Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have abducted a Director with the Rivers State Board of Internal Revenue Service, Aribibia John Fubara.

He was abducted at Okrika Waterfront, near Marine Base, Port Harcourt.

It was gathered that Fubara was kidnapped on Saturday.

Report indicated that the kidnappers, numbered about six, were fully armed.

A source hinted that they fired sporadically into the air, carefully identified their target, and forcibly took him into a boat before speeding away.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the command was aware of the incident.

Iringe-Koko stated that the State Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu “has directed tactical units to ensure the victim is released unharmed”, adding that “a manhunt has been launched to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of new Directors-General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA, and the Department of State Services, DSS.

Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed was named the new Director-General of the NIA while Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi is the new Director-General of the DSS.

This was disclosed in a statement by Tinubu’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale.

The statement reads: “Ambassador Mohammed has had an illustrious career in the foreign service since joining the NIA in 1995. He had served in various roles, culminating in his promotion to the rank of Director and his subsequent appointment as the head of the Nigerian mission to Libya.

“The 1990 graduate of Bayero University, Kano, had served in North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, and at the State House, Abuja.

“The new DSS Director-General, Mr. Adeola Ajayi, rose through the ranks to attain his current post of Assistant Director-General of the Service. He had, at various times, served as State Director in Bauchi, Enugu, Bayelsa, Rivers, and Kogi.

“The new appointments follow the resignation of the previous NIA and DSS chiefs.

“President Tinubu expects that the new security chiefs will work assiduously to reposition the two intelligence agencies for better results and charges them to bring their experience to bear in tackling the security challenges bedeviling the country through enhanced collaboration with sister agencies and in surgical alignment with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

“The President thanks the outgoing Directors-General of the two pivotal intelligence agencies for their services to the nation while wishing them success in their future endeavours.”

The Osun State Amotekun corps has arrested one Muritala Ibrahim, 35, for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl.

The state Amotekun Public Relations Officer, Yusuf Idowu, revealed this in a statement on Monday, saying that the suspect committed the act in Aagba, Boripe local government area of the state.

According to him, the suspect was arrested following a reported incident by the victim’s mother at the Amotekun command in Boripe.

“The suspect confessed to having lured the girl into his residence, where he forcefully had canal knowledge of her. Ibrahim thereafter also shaved part of the girl’s hair and gave her another dress to wear”, he said.

Meanwhile, Osun Amotekun Corps Commandant, Adekunle Omoyele said the suspect has been handed over to the police for proper further investigation and prosecution.

He called on the residents of the state to always report suspected movement to ensure proper action before evil persons perpetrate their acts.

The Jigawa State Government has declared Tuesday 27th August, 2024 as work-free day to commemorate the 33rd anniversary of the creation of the state.

This was contained in a statement signed by the State Head of Service, Alhaji Muhammad K Dagaceri.

The Government congratulated Jigawa indigenes and urged them to pray for the state and Nigeria while celebrating the day.

“It is hoped that all public servants and the entire people of the state will utilise the one-day break in thanking the Almighty Allah for peaceful co-existence, unity, progress and development of the state and also pray for those affected by floods in some part of the state that have lost their lives, homes and personal properties,” the statement said.

Jigawa was created out of the old Kano State on August 27,1991, by former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in the western city of Solingen on Monday morning, three days after the fatal knife attack there.

Mayor Tim Kurzbach first greeted Mr Scholz at Solingen’s city hall.

Also present were Hendrik Wüst, state premier of North Rhine Westphalia, where Solingen is located, Deputy Premier Mona Neubaur and the state’s interior minister, Herbert Reul.

Following a meeting at the city hall, a commemoration is planned for the victims at the attack site in the city centre.

Mr Scholz also intends to speak with emergency personnel.

On Friday evening, during a city festival in Solingen, three people were killed in a knife attack. Eight people were injured, four of them seriously.

A 26-year-old Syrian suspect has been in custody since Sunday evening on various charges, including suspicion of membership in the terrorist militia Islamic State and suspicion of murder.

Mr Scholz described the knife attack as a terrible crime. He stated that the full force of the law must be applied.

Following Solingen, Mr Scholz plans to visit three more cities in the wider Ruhr district.

Visits to the chemical park in Marl, the technology centre at the former Bochum Opel site, and an allotment garden in Castrop-Rauxel were announced by the German government several days ago.

A 45-year-old man, Aramide Tito, was on Monday docked in a Badagry chief magistrates’ court in Lagos for allegedly starving and assaulting his 11-year-old stepson.

The defendant, whose address was not given, is charged with indecent dealing, assault and attempted murder. He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, ASP Clement Okuoimose, told the court that the defendant committed the offence on August 17 at about 11:00 p.m. in the Oke Ogbe area, Atura, Badagry, Lagos.

Mr Okuoimose alleged that the defendant unlawfully beat up and starved his stepson for three days.

“The defendant poured hot water on him while he was sleeping. He attempted to murder the boy while he was sleeping,” the prosecutor said.

He said the offence contravened the provisions of sections 135, 245 and 230 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

The chief magistrate, A. J. Aina, admitted the defendant to N100,000 bail with two sureties in like sum.

He said each surety must be gainfully employed.

Mr Aina adjourned the case until September 25 for a hearing.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or yuan, strengthened 219 pips to ¥7.1139 against the dollar on Monday.

This is according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

In China’s spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by two per cent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the dollar is based on a weighted average of prices offered by market makers before the opening of the interbank market each business day.

Israeli air defence said it had intercepted a drone east of the Sea of Galilee on Monday.

The army had announced that there had been an air alarm in the area beforehand.

There were no reports of damage or injuries.

Initially, it was unclear where the drone had been launched from, but it was assumed that it either came from Syria or flew through Syria.

The Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia has also repeatedly attacked Israel with drones since the beginning of the Gaza war almost 11 months ago.

In addition, Iran and other allies in the region have also carried out drone attacks on Israel.

Gunmen shot and killed at least 22 people in southwest Pakistan on Monday, after forcing them out of vehicles and checking their ethnicity, government officials said, in an attack claimed by separatists.

The attack was carried out by dozens of militants early Monday in the district of Musakhail in the impoverished Balochistan province, where security forces are battling sectarian, ethnic, and separatist violence.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the most active militant separatist group in the region, claimed responsibility for the shootings in a statement emailed to AFP.

The buses, vans, and trucks were stopped one after the other on a highway connecting Punjab with Balochistan, Najibullah Kakar, a senior official in Musakhail, told AFP.

“The numbers of the militants were between 30 to 40. They stopped 22 vehicles,” he said.

“Vehicles traveling to and from Punjab were inspected, and individuals from Punjab were identified and shot,” he added.

He said 22 people were killed, mostly Punjabi labourers as well as two paramilitary soldiers.

Hameed Zehri, another senior official in the district, confirmed the death toll to AFP.

The BLA claimed that those killed were military servicemen in civilian clothes who were “identified and subsequently killed by BLA fighters”, but did not provide any evidence.

Balochistan is Pakistan’s largest but poorest province, despite an abundance of untapped natural resources.

Baloch separatists have in recent years intensified attacks on Punjabis and Sinhdis from elsewhere in Pakistan working in the region, as well as foreign energy firms they believe are exploiting the region without sharing its riches.

Punjabis are the largest of the six main ethnic groups in Pakistan and are perceived to dominate the ranks of the military locked in a battle to quash Balochistan’s armed factions.

In a similar attack on April, 11 Punjabi labourers were killed when they were abducted from a bus in the Naushki City of Balochistan.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep grief and condemnation over the terrorist attack” in a statement issued Monday by his office.

Russian strikes across Ukraine on Monday killed at least three people, wounded several and damaged energy infrastructure.

AFP journalists in the capital heard explosions ring out early on Monday — likely from air defence systems — while residents rushed to take shelter in metro stations.

An AFP photographer also saw black smoke rising over Kyiv.

Authorities in at least six regions of the country said blasts had been heard in their territories.

The governor of the central Dnipropetrovsk region, Sergiy Lysak, said Russian forces had attacked “en masse.”

“There is one dead, a 69-year-old man,” the governor wrote on social media.

In the Zaporizhzhia region, the attack killed one civilian, the governor Ivan Fedorov said, without elaborating.

In the western city of Lutsk, Russian bombardment damaged an apartment building and an infrastructure facility, the mayor, Igor Polishchuk, said.

He added that one person had been killed.

The attack also targeted energy facilities in the Lviv region in the west of the country, the governor said.

In the wider region of Kyiv, authorities said Russia used drones and missiles to attack energy infrastructure and one person was wounded.

“As a result, there are partial power outages in (the city of) Lviv and the region,” governor Maksym Kozytskyi said on social media.

Earlier, an attack on an industrial facility in the eastern region of Poltava wounded five people, governor Filip Pronin said.

Since invading in February 2022, Russia has launched dozens of large-scale drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.

Most recently, those strikes have targeted energy facilities causing millions of dollars worth of damage and disrupting the lives of millions of Ukrainians.

Troops of I Division Nigerian Army have neutralised one terrorist and also recovered four AK-47 magazines in Kaduna State.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Acting Deputy Director of Army Public Relations of I Division Nigerian Army, Lt.-Col. Musa Yahaya on Monday.

”Troops while on clearance operations in the general areas of Sabon Birni, Dogon Dawa, Maidaro, Ngede Alpha and Rafin Kaji on Aug. 25, made contact with elements of terrorists.

“In the fire fight that ensued, our troop troop overpowered and neutralised one of the terrorists while others fled with suspected gunshot injuries,” the army said.

Yahaya said that four AK-47 magazines (three fully loaded with total quantity 60 x 7.62mm Special ammunition and one empty magazine), a PKT belt with 86 rounds of ammunition, two motorcycles (one of which was destroyed), a Techno mobile phone, a Baofeng Handheld Radio, and an Airtel recharge card worth N5,000 were recovered.

He said the General Officer Commanding(GOC), I Division and Commander of ”Operation WHIRL PUNCH” Maj.-Gen. Mayirenso Saraso commended the troops for the successful operation.

He also charged them to redouble their efforts as well as make life unbearable for all terrorists, insurgents and their collaborators in the Division’s Area of Responsibility.

He commended the good people of Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Jigawa States for their continuous cooperation.

He also urged them to always make good use of the division’s Toll Free Line “0800 002 0204” to communicate actionable intelligence and information that will further assist the Division and other security agencies to project offensive operations against the criminal elements.

The Commissioner of Police in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, CP Benneth Igweh has expressed anger over an attack on personnel of the command which claimed at least two officers.

A riot erupted in the nation’s capital on Sunday when members of the El Zakzaky movement, popularly known as Shiites, clashed with operatives of the FCT command during a procession.

At least six persons, including two police officers were gruesomely murdered when the proscribed Islamic group launched an attack at a police checkpoint at Wuse junction.

The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, has donated N20 million to the Jigawa State Government to support relief efforts of the state for residents affected by the recent flood disaster.

Mr Badaru made the donation when he visited the Jigawa State governor, Umar Namadi, to commiserate with him on the flood which ravaged the state and resulted in loss of lives and property.

This is contained in a statement by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Ministry of Defence on Sunday in Abuja, Henshaw Ogubike.

According to Mr Ogbuike, during the visit, Mr Badaru expressed his sympathy over the severe flooding incident, which also led to the destruction of farmlands across the state.

He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to assisting the state during the challenging period, noting that the donation was his personal gesture of solidarity and compassion to the state.

Mr Badaru further appreciated the Jigawa State governor for providing swift response to the flood crisis.

He said, “Your prompt action in providing relief to the flood victims is commendable.’’

The Bauchi State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has apprehended nine persons accused of vandalizing railway tracks in the state.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Fatima Adamu, disclosed this in a statement on Saturday, saying that the arrest was made following a joint operation with the Nigerian Army, based on credible intelligence.

According to Adamu, the suspects were caught in Zango village, Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area, where they were allegedly involved in the destruction of Federal Government property.

“Following credible intelligence and in collaboration with the Nigerian Army, nine suspects in connection with rail-track vandalisation and wanton destruction of Federal Government property in Zango village of Tafawa Balewa LGA, Bauchi State, were apprehended,” Adamu stated.

She said that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects had traveled from Niger State specifically to carry out the act.

Adamu added that the Commandant of NSCDC Bauchi, Ilelaboye Oyejide, reaffirmed the Corps’ commitment to its mandate of safeguarding national assets.

“NSCDC will continue to live up to its core mandate of protecting critical national assets and infrastructure,” he stated.

Oyejide called for collective efforts to rid society of criminal elements and ensure a safer environment.

The billionaire founder and Chief Executive Officer of Telegram, Pavel Durov, was reportedly detained at Bourget Airport near Paris on Saturday.

This is according to French news outlets TF1 and BFM TV.

According to Reuters, Durov, who was traveling on his private jet from Azerbaijan, was arrested under a French warrant related to a preliminary police investigation into Telegram’s alleged role in facilitating criminal activities.

The 39-year-old Franco-Russian was accompanied by a bodyguard and a woman at the time of his arrest by the Air Transport Gendarmerie.

Telegram is yet to officially speak on the development as of the time of filing this report. Similarly, the French Interior Ministry and police had made no comment.

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has predicted thundery and rainy activities across the country from Sunday to Tuesday.

NiMet’s weather outlook, released on Saturday, forecast thunderstorms over parts of Borno, Jigawa, Taraba, Adamawa, Bauchi, and Gombe States in the northern region during Sunday’s morning hours.

The agency envisaged thunderstorms over most parts of the region during the afternoon and evening hours.

According to NiMet, in the North Central region, thunderstorms with rain are anticipated over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Benue, Nasarawa, and Plateau States during the morning hours.

It added that later in the day, thunderstorms with rain are expected over the entire region.

Cloudy skies are expected over southern cities during the morning hours, with intermittent rain expected over most parts of the region later in the day.”

NiMet said that morning thunderstorms are anticipated on Monday over parts of Gombe, Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, Yobe, and Jigawa States, with thunderstorms expected over the northern region later in the day.

It predicted morning thunderstorms with rain over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Kogi, Niger, and Kwara States.

The agency further forecast thunderstorms over parts of the Federal Capital Territory, Plateau, and Niger States later in the day, with cloudy skies over southern states, anticipating intermittent rain over most parts of the region during the afternoon and evening hours.

For Tuesday, it said morning thunderstorms are expected over parts of Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Kaduna States in the northern region and later in the day, cloudy skies are anticipated over the entire region.

In the North Central region, the agency said thunderstorms with rain are anticipated over parts of Niger and Kwara States during the morning hours.

During the afternoon and evening hours, thunderstorms with rain are expected over parts of Kogi, the Federal Capital Territory, and Benue States. Intermittent rain is expected over the southern region throughout the day.

The agency urged residents to avoid flood-prone areas due to the high likelihood of urban flooding in major cities caused by heavy downpours, while strong winds may precede rains in areas where thunderstorms are likely to occur.

It further urged the public to adhere to safety advisories issued by relevant authorities and stay informed through weather updates from NiMet.

The agency advised airline operators to obtain airport-specific weather reports (flight documentation) from NiMet for effective planning in their operations.