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20 ex-Boko Haram children reintegrated into Borno communities

No fewer than 20 children formerly associated with Boko Haram have been reintegrated into communities in Borno after completing a deradicalisation programme.

The 10 girls and 10 boys, classified as low-risk minors, received livelihood support and training in business management, record-keeping, savings and business improvement to help them rebuild their lives.

Speaking during the reintegration exercise in Maiduguri on Saturday, Programme Manager with the Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development, Dadun Hamza, said the initiative was implemented under a project supported by the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN).

He said the minors received business materials after their training, with the Foundation set to monitor their progress and ensure they establish sustainable businesses.

The businesses include welding, shoemaking, tailoring, thread shops, food vending, condiment and soup items, fabric and shoe selling, incense making, and grinding machines.

‘The ultimate goal is to achieve sustainable reintegration of the minors into their communities,’ he stated.

Hamza said 20 women-headed households, identified as the most vulnerable in the areas where the children were reintegrated, also received support, bringing the total beneficiaries to 40.

‘Most of the women were caring for children without male support, and supporting them will enable them to provide for their children while promoting acceptance of the returnees,’ he said.

He said involving host community members was intended to promote balance and strengthen the sustainability of the reintegration process.

The Executive Director of the Foundation, Hajiya Hamsatu Allamin, said the intervention was part of broader efforts by the government and stakeholders to stabilise communities affected by insurgency and support the transition of individuals who had disengaged from the insurgency back to civilian life.

Radda: Invest in Northwest to defeat insecurity

Katsina State Governor and Chairman of the Northwest Governors’ Forum, Malam Dikko Radda, has urged investors and development partners to inject more private capital into the Northwest, saying economic opportunities are critical to defeating insecurity in the region.

Radda said the Northwest could not achieve lasting peace through military operations alone, stressing that security must be matched with jobs, investment and improved livelihoods.

The governor spoke at high-level events on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he presented Katsina State’s experience in development financing and the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework.

According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Kaula, Radda said the challenge was no longer the availability of development financing but the difficulty of attracting private capital into public development projects.

He said Katsina had benefited from 11 World Bank projects worth about $430 million, covering education, water, agriculture, rural roads and environmental development.

The African Development Bank, he added, was financing the state’s Agro-Industrial Processing Zone with $30 million, while the Islamic Development Bank was providing $60 million for the first phase of the Integrated Agricultural Development Hubs.

Radda identified stronger public-private partnership frameworks, de-risking mechanisms, reliable counterpart funding and transparent monitoring as key measures required to unlock more private investment.

At a separate high-level event on the Northwest Peace, Security and Development Framework, the governor urged the seven states in the region to work collectively to address insecurity, poverty, displacement and economic challenges.

‘Security must be accompanied by opportunity,’ he said, stressing that military operations alone could not deliver lasting peace.

He urged investors to look beyond the security challenges and tap into opportunities in agriculture, infrastructure, logistics, skills development and enterprise.

United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, commended the Northwest governors for presenting a common regional plan and pledged the UN’s support for the initiative.

Mohammed highlighted the Northwest’s strategic importance to food production and called for coordinated financing, stronger institutions, job creation and community-focused investments.

She disclosed that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was developing a proposal for a Northwest-led Stabilisation-to-Transformation Programme and Financing Platform.

Radda said the governors were ready to move from planning to implementation, urging development partners and private investors to partner with the region in building a more secure, productive and economically vibrant Northwest.

Chua: Let Sara Duterte spokesperson enjoy limelight

Manila Rep. Joel Chua on Saturday brushed aside criticism from Vice President Sara Duterte’s camp over the Senate impeachment court’s decision to adjust the voting threshold for conviction, saying her spokesperson Paolo Panelo should be allowed to ‘enjoy the limelight.’

‘He wants to be recognized, so let him. At the end of the day, we have heard the chief justices,’ Chua, a member of the House prosecution panel, said at a news conference.

‘Surely, he cannot claim to know better than the chief justices,’ he added.

Chua was responding to Panelo’s criticism of the impeachment court’s ruling on how the constitutionally required two-thirds vote for conviction should be computed when some senator-judges are not participating in the trial.

The impeachment court had sought the views of retired Chief Justices Hilario Davide Jr., Artemio Panganiban and Reynato Puno, as well as retired Associate Justice Adolfo Azcuna, on the issue. The former magistrates presented differing legal approaches, with Davide, Panganiban and Puno saying the previously set 16-vote threshold was not necessarily fixed.

Chua said Duterte’s camp should follow the legal process if it disagrees with the ruling instead of making accusations.

‘The problem is that when a decision does not favor them, they complain. That should not be the case. We have a process that must be followed,’ Chua said.

‘They said they would elevate the matter, and they can do that. But I think it is unfair to make all sorts of accusations,’ he added.

Chua said such statements appeared intended to draw public attention.

‘So there is only one thing we can think of. If you want to say all sorts of things, perhaps you want to be noticed,’ he said.

House prosecution spokesperson Benjamin ‘Jay’ Tolosa Jr., meanwhile, responded to Panelo’s criticism of Presiding Officer Sen. Francis Escudero’s statement that the impeachment court’s ruling would not necessarily bind future impeachment proceedings.

‘That is really the nature of impeachment proceedings. Jurisprudence is clear on that under the American concept of impeachment, on which our impeachment process is based. It is not binding on subsequent impeachment proceedings,’ Tolosa said.

He said each impeachment court is separately constituted whenever an impeachment trial is initiated and is not a continuing body like the Supreme Court.

‘So, negative conclusions cannot be drawn from that,’ Tolosa said.

Chua likewise said the Constitution gives the Senate broad latitude to establish rules governing impeachment proceedings.

‘The Constitution clearly gives wide latitude to the impeachment court, the Senate, to make its own rules,’ Chua said.

He said rules adopted for Duterte’s impeachment trial could differ from those applied in a future impeachment proceeding.

‘If the intention of the Constitution had been to impose highly stringent or overly technical rules, impeachment proceedings would have been placed in a judicial proceeding instead of an impeachment court,’ Chua said.

PDP holds fresh Gombe guber primary, September 29

Following the Federal High Court judgment that voided the earlier primary of the Nyesom Wike-backed main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which produced Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami as gubernatorial candidate, the party has scheduled a fresh governorship primary for September 29 in Gombe.

The state chapter of the party announced the new date in a public notice dated September 25 and signed by its Publicity Secretary, Abdulkadir Ahmed Dukku.

According to the notice, all eligible delegates are expected to assemble at their respective ward areas on Tuesday for the repeat primary and cast their votes for their preferred aspirants.

‘The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Gombe State wishes to inform all its card-carrying members that there will be a gubernatorial repeat primary election on Tuesday, 29th September, 2026,’ the notice stated.

The party also urged its members, supporters and other stakeholders to cooperate with the process and maintain peace and order throughout the exercise.

The fresh primary comes barely five days after the Federal High Court ordered the PDP to conduct another governorship primary in compliance with its constitution, guidelines and applicable electoral laws.

Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed gave the order in a suit filed by PDP governorship aspirant Usman Aliyu Garry, who challenged the process through which Pantami emerged as the party’s candidate.

Pantami had emerged as the PDP governorship candidate during the party’s May 26 primary through voice affirmation.

With the court nullifying that exercise, the PDP governorship ticket has been reopened for a fresh contest.

The September 29 primary is expected to determine the party’s candidate for the 2027 Gombe State governorship election.

The aspirants cleared by the Party to contest the primary elections are: Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, Usman Aliyu Gary, and Khamisu Ahmed Mailantarki.

2027: ABG seeks Southern Kaduna support to challenge APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Kaduna State, Rt. Hon. Shehu Usman Bawa, popularly known as ABG, has called on residents of the state, particularly those in Southern Kaduna, to support the party’s bid to challenge the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 governorship election.

Bawa made the call on Friday in Kafanchan while addressing PDP leaders, supporters and stakeholders from the Southern Kaduna Senatorial District, also known as Zone 3. The meeting gave the governorship candidate and his running mate, Hon. Amos Adamu Gandu, an opportunity to interact directly with party members and hear their concerns ahead of the election.

The former federal lawmaker urged politicians seeking elective office to avoid making promises they cannot fulfil, stressing that political leadership should be anchored in accountability, transparency and responsibility. He said elected officials must remain mindful of their obligations to the people who entrusted them with power.

Bawa pledged that, if elected governor, his administration would adopt a bottom-up approach to governance, with the needs and aspirations of communities forming the basis of government policies and programmes. He said his administration would prioritise grassroots development and ensure that ordinary citizens had a stronger voice in determining government priorities.

The PDP candidate also called on residents across the state to join what he described as the effort to ‘rescue Kaduna’ from what he characterised as bad leadership under the APC administration. He said the PDP would present an alternative governance agenda focused on addressing citizens’ concerns and improving their welfare.

According to him, his administration would ensure that government programmes were designed around the realities confronting communities, particularly those at the grassroots. He urged the people of Southern Kaduna to remain actively involved in the political process and to support the party’s candidates at the 2027 polls.

Speaking at the gathering, Kaduna State PDP Chairman, Chief Edward Percy Masha, said the meeting was organised to enable Bawa and his running mate to interact with party members and stakeholders across Southern Kaduna and to familiarise themselves with people’s concerns. Masha said the party was prepared to challenge the APC for political control of the state.

The PDP chairman urged members to remain united and committed as the 2027 elections approach, stressing the importance of cooperation among party leaders, candidates, former aspirants and supporters. He also criticised the current administration for what he described as increasing hardship among citizens, saying the opposition party would continue to raise issues it considered government shortcomings.

Masha further alleged that the Kaduna State Government had failed to fulfil a promise he said was made before the 2023 elections concerning the payment of entitlements to disengaged traditional leaders, district heads and teachers. The allegation was made at the party gathering and was not independently established.

Earlier, the PDP Zonal Chairman, Hon. Yusuf Danjuma Akuso, described Bawa as a ‘fine gentleman’ and expressed confidence in his candidacy. He urged party supporters across the zone to remain committed to the PDP and work towards strengthening its structures ahead of the election.

The immediate past PDP chairman in the state, Hassan Hyat, also alleged that some citizens had been sidelined in the distribution of government programmes and benefits, claiming that the situation was different under previous PDP administrations. He urged residents to support the party’s bid to return to power, saying it would work towards addressing what he described as challenges confronting the people.

Former Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Nuhu Bajoga, also criticised the current administration, describing it as a ‘government of deceit’, and urged PDP supporters to remain mobilised ahead of the 2027 elections. PDP leaders, supporters, and stakeholders from communities across Southern Kaduna attended the meeting as the party intensifies its mobilisation and organisational activities ahead of the general elections.

Study: Over 80% of upper Marikina watershed vulnerable to landslides

Slope is the biggest contributor to landslide susceptibility in the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL), a 2026 study revealed, highlighting the need for stronger preventive measures.

Earlier this month, a landslide hit Baras, Rizal, covering 50 meters of Marilaque Highway and temporarily blocking almost four kilometers of the road, Masungi Georeserve said on Facebook, pointing out the landscape’s susceptibility to landslides.

Based on the study, ‘GIS-Based Landslide Susceptibility Assessment of the UMRBPL, Rizal, Philippines,’ which used the Analytic Hierarchy Process, slope accounted for 28.04% of the area’s landslide susceptibility, the highest contribution among the factors examined.

Land use and land cover came next at 20.50%, while average annual rainfall accounted for 20.08%.

The other identified factors were soil morphology, 8.46%; typhoon frequency, 8.08%; distance to lineament, 7.74%; and soil geology, 7.10%.

‘Landslides remind us that a watershed is more than its rivers. Its forests, slopes, soils, roads, and communities are all connected,’ said the foundation conserving parts of the more than 26,000-hectare protected landscape.

The assessment showed that almost half of the UMRBPL, or 46.39% of its area, was highly susceptible to landslides, while another 1.80% was classified as having very high susceptibility. Some 38.05% was moderately susceptible.

Only 12.76% of the area was classified as having low susceptibility, while 1% was found to have very low susceptibility.

As Masungi Georeserve said, the results indicate that eight in 10 hectares of the watershed are ‘at risk [to landslides].’

‘With land use driving over a fifth of the region’s vulnerability, human impact is undeniable,’ it said, pointing to land use and land cover as contributing 20.05% to landslide susceptibility.

‘Deforestation and altered soils directly influence how violently the landscape reacts to the next typhoon,’ Masungi Georeserve said.

Ex-BARMM MPs form group to help start new regional government

Even if they are no longer sitting in the regional legislature, former members of parliament (MPs) organized themselves and offered help in shaping the future of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The former MPs said they intend the new group to be their platform for them to contribute to the fledgling region’s continuing development.

Called the Association for Former Members of Parliament (AFMP), the group draws strength from their legislative experience that they hope will find added significance to the new parliament.

This comes as the autonomous region enters a new chapter, with the regular government starting its mandate on October 30, following the historic parliamentary elections last Sept. 14.

The AFMP officers took their oath before Bangsamoro Parliament Speaker Mohammad Yacob on Monday.

Maisara Dandamun-Latiph was elected as AFMP’s founding president. She will serve the association until Oct. 30, 2031.

Latiph served as MP from 2019 to 2022, after which she led the Marawi Compensation Board from January 2023 until March last year.

Prior to her stint in the interim parliament, she was a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission, from 2017 to 2019.

This body which drafted what will now be the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

The AFMP was created under Parliament Resolution No. 562 to provide former parliamentarians a platform to share their experiences and knowledge gained during their time in the legislature.

Yacob stressed the importance of keeping former parliamentarians engaged, saying their insights and skills remain valuable to the Bangsamoro, even after their terms in parliament.

At least 79 former parliamentarians currently compose the group.

The first set of MPs served from February 2019 to August 2022.

The second batch served from September 2022 to February 2025.

The third group got on board in March 2025 and are still around up to the present.

‘Our desire to serve the Bangsamoro never ends. We are ready to help the best way we can,’ Latiph told the Inquirer.

She said once the regular parliament starts legislative work, the AFMP will take on the role of ‘institutional guardians, bridge-builders, and active development partners.’

Former MP Khalid Hadji Abdullah described the establishment of AFMP as an important step in fostering continued cooperation among its members.

This is even if they are no longer in government.

PNB Holdings debuts on Philippine bourse

PNB Holdings Corp. began trading on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Friday, bringing a property portfolio valued at about P88.8 billion to the local bourse.

The real estate company listed by way of introduction on the PSE’s main board under the ticker symbol ‘LTL.’ Its shares carried an initial listing price of P1.20 each.

Unlike a traditional initial public offering, a listing by way of introduction does not raise fresh capital.

Instead, it allows existing shares to trade on the stock exchange, providing liquidity and market-based price discovery.

‘Today’s listing also fulfills our commitment to provide an orderly and transparent avenue for liquidity and price discovery for our long-standing shareholders, while offering new investors the opportunity to participate in the company’s next chapter of growth,’ PNB Holdings president Karlu Say said.

Philippine National Bank (PNB) subscribed to about 93.5 percent of an increase in PNB Holdings’ authorized capital stock in exchange for prime properties.

PNB later declared 23.9 billion of these shares as property dividends to its shareholders.

Those shares are now tradeable on the PSE.

‘LTL joins our roster of listed property companies with real substance behind it-a prime portfolio of three major properties worth over P85 billion,’ PSE president and CEO Ramon Monzon said during the listing ceremony.

The portfolio includes the PNB Financial Center in Pasay City, which occupies nearly 100,000 square meters of land. About 90 percent of the property is leasable.

PNB Holdings also owns the PNB Makati Center along Ayala Avenue and the Buendia Property in Makati City.

The properties generated P634.3 million in revenues in the first half, up 26 percent from a year earlier, according to Monzon. Net income surged by 85 percent to P209 million.

The P1.20 listing price was supported by an independent valuation and fairness opinion, which estimated the company’s fair value at between P1.18 and P1.89 per share.

Joshua, Fury: How much could heavyweight blockbuster earn them?

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will finally meet in the ring on December 11, with the long-awaited heavyweight clash set to take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

The bout brings together two of Britain’s biggest heavyweight stars after years of failed attempts to make the fight.

Joshua and Fury were initially scheduled to meet in 2021, when both held major heavyweight titles, but the proposed two-fight series collapsed after Fury was required to fulfil his contractual obligation to face Deontay Wilder in a trilogy bout.

The British rivals subsequently went their separate ways, and both went on to face Oleksandr Usyk, who defeated Fury twice and Joshua twice.

Six years after their original agreement, Joshua and Fury will now meet in Cardiff, expected to be one of the biggest fights in British boxing history.

According to The Sun, the contest is expected to generate a £150m ($198m) prize pot, with neither fighter having an A-side advantage in the purse split.

Joshua and Fury are therefore expected to receive £75m ($99m) each.

The reported payday would represent a career-best purse for both fighters. SunSport reported that Joshua and Fury have previously earned about £65m ($85m) each for a single fight.

The December clash could have generated an even bigger payday had it been staged in the United States, with Madison Square Garden in New York reportedly considered as a possible venue.

Joshua, however, insisted that the fight had to take place in Britain.

‘British boxing gave me everything; it changed my life,’ Joshua told SunSport.

‘I was going down the wrong path until I found Sean Murphy and Johnny Oliver at Finchley ABC.

‘And then Team GB in Sheffield – and all the amazing coaches that worked every day for the love of the sport.

‘Not the money – because there was no money.

‘It was the UK or nothing.’

The fight could also mark the final appearance of either boxer, with both now in the latter stages of their professional careers.

The contest will be staged without a rematch clause, meaning there is no contractual provision for an immediate second fight between the two heavyweights.

Messi’s special kit for Argentina farewell match unveiled

The eyes of the footballing world will be transfixed on the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires on Oct. 6 as the era of the GOAT comes to a close on the international stage in Argentina’s capital.

That date will see the Albiceleste take on Benin in a friendly, which serves as Lionel Messi’s final match with the national team. This comes after the 39-year-old Inter Miami star announced his emotional decision to retire from international soccer back in late August.

According to TNT Sports Argentina, all of the 85,000 tickets sold out within two hours after going on sale Thursday, with grateful fans obviously desperate to give their idol and long-serving captain a fitting send-off in front of a raucous, adoring home crowd.

With a grand farewell on the cards, it has also been revealed that Messi is to wear a special kit during the match to mark his phenomenal contribution to the cause over the past 21 years, winning two Copa América titles and one FIFA World Cup during a glorious three-year run between 2021 and ’24 along the way. Messi himself first teased the bespoke design this week with a post on Instagram that included a short clip of him hanging up the jersey alongside the caption: ‘One last match. A jersey for a lifetime.’

Adidas have since unveiled the finer details of the unique sky blue and white striped jersey. The design is obviously inspired by the Argentina flag and boasts regal gold detailing and an array of commemorative flourishes.

Taken directly from the flag, the symbolic ‘Sun of May’ (which first appeared on Argentine coins in the early 1800s) is emblazoned across the front and back of the shirt, with Messi’s own personal ‘M’ emblem taking the place of the Adidas logo on the chest.