Headlines

No fewer than 20 worshippers at a popular mosque in Laraba Abasawa area of Gezawa Local Government Area, Kano State, have sustained various degrees of injuries following an early morning attack on Wednesday, May 15.

Eyewitnesses say the suspect, who was yet to be identified as at the time of writing this report, poured petrol and lit fire on the mosque.

It was gathered that about 40 worshippers were in the mosque as at the time of the incident.

According to an eyewitness who craved anonymity, the incident caused tension in the area on Wednesday morning.

“the man used petrol and lit fire while the people, about 40 of them were praying. He locked the mosque after the fire,” he said.

“It took time for people outside to get aware of the incident and rescue the victims who were struggling to break out.”

The worshippers, who reportedly sustained serious injuries, have been rushed to Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano.

The Kano State Police Command is yet to comment on the attack as at press time.

The Nigeria Police Force has expressed strong condemnation and outrage over a disturbing viral video that depicts a mother feeding her baby alcohol.

The shocking footage, which has sparked widespread public outcry, was shared on X.com by user Dami Adenuga, who questioned the mother’s actions with the caption, “What sort of motherhood is this?”In response to the video, the Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, described the incident as “too bad” and vowed that the police would take immediate action.

Adejobi assured that the authorities would work tirelessly to identify the woman and hold her accountable for her irresponsible and potentially harmful behavior towards her child.

The police’s swift and unequivocal condemnation of the mother’s actions underscores the gravity of the situation and the police’s commitment to protecting the rights and well-being of children. The viral video has ignited a national conversation about child abuse, neglect, and the importance of responsible parenting, with many calling for stricter measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future.

As the investigation into the video continues, the police have urged the public to come forward with any information that could aid in identifying the mother and ensuring that appropriate legal and social measures are taken to address the situation and prevent similar occurrences.

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The federal government has suspended the 0.5% cybersecurity levy on electronic banking transactions that was recently introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).President Bola Tinubu directed the suspension of the levy’s implementation to avoid overburdening citizens already facing economic hardship.

 The directive was given to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), as the cybersecurity levy is not a CBN action but rather an ONSA initiative.The levy was aimed at financial institutions, telecoms firms, and other businesses to enhance cybersecurity measures and national security. 

However, the timing was criticized as ill-suited given the current economic realities.The House of Representatives had earlier asked the CBN to withdraw the circular directing banks to charge the 0.5% levy, citing concerns that it could be misinterpreted as a tax on bank customers.
Civil society organizations also filed a lawsuit against the CBN over the levy.

The federal government confirmed the suspension of the levy on Tuesday after a two-day Federal Executive Council meeting presided over by President Tinubu5. The levy is currently undergoing review and has been put on hold for now.

The federal government has told social platform, TikTok, to moderate its contents to reduce online problems like hate speech, misinformation, and cyberbullying.

The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa made the statement on behalf of the government while playing host to a team from TikTok who visited the agency’s corporate headquarters in Abuja, yesterday.

Inuwa who reiterated the need for a safe and inclusive online environment stated that content moderation strategies will help in addressing online problems and protect minors across the country.

In her earlier remarks, the Head of Government Regulation and Public Policy, TikTok Nigeria and West Africa, Mrs Tokunbo Ibrahim revealed that NITDA is one of its biggest and critical stakeholders in Nigeria that has outstanding strides and performance in advancing the digital economy sector.

President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima will now henceforth pay the required fees at tollgates whenever they use the nation’s airports.

This came as the the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting he presided over at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday approved that there should be no more exemption granted to users of the airports from paying tollgate fees.

The approval was made following a memorandum presented to the council by the minister of aviation, Festus Keyamo, who argued that the government was losing over 82% of the revenue it should have earned from the e-tags that provide access to the tollgates.

He explained that the memoranda had initially prescribed an exemption for only the president and the vice president before Tinubu overruled and directed that both of them should be included among those that must pay.

Keyamo, who disclosed this at the post-FEC media briefing, regretted that Very Important Persons (VIPs) with money who should pay are those that have not been paying, noting that only poor people had been charged for using the tollgates.

The wedding for 100 orphan girls, scheduled to take place in his constituency, has been called off by Abdulamlik Sarkindaji, the speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly.

Sarkindaji announced his decision not to attend the event.

The choice was made in response to Uju Ohannaya, the Minister of Women’s Affairs, who took legal action against the speaker to halt the wedding.

This was revealed by the speaker on Tuesday, May 14, during a press briefing, where he said the minister had gone beyond her jurisdiction.

He also added that the minister should bear the cost of the wedding ceremony.

Leading reporters earlier reported that the speaker pledged to cover the dowries for the bridegrooms, stating he had acquired all necessary materials for the proper marriage of the 100 girls.

He assured them that their comfort in their matrimonial homes had been arranged, just as it would be for any other child marrying according to Islamic traditions.

Details shortly……

Approximately 50 communities in the Zurmi Local Government Area of Zamfara State have fallen victim to relentless attacks by bandits.

The onslaught has resulted in the abduction of hundreds of residents and claimed the lives of two police officers and three civilians, according to Bello Hassan, the lawmaker representing the Zurmi/Shinkafa Federal Constituency at the House of Representatives.

Speaking to BBC Hausa Service on Tuesday, Hassan revealed that over 500 individuals have been kidnapped in the affected villages over several weeks.

He said the attacks have instilled fear among the populace, prompting many to flee their homes in search of safety.

The lawmaker said: “At Kanwa village on Saturday, the gunmen killed three people and abducted over 30 others. At Gidan Shaho in the Nasarawa area on Monday, they killed two police officers and wounded many people. We are now trying to ascertain the number of people missing following the (latest) attack.”

He said the attacks were continuing despite the efforts of the federal and state governments to check the atrocities.

“There is a need to redefine some of the approaches being deployed by the security operatives in fighting the terrorists in Zamfara.

“The truth of the matter is that the security operatives deployed in Zamfara State are insignificant. Some of them deployed in the areas have overstayed, some for eight years, others for 10 years.

“They have stayed longer than necessary, they need to be changed. We have reported this issue severally to those authorities concerned but without any response,” he added.

The Plateau State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a man caught with what looked like an Improvised Explosive Device inside a commercial Bank in Plateau State.

Leading reporters gathered that a video on Monday surfaced of a young man caught attempting to detonate a bomb in a bank in Dadin Kowa town of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency expert and security analyst in Lake Chad, in a post on his X handle on Tuesday, said the yet-to-be-identified man wore belts packed with what appeared to be a Person Borne Improvised Explosive Device (SPBIED).

Makama had said the suspect was apprehended on Monday when he was found with an apparent bomb strapped to his body to detonate at the bank.

The security expert explained that the vigilante Security at the bank prevented the detonation after they spotted the suspect, arresting him before he could achieve his aim.

Confirming the incident on Tuesday, the State Police, DSP Alfred Alabo, said the command immediately deployed its officers to the Bank after an alarm was raised.

According to him, it was later discovered that the explosives seen on the young man were fake.