Author: user user

World Habitat Day reminds us that housing is a basic human right, yet in many Nigerian cities, that right remains out of reach.

From people sleeping outside shops to drivers spending nights in their cars, the struggle for shelter has become part of daily life.

In this episode of Nigeria Daily, we explore the realities of homelessness in Abuja’s outskirts and hear what experts say can be done to change the story.

The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC) has launched an investigation into the alleged diversion of over N4 billion of state funds into the Dala Inland Dry Port project.

The probe focuses on claims that contracts worth billions of naira for infrastructure development at the port were awarded during the administration of former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, shortly after the state’s 20 percent equity in the project was reportedly transferred to members of his family in 2020.

The transaction allegedly stripped Kano State of its ownership stake and installed Ganduje’s children as directors and shareholders in the multi-billion-naira investment.

By the time the contracts were awarded, the state was said to have had no remaining stake in the project.

Chairman of the PCACC, Saidu Yahya, confirmed the development, saying the investigation followed petitions received from members of the public regarding the alleged diversion.

‘Yes, we received petitions from the public on the alleged diversion of over N4 billion of Kano State funds into the Dala Inland Dry Port by the immediate past administration of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje,’ Yahya said.

He said several individuals of interest had been invited, with one person arrested and later released on bail after providing useful information.

‘Investigation revealed that one of the parties is currently in Yola, Adamawa State,’ Yahya added.

The PCACC chairman stated that the case would soon be charged to court, noting that a prima facie case had been established against those involved.

Matchday 7 of the 2025/2026 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) produced high drama and late goals across several centres, with Nasarawa United claiming a stunning 1-0 away victory over Bendel Insurance in Benin City.

The Solid Miners continued their impressive run of form, snatching all three points at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium courtesy of substitute Garba Mohammed, who came off the bench in the 60th minute and netted the winner in the 94th minute, silencing the home crowd.

It was Mohammed’s second goal of the season and secured Nasarawa United’s second consecutive away win, following their triumph over Bayelsa United in Yenagoa two weeks earlier.

Speaking after the game, Coach Mangut Mbwas credited motivation and team spirit for the victory.

‘It’s a thing of joy to get the maximum points, either home or away. After drawing their last home game, Bendel Insurance were all out, aggressively searching for the maximum points,’ he said.

‘But we kept on resisting and pushing toward the last minutes of extra-time, and we got the goal. I am so happy with the performance of my boys – all credits to them. We started slowly in the game, but we adjusted as the game progressed, and the changes we effected in the second-half made a lot of difference.’

Mbwas further highlighted the collective motivation driving the team this season:

‘We are highly motivated from all rounds, starting with self-motivation, the push from our sports-loving Governor, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, the Honourable Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Kwanta Yakubu, and the Club’s Management led by Solomon Babanjah, not forgetting our wonderful supporters, the local Football Association and fans.’

Elsewhere, Shooting Stars continued their formidable home form, edging Plateau United 1-0 at the Lekan Salami Stadium, thanks to a 90+6-minute strike from Ismail Ayodele.

In Minna, Niger Tornadoes were held to a 1-1 draw by Kun Khalifat, with Abba Khalid giving the hosts the lead in the 42nd minute before Ugochukwu Akuta equalized in the 82nd.

The highly anticipated clash between Enyimba and Rivers United in Aba ended in a tense 0-0 stalemate, as both unbeaten sides canceled each other out.

Warri Wolves claimed a crucial away win, defeating Barau FC 1-0 in Bauchi through Justus Ohanu’s 29th-minute strike, while Abia Warriors secured a 1-0 victory over Kwara United in Ilorin, courtesy of Emeka Obioma’s 48th-minute penalty.

In Enugu, Rangers’ home match against Katsina United was abandoned in the 70th minute due to heavy rainfall and is set to resume Monday morning with the score at 0-0.

Meanwhile, Bayelsa United and Ikorodu City shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw, after Tosin converted a late penalty rebound to cancel out Emo James’ 26th-minute opener.

Matchday 7 Results

Bendel Insurance 0-1 Nasarawa United

Elkanemi Warriors 2-1 Kano Pillars

3SC 1-0 Plateau Utd

Tornadoes 1-1 Kun Khalifat

Enyimba 0-0 Rivers Utd

Barau 0-1 Wolves

Kwara Utd 0-1 Abia Warriors

Bayelsa United 1-1 Ikorodu City

*Rangers 0-0 Katsina Utd

*The game will continue 8am today from the 70th minute

Monday

Remo Stars vs Wikki Tourists

Barcelona’s hopes of returning to the top of La Liga were dashed in stunning fashion as they suffered a humiliating defeat to Sevilla – their worst against the Andalusian side since a 4-0 loss in 1951.

Needing a win to reclaim first place from Real Madrid, Hansi Flick’s men were outplayed for long spells and slumped to their first league defeat of the season against a Sevilla team that had not beaten them in over a decade.

Former Barcelona winger Alexis Sánchez put Sevilla ahead from the penalty spot after Ronald Araújo clumsily brought down Isaac Romero. Romero doubled the hosts’ advantage soon after, finishing off a swift counterattack to send the home crowd into raptures.

Barcelona briefly threatened a comeback when Marcus Rashford volleyed home Pedri’s cross in first-half stoppage time. But the Catalans failed to build on that momentum, and their frustration deepened when Robert Lewandowski missed a crucial second-half penalty after Adnan Januzaj fouled Alejandro Balde.

Sevilla sealed the emphatic victory late on through José Ángel Carmona and Akor Adams, condemning Barça to a second straight defeat following their midweek Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain.

The result leaves Barcelona two points behind leaders Real Madrid, while Sevilla climb to fifth, with Atlético Madrid still to play Celta Vigo in Sunday’s late fixture.

Faruk Shuaibu, a business reporter with Daily Trust Newspaper, has been shortlisted for the West Africa Media Excellence Conference and Awards (WAMECA) 2025.

Shuaibu was nominated among 26 finalists for the award ceremony with an entry ‘Why Nigerians Ditched the eNaira’ under the Digital Public Infrastructure/Digital Public Goods Reporting category.

The category highlights how governments in Africa are using digital infrastructures to better the lives of their citizens.

The award is organised by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) and the event will be held in Accra, Ghana from 9 to 11 October 2025.

In a statement, MFWA said it received 793 entries this year and were submitted by journalists from over 600 media outlets across 15 West African countries.

It said Nigeria emerged as the country with the highest number of submissions (335 entries), comprising 42% of the total.

Ghana followed with 101 entries, while Burkina Faso submitted 92 entries. 21 entries were received from Mali, while Niger recorded 4 entries. The remaining 10 countries in the subregion recorded a total of 230 entries.

‘This overwhelming response marks a strong return for West Africa’s biggest and most prestigious journalism event after a break in 2024. The call for entries, which opened on April 15, invited submissions of journalistic works published between January 1 and December 31, 2024. Entries were received across nine award categories, including Human Rights Reporting, Environmental Reporting, Investigative Journalism, Women Empowerment Reporting, and Digital Public Infrastructure/Digital Public Goods Reporting. Others include Anti-Corruption, Extractive Sector, Telecoms and ICT, and Illicit Financial Flows.’

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) FCT Command says it apprehended more than 250 commercial vehicles in just two days for overloading, as it begins full enforcement of safety regulations in the territory.

The FCT Sector Commander, Corps Commander Felix Theman, disclosed this in a statement signed by the Command’s Public Education Officer, Mrs. Helen Ntaji, on Saturday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the enforcement, which started on Oct. 2, specifically targeted the practice of carrying two passengers in the front seat of taxis.

Theman said that the two-day figure demonstrated the scale of violations in the FCT, in spite of months of sustained engagement and education to transport unions.

He explained that his top priority since assuming office had been restoring passenger dignity and safety, noting that enforcement was the most civil way to ensure compliance. (NAN)

According to him, overloading makes the use of seatbelts impossible, weakens vehicle suspension and tyres, and limits driver control in emergencies.

Theman added that the Command’s operation was being carried out in collaboration with mobile magistrate courts to ensure immediate prosecution of offenders.

Vigilantes have arrested a suspect, identified as Peters Shina, for allegedly vandalizing high-tension electricity cables along Ashara village in the Kwali Area Council of the FCT.

A member of the vigilante, Yunusa Saidu, said the suspect was arrested on Thursday, around 4:23 pm., after some villagers saw him and immediately raised an alarm.

He said the suspect ‘confidently went to where some of the high-tension cables had fallen down and started cutting the cable.’

He added that the vigilante quickly mobilized to the scene and arrested him.

He said the suspect, who is a native from Kabba, Kogi State, but resides in Gwako village near Gwagwalada, confessed to the stealing of the cables, adding that he has been handed over to the police in the Danagra Division.

Abuja Metro also reliably learned that three suspected vandals were also apprehended with stolen high-tension cables near Piri village, also in the Kwali Area Council.

A police source who preferred anonymity confirmed the arrest, saying the suspects were conveying a large quantity of high-tension cables inside a Golf car when they were arrested at a checkpoint near Piri village on Wednesday.

‘Actually, the police officers became suspicious when the driver, upon sighting the police at the checkpoint, parked by the roadside and fled into the bush. While three other occupants of the car also attempted to flee, one of the police threatened to shoot and they could not escape,’ he said.

The source said the suspects were later taken to the Kwali Division alongside the vehicle, and that investigations were ongoing to trail the driver.

Abuja Metro recalled that some suspected hoodlums were reported to have vandalized high-tension electricity cables between Manderegi village near Abaji town two weeks ago, which has thrown Abaji and its environs into darkness since then.

The spokesperson of the FCT police command, SP Adeh Josephine, did not respond to both text messages and calls put across to her over the incident up till the time of filing the report.

The Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN) has called on the federal government to immediately dismantle entrenched cabals within the oil and gas sector to enable the industry to achieve its full potential.

CIFCFIN’s Chairman, Governing Council, Dr. Iliyasu Gashinbaki, made the call in a statement to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day anniversary, urging a four-pronged approach to eliminate systemic obstruction and economic sabotage in the sector.

He said the government should invoke all relevant legal instruments, including the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), to classify such obstructive actions as economic sabotage. He also advised the government to assert its executive authority against individuals or groups holding the economy to ransom and eroding public trust in governance.

According to him, strategic national assets such as the Dangote Refinery should be designated as critical infrastructure deserving maximum protection.

He further urged the government to encourage more private sector investment in the oil and gas industry to foster competition and efficiency, as seen in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.

Gashinbaki said forensic analysis conducted by the institute exposed how powerful cabals operating through proxy institutions and unions have continued to frustrate progress, perpetuate scarcity, and sustain import dependency.

The CIFCFIN chairman disclosed that investigations confirmed Nigeria’s vast resources of over 37 billion barrels of oil and 208 trillion cubic feet of gas-enough to power and industrialize the economy for generations. Yet, he lamented that the nation’s domestic refining history remains marred by chronic inefficiency and failure.

‘The Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries now stand as failed monuments, forcing the country to export crude oil while importing refined products-an economic paradox that has drained national wealth,’ Gashinbaki said.

He declared CIFCFIN’s support for the Dangote Refinery amid its recent standoff with PENGASSAN and commended the federal government for intervening.

Describing the 650,000-barrels-per-day Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a transformative breakthrough, Gashinbaki said it demonstrates what private enterprise can achieve where public institutions have failed.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians and the Federal Government to defend the promise of private sector-led energy independence and ‘finally declare freedom from the cabals that have long undermined national progress.’

Suspected phone snatchers on a motorcycle have reportedly stabbed and injured a man identified as Lawal Ibrahim while escaping with his phone in the Dagiri community in the Gwagwalada Area Council of the FCT.

A resident of Dagiri, Samaila Alhassan, said the incident happened on Wednesday, near the LEA Primary School in the area.

He said the victim was returning from a shop where he went to buy some items around 9:47 p.m. when two phone snatchers on a motorcycle attacked him with a knife.

He said he was inside his house when he heard the victim screaming through the window, and he quickly rushed out to find the victim lying on the ground in a pool of his blood.

‘It was at that point I quickly alerted some vigilantes who arrived at the scene. But by then, the hoodlums had already fled on their bike,’ he said.

Alhassan said the victim, who was stabbed in the right arm, was immediately rushed to the hospital by the vigilante.

A member of the vigilante, Dahiru Usman, also confirmed the incident to our reporter via telephone on Thursday.

He said the victim was attacked by two young men on a bike who later escaped with the victim’s phone, adding that the victim has since been taken to the hospital for treatment.

The vigilante member, who decried the frequent cases of phone snatching in the Dagiri and Bako communities, said, ‘In fact, there is no day that passes by without a report of hoodlums attacking residents and escaping with their phones.’

A police source in Gwagwalada who preferred anonymity also confirmed the incident, saying the police are investigating the matter and are working to track down the hoodlums.

Team Brazil yesterday claimed victory at the E1 Lagos Powerboat Racing Championship, securing their first win of the 2025 UIM E1 World Championship season.

Piloted by Timmy Hansen and Marit Strømøy, the team overcame stormy weather conditions that delayed the race for nearly two hours, powering through the turbulent Lagos Lagoon to take the top spot.

Owned by the Claure Group, Team Brazil amassed 38 points after dominating the qualifying session to claim pole position in what was the first-ever all-electric powerboat race held on African waters.

In a fiercely contested final, Team Blue Rising finished second with 30 points, while Team Drogba took third with 28 points.

After six rounds of the second E1 season, Team Brady maintains a narrow lead at the top of the overall standings with 154 points, just three points ahead of Team Rafa, while Team Blue Rising sits third with 145 points.

The championship now heads to Miami on November 7-8, where the season finale will determine whether Team Brady can defend their crown in what promises to be a thrilling showdown.

Rodi Basso, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of E1, described the hospitality and reception in Lagos as ‘warm,’ saying the event has unlocked economic potential for the state.

‘The warm welcome we have received in Lagos has been incredible. The people and passion of Nigeria have made this historic E1 Lagos GP, presented by FirstBank, possible, and I feel a great sense of pride that we have made racing here a reality.

‘Our ambition is to build a motorsport legacy in Africa. This weekend’s race is just the beginning, and today’s qualifying sessions have provided a thrilling taste of what’s to come on race day tomorrow,’ he said.

Lagos made history by becoming the first African city to host the E1 World Championship, the world’s first all-electric powerboat racing series.

The race drew thousands of spectators to the waterfront, as excitement built across Lagos. Among those in attendance were African football icon Didier Drogba and his partner Gabrielle Lemaire, who were instrumental in bringing E1 to the continent.