath should continuously descend on political actors, military officers, and businessmen allegedly profiting from the violence plaguing the North-West and North-Central regions. “May Allah curse whoever is sponsoring insecurity in this country, whether they are politicians, military officers, or businessmen,” the cleric declared. “May Allah’s…

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday swore in retired Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, as the new Minister of Defence, charging him to immediately restore public confidence in Nigeria’s security architecture. The brief ceremony, held at the State House, Abuja, came barely 24 hours after the Senate confirmed the former CDS following a tense five-hour screening session dominated by questions on rising insecurity and alleged operational failures under his watch. Musa, who replaces Mohammed Badaru after his resignation reportedly on health grounds, told lawmakers during the screening that he would order a full-scale probe into the controversial withdrawal of…

The Imo State Police Command has launched a full investigation into the brutal assault of a young girl in Uruala community, Ideato North Local Government Area, after her guardian allegedly poured candle wax and boiled water on her as punishment for allegedly stealing meat. The state Commissioner of Police, Aboki Danjuma, was said to be deeply disturbed by the incident and has directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the State Criminal Investigation Department to immediately investigate and ensure the suspect is charged to court. The suspect, who admitted to the act during an interview with journalists, claimed…