Author: Vardiafrica

Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State has instructed all secondary schools, both private and public, to promptly send their boarding students home in light of the increasing security concerns throughout the nation. The instruction was communicated through a statement signed by the State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Augustina Godwin. The statement highlights that the growing security issues nationwide have put boarding students in both public and private secondary schools at risk of being targeted by bandits. It references the recent student abductions in Kebbi and Niger states as examples of this threat. Dr. Godwin communicated that, in light of the…

The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government has transferred the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from the Department of State Services (DSS) facility in Abuja to a correctional centre in Sokoto State. The development was made public on Friday by Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, who announced the transfer in a post on X. Ejimakor wrote: “Breaking: MAZI NNAMDI KANU has just been moved from DSS Abuja to the correctional facility (prison) in Sokoto; so far away from his lawyers, family, loved ones and wellwishers.” Nnamdi Kanu’s legal team had condemned the judgment of the Federal…

Vice President Kashim Shettima has departed Abuja to represent the President at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communications, Stanley Nkwocha, says this follows the decision of President Bola Tinubu to stay back in Nigeria and attend to security concerns in the country, The President had postponed his earlier scheduled trip to Johannesburg, South Africa to await further security briefings on the recent security incidents in Kebbi and Kwara States. The G20 Summit, scheduled to take place from Saturday, November 22nd, to Sunday, November…

In a statement issued on Friday, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Niger State Police Command, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said police tactical units, military components, and other security agencies have been deployed to the area and are currently combing nearby forests in a coordinated rescue operation. The Commissioner of Police, CP Adamu Elleman, assured the public of the Command’s determination to rescue all abducted students unhurt. He urged residents to remain calm and provide credible information that could support the ongoing operation. The CP also disclosed that the incident is under investigation and warned that appropriate action will be…

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, to relocate to Kebbi state, over the abduction of 25 schoolgirls in the state. Matawalle, who was formerly governor of Zamfara State, was asked to remain in the state to monitor security efforts to secure the release of the abducted students. Gunmen abducted 24 students of Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School in Maga town, Kebbi State, around 4 am on Monday. Matawalle, who is expected to arrive in Birni-Kebbi on Friday, gained some experience in dealing with banditry and mass kidnapping during his tenure as governor of…

Nasir Idris, governor of Kebbi, has raised concern over the “withdrawal of military personnel” from Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga, shortly before bandits abducted several students. Idris spoke on Friday in Birnin Kebbi while receiving Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), who visited the state to commiserate with him over the attack. He said the development was troubling, especially as the state had earlier obtained intelligence indicating a likely assault and promptly convened a security meeting to address it. “As a responsive government, when we received intelligence on a possible attack, we summoned a security meeting,” NAN…

Gunmen have kidnapped an undisclosed number of students during an attack on St. Mary’s Primary and Secondary School, Papiri, Niger State. It was learnt that the attackers stormed the school, said to be a private Catholic school located in the Agwara Local Government Area of the state, in the early hours of Friday. Sources said the gunmen arrived in large numbers, riding on over 60 motorcycles and accompanied by a van. They were said to have shot the school’s gatekeeper, leaving him with serious injuries. A source in Agwara who confirmed the incident said, “Yes, it happened between 3 and…

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of terrorism. The sentencing was announced on Thursday by Justice James Omotosho of the federal high court, Abuja. Kanu was handed the life imprisonment sentence for Counts 4, 5 and 6 of the seven-count charges, while he was handed a 20-year jail term for Count 3. Delivering judgment, James Omotosho, the presiding judge, held that the prosecution had successfully established every allegation. He said Kanu offered no credible defence and “deliberately refused” to challenge the evidence presented in court. The judge…

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has refuted international claims alleging religious genocide in the state, stressing that although Benue is grappling with significant security challenges, its situation does not amount to genocide. Alia made the remarks at a consultative forum on protecting the rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and Forcibly Displaced Persons (FDPs), organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Abuja. “In my state of Benue, we don’t have any religious, ethnic, racial, national or state genocide. We don’t have that. “Do we have insecurity in the state? Yes, we do. But it is not genocide.…

A total of N2.094 trillion from the October 2025 Federation Account revenue has been shared among the Federal Government, the 36 States and the 774 local government councils. The allocation was confirmed at the November 2025 meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in Abuja. According to the FAAC communiqué, the N2.094 trillion distributable revenue consisted of N1.376 trillion statutory revenue, N670.303 billion Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue, and N47.870 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL). FAAC reported that gross revenue for October stood at N2.934 trillion. From this amount, N115.278 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while…