The Federal Government (FG) disclosed it would not pay a ‘dime’ as ransom for the release of about 280 pupils and staff recently kidnapped by bandits from the Government Secondary School and LEA Primary School at Kaduna State. This disclosure was made on Wednesday to State House Correspondents by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held at Aso Rock, Abuja.
The 63 Brigade of the Nigeria Army has uncovered a criminal gun factory in Onicha Olona community, Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta state. Commander, 63 Brigade Brigadier General, Ugochukwu Unachukwu, stated that the factory can produce ten guns per week. Unachukwu said, “Eight suspects involved in the family business including the mastermind of the operation, his father, mother, and sister were among those arrested at the factory.” “The arms factory located in a forest has a surveillance post, a generating set connected from a remote location, an oven for melting of iron, and a cache of arms and ammunition.”
A forensic document examiner Bamaiyi Meriga on Thursday told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that documents used to facilitate the withdrawal of $6.23 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last year were forged. The money was withdrawn purportedly to pay foreign election observers during the 2023 general elections. Meriga said this while giving evidence as a witness in the trial of Godwin Emefiele, former governor of the CBN. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had alleged that on February 8, 2023, a former CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, connived with one Odoh Ocheme, who is now on the run, to obtain $6.2m from the CBN, claiming that it was requested by the SGF “vide a letter dated 26th January 2023 with Ref No. SGF.43/L.01/.
Bandits reportedly invaded the LEA primary school, Kuriga town in the troubled Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on Thursday morning and kidnapped several student and staff including the head teacher of the school. Details of the incident are still sketchy at the time of filing this report but a source, who is a resident of the area, claimed that no fewer than 100 students and staff were kidnapped.
Corpses of missing police officers deployed from Intelligence Response Team (IRT) Abuja, Police Mobile Force (PMF) Oghara and the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Asaba in Delta state have been recovered by a combined team of security agents and local vigilantes in Agadama forest in Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state. The operational huts of the suspected killers were destroyed and 6 corpses were also recovered.
A Federal high court in Kano has ordered that the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) lacks power to invite or investigate the former State Governor and All Progressives Congress National Chairman, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, over a dollar bribery allegations.
