VeryDarkMan mocks NBA backlash, dresses as lawyer

Social media activist Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has hit back at critics of his appearance at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) conference with a satirical video showing him dressed as a lawyer, complete with a wig, gown and white neck tabs.

VeryDarkMan posted the roughly three-and-a-half-minute clip on Instagram on Friday, staging a mock courtroom scene in which he cast himself as a barrister addressing his detractors directly.

The performance follows the controversy over his participation in the NBA conference, themed ‘Be Your Limit,’ where several lawyers and other Nigerians questioned why a non-lawyer was invited to address legal professionals.

VeryDarkMan has insisted that his invitation was justified by his advocacy work and experience on insecurity, a defence he repeated in the new video.

‘If I may, my lords, since you people decided to ignore all the points I raised at the NBA, all the points I raised about the insecurity, the people benefiting, you people decided to distract yourself by judging me and saying I was not fit to be there because I’m not a lawyer,’ he said.

He went further, declaring, ‘I’ve been called to bar. So now, you are now my learned colleagues.’

Citing what he called ‘section 343 of the VDM constitution,’ VeryDarkMan added, ‘he who price must pay. And if you play, you go and learn.’

Turning to the criticism head-on, he said, ‘A large majority of Nigerians believe that I was not supposed to be present at this year’s NBA conference titled Be Your Limit. But my lord, I beg to differ because I am the most qualified, especially because of the topic that was addressed.’ He then jokingly rebranded the conference theme as ‘Non-gun man,’ a nod to his past commentary on insecurity and firearms.

Two other men appeared alongside him in the skit, introduced as his ‘learned friends,’ as the mock courtroom act continued.

In one exchange, VeryDarkMan pretended to reject a case brought by a man claiming to have been wrongly profiled.

‘My lord, I am here to say I will not be representing this madman in court because how can you be looking like this? And you come and meet a noble man like me to represent you,’ he said.

PCN seals 430 medicine outlets, says 50% operating illegally in Yobe

The Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 430 pharmaceutical premises in Yobe State following a four-day enforcement operation across 10 local government areas of the state.

The council said 300 of the sealed premises were unregistered and illegal outlets, while 110 were Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor (PPMV) stores and 20 were pharmacies.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday in Damaturu, the Head of Department, Enforcement, PCN, Suleiman Chiroma, said the enforcement team inspected 601 premises across Damaturu, Jakusko, Potiskum, Fika, Fune, Nguru, Nangere, Bade, Karasuwa and Machina local government areas.

He said the premises comprised 34 pharmacies, 267 patent medicine stores and 300 unregistered or illegal outlets.

‘Of the 601 premises inspected during the exercise, 50 per cent were found to be operating illegally,’ Chiroma said.

He added that 21 compliance directives were also issued to operators found to have breached regulatory requirements.

According to him, all 300 illegal premises identified during the exercise were sealed in accordance with the provisions of the law.

Chiroma said the high number of illegal outlets operating across the state underscored the need for the council to intensify its regulatory activities in Yobe.

He said illegal premises accounted for 70 per cent of all facilities sealed for one or more regulatory breaches.

‘Among licensed operators, only 41 per cent of the pharmacies inspected were in full compliance with regulatory standards, thus the need to enhance monitoring.

‘In comparison, 63 per cent of Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendor outlets were found to be compliant,’ he said.

The PCN enforcement chief said another major concern uncovered during the exercise was the low number of pharmacies in the state.

He said only 34, representing about six per cent of the 601 premises visited, were pharmacies.

‘This statistic reflects the low level of pharmaceutical care and services in the state, a situation that could undermine the goal of ensuring access to quality medicines for all citizens,’ he said.

Chiroma said the enforcement exercise was carried out pursuant to a directive by the Registrar of the council, Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, to enforce relevant provisions of the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria Establishment Act 2022.

He said the exercise was aimed at ensuring the provision of and access to safe pharmaceutical services in line with the National Drug Policy.

According to him, the PCN is mandated to regulate the education, training and practice of pharmacy, register pharmacists and pharmaceutical premises, inspect facilities and enforce compliance with professional and ethical standards.

He said the council also ensures that facilities involved in the handling, storage, distribution, importation, manufacturing and dispensing of medicines and medical devices comply with extant laws and regulations.

Chiroma said the enforcement was also part of efforts to implement the National Drug Distribution Guidelines, whose objectives include reducing adulterated and falsified medicines in circulation, eliminating the dominance of unregulated drug markets and strengthening oversight of pharmaceutical distribution.

He said the breaches identified during the exercise included operating without valid PCN licences, poor storage conditions, unauthorised access to controlled medicines and the training of apprentices.

‘These practices, if not checked, pose a danger to public health and constitute risks to national security through the potential diversion of controlled medicines into criminal networks and unhealthy populations,’ he said.

He warned that dispensing medicines by unqualified persons and improper handling and storage of medicines could contribute to treatment failure, drug abuse and misuse, antimicrobial resistance and avoidable deaths.

‘These outcomes invariably increase the cost of care for patients and erode public confidence in the health system,’ Chiroma said.

He said the council would continue to subject all premises involved in the handling, storage and dispensing of medicines to rigorous and continuous regulatory oversight.

‘Any breach of extant regulations will attract prompt and decisive enforcement action by the council,’ he warned.

Chiroma urged members of the public to obtain medicines only from premises licensed by the PCN, stressing that valid licences must be prominently displayed at the facilities.

He said the council appreciated the cooperation of the people of Yobe State during the enforcement exercise and called for continued collaboration to ensure sustained access to safe, effective and quality-assured medicines.

He said the enforcement exercise was in line with the commitment of the Registrar, Pharm. Ibrahim Babashehu Ahmed, to support universal health coverage and the Federal Government’s health priorities through improved access to safe, potent, efficacious, quality-assured and affordable medicines and medical devices.

’Rights without responsibility fuel marital crisis in Muslim homes’

Muslim marriages will remain vulnerable to conflict and resentment when spouses focus more on what they are entitled to receive than on what Allah requires them to give, lawyer and arbitrator Barrister Siddeeqah Tunde-Lawal has said.

She spoke at the National Conference on Islamic Marital Reform held at the Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State.

Tunde-Lawal, who presented a paper titled ‘Reforming Muslim Marriages Through Rights, Responsibilities, and Mutual Compassion,’ said the crisis confronting many Muslim homes was not necessarily a failure of Islamic guidance but a failure to properly understand and implement it.

She urged Muslims to move beyond teaching spouses their rights without equally emphasising their responsibilities.

According to her, an imbalance between rights and responsibilities could turn marriage into ‘an arena of entitlement, resentment and competition rather than a partnership founded upon ma’ruf, mercy and mutual care.’

Tunde-Lawal also cautioned against misconceptions about women’s obligations, stressing that legitimate marital obedience should not be transformed into unlimited compliance.

‘A Muslim woman is not required to surrender legitimate dignity or participate in wrongdoing in the name of obedience,’ she said, adding that both husband and wife remain servants of Allah first and must regard marriage as an act of worship and obedience to Him.

She urged wives to respect legitimate marital rights, communicate respectfully, protect the trust placed in them and contribute positively to family life.

The conference, organised under the theme ‘Knowledge, Responsibility, Mercy and Justice in Building Healthy Homes,’ brought together Islamic scholars, legal practitioners, government officials, counsellors and married couples from across Nigeria.

As part of the conference’s preventive approach to marital instability, the Insight Institute, Mahdul Baseerah, in collaboration with the Shariah Arbitration Committee, Ogun State, launched an eight-week online Certificate in Islamic Marriage and Pre-Marriage Studies (CIMPS) programme.

The programme comprises 16 live sessions conducted twice weekly for 90 minutes and combines Islamic jurisprudence with psychological, counselling and financial perspectives.

It is targeted at singles preparing for marriage, engaged and newly married couples, marriage counsellors, imams, community leaders and divorcees preparing for remarriage.

Declaring the conference open, Alhaji Kamaldeen Akintunde, who represented the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Prof. Saka Adelola Matemilola, commended the Ogun State Government for sustaining the Shariah arbitration system as a mechanism for promoting peace and resolving disputes among Muslim families.

The monarch urged participants to move beyond discussions and implement the solutions presented, while assuring them that the Ogun Muslim Council would work with the League of Imams to promote the welfare of Muslim families across the state.

Delivering the keynote address, Dr Sulaimon Ogunmuyiwa, Director of Quality Assurance at the Lagos State Ministry of Education, said marital strength should not be measured by the absence of disagreement but by how couples handle and resolve conflicts.

Dr Afiz O. Musa, Director of Mahdul Baseerah and a member of the Shariah Arbitration Committee, presented findings from cases handled by the committee since its establishment in March 2018.

He said the voluntary and conciliatory body had handled more than 200 cases, with marital disputes accounting for the majority.

How Okpebholo’s SHINE agenda is addressing Edo’s 35-year reckoning (1)

IN 1991 General Ibrahim Babangida regime, carved Edo State out of the old Bendel state and that was beginning its peculiar journey – neither entirely in the southwest’s sophisticated political machinery, nor quite aligned with the midwestern traditions that once defined the region. Thirty-five years later, has it truly progressed? To understand the present, one must reckon with the past. Edo State’s first three decades were defined by cycles of promise and disappointment, ambition pursued and abandoned, leaders who arrived with grand visions only to leave behind incomplete legacies. The early years, through the 1990s and into the early 2000s, were shaped by what many observers describe as the state’s attempt to find an identity. Under successive administrations, Edo pursued an image centered on tourism – particularly Benin’s historical monuments and cultural heritage. The Benin National Museum, the Oba’s Palace, the city’s artistic traditions all received attention and investment. Yet tourism alone could not drive meaningful economic development. The state remained largely dependent on federal allocation, lacking the diversified revenue base that might have insulated it from national economic downturns. For decades, Edo was a place of cultural pride but limited economic opportunity.

The security situation, particularly in the Edo South senatorial district, became increasingly problematic. Kidnapping for ransom emerged as a recurring threat. Cultism, the trafficking of weapons and narcotics, and organized crime networks gradually entrenched themselves in certain communities. By the 2010s, these issues had metastasized into a significant governance challenge that successive administrations struggled to contain. The state was bleeding talent and capital – young people sought opportunities elsewhere, businesses invested cautiously if at all, and the psychological toll of insecurity rippled through ordinary communities. Infrastructure remained persistently inadequate. Roads that should have been rehabilitated decades earlier continued to deteriorate. Benin City itself, despite being Nigeria’s third-largest metropolitan area, lacked coherent urban planning. Drainage systems were absent or non-functional in many neighborhoods, leading to recurring flooding during the rainy season. The Ramat Park area, which should have been developed into a world-class leisure and commercial hub long before now, remained largely underdeveloped – a symbol of how Edo’s potential consistently exceeded its execution.

The healthcare sector exemplified this gap between possibility and reality. While Edo has the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and several other tertiary facilities, they operated under chronic underfunding, staff shortages, and inadequate equipment. Primary healthcare centers in rural areas were often staffed inadequately or not at all. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed these vulnerabilities in stark relief, revealing how years of deferred maintenance and insufficient investment had left the state’s health infrastructure fragile.

Education too reflected this pattern. Ambrose Alli University, established with considerable fanfare, struggled with inconsistent funding cycles. Teacher recruitment and training were perpetually irregular. While some secondary schools maintained respectable standards, the overall quality of education remained uneven, with rural areas particularly underserved. The state’s inability to retain educated talent – through competitive salaries, professional development, or career pathways – meant that Edo State was educating people for other regions’ benefit, not its own. Politically, these decades witnessed significant transitions. The state experienced the dominance of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) across much of the 2000s and 2010s, followed by a gradual shift toward the All Progressives Congress (APC). These electoral cycles brought different personalities to Osedebey Avenue, and each governor arrived with rhetoric about transformation and development. Some like Senator Adams Oshiomhole, delivered genuine improvements – particular administrations invested visibly in infrastructure, education, or healthcare. But momentum was often lost with electoral transitions. Projects initiated under his administration were abandoned by his successor. Strategic coherence was rare. Edo state governance read less like a long-term vision and more like a succession of four-year experiments.

The agricultural potential of Edo State remained substantially underdeveloped. Despite fertile soils and favorable climate conditions, agricultural production remained largely subsistence-based. There was no comprehensive strategy to transform farming into an engine of rural development, job creation, or export earnings. The natural resources endowment – the state’s forests, its position as a gateway to natural mineral deposits – similarly received sporadic attention but no sustained strategic investment. By 2024, as Governor Monday Okpebholo prepared to assume office, Edo State presented a mixed portrait. There were genuine achievements: a tourism infrastructure that attracted visitors, cultural institutions of some standing, educational facilities and healthcare infrastructure that, despite limitations, represented significant public investment. But there was also a pervasive sense that the state was underperforming relative to its potential. Security remained a substantial concern. Economic diversification had stalled. Youth unemployment was a visible and troubling reality. The state’s relationship with the federal government – particularly in accessing development projects and resources commensurate with its size and status – often felt like an afterthought in national planning.

What remained clear as Edo State marked three decades of independent existence was that the state possessed substantial assets: a large, educated population with entrepreneurial tradition; geographic advantages; cultural heritage; and institutional capacity. What it lacked was coherent, sustained strategic direction – and the willingness to invest over multiple electoral cycles in building systems rather than monuments, in creating economies rather than spectacles. This was the inheritance that would confront the incoming administration: a state with unfulfilled promise, persistent infrastructure deficits, security challenges that demanded urgent attention, and an educated populace hungry for genuine change. The question that emerged as 2024 began was whether this new chapter would represent a genuine break from past patterns, or another cycle of unfulfilled potential.

Ebojele, PhD in Public Administration, is the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State.

Fubara: neuropsychiatric, general hospitals’ll tackle healthcare challenges

Rivers State Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara yesterday inaugurated a newly upgraded Neuropsychiatric Hospital and a General Hospital in Rumuigbo, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, assuring that the facilities would address healthcare challenges in the state.

Fubara said the projects followed the poor state of the existing psychiatric facility and the growing challenge of substance abuse. He also inaugurated the rehabilitated runway at the Nigerian Air Force Base, Port Harcourt, commending President Bola Tinubu for strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture, and describing the rehabilitation as demonstrating the state government’s commitment to institutions protecting the country’s territorial integrity and critical national assets.

On the neuropsychiatric hospital, he said a visit to inspect a small drug rehabilitation centre being built by the Rivers State Hospitals Management Board from limited resources prompted his administration to rethink its approach to mental healthcare. ‘How could a state like this build less than 20 rooms rehabilitation centre because of the issues of abuse of substance? It was there that we said we need to rebuild, remodernise and upgrade the standard of this Neuropsychiatric Hospital,’ he said.

The hospital, conceived in 1970 and inaugurated in 1977 with about 50 beds, now includes a 100-bed rehabilitation centre offering an improved environment for treating mental health and substance-abuse-related conditions. Fubara said the project was significant because the premises had previously become a centre for drug trafficking, with illicit substances allegedly reaching patients and inmates, and that fencing and controlled access would help curb the practice.

Linking substance addiction to unemployment and psychological difficulties, he said rehabilitation was necessary to help affected persons return to productive lives. ‘Some of these things are not deliberate, circumstances led our people to it,’ he said.

He said the General Hospital was built alongside the psychiatric facility after it emerged that the area had only a Primary Health Centre, leaving residents dependent on the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital for higher-level care, and that the new facility would ease pressure on the state’s tertiary hospitals by handling cases that did not require referral.

Describing healthcare, education and housing as critical indicators of a functional society, Fubara said his administration was working to strengthen all three. He urged the Obio-Akpor Local Government Council and host community to protect the facilities from vandalism, charging the council chairman to inspect them regularly, and commended the Rivers State Hospitals Management Board and Ministry of Health for their roles.

The governor said he had invited the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), whose annual conference was holding in Rivers State, to perform the inauguration as a way of giving the event a permanent place in the state’s history.

Inaugurating the facilities, outgoing NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe commended the governor and called for an end to the stigma associated with mental health. He said government’s responsibility extended beyond physical security to ensuring access to quality healthcare, describing mental health as a neglected and stigmatised area. ‘Health, they say, is wealth… You have not only shown that you care about the security of Rivers State; you have gone further to show that you are interested in their health and particularly… mental health,’ he said.

Osigwe said the governor’s decision reflected a hands-on approach to governance and that improved infrastructure would reduce capital flight by keeping specialised care within the state. He urged residents not to view mental health challenges as shameful, and cautioned against using the premises for drug sales.

Law profession no longer noble, says VDM

Social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has criticised Nigeria’s legal profession, saying law can no longer be regarded as a noble profession in the country.

VeryDarkMan made the remarks while reacting to criticism over his invitation to the Nigerian Bar Association’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, where he participated in a panel discussion on insecurity and spoke about issues affecting Nigerians.

His appearance at the conference had generated reactions from some members of the legal profession, with some questioning the decision to invite the social media activist to the gathering.

However, reacting to the criticism in a video shared on his social media page on Friday, VeryDarkMan said his participation was aimed at providing a platform for Nigerians whose concerns, he claimed, were often not adequately heard.

He questioned why his presence at the conference had become a subject of controversy, particularly given that the event was attended by members of the legal profession.

‘Because a son of nobody was seen in your midst,’ he added.

VeryDarkMan subsequently turned his criticism to the legal profession, rejecting the description of law as a noble profession in Nigeria.

‘This bunch of clowns are telling me that law is a noble profession,’ he said.

He continued, ‘Well, lately, law has not been a noble profession. I’m sorry to say. I’m not even sorry to say. It is what it is.’

The activist argued that a significant number of lawyers were either not practising or faced difficulties securing employment, describing law as one of the professions with poor economic prospects in the country.

‘But even you, some of you who are not even practising. Mind you, law is one of the most broke professions we have in the country,’ he said.

‘Because we never talk about it. Law is one of the most broke professions. One of the poorest professions in this country is law.’

He also questioned the number of trained lawyers who have secured employment and how many are actively engaged in legal practice.

‘How many lawyers are there? How many lawyers have jobs? How many lawyers actually go to court? Ask yourself that,’ VeryDarkMan said.

He further questioned the growing number of law graduates entering the profession annually, arguing that the available opportunities did not appear to correspond with the number of people being trained.

‘And every year, they say they have people graduating from law school. Four thousand have graduated from law school, only to end up selling bedsheets,’ he added.

The comments came amid reactions to VeryDarkMan’s participation in the NBA conference, where he was invited to contribute to discussions on insecurity and broader challenges confronting Nigerians.

While his appearance drew criticism from some members of the legal profession, VeryDarkMan maintained that he used the opportunity to speak about the concerns of ordinary Nigerians.

Experts propose turning Kaduna’s oldest dump site into temporary shops

A monarch and environmental experts have appealed to the Kaduna State government to evaluate the waste at one of the state’s oldest dump sites, which they said is polluting the environment, and consider converting the location into temporary shops or other useful community facilities for revenue generation.

Head of Communication and Strategies at African Climate reporters and a lecturer at the African Institute of Waste Management and Environmental Studies, Comrade Ibrahima Yakubu, visited the Tudun-Ilu dump site with some environmental scientists to assess its condition and the potential environmental and health implications for residents living around the site.

The dump site, located near the Fire Brigade in Tudun Wada, Kaduna, is one of the oldest sites in the state.

The site has raised concerns over its impact on residents, particularly women and children in the surrounding community.

After the field visit, Ibrahima Yakubu and some of the scientists said there was a need for the authorities to properly evaluate the dump site and evacuate the accumulated waste to protect residents from dangerous smoke generated by the burning of refuse at the site.

He also proposed replacing the dump site with structures such as temporary shops for businesspeople or other useful facilities, instead of allowing plastic and other waste materials to continue accumulating and polluting the environment.

He said evacuating the dump site will help protect residents from dangerous smoke and toxic fumes generated by the burning and decomposition of waste.

The Nigerian Tribune learnt that some residents have raised concerns over smoke and health implications occasioned by the site.

The site is situated within a densely populated community, with thousands of residents living in the surrounding areas.

Residents of Tudun-Ilu have repeatedly called on the relevant authorities to relocate or properly manage the site, expressing concern over the smoke and unpleasant conditions affecting their daily lives.

Yakubu also called on residents to stop setting the dump site on fire, while advocating more awareness campaigns to educate the public on the harmful effects of open burning of waste.

Speaking during the visit, the community leader of Unguwan Tudun-Ilu, Mai Unguwa Mallam Husaini Yakubu, appealed to the relevant authorities to put an end to the continued dumping of waste at the site.

He said residents had been living with the consequences of the dump site for many years, including persistent smoke and what he described as respiratory-related health challenges in the community.

He said the site has increasingly become a dumping ground for animal waste and refuse generated from Kaduna Central Market, resulting in smoke that affects the surrounding communities.

The community leader suggested that the authorities should consider replacing the dump site with temporary shops or other useful community facilities as a way of ending the environmental challenges associated with the location.

He also appealed to humanitarian organisations, civil society groups and health experts to collaborate with the government and community leaders in finding a lasting solution to waste management in the area.

He further called for stronger collaboration among environmental experts, journalists, community leaders, civil society organisations and government agencies to ensure that waste management becomes a priority in Kaduna metropolis.

Nigerian Navy Inaugurates 3 Solar-Powered Boreholes for Gombe Community

The Nigerian Navy on Thursday inaugurated three solar-powered boreholes in three communities across Gombe local government area of Gombe State, as part of its efforts to strengthen civil-military relations.

The project was implemented under the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas Special Intervention Quick Impact Project, in honour of Rear Admiral Shehu Usman Gombe (Rtd).

Daily Trust reports that the project brings succour to residents of Gombe metropolis, who are facing acute shortage of water supply, due to the failure of the state Water Board to provide pipe-borne water to the residents.

In his speech, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas, represented by Director of Project Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation, Rear Admiral Mohammed Dahiru, said the project comprised three solar-powered boreholes, each with a 10,000-litre overhead water tank and perimeter fencing.

According to him, the project was part of the Nigerian Navy ‘s Civil-Military Cooperation initiative, demonstrating the Navy’s commitment to supporting communities beyond its traditional role of securing lives and property.

Rear Admiral Dahiru stated that the special quick impact project was launched in 2024 to strengthen the Nigerian Navy’s civil-military cooperation mandate, describing the three projects as another milestone in the Navy’s civil-military cooperation efforts.

Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, represented by the Commissioner of Special Duties, Shehu Yarima Abdullahi, commended the Nigerian Navy and the facilitator of the project, Rear Admiral Shehu Usman Gombe (rtd), for brining the project to the state.

Represented by the commissioner for special duties and regional integration, Alhaji Shehu sh Yarima-Abdullahi, the governor said the government was always ready to partner with initiatives that promote meaningful development.

He called on residents of the community to take ownership of the facilities by ensuring their proper utilisation.

On his part, facilitator of the project, Rear Admiral Shehu Gombe, said the initiative was his modest way of giving back to his community.

He said two additional similar projects would be provided in another area of Gomeb LGA in the near future.

Minister mourns NPC chairman Yusuf Wushishi

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has expressed shock and sadness over the death of the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Dr Aminu Yusuf Wushishi, the Talban Wushishi.

Dr. Wushishi was appointed into office about eight months ago.

Idris, in a statement by his media aide, Rabiu Ibrahim said: ‘I received with deep sadness the heartbreaking news of the passing of Dr Aminu Yusuf Wushishi. His death is a painful loss to the National Population Commission, the public service and the entire nation.’

Idris described the late NPC Chairman as a close associate and a committed public servant whose dedication to national development was evident in his brief tenure at the Commission.

He said Dr Wushishi had set out with a clear vision to deliver a credible, technology-driven Population and Housing Census that would provide reliable data for national planning. This was also central to his agenda upon assuming office.

‘His plans and commitment to delivering a credible and technology-driven census showed his deep sense of responsibility and his determination to leave a lasting contribution to Nigeria’s development,’ Idris said.

Idris commiserated with the Government and people of Niger State, and the entire people of Wushishi, where the deceased held the revered traditional title of Talban Wushishi.

The Minister also extended his condolences to the family, colleagues, friends and staff of the NPC, praying that Allah would grant them the strength to bear the loss.

He prayed that Allah forgive the deceased’s shortcomings, grant him Aljannatul Firdaus and comfort all those mourning his passing.

Security operatives kill bandits, recover cattle in Sokoto

Security forces in Sokoto State have neutralised an unspecified number of suspected bandits and recovered cattle during an ambush operation in Rabah Local Government Area of the state.

The operation was carried out at about 5am on Friday by a combined team comprising military personnel from FOB Sokoto, the Anti-Kidnapping Squad, Vigilance Community Rescue Unit (VCRU), personnel of the Nigeria Police Force from Rabah Division, Police Mobile Force (PMF), and the Counter-Terrorism/Criminal Investigation personnel.

According to security sources, the operatives laid an ambush for the suspected bandits at Gadan Maikujera in Rabah LGA after the criminals reportedly rustled cattle from parts of Dange Shuni and Tureta local government areas.

During the encounter, an unspecified number of the suspected bandits were neutralised, while some firearms and cattle were recovered by the security forces.

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The sources said efforts were ongoing to trace and apprehend other suspects believed to have escaped from the scene.

The latest operation is part of ongoing security efforts by the authorities to curb banditry, cattle rustling and other criminal activities across communities in Sokoto State.