The Katsina State Community Watch Corps, a state-owned security outfit, intercepted a commercial vehicle carrying a large cache of ammunition in Batsari town.

Acting on a tip-off, the corps members stopped the vehicle with number plate BTR 45 XA, around 7:30 PM on Tuesday, September 10.

They discovered 610 rounds of ammunition hidden under a seat. The cache included AK-47 and General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) rounds, along with two magazines.

A suspect, described as a man in white robes, was observed exhibiting suspicious behaviour throughout the journey but evaded capture during the inspection.

The Katsina State government has praised the Community Watch Corps for their vigilance and dedication to maintaining peace and security in the state.

Dr. Nasir Mu’azu, Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, assured that the government would continue to support and enhance the capabilities of the security agencies to combat crime effectively.

A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Oyo state, Benedict Akiika, has regained his freedom days after he was whisked away from his Idi-Ape residence, Olorunda Aaba, by some gunmen on September 4.

A statement released by the spokesperson of the Oyo state police command, SP Osifeso Adewale, says the politician was freed from his captors after days of intensive Manhunt by the Command’s tactical, intelligence and operational assets, strategically extending the search and rescue mission by combing adjoining forests across; Ijagun, Ijebu Ode in Ogun State, Ore,Ondo State and lastly Uselu in Edo State.

Adewale said the victim who regained his freedom late evening on Wednesday, September 11, is currently undergoing medical intervention prior to his final reunion with his loved ones.

He mentioned that efforts are currently in top gear to apprehend the criminal network responsible for the reprehensible act.

While appealing to residents of the State to assist the ongoing Investigation by providing timely and credible information to the Police, the Oyo State Police Command reaffirmed its resolve to ensure that Oyo State is not turned into a playground for the sinister minded.

‘’In cases of emergencies, the Command can always be reached through these emergency control room numbers: 615 (Toll free) (Oyo State Security Response Center) and Oyo State Police Command Emergency line 08081768614, 09054133071 and 09061299291”Adewale said

A man in Adamawa State, 35-year-old Muhammad Auwal, has allegedly defiled his teenage daughter.

The state command of the Nigeria Police said in a statement that it had arrested the man over the offence.

The command said in the statement signed by its Public Relations Officer, Suleiman Nguroje, that it made the arrest on Wednesday, September 11.

“The Adamawa State Police Command has on 11/09/2024 arrested 35-year-old Muhammad Auwal for sexually assaulting his 14-year-old biological daughter,” Nguroje stated.

“The suspect has since confessed to committing the crime and will be charged to court,” the PPRO added.

A Nigerian nurse, Ruth Auta, based in the United Kingdom, has been sentenced to three years in prison for child negligence following the death of her 10-week-old son, Joshua Akerele.

The 28-year-old single mother reportedly left her infant unattended in her nurse’s accommodation for eight hours while she worked a shift at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

According to a Daily Mail report, the tragic incident occurred on December 20, 2022.

Upon returning home, Auta discovered Joshua unresponsive in his cot and immediately called emergency services.

Despite resuscitation efforts, the baby was pronounced dead an hour after paramedics arrived.

Tests revealed that Joshua may have overheated due to being excessively clothed and covered with heavy bedding.

Auta was charged with cruelty to a child and pleaded guilty at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on May 24, 2024.

During the investigation, CCTV footage and text messages contradicted her initial claim that she had picked up Joshua from a childminder and found him unresponsive after falling asleep with him.

The footage showed her leaving and returning to her accommodation without her child, and messages revealed she had instructed the childminder to falsely claim she had cared for Joshua that day.

In June 2024, Auta attempted to flee the country but was apprehended at Gatwick Airport with a one-way ticket to Nigeria.

District Crown Prosecutor Sara Davie, in delivering the verdict, said, “As a nurse, Ruth Auta should have been aware of the dangers of leaving her child unattended.

“Her failure to provide the necessary care and her attempts to evade justice demonstrate her lack of remorse.”

Auta will serve three years in prison for her role in the tragic death of her son.

Six staff members with the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees (UNRWA) were killed in Gaza on Wednesday when two Israeli airstrikes hit a school-turned-shelter and its surroundings.

“This is the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident,” UNRWA said in a post on X.

At least 34 people were killed in the strikes, according to media reports.

UNRWA said the shelter manager and other team members were among the victims.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres deplored the bloodshed.

“What’s happening in Gaza is totally unacceptable,” he wrote on X. “These dramatic violations of international humanitarian law need to stop now.”

The UNRWA school in Nuseirat, located in the Middle Area of the Gaza Strip, was sheltering around 12,000 displaced people, mainly women and children.

This marked the fifth time it had been hit since the conflict began 11 months ago.

Earlier on Wednesday, the UN said the site had been previously deconflicted with the Israeli forces.

UNRWA called on all parties involved in the conflict to never use schools or the areas around them for military or fighting purposes.

“No one is safe in Gaza. No one is spared. Schools and other civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times. They are not a target,” the tweet said.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini lamented the “endless and senseless killing, day after day” in Gaza.

Writing on X, he said at least 220 agency staff have lost their lives since the war began.

“Humanitarian staff, premises and operations have been blatantly and unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war,” he said.

He warned that “the longer impunity prevails, the more international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions will become irrelevant.”

In a related development, the UN reported that health workers continue efforts to vaccinate young children in northern Gaza against polio, part of a wider campaign to defeat the disease, which can cause paralysis.

More than 81,600 boys and girls were vaccinated as of Tuesday, according to preliminary data from the World Health Organisation.

Polio was detected in Gaza in June, and UN agencies and partners launched a two-round campaign this month to provide over 640,000 children with two doses of novel oral polio vaccine type 2.

So far, nearly 528,000 children have been reached in the first round.

The United Nations on Wednesday joined its host city, New York, in commemorating the 2,977 lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001, when Al-Qaida terrorists hijacked four aircraft and flew them into buildings in the United States.

Two of the planes struck the twin skyscrapers of the World Trade Centre in Manhattan’s financial district, while another was flown into the U.S. military headquarters at the Pentagon outside Washington, DC.

The fourth aircraft crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers wrested back control from the hijackers.

Among those killed were 441 first responders, the greatest loss of emergency responders on a single day in the country’s history.

Thousands more were injured, and many still suffer from chronic illnesses, including respiratory diseases, mental health issues and cancer.

“Today my thoughts are with everyone who lost loved ones on 9/11 and with all the people of New York City,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in a post on X.

Ben Saul, special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, also paid tribute to the victims, who came from more than 90 countries, their families and loved ones.

He welcomed U.S. efforts to support the survivors but emphasised that justice remained elusive for many.

“The unfathomable violence on 9/11 against ordinary people going about their daily lives was a crime against humanity, but sadly, 23 years later, the victims remain starved of justice,” he said.

Mr Saul noted that unresolved issues, including prolonged detentions and limited accountability, continue to impact victims and detainees alike, underscoring the need for the U.S. to align its counterterrorism policies with international human rights standards fully.

He urged the U.S. authorities to fully implement the recommendations of his predecessor, Fionnuala D. Ní Aoláin, after her technical visit to the United States and the Guantánamo Detention Facility in Cuba in 2023.

Ms Ní Aoláin made specific recommendations and concluded that the U.S. Government must ensure accountability for all international law violations and victims of terrorism and counterterrorism.

Appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, special rapporteurs are mandated to monitor and report on human rights situations in the country or thematic situations.

They serve in their individual capacity, independent of the United Nations, and the mandate holders are not UN staff and do not draw a salary for their work.

A hit-and-run driver has k!lled an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) attached to the Ekiti State Police Command.

The officer identified as Idris Lawal was reportedly crushed to d@ath at a checkpoint at Ayemi Garage along Iworoko Road in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.

It was gathered that the incident happened during a stop-and-search operation around 11pm on Monday, September 9, 2024.

Although the deceased was reportedly rushed to the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) for medical treatment, he was confirmed d£ad by doctors on duty.

According to a police internal memo on the incident, the body has been deposited at the morgue for autopsy.

It described the hit-and-run vehicle as a white colour unmarked Mercedes Benz.

The police said effort is on top gear to arrest the culprit.

The Abuja Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on September 9, 2024, secured the conviction and sentence of one Nelson Solomon before Justice I. Nwosu of the FCT High Court Maitama, Abuja.

Solomon was prosecuted on a two-count charge, bordering on impersonation, cheating and obtaining by false pretence.

Count one of his charges reads.

“That you Nelson Solomon, sometime in 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court committed the offence of cheating by impersonation when you fraudulently induced one Webbi J.W. Mary to deliver the sum of $100 (One Hundred United States Dollars) to you by pretending to be one John Scott, an American engineer and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Act Laws of the Federation 2004 and punishable under Section 324 of the same Act.”

Count two reads

“That you Nelson Solomon sometime in 2024 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this honourable court committed the offence of cheating by impersonation when you fraudulently induced one Miguela Okayama to deliver the sum of $100 (One Hundred United States Dollars) to you by pretending to be one William Fernando, an American and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 321 of the Penal Code Act Laws of the Federation 2004 and punishable under Section 324 of the same Act.”

He pleaded “guilty” to the charges, prompting prosecution counsel G.I. Ushie to pray the court to convict and sentence him accordingly.

Justice Nwosu thereafter convicted and sentenced him to a one-year imprisonment or to pay a N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira) fine. In addition, he forfeited his iPhone to the federal government.

The Adamawa State Government has proposed the sum of N268.8 billion for expenditures in the 2025 fiscal year.

The State Executive Council (SEC) voted on the expenditure plan Wednesday at its meeting, explaining that the proposal is in line with the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Economic and Fiscal Updates of the government.

The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Iliya James, made the disclosure to newsmen after the council meeting presided over by Governor Ahmadu Fintiri at the Government House, Yola.

The 2025 budget proposal, coming unusually early, is N43 billion larger than the current 2024 budget.

The government had at the SEC level on December 5 last year proposed N225.8 billion for 2024, which Governor Fintiri presented to the state House of Assembly on December 8, 2023, and which was passed by the House on December 19, 2023, almost exactly as it was presented.

The SEC meeting on Wednesday also approved the handing over of the upgraded Mubi General Hospital to the Federal Government for further upgrading as a Federal Medical Centre, according to the state Commissioner of Information.

The commissioner added that the meeting noted an alert by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) of an impending flood disaster likely to affect Madagali, Mubi North, Mubi South, Shelleng, Demsa, Numan, Song, and Yola North LGAs.

He said the meeting urged residents in flood-prone parts of the LGAs to relocate to safer places before September 16, 2024, even as the government is making its own plans to reduce the effects of the expected floods.

The Lagos State Special Offence Court has sentenced an American businessman, Marco Ramirez to 74 years in prison over $1.6m fraud.

Ramirez was sentenced on Tuesday following the charges preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

The EFCC had arraigned the convict on a 12-count charge but later re-arraigned him on a 16-count charge on June 24, 2022, before the presiding judge, Mojisola Dada.

Ramirez, who pleaded not guilty to all the charges, was prosecuted alongside his companies, Eagle Ford Instalodge Group LP, USA Now Energy Capital Group LP, and
USA NOW LLC over a $1,235,000 EB-5 visa scam.

He was accused of obtaining the money from his victims as processing fees for their investments in his company, which would qualify them to be eligible for the issuance of a United States of America green card.

Also, he was arraigned on another nine-count charge of $368,698.24 fraud.

Delivering judgment, Justice Mojisola Dada sentenced Ramirez to various terms of imprisonment on the different charges, saying the prosecution was able to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Four hundred Nigerians including 90 females and 310 males have been deported from the United Arab Emirates, UAE, the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, reports.

They were received at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, by the office of the National Security Adviser alongside the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other stakeholders.

A total of 103 Nigerians deported from the Republic of Turkiye, recently, were received by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other stakeholders.

The deportees who arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Friday at 7:00 pm through the pilgrims wing of the airport were received by Federal Government officials led by NEMA personnel.

264 Nigerian passengers were notified that their visa had been cancelled when they landed at the King Abdulaziz International Airport – Hajj Terminal Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Monday, 13th November, 2023.

The Federal Government of Nigeria then called for calm over the deportation.

Operatives of the Benin Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested 46 suspects over alleged involvement in internet-related fraud in Delta State.

The suspects were arrested in, Warri, Ubeji and Jeddo community in Okpe LFA on Sunday, September 8.

The EFCC disclosed this in its website on Wednesday.

The EFCC recovered from the suspects 13 exotic cars, laptops and mobile phones.

According to the EFCC, the suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.

Hamas has rejected the U.S. accusation that it is the main obstacle to reaching a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement by a senior Hamas official, the organisation said the accusation is “a blatant bias in favour of the Israeli position.”

The Hamas official, Izzat al-Rishq, said that John Kirby, the White House National Security Communications Advisor’s remarks suggesting the movement has changed some of its conditions for a ceasefire are “baseless.”

He said the U.S. administration believed that “blaming Hamas is less costly in light of the U.S. elections.”

He added that “the world knows that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the one who added new conditions and demands, not Hamas.”

During a Monday press briefing at the White House, Mr Kirby said that Hamas had put forward new demands in the negotiations, making reaching a ceasefire deal more difficult.

Mr Kirby stressed that Hamas had presented the main obstacle to a deal, however, there was still room for negotiations.

The latest development comes as negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the United States to secure a Gaza ceasefire stall.

Despite objections from Egypt and Hamas, Netanyahu insists on keeping Israeli forces in the Philadelphi Corridor, a 100-meter wide and 14-km-long buffer zone along the Egypt-Gaza border.

The Israeli army took control of the corridor in May.

The police command in Jigawa has confirmed the death of three teenage boys of the same parent in a building collapse which occurred in Birnikudu LGA.

Police spokesman Lawan Shiisu, who confirmed the incident in Dutse, said three others survived the incident.

Mr Shiisu said the incident was reported on Tuesday at Birnikudu division by the father of the children, Ahmad Isah of Kafar Bai quarters.

“Today, at about 12:05 p.m., one Ahmad Isah of Kofar Bai quarters, Birnin Kudu LGA, reported at Brinin Kudu Division that one of the rooms in his house had collapsed.

“On receipt of the tragic report, a team of policemen raced to the scene and, in conjunction with Good Samaritan, launched a rescue operation and were able to evacuate seven persons. The victims were quickly rushed to the Birninkudu General Hospital for medical attention,” Mr Shiisu said.

He explained that on arrival, the attending physician confirmed that three of the seven were dead.

The siblings were Khalifa Ahmad, 13; Tijjani Ahmad, 12; and Rabiu Ahmad, 12.

According to the police officer, the remains of the deceased have been handed over to their family for burial, and the four surviving victims have been admitted and are responding to treatment.

Vice-President Kashim Shettima visited Maiduguri on Tuesday to sympathise with the people of Borno over the Alau dam flood disaster that displaced thousands of people.

Mr Kashim, who led a federal government delegation to the beleaguered city, was received by Governor Babagana Zulum, who took him to the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi, which was also hit by the flood.

From the palace, the vice-president drove to Bakassi camp, where thousands of those displaced by the flood were taking refuge.

Mr Shettima told the distraught victims that the government would support them with 50 trucks of rice.

He added that the government would also collaborate with the North-East Development Commission and other agencies to ensure they did not spend more than two weeks at the camp.

Maiduguri residents on Tuesday woke up to devastating floods that swallowed many buildings and took over roads and bridges.

The 79th session of the UN General Assembly opened on Tuesday in New York, with incoming President Philemon Yang outlining a vision of unity in diversity.

Mr Yang also called for deeper international cooperation to tackle a host of global challenges, including climate change, escalating conflict, and a slowdown in sustainable development.

Mr Yang underscored the need for equitable economic growth driven by innovation and green economies, ensuring that “the benefits of economic development are accessible to all nations, large and small.”

Peace and security, he added, will also be key priorities, as he urged nations to resolve ongoing conflicts, including in the Gaza Strip, Haiti, Ukraine, and the Great Lakes region of Africa.

“We must invest in all efforts to decrease tensions and instead build trust around the world,” he said.

Human rights and strengthening international law and justice frameworks will remain high on the agenda, with the Assembly working to enhance the coordination of humanitarian efforts.

This will help ensure its timely and efficient response to crises and that aid reaches those most in need, Mr Yang said.

“Lastly, we will address the pervasive challenges of international terrorism, drug and human trafficking and modern slavery,” he continued, stressing the need to uphold human dignity.

“As President of the General Assembly, I am committed to facilitating these discussions and harnessing our collective will and expertise to deliver significant solutions,” he added.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also addressed the opening of the session, highlighting the urgency of collective action to confront a world “in trouble.”

He praised President Yang for his vision and leadership, pledging his full support to unite the diverse member states around common goals.

“From day one, the United Nations has been the place for multilateral solutions – grounded in collaboration, dialogue, diplomacy, and the UN Charter,” he said.

Acknowledging the gravity of the current global situation, the UN chief emphasised the need for concrete solutions across various domains, including reducing poverty, inequality, and the climate crisis.

“We need solutions…to bring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back to life and end poverty and inequality,” he noted, adding that economic progress and job creation, particularly for women and young people, must be prioritised.

The UN secretary-general also pointed to the critical role of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, and the need to ensure they serve as tools for progress, not barriers.

“Step by step, solution by solution, we can rebuild trust and faith in one another,” he concluded, calling for renewed commitment to the principles that have guided the Organization since its founding in 1945.

The opening of the 79th session also marks the first time the State of Palestine was seated among Member States at the General Assembly, following the adoption of resolution ES-10/23 at the tenth emergency special session earlier this year.

That resolution also set forth additional rights for the State of Palestine’s participation in Assembly meetings, but not the right to vote or put forward its candidature to UN Main Organs such as the Security Council or the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The additional rights and privileges do not confer membership to the State of Palestine, which requires a specific recommendation from the Security Council.

Commandant Nuhu Bello Muhammadu has assumed duty as the Commandant, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Kaduna State Command.

SC Habbeeb Badamasi, NSCDC Kaduna State Command Public Relations Officer, in a statement, said Commandant Muhammadu, while addressing officers and men of the corps at the State Headquarters of NSCDC, Kaduna Command, noted that discipline is the bedrock of any prosperous and successful organization

He further advised personnel to always be punctual, dedicated and focused towards their jobs, adding that as a security organisation responsible for the protection of lives, property and critical national assets and infrastructure, “we must be disciplined and committed to duty at all times.”

According to him, officers and men should abide by the dress code, adding that improper dressing, wearing incomplete uniform at official working hours, including showing attitudes such as squeezing uniform in the bag and gallivanting half dressed within the office environment would no longer be tolerated, except for officers of Intelligence and Investigation.

Recall that Commandant Lucy Fakoya handed over the mantle of leadership of the NSCDC Kaduna State Command to
Commandant Muhammadu on 6 September, 2024, during which she urged personnel to extend the hands of fellowship with her successor.

Man who allegedly set his girlfriend Rebecca Cheptegei on fire, Dickson Ndiema is dead.

Ndiema, died on Monday from burns sustained during the attack on the Ugandan athlete.

Ndiema had doused Cheptegei in petrol and set her ablaze while she was returning to her house from church in western Trans Nzoia County, Nairobi, on September 1.

The 33-year-old athlete suffered burns covering 75 percent of her body and was being treated at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret City.

However, the attack affected several organs in her body which ultimately led to her death.

The funeral for Ugandan Olympic runner Rebecca Cheptegei, who died in Kenya after being set on fire by her ex-boyfriend, will be held on September 14 in her home country.

The 33-year-old, who competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics last month, succumbed to severe burns on Thursday, September 5, four days after being doused with petrol and set alight at her home in western Kenya.

Doctors said she had suffered burns to more than 80 per cent of her body after the attack on Sunday last week.

The attack was carried out by Cheptegei’s Kenyan partner, Dickson Ndiema Marangach, who also suffered serious burns and is being treated in hospital.

“The burial date of Rebecca Cheptegei has been set for September 14, in Kongasis sub-county in Bukwo district (eastern Uganda),” Beatrice Ayikoru, secretary general of the Uganda Olympic Committee and a member of the funeral organising committee, told AFP.

Bukwo is the location of Cheptegei’s family home and lies on the border with Kenya about 380 kilometres (240 miles) northeast of the Ugandan capital Kampala.

Last week Friday, the city of Paris said it would honour Cheptegei, who came 44th in her Olympic marathon debut in August, by naming a sports venue after her.

Northampton Crown Court in the United Kingdom has found two Nigerians, Tosin Dada and Solomon Adebiyi, guilty of multiple rape charges.

Northamptonshire Police disclosed this in a statement on its official Facebook page on Monday.

This follows weeks after a Nigerian pilot, Olukayode Ojo, was convicted in a Texas court in the United States for making false statements to obtain a certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Before their conviction, Northamptonshire Police stated that Dada and Adebiyi had each been charged with three counts of rape connected to a March 2022 incident.

It was also learnt that the convicts had claimed they engaged in consensual sex with a 17-year-old girl, a claim the jury has now ruled against, finding them guilty.

After finding the duo guilty of the crimes, the court ordered their remand pending sentencing, scheduled for October 25, 2024, at the same court.

The statement read, “Tosin Dada, 34, previously of Knox Road, Wellingborough, and Solomon Adebiyi, 39, previously of Stanley Street, Northampton, were both charged with three counts of rape each in connection with the offence on March 12, 2022.

“Their nine-day trial at Northampton Crown Court ended last week with both men being found unanimously guilty by the jury on all charges after eight hours of deliberation.

“Both men were remanded into custody ahead of sentencing at Northampton Crown Court on October 25, 2024.”