Category: PM News

Federal and state authorities on Thursday move to douse tension over recent killing of four herders in Agu-Ifite community, Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State with calls for peaceful coexistence among Nigerians.

Some yet-to-be identified gunmen had stormed the cattle camp of Alhaji Aminu Mohammed in Agu-Ifite in Awka South Local Government Area, killing four herders on Tuesday.

Speaking while leading an assessment team of the Federal Government on a fact-finding visit to the community, Head of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Enugu operations office, Mrs Priscilla Madukwe called for peaceful coexistence among Nigerians

She said peaceful co-existence among Nigerians in necessary to ensure unity, security and development of the country.

She also condemned the killing of the herders, describing it as ‘senseless killing’, saying, ‘there is nothing better than living peacefully with your neighbours.

‘That is what we advocate for, peaceful coexistence among all communities. We are here to obtain firsthand information and report back to Abuja on what we have seen.

‘We pray that such an incident will never happen again.’

She said the delegation came on behalf of the federal government on a fact-finding mission and to commiserate with the families of the victims.

Also addressing members of the Hausa/Fulani community, Chairman, Awka South LGA, Mr Chinedu Okafor, urged residents to remain calm and allow security agencies to carry out a thorough investigation into the incident.

Okafor noted that every Nigerian had the constitutional right to live and work in any part of the country without fear or intimidation.

He reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to zero-tolerance policy against crime and assured the community that those responsible for the attack would be identified and brought to justice.

‘As the Commissioner of Police has already stated, investigations are ongoing and we must get to the root of this unfortunate incident.

‘I appeal to the Hausa/Fulani community to remain peaceful and cooperate with security agencies. Before long, those behind this act will be arrested and made to face the law,’ he said.

Earlier, Deputy Director, Anambra State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mrs Ndidi Omega, also appealed for peace and offered prayers for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives.

Omega said that SEMA would submit its assessment report to the state government, while continuing to collaborate with NEMA in managing emergencies and mitigating crises across the state.

Responding, Alhaji Gidado Siddiki leader of the Fulani community in the state and Deputy National Director-General, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), commended the team for their prompt visit and show of concern.

Siddiki, who described the visit as a demonstration of leadership and compassion, added that in the past, government officials rarely visited affected communities immediately after such incidents.

He appealed to members of the Fulani community to remain calm and avoid taking the law into their hands.

‘I have lived in Anambra since 1986 and raised my family here, the Igbo people are hospitable and peaceful,’ he said.

The Fulani leader said that criminal elements existed in every society and stressed that the actions of a few individuals should not be used to judge an entire community.

He appealed to security agencies to ensure that those responsible for the killings were apprehended and prosecuted.

Siddiki expressed optimism that justice for the victims would help strengthen public confidence and preserve the longstanding peaceful relationship between the Fulani and their host communities in the state.

The assessment team inspected the affected settlement to obtain firsthand information on the incident and evaluate the level of destruction for onward report to the federal government.

The team also captured the burnt huts during the assessment as part of its documentation of the incident.

Members of the Nigeria Police Force were also on ground during the assessment visit to provide security and support throughout the exercise.

The Anambra Police Command had confirmed the incident on Wednesday through a statement by its spokesman, SP Tochukwu Ikenga.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday declined to hear a fresh application by detained National President of Miyetti Allah Kauta Kore, Bello Bodejo, seeking an order varying his bail conditions.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling, held that since the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is contesting the application, the court might be unable to conclude its proceedings before the court vacation commences.

EFCC charged Bodejo with money laundering involving 2.63 million U.S. dollars.

Justice Ekwo had, on Monday, admitted Bodejo to a N2 billion bail with two sureties in the like sum.

The judge ordered that one of the sureties must present a three-year tax clearance evidence and must reside within the court’s jurisdiction, while the second sureties must have a land worth N2 billion in Abuja.

When the case was called on Thursday, Bodejo’s lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, informed the court about the application by his client, seeking, among others, the variation of the conditions attached to the bail granted him.

The lawyer to the anti-graft agency, Fatai Erewunmi, said he was served with the application and had responded by filing a counter affidavit.

But the judge said upon looking at the tenure of the application, which is being challenged, the court might be unable to conclude proceedings in the application before the court’s vacation.

The judge then advised parties to approach a vacation judge, during the court’s vacation, to hear the application.

He said after then, the substantive case can be returned for trial before his court.

Justice Ekwo adjourned the matter until Oct. 5 for the commencement of trial.

The EFCC accused Bodejo of accepting 100,000 dollars from Sa’idu Abubakar a former Accountant-General (AG) of Bauchi State who is currently in the lawful custody of the Nigerian Police Force, among other cash in hard currency.

The EFCC said the sum exceeded the statutory cash transaction threshold of N5 million prescribed under Section 1(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended), without routing the said transaction through a financial institution as required by law.

He was said to have committed an offence contrary to Section 16(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 16(2)(b) of the same Act,

The offence is said to be contrary to Section 19(1)(d) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022 and punishable under Section 19(2)(b) of the same Act.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has strongly refuted allegations by former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba that he deceived leaders of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) ahead of the 2003 general elections, insisting he neither misled anyone nor acted in bad faith during his presidency.

In a detailed letter dated July 23, 2026, addressed to Osoba, Obasanjo described the former governor’s account, published in The Legal Observer under the title ‘How Obasanjo Deceived Us in 2003,’ as inaccurate and lacking important historical context.

‘There are many things you got wrong and many things you omitted advertently or inadvertently in your write-up,’ Obasanjo wrote. ‘Your presentation was farfetched to put it mildly.’

The former president took particular exception to being labelled deceptive.

‘I take strong and serious objection to your calling me a deceiver because I deceived nobody. I always presented my case and all issues as I had them and as I understood them.’

Obasanjo said Osoba was not privy to several political consultations that preceded his decision to contest the presidency after his release from prison.

According to him, different groups, including those led by Lawan Katsina, the late Chief S.M. Afolabi and Martins Kuye, approached him to seek elective office before he embarked on nationwide consultations with political leaders across the South-West, North and South-East.

He maintained that his political philosophy has always been anchored on inclusion rather than bitterness.

‘Politics is for welfare and well-being of people and there should be no personal bitterness or acrimony in it.’

Obasanjo also rejected suggestions that his post-1999 collaboration with the AD stemmed from political weakness, insisting that his decision to build what he described as a ‘sort of national government’ was motivated by national unity.

‘Bringing PDP and AD to join me was not out of weakness rather, it was out of strength and the unity and progress of the country.’

The former president further disclosed that after the 1999 elections, he directed defeated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidates in the South-West to begin rebuilding support in the region and encouraged dialogue with prominent AD figures to bring the Yoruba into what he called Nigeria’s political mainstream.

Responding to Osoba’s comments on the political crisis involving former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’Abba, Obasanjo alleged that the impeachment plot against him was initiated by his then Vice President, whom he accused of secretly plotting to succeed him after only one presidential term.

‘He gave him N5 million to begin his impeachment work. I treated it with contempt as I had committed no impeachable offence.’

Obasanjo also dismissed claims that six AD governors could have dictated the direction of his administration, describing such a suggestion as unrealistic.

‘Six to dictate to thirty is ridiculous. I had an Executive Council, a National Assembly, a virile political party, 21 governors and nine other governors from another party.’

On the 2003 elections, the former president insisted that the defeat of most AD governors reflected the electorate’s choice rather than political manipulation.

He argued that, except for Lagos State, where he referenced allegations surrounding the alteration of election figures, the outcomes in the South-West were genuine.

Obasanjo reiterated his opposition to ethnic politics, saying he consistently rejected attempts to reduce his presidency to a regional project.

‘I screamed and said Nigerian President must not be trivialised by tribalising it.’

Despite the sharp rebuttal, Obasanjo ended the letter on a conciliatory note, thanking Osoba for allocating the land on which the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) was built in Abeokuta.

‘The greatest service you rendered for me and for Abeokuta is the land allocated for Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library. It has become the most significant landmark in Abeokuta.’

The letter is Obasanjo’s first formal response to Osoba’s public account of the political events leading to the 2003 elections and offers his version of the relationships, negotiations and decisions that shaped one of Nigeria’s most consequential political periods.

Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abba Yusuf, has inaugurated a Multi-Agency Task Force on Drug Abuse and signed an Executive Order aimed at tackling thuggery and related crimes in the state.

This is contained in a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, on Wednesday in Kano.

Yusuf described drug abuse as a major threat to the future of Kano’s youth, linking it to violent crime, family breakdown, economic hardship and social instability.

He said the task force would coordinate the state’s response through intelligence gathering, law enforcement, public awareness, rehabilitation and collaboration with security agencies and other stakeholders.

The governor pledged government support, including funding, operational vehicles, office accommodation, logistics and security backing, to enable the task force to discharge its mandate effectively.

He also assured the task force of operational independence, stressing that the fight against drug abuse requires a coordinated and sustained approach.

Yusuf said his administration would continue expanding rehabilitation services for victims of drug abuse, noting that separate centres had been established for male and female patients.

Speaking on the Executive Order against thuggery, the governor said it would provide a stronger legal framework to dismantle criminal gangs, curb political violence and support security agencies in maintaining law and order.

The chairman of the task force, Mr Muhuyi Rimingado, thanked the governor for the confidence reposed in him and other members.

Rimingado pledged that the task force would discharge its responsibilities with integrity, professionalism and commitment.

He said the task force would collaborate with security agencies, traditional institutions, religious leaders, civil society organisations, educational institutions and community leaders to tackle drug abuse and promote peace.

The chairman described the initiative as evidence of the governor’s commitment to protecting the future of Kano’s youth and improving public safety.

He expressed optimism that the Executive Order and the task force’s activities would reduce drug-related crime and contribute to a safer and more peaceful Kano State. (NAN)

A viral video clip of Arise TV Morning show claiming that there were violent attacks and razing of some motor parks in Osogbo, Osun State for ‘two consecutive days’ has ended up being a fake news.

The newscaster claims in the video that violence, allegedly orchestrated by NURTW members loyal to the All Progressives Congress, raged in the motor parks throughout Monday and Tuesday, July 21 and 22 respectively. It also shows a fire scene which must have been deceitfully embedded in the video by whoever generated it to give an impression that fire was set on some of the parks.

Shocked by the wrong report, the Osun State Police Command invited journalists on Wednesday morning to visit all the motor parks so the public would be availed of the truth to avoid unnecessary tension among residents of the state.

The command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, led the press crew which included this reporter to the motor parks across Osogbo. Drivers, commuters and traders alike in and around the motor parks were seen going about their normal businesses. They also debunked the rumours that there were disturbances in the parks.

The fact-finding team’s first port of call was the Stadium Motor Parks. The park was calm without any sign of recent fracas. The vulcanizer at the park, Olawale Olagunju, and others spoken with said the garage has ever been peaceful.

Olagunju, who spoke in Yoruba Language, said: ‘Nobody burned down this park. I’m always here, nobody set any fire here. Either yesterday or any day, nobody burnt anywhere here. There wasn’t any fighting or crisis here. I’ve always been here. So, there’s no truth in the report.’

Another resident of the area whose shop is behind the garage said the park has always been peaceful and said there was no iota of truth in the report of violence.

The team moved from there to Ilesa Garage, Osogbo where the NURTW members and commuters were seen in joyous mood and the traders in the garage spoken to denied knowledge of any disturbance.

One of the traders who also spoke in Yoruba, Mrs Matthew, said: ‘There wasn’t even a smoke, let alone fire. There was nothing like that. Nobody fought here. No anywhere was burnt. If anywhere was burnt, you too would have seen the traces.’

From Ilesa Garage, the team moved to Aregbe Garage which was bubbling with activities. Traders in the garage also denied occurrence of any such incident. Madam Oluwatoyin simply said ‘This is Aregbe Garage, nothing happened here at all.’

The last garage visited by the team was the Old Garage at the center of Osogbo. The place was also calm and the Police Armored Personnel Carrier and patrol vehicles stationed there since the NURTW’s Monday protest in the area to maintain peace were seen on ground.

Adebayo Adeyinka who spoke with the journalists said: ‘There is no problem in this place. We are selling our market normally. Nobody has created any crisis here at all. No fire here o. You can see that everything is normal here. We are okay here at Old Garage, Oju Irin. It was only protest that took place here on Monday and police came to settle it immediately.’

At the end of the exercise, PPRO Ojelabi spoke with the journalists to assure residents of the state that there was no any iota of truth in the report by the television station. He urged all to go about their normal businesses and warned purveyors of fake news to desist from creating unnecessary tension.

Ojelabi, while speaking with the press, said: ‘This visit was necessitated by what we heard yesterday going round that some parks have been set on fire within the state. We’ve gone round the parks and we’ve seen that there is nothing of such. Presently we are at Old Garage, Oju-Irin. As you can see, nothing of such. There is no sign of fire anywhere, not to talk of setting anywhere ablaze. Everywhere is beautiful. The people are going about their lawful business.’

However, Ojelabi urged all transport workers in the state to remain peaceful and that they should always use appropriate channels to resolve any grievances when they occur.

‘My message to transport workers is that they should remain peaceful and if there are any grievances, they should go to the appropriate authorities to settle the differences. There are rules and regulations guiding parks management. So, they should follow the rules and let peace reign.

‘To those who are spreading falsehood and misleading information, they should be very careful. The Cybercrime Act is still very active and we are going to make use of it against those spreading falsehood,’ the PPRO warned.

MThe Allied People’s Movement (APM) has accused the Presidency of launching attacks against its presidential candidate, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, because of what it described as growing concern over his increasing popularity ahead of the 2027 general election.

The party said recent comments by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communications, Daniel Bwala, reflected what it called the Tinubu administration’s unease over Makinde’s emergence as a major contender for the presidency.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Abubakar Yusuf, the APM argued that the Federal Government had resorted to personal attacks because it lacked convincing achievements to present to Nigerians. The party maintained that Makinde would defeat President Bola Tinubu at the 2027 polls.

Bwala had, during an interview with journalists on Monday, dismissed both Makinde and the APM as insignificant players in the forthcoming presidential race.

Responding, the opposition party criticised the Presidency for what it described as a decline into political mudslinging rather than engaging issues affecting Nigerians.

‘It is rather pathetic that the Tinubu Presidency has fallen so low into ignominy that it now relies on internationally discredited and politically inconsistent characters like Daniel Bwala to speak for it on national TV; a situation that further confirms that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu no longer commands the support of credible Nigerians.

‘Since Daniel Bwala’s March 6, 2026, scandalous interview with Al Jazeera, Nigerians can always see through the antics of President Tinubu’s handlers. Daniel Bwala would soon eat his own words against Governor Makinde.

‘In any event, the 2027 presidential race would be between Governor Seyi Makinde, standing shoulder to shoulder with millions of Nigerians who are determined for a new beginning, and a failed President Tinubu, who only has the feeble support of a handful of sycophantic, corrupt, arrogant and morally depraved minions on his payroll.

‘The APM is, therefore, not surprised that the Tinubu Presidency is deflated and intimidated because it has no tangible scorecard of achievements to present to the public, given its abysmal failures, for which Nigerians across the board have reached a consensus to replace President Tinubu with Governor Makinde at the 2027 election, given Makinde’s outstanding performance as Governor of Oyo State.’

The party said it had no intention of engaging in an exchange of insults with the Presidency, insisting that its focus remained on presenting solutions to the country’s challenges.

It also argued that Makinde’s performance in Oyo State had strengthened his credentials for higher office.

‘Of course, President Tinubu should be jittery because Governor Makinde is coming into the contest with an intimidating record of performance, including transforming Oyo State into a foremost economically viable state, surpassing the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, according to data from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), a feat Nigerians want him to replicate at the national level.

‘The Tinubu Presidency is edgy because Nigerians are determined and eager to elect Governor Seyi Makinde as the next President of the country so that they can enjoy the benefits of his blueprint to revamp the economy, rejig our security architecture, rebuild collapsed infrastructure, revitalise the productive sectors, provide jobs, end corruption and bring a new lease of life to the people.

‘Of course, why won’t the Tinubu Presidency be jittery when Governor Makinde is coming with the full support of over 50 million young Nigerians whose destinies are being caged by the Tinubu administration and who are now rallying with our presidential candidate as the face of the new Nigeria they eagerly seek and for which they are ready to vote in 2027 and defend their votes to the very end?

‘To suggest that a presidential candidate with such an army of support is ‘inconsequential’ says more about the anxiety within the corridors of power than it does about the candidate.

‘In fact, before noon on election day, the Presidency will know who actually is inconsequential in this race.’

National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress, Rauf Aregbesola, has claimed that he governed Osun State for eight years without owning a personal house.

Aregbesola made the claim while addressing his supporters in a video that circulated online on Thursday.

The former governor said he lived in a friend’s house throughout his two terms in office.

‘I’m the first governor in Nigeria to govern a state for eight years without owning a house of my own,’ he said.

‘I stayed in my friend’s house for eight years as governor in my fatherland. Whoever says what I’m saying is not true should come out and show me the house I own.’

Aregbesola governed Osun State from 2010 to 2018 before serving as Minister of Interior under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Osun State Commissioner For Political Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations, Dr Anthony Olabiyi Odunlade has narrated how he met former Governor Rauf Aregbesola and served as commissioner in his cabinet.

Odunlade, an academic, former councilor, former Secretary to Ife Central Local Government and two times commissioner in Osun, has traversed many political parties.

He was in the Alliance for Democracy (AD) before moving to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from where he went to join Engr. Rauf Aregbesola in the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and served in Rauf’s administration, first as Special Adviser on Youths and Sports and later became the Commissioner for Social Protection, Sports and Special Needs in 2017.

The Ile-Ife born politician went back to the PDP to join the administration of Governor Ademola Adeleke as commissioner in 2022 before moving with the governor into Accord Party on November 6, 2025.

The Commissioner was a guest at the Osun NUJ Guest Platform, NUJ Press Centre, Osogbo on Wednesday to field questions on the performance of the Adeleke Administration in the last three and a half years.

The ebullient politician was asked by a member of the panel interviewing him on the platform the reason he has been taking flights from parties. He narrated his journey as follows:

‘I grew up as a Human Rights activist and as an academic. I belief in vision, in ideology. I started up as a member of the SDP during the Abiola days. We moved on in a lot of transitions and landed at UNCP, one of Abacha’s parties and left after Abacha’s death. We moved on to the Alliance for Democracy, AD which metamorphosed into AC, ACN. After the ACN experience, we had issues with the leadership of the state then where some anti-lablour policies came on board during campaign, embarking on undemocratic engagements, I had to leave for PDP.

‘Then, I went with Otunba Iyiola Omisore from ACN to PDP when there was misunderstanding. In PDP, I was very prominent. I became secretary to the Local Government for two years 2008 to 2010. Along the line, the PDP also derailed. It became anti-people in some ways. Then came in Ogbeni Aregbesola whom I met on the street. We were in the struggle for emancipation of Nigerians together, then he was a student at the Polytechnic Ibadan and I was a student at Obafemi Awolowo University. So, our paths crossed at the revolutionary level. We met and we discussed and he said ‘Comrade, you have to join us’, and I told him to convince me on why I should join him. He said, ‘I have a very bright vision for Osun State’ and I saw the green book, I went through it and I promised I would join him because I believe in providing and making available the dividend of democracy to the people which is the hallmark of politics and democracy.

‘In a democratic system that does not cater for the common people, I would not want to associate with it. And we went on like that. At the end of Aregbesola’s eight years, we all decided that we were going to continue along that line. All of a sudden, a governor came in and told us that anybody still having anything to do with Aregbesola should not get close to him. I challenged that. He said ‘this is your name on the list of cabinet, you have to sign a paper’. I am not lying about this. If you want me to cite witnesses, you will be surprised. I said how can I sign that I will not have anything to do with Aregbesola, a fellow comrade?

‘I was convinced that didn’t have anything against him (Aregbesola), I should not leave him. So, I told him I would not sign that document and precisely that document was presented by a member of the House of Representatives then from Ilesa who wanted to contest for Senate. So, the rest is history.

‘I moved on and went back to academics at the Obafemi Awolowo University. I told them that I’m back, I don’t think I can do politics again. It was along that line that I was convinced that I should not leave politics outright because they needed forthright people. Then, I moved back to the PDP with Adeleke and that’s how we got together.

‘You know the Adeleke’s story. How he transmitted from PDP to Accord when PDP became compromised at the federal level. So, that’s how I found my way to Adeleke. I never worked with him. They were just looking for brilliant people to support their government and they contacted my boss and I was asked to send my CV. I never met the governor, I never met any of his relations. They just asked me to send my CV and I became a member of the cabinet.’

He spoke of the Adeleke administration’s achievements, saying the administration has accomplished a lot in the areas of road infrastructure, health and human capital development. He took a swipe on the Federal Government over the pervasive insecurity in the country and asked President Bola Tinubu to rise to the occasion.

Former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has ruled out contesting for the presidency of Nigeria, declaring that he is satisfied with his achievements in public service.

Fashola gave the blunt response during an interview with TVC News on Wednesday.

Asked whether he would contest for president, the former Minister of Works replied: ‘No.’

When pressed further about his possible interest in leading Nigeria, Fashola smiled and said: ‘President of what? I’m president at home.’

Reflecting on more than two decades in government, Fashola described his public service career as an extraordinary privilege.

‘My journey has been an unimaginable privilege, and I hope that it, in some way, inspires another generation about the possibilities of this country,’ he said.

He noted that Nigeria had produced numerous stories of people rising from humble backgrounds to positions of influence.

Fashola also said he would not attempt to influence how history remembers his tenure as Lagos governor or federal minister.

‘Let history write whatever history wants to write. It is not in my place,’ he said.

The former governor refused to revisit speculation surrounding his preferred successor ahead of the 2015 Lagos governorship election.

He declined to say whether he supported the current Lagos Deputy Governor and APC’s 2027 governorship candidate, Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, or former Lagos Attorney-General Olasupo Shasore.

Fashola confirmed that he remained a member of the Lagos State Governance Advisory Council but said former public officials must avoid interfering with the government.

‘There is a thin line between intervention and interference,’ he said.

Speaking on national issues, Fashola warned that persistent attacks on the judiciary could erode public confidence in the courts and weaken democratic institutions.

He also called for a vibrant opposition capable of challenging the government constructively and improving governance.

Fashola advocated greater national consensus on taxation, foreign policy and legislative oversight, urging professionals and young Nigerians to participate actively in shaping public policy.

On Lagos flooding, the former governor said the state’s coastal location made flooding inevitable but manageable.

He blamed indiscriminate waste disposal for worsening the problem and called for stronger cooperation between the government and residents.

Fashola also backed the creation of state police but cautioned that it would not provide an instant solution to Nigeria’s security challenges.

The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the activities of the Mining Marshals Corps, comprising more than 2,200 personnel drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Abdulmaleek Danga (APC-Kogi) during plenary on Wednesday.

Danga recalled that the Federal Ministries of Solid Minerals Development and Interior inaugurated the specialised security unit on March 21, 2024.

He said the unit was established under Section 3 of the NSCDC Act and the regulatory framework of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007.

According to him, the Mining Marshals were established to secure mining sites, combat illegal mining and banditry in mineral-rich communities, and protect federal revenue from the solid minerals sector.

However, the lawmaker alleged that the unit had deviated from its mandate, resulting in the wrongful arrest and harassment of legitimate mineral title holders.

He also alleged financial impropriety within the unit, including the reported discovery of more than N2 billion in the bank account of a former state commander.

Danga said the commander was redeployed instead of facing judicial inquiry, prosecution or internal disciplinary action, fuelling allegations that the unit had been compromised by wealthy illegal mining syndicates.

He also expressed concern over the procurement and allocation of operational vehicles without clear evidence of legislative appropriation or budgetary provision.

The House mandated its Committee on Solid Minerals Development to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the activities and performance of the Mining Marshals nationwide.

The committee is to investigate the N2 billion bank account allegation, other cases of alleged compromise, the source of funding for the operational vehicles, and all external financial inflows to the unit.

It is also to examine the statutory compliance of the unit’s creation, structure and composition, and recommend an internationally accepted and legally compliant security model.

Ruling on the motion, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu mandated the committee to submit its report within four weeks for further legislative action.