Category: Daily Trust

A 33-year-old Point of Sale operator, Mary Komi, was on Wednesday docked at the Dutse Magistrates’ Court in Abuja for allegedly misappropriating N1.29 million belonging to her employer.

Komi who lives in Zuba, Abuja is charged with theft.

She however pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The Prosecution Counsel, Mr Otobha Okpa, informed the court that the defendant’s employer, Mr Bala Musa, reported the matter at the Zuba Police Headquarters on March 27, 2026.

He told the court that the defendant was employed by the complainant as his POS operator in Zuba garage in Abuja.

He said that the complainant entrusted the sum of N1.46million to the defendant to use in running the business.

He alleged that the defendant converted the money to her personal use.

The prosecutor said that during investigation and interrogation, the sum of N170,000 was recovered from the defendant, leaving the balance of N1.29 million.

He said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 289 of the Penal Code law.

The Senior Magistrate, Mrs Evelyn Dara, admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N500,000 and one surety in like sum.

She ordered that the surety must have a reliable means of identification and must reside within the jurisdiction of the court.

Dara adjourned the matter until Sept 15 for hearing. (NAN)

Yet, 102 deaths per 1,000 is still more than four times the Sustainable Development Goal target of 25. For policymakers and stakeholders gathering to shape the next phase of maternal and child health in Nigeria, the question is less whether progress is possible and more what it takes to make it routine.

One part of the answer lies in how the country has delivered child-survival programmes at scale. More than 16 million children have now been reached through the SARMAAN (Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance of Mass Administration of Azithromycin in Children) Project across northern Nigeria, a milestone that says as much about system strength as it does about operational scale.

SARMAAN, is a child-survival initiative that delivers supervised azithromycin to children aged 1-59 months in high-mortality communities, through trained health workers and state primary health-care systems, as part of a wider child survival package that still includes immunisation, nutrition, clean water and basic care. Its experience offers practical lessons for the wider maternal, newborn and child health agenda.

The first lesson is that saving children’s lives is a systems task, not just a clinical one. The improvement in under-five mortality and service indicators is happening in a context where Nigeria’s health system remains fragmented, with federal, state and local authorities sharing overlapping responsibilities that can lead to duplicated efforts and disjointed delivery. SARMAAN’s operations show what it looks like when that fragmentation is managed rather than ignored. In the second quarter of 2026 alone, nine states successfully implemented house-to-house administration. Those rounds were only possible because procurement, logistics, financing, data systems, regulatory oversight, health-worker training and state-level coordination were aligned in advance.

The second lesson is that the ‘unseen work’ is as important as the visible outputs. Public-health success is often narrated in terms of bottles distributed or children reached. SARMAAN’s numbers are impressive on those terms, but the deeper value lies in how doses get from a central warehouse to a child’s mouth without eroding trust. Behind each round are state alignment meetings, last-mile route planning, community dialogues, information materials, safety and pharmacovigilance systems, and fast feedback loops on rumours and concerns. Those are the same ingredients required for better antenatal care, safer births and stronger newborn care, which means the systems ‘muscle’ built for one intervention can strengthen the MNCH agenda.

Finally, SARMAAN raises a constructive challenge for all of us: what happens when a child-survival intervention proves it can be delivered at scale? Does it remain a time-bound project, or does it become part of the permanent toolbox? As Nigeria’s under-five mortality continues to decline, and as national plans and guidelines for maternal and newborn health are updated, the experience from SARMAAN suggests three collaborative priorities. First, integrate proven child-survival tools into routine primary health-care and child-health strategies, so they are planned and budgeted for alongside immunisation, nutrition and WASH. Second, strengthen domestic financing so that continuity does not depend solely on external support. Third, keep investing in community trust, safety monitoring and data, so scale never outruns science or consent.

The improvements in child survival, breastfeeding, antenatal care and skilled birth attendance show that change is possible when policy, practice and partnership line up. SARMAAN’s delivery record is one piece of that picture, not the whole answer but a practical example of what coordinated, country-led effort can achieve.

As Nigeria determines its next strategies for maternal and child health, the most powerful signal we can send is that programmes that work, and the systems that support them, are not temporary successes but building blocks for a future where mothers and children survive as a matter of course, not of chance.

Telecommunications services provider Airtel Nigeria has further extended its national retail footprint with the rollout of 350 out of a planned 500 premium experience centres, which are designed to bring its service closer to millions of Nigerians.

The new retail shops, officially unveiled at a symbolic launch at City Mall, Onikan, Lagos, mark the latest phase in Airtel Nigeria’s grand retail strategy.

They significantly expand the company’s extensive network of over 9,000 exclusive shops across every local government area, more than 350 premium experience centres, and over 73,000 retailers in all top towns and cities nationwide.

Built as compact, high-efficiency touchpoints, the newly launched shops are designed to enable subscribers complete all transactions such as Home Broadband, Fiber and Outdoor Units Subscription, Postpaid Plan Subscription, Enterprise Applications Enquiry and Subscription, as well as Prepaid Product services such as SIM registration and Data Plan purchase, other enquiries and comprehensive account support.

Simultaneously, several shops commenced operations at Purple Mall, Lekki; Marina, Lagos Island; Magodo, Lagos; Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta; Trend Setter Mall, Benin; Abakaliki, Ebonyi State; Kano City Mall, Kano; Carpenters Mall, Gwarinpa, Abuja; and other parts of the country.

The rollout emphasises the company’s continued investment in customer experience and responds directly to feedback from customers seeking quicker access to everyday services without the longer waiting times that may be associated with larger retail centres.

Speaking on the company retail objectives, Joypratip Sengupta, Director, Sales and Distribution, Airtel Nigeria, explained that quality retail experience ultimately drives customer satisfaction.

‘Our goal is to demonstrate our dedication to exceptional quality of service, and these new shops, by their design, location, and equipment fit right within our goal to deliver superior service to every one of our customers,’ he said.

The Kaduna State Police Command has arrested 16 suspected kidnappers, three alleged gunrunners and six suspected counterfeit currency dealers, while recovering firearms, stolen property worth millions of naira, livestock and hard drugs during operations conducted across the state in the last two weeks.

Commissioner of Police Rabiu Muhammad disclosed this during a press briefing in Kaduna, saying the command also neutralised notorious kidnappers in separate operations within the period under review.

He said police recovered 10 firearms of different calibres, 190 solar inverters valued at about N69 million, one stolen vehicle, 83 packs of hard drugs, 32 stolen mobile phones, two plasma televisions, 410 cattle and 170 counterfeit United States dollar notes.

According to him, the successes were recorded through intelligence-led operations carried out in collaboration with other security agencies and local vigilante groups.

‘Within the two weeks under review, the Kaduna State Police Command neutralised notorious kidnappers, arrested 16 suspected kidnappers, six suspects found in possession of 170 counterfeit US dollar notes, three suspected gunrunners and recovered 10 firearms of different calibres,’ he said.

Muhammad said operatives arrested a 20-year-old woman, Aisha Barau, in Ramin Kura village on July 21 while she allegedly attempted to exchange counterfeit US dollar notes for naira.

He said the suspect confessed that the fake currency was supplied by Abdullahi Muhammad and Danbala Jibrin, leading to the arrest of other members of the alleged syndicate.

The commissioner also disclosed that operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit arrested three suspected gunrunners in Jos, Plateau State, following credible intelligence.

The suspects, identified as Luka Samuel, John Paul and Musa Elisha, were allegedly found with two locally fabricated pistols and reportedly confessed to supplying arms and ammunition to bandits.

In another operation, Muhammad said security operatives arrested Abdullahi Mohammed, popularly known as ‘Aala’, during a joint operation involving police personnel from Anchau Division and members of the Yan Sa Kai in Kargi village.

He alleged that the suspect confessed to masterminding several kidnappings in Kuzuntu village in Ikara Local Government Area and parts of Kano State, as well as participating in the killing of two Yan Sa Kai members last year.

Police said an AK-47 rifle and five rounds of live ammunition were recovered during the investigation.

The commissioner further said detectives from the Anti-Car Theft Section recovered a stolen Toyota Sienna in Zaria shortly after it was stolen from the premises of a Juma’at Mosque in Ungwan Rimi.

He said the arrest of one Mohammed Shehu led to another suspect, Zakari Abubakar, who allegedly specialised in producing duplicate vehicle keys for car thieves.

The police commissioner also announced the recovery of 190 solar inverters and 10 lithium batteries from a store in Zaria, adding that investigators suspect the items were stolen from a container in transit.

A security source disclosed that the operation, one of the largest and most successful, also included officers and men of the Nigeria Police, as well as other unnamed security agencies.

The operation, the source stated, happened on the same day, leading to the rescue of the victims kidnapped victims across the states.

Of the 308 rescued, said the source, were 163 victims abducted from Woro Community in Kaiama LGA, Kwara State, and 145 from Niger State.

He added that the rescued victims are currently receiving medical attention at the Military Medical Facility, Wawa Cantonment, New Bussa LGA of Niger State.

The Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has released the final list of successful candidates for its 2024/2025 recruitment exercise, announcing that 3,852 applicants were selected from 573,680 applications received nationwide.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed this at a briefing in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said the successful candidates were recruited into the Superintendent, Inspectorate and Customs Assistant cadres, with all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory represented.

Adeniyi also announced that the Service would henceforth conduct recruitment annually to ensure predictable and efficient manpower planning.

‘The Nigeria Customs Service is moving to an annual recruitment cycle. Recruitment will no longer be an occasional event undertaken every several years. It will be a standing, predictable, yearly process,’ he said.

According to him, the 2026 recruitment exercise will begin later this year and be concluded within the same calendar year, from advertisement to publication of the final list.

He said the new system would enable unsuccessful applicants to know when the next recruitment exercise would take place instead of waiting for years without certainty.

The Comptroller-General explained that the screening systems, verification processes and recruitment architecture developed during the just-concluded exercise had now been fully established, making future recruitment faster and more efficient.

‘The delays experienced in this cycle were largely due to the time required to build this system. That process has now been completed,’ he said.

Adeniyi said all applicants underwent several stages of screening, including computer-based tests and verification of credentials against the National Identity Database.

He attributed the delay in concluding the exercise to the large number of applications received and the high rate of retirements among senior management officers.

The Controller-General of the Federal Fire Service (FFS), Olumode Samuel Adeyemi, says the Service has resolved the operational challenges of inadequate water and fuel supply and is now better positioned to respond effectively to emergencies.

He stated this on Tuesday after unveiling a quarter guard at the FFS headquarters and another at the Wuse Area Command in Abuja.

Adeyemi said that when he assumed office a year ago, he pledged to reposition the Service and restore public confidence in its ability to protect lives and property.

‘I was asked what would be part of my legacy, and I said I want Nigerians to have trust in the Federal Fire Service in terms of saving lives and property. They must have that trust in us.

‘A report came to me last week about one of our officers in Plateau State who entered a diesel tank to save someone. He risked his life and, though he ended up in the hospital, he was able to save a life.

‘Gone are the days when people would call the Fire Service and we would say there was no water or no diesel.’

The Controller-General said the quarter guards are more than physical structures, describing them as symbols of discipline, professionalism, unity and the spirit of the Service.

Commending the officers who funded the projects, he said their contributions reflected the enabling environment created by his administration.

‘You will recall that when I assumed office about a year ago, one of the major commitments I made to our officers and men was to prioritise their welfare,’ he said.

He added that staff motivation had improved significantly through enhanced welfare packages, medical interventions and access to loan facilities.

The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) in a statement said the accident occurred when the driver of a Mack flat-bed articulated trailer allegedly lost control due to excessive speed and rammed into a moving Toyota mini truck.

The impact caused the mini truck to somersault before crashing into one of the motorcycles, leaving one person dead at the scene and two others with varying degrees of injuries.

LASTMA officials, who were on routine traffic patrol along the Coastal Road corridor, responded to the incident alongside other emergency responders. The injured victims were rescued and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The agency also secured the accident scene, managed traffic around the affected area and coordinated the evacuation of the damaged mini truck, helping to restore the free flow of vehicles.

According to LASTMA, the response of emergency personnel prevented prolonged traffic disruption despite the severity of the collision.

Reacting to the incident, the General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, expressed sadness over the loss of life and blamed the crash on excessive speeding.

He urged motorists, particularly drivers of articulated vehicles, to comply with speed limits and traffic regulations, warning that reckless driving continues to be a major cause of fatal road accidents in the state.

Bakare-Oki called on all road users to adopt safer driving habits, avoid dangerous manoeuvres and obey traffic laws to reduce road crashes and protect lives.

The new Permanent Secretaries are Malam Abdu Usman, Dr Sani Suleiman, Dr Shamsuddeen Yahaya Suleiman and Dr Hussaini Hamisu Yanduna.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony, Radda said the appointments were based on competence, experience and hard work, rather than personal connections.

He urged the appointees to justify the confidence reposed in them by ensuring transparency, accountability and adherence to due process in their respective ministries, departments and agencies.

‘The Oath of Office is not merely a ceremony. It is a commitment to integrity, accountability and faithful service,’ he said.The governor said the appointments, which cut across different local government areas, were also aimed at promoting equal opportunities in the civil service.

He, however, expressed concern that some local government areas could not produce eligible candidates because they lacked officers with the required qualifications or grade levels.

‘It is our hope and prayer that, in the coming years, every Local Government Area in Katsina State will produce qualified officers capable of competing successfully and serving as Permanent Secretaries,’ he said.Radda also charged senior civil servants to mentor younger officers and facilitate knowledge transfer to ensure continuity and strengthen the service.

He said his administration would continue to promote professionalism, institutional capacity and digital transformation across government institutions.

This brings to an end nearly six months of anguish for their families and communities.

The Kwara State Government announced the development on Wednesday through its official Facebook page.

It described the release as a major breakthrough and commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, security agencies and everyone who contributed to the operation.

‘Alhamdulillaah and kudos to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, security forces, and everyone who played a role in this huge feat. We are grateful!’ the government stated.

Although authorities were yet to disclose the details of the operation as of press time, multiple community sources told Daily Trust that security personnel, backed by military hardware, had moved into the forest earlier in the day before news of the victims’ freedom filtered into the communities.

Aliyu Umar, a resident and member of the community negotiating team through a mediator, said reports reaching the communities indicated that the Federal Government had mounted a rescue operation.

He said residents of nearby Wawa reported seeing seven or eight long vehicles escorted by Army armoured tanks moving into the forest.

He added that information circulating within the communities suggested the captives had been handed over to government officials.

‘We were hearing that the Federal Government was making moves. Information reaching me was that they had been handed over. People in Wawa saw several vehicles and Army armoured tanks heading into the forest,’ he said.

The Village Head of Woro, Alhaji Salihu Umar, gave a similar account.

He said available information to the community suggested a Federal Government rescue team had entered the forest to receive the victims.

According to him, residents had reported seeing buses, Army gun trucks and other security vehicles heading towards the area.

‘We had not spoken with the victims ourselves at that point, but everything we were hearing suggested they had been handed over to the rescue team,’ he said.

Also confirming the development, Dr Abdul Ibrahim, who had played a prominent role in community efforts to secure the captives’ freedom, said the circumstances surrounding their release were still unclear.

‘Yes, it is true. They are arranging vehicles to bring them to Il?rin. We do not know exactly how they secured the release. We do not know whether there was any negotiation or ransom involved. At this stage, we simply do not know the circumstances,’ he said.

The release marks a dramatic turnaround after months of uncertainty that had triggered protests, appeals and desperate negotiations by affected families.

Only last weekend, hundreds of residents, youths and women staged a peaceful protest in Kaiama, demanding urgent government intervention after the captives spent 171 days in terrorist custody.

The protesters marched through the town, carrying placards and urging the Federal Government to intensify rescue efforts while calling for stronger security around communities bordering the Kainji Lake National Park, which they described as a major criminal hideout.

The latest development also comes barely five days after families disclosed that more than ?155 million painstakingly raised through community donations, personal savings and the sale of valuables had been rejected by the terrorists.

Speaking then on behalf of affected families, Dr Abdul Ibrahim told Daily Trust that the kidnappers declined the money, insisting they would only negotiate directly with the governments of Kwara and Niger states because many of the captives came from both states.

He also alleged that the abductors had threatened to kill some victims while forcing female captives into marriage, heightening fears among relatives.

The 176 victims were abducted during the coordinated terrorist assault on Woro and neighbouring Nuku communities on February 3, an attack that left hundreds dead, displaced many families and destroyed homes and public infrastructure.

The massacre sparked national outrage and prompted President Tinubu to order reinforced military deployments and intensified security operations in Kaiama and adjoining communities.