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The Noella Foundation, with the support of friends and well-wishers, has announced a set of country-wide initiatives in celebration of its co-founder, Mr. Seyi Tinubu.

In a statement issued on Sunday night, the Foundation said the initiatives were designed to create lasting social impact across health, entrepreneurship and education.

The activities include health insurance coverage for 1,000 beneficiaries, donation of essential medication to sickle cell patients (through partnerships with two NGOs namely Crimson Bow and Genotype Foundation) and distribution of 200 laptops to public schools reflect the Foundation’s

commitment to driving sustainable change through goodwill and collective service.

Speaking ahead of the rollout, a representative of the Noella Foundation described the upcoming projects as ‘a celebration of purpose that extends beyond personal milestones into meaningful impact.’

‘Marking Seyi Tinubu’s 40th birthday through initiatives that empower communities and support vulnerable groups reflects the values he embodies; empathy, service, shared responsibility and collective responsibility,’ the spokesperson noted.

‘This celebration is powered by friends and well-wishers who have come together under the Noella Foundation to make a difference when and where it matters most.

‘The healthcare initiative will provide free medical insurance for 1,000 Nigerians, prioritizing pregnant women and individuals living with sickle cell disorder. In addition, the Foundation will distribute essential medication to sickle cell patients through two established non-governmental organisations,

ensuring the aid reaches those in need efficiently and transparently.

‘In the area of education, the Foundation will distribute 200 state-of-the-art laptops to public junior and senior secondary schools. The initiative aims to enhance digital literacy, improve learning outcomes, and prepare students for participation in a rapidly evolving global economy.

‘Also included in the education pillar is the capacity building digital training programme for 40 young Nigerians in specialized areas like Software Engineering, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing and Product Design preparing them for the modern job market.

‘The Foundation will also empower small business owners through the donation of 40 SME Empowerment Kiosks across different regions. This initiative is designed to promote entrepreneurship, stimulate local economies and support self-reliance among young Nigerians.

‘Through these acts of service, the Foundation reinforces its long-standing focus on empowering youth, supporting vulnerable populations, and fostering equitable access to education and healthcare.

‘This milestone is a reminder that leadership is best measured by the lives we touch,’ the Foundation added.

Local engagement, though his main root, Deputy Senate President and First Deputy Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament, Distinguished Senator Barau I. Jibrin is not largely preoccupied with local politics. He pushes that to local politicians. Majority of whom cannot see beyond their local constituencies.

No one denies that such people are assets and resourceful to political cohesion and genuine engagement. In the case of the Distinguished Senator, he understands local structures, joins hands with state engineers, either overtly or covertly, links up to national stakeholders and becomes visible at regional and global spaces.

DSP’s visibility at higher regional and global arena, became more glaring when he was elected as the 1st Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament during the inauguration of the 6th Legislature in Abuja, Nigeria.

On October 7th, 2025 he also emerged as the acting Speaker of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament. Of which he eventually emerged as the First Deputy Speaker, after member states came to appreciate his undisputed performance, intellectual prowess and enduring political maturity.

His experience with the local rating, he, without any ranting, initiated genuine commitment, as he places man at the centre of development. Hence his unmatched and unwavering intervention in the education sector. Starting from his primary constituency, Kano North Senatorial District, hundreds upon hundreds of young and enterprising individuals, started benefiting from his Scholarship Scheme, under Barau I. Jibrin Foundation (BIJF).

The Foundation is principally established to support academic excellence and provide educational opportunities to deserving Kano state indigenes. At graduate and post graduate levels. Not to talk of his interventions at the basic education levels. In both primary and secondary schools in his constituency.

Apart from institutional advancement in the field of education, where he influenced many things from the federal government to his constituency, DSP has infused other benefits to other parts of the state. He does not limit himself to his primary Kano North constituency. He believes the development of other Senatorial Districts is also his responsibility.

So even if the Senator confines himself to his constituency, his ever existing energy in governance touches all other demographic settings of the state. The catapulting nature of his political maturity and engaging magnanimity are felt across the state. Therefore, he dances not with local politics. He is neither a local politician, nor a local champion.

As a Deputy Senate President, he has already been identified with national political development. The Nigeria’s political history, is therefore writing so much about him. Apart from initiating Bills that promote the presence of the federal government and his visibility across other states, Senator Barau becomes one of the major pillars of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the country.

His name, without being exaggerative, rings bell across the 36 states and Abuja. Don’t weigh him with your personal scale of preference. Try and understand the position he is holding, Deputy Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The biggest economy in Africa, the biggest black nation on earth and a nation of serious and talented Africans.

Yes he could be sighted at the African sub-regional stage, before now, but he is now an enhanced Pan Africanist whose steps were stretched and strengthened with his beginning with the Opening Ceremony of the 2025 First Extraordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament, that was held in Lagos.

As a resourceful foreign policy Parliamentarian, he showcased President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to West African stability and economic integration. Engaging other West African leaders and critical stakeholders, to come to term with President Tinubu’s foreign policy thrust of a united Africa.

In his journey to global visibility and relevance, he proved his mettle with wisdom and brilliance, when he participated in the 18th Conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC-PUIC) Member States. Which was held in

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. His outspoken positions at the Conference earned him more respect than ever expected.

Distinguished Senator Barau recently participated in the 68th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference (CPC), held in Barbados. His participation underscores his commitment to regional and international cooperation.

So limiting the capacity of this gentleman to local politics, is more or less like an awkward understanding of his position, national relevance, regional visibility and global inclusion. To me, only those that have penchant for olden days politics, think along this line. Beclouding rightful thinking with artificial political emergencies, leads to a state of limbo. Serious minded and organized people should take note.

Any right thinking individual can understand that DSP Barau identifies with his local constituency, Kano North, believes in trickling down democratic dividends to the entire state, maintains his patriotic role to all parts of Nigeria, engages with like minds to develop our continent and partners with global spaces to aid cooperation and sustainable human development.

Started locally, graduated nationally, extended regionally and promoted globally.

Anwar writes from Kano

Sunday, 12th October, 2025

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have arrived safely in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, after a flight disruption forced their aircraft to make an emergency return to Luanda, Angola.

Daily Trust had reported how the ValueJet aircraft conveying the team developed a cracked windscreen shortly after takeoff from a refuelling stop in Angola.

According to the NFF, the team was en route to Nigeria on Saturday following their 2-1 victory over Lesotho in Polokwane, South Africa, when the incident happened.

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The flight was forced to return to the Luanda airport for safety checks, leaving players and officials stranded for several hours while arrangements were made for another aircraft.

After securing flight clearance, the Super Eagles departed Angola and landed at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, on Sunday morning.

The Nigerian side is expected to resume training immediately ahead of their decisive 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against the Squirrels of Benin Republic on Tuesday at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

Nigeria currently sit third in Group C with 14 points, behind Benin Republic and South Africa.

The Eagles must win their final fixture and hope South Africa drop points against Rwanda to secure automatic qualification for the World Cup.

The Presidency has denied the rumour that there is a plot to replace Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who is indisposed.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, confirmed the development to Daily Trust on Sunday night.

The confirmation followed speculations that the minister was seriously ill and had been flown abroad.

But reacting to enquiries from Daily Trust, Mr Onanuga said, ‘He is indisposed, I have already said he is indisposed.

‘Mr Wale Edun, as we said in that statement, is indisposed. That is the situation; all these speculations that the President wants to appoint someone else is not true. He is indisposed and he is recovering,’ Onanuga said.

Earlier, the Presidency had issued a statement that Mr Olayemi Cardoso, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, will lead Nigeria’s delegation to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meeting in Washington DC, which opens on Monday, October 13.

Onanuga in the statement had said ‘Cardoso, as the alternate Governor, replaces the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who is indisposed.’

According to the Presidency the Nigerian team will also comprise the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anete.

American Senator Ted Cruz is the joker of the century.

He says he wants to save Nigerian Christians from what he has described as ‘Christian genocide’ whilst three others, namely Congressman Riley Moore, Congressman Chris Smith and American Secretary of State Senator Marc Rubio, are his happy cheerleaders.

An Israel-loving, genocide-enabling, Muslim-hating, Zionist-pampering and Gaza-slaughtering Yankee hill-billy who supports a cruel, leperous, lawless, racist, extremist, bigoted, arrogant, vile, land-grabbing, child-killing, rogue, pariah and deluded apartheid state with an all-conquering colonial mentality and who has nothing but contempt for Arabs, Asians and Africans, whether Christian or Muslim, is telling us that he will help to solve our problems and save the Christian population in Nigeria?

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He alleges Christian genocide in a country where the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Navy Staff, the Chief of Defence Intelligence, the Inspector General of Police, the Director General of the DSS, the Chairman of the EFCC, the Comptroller General of Immigration and so many more heads of our security and intelligence agencies are headed by Christians?

He alleges Christian genocide in a country whose President has a wife that is not only a Christian but also a Pastor?

He alleges Christian genocide in a country where every single Governor from the South and a good number of Governors from the North Central zone are Christian?

He alleges Christian genocide in a country where the Senate President, the Secretary to the Federal Government and the National Chairman of the ruling party are Christians?

He alleges Christian genocide in a country whose Federal Government on assumption of office two years ago removed the great injustice that existed for the previous 8 years in which every single head of our 17 security and intelligence agencies and every single operational head of our Armed Forces was a Northern Muslim?

He alleges Christian genocide in a country where the Federal Government, despite the fact that it has a Muslim President and a Muslim Vice President, has given 62% of all political appointments at the federal level to Christians whilst giving the Muslims 38%.

He alleges Christian genocide in a country where the Federal Government has done more to protect, further the interests and allay the fears and concerns of the Christian population in the North than any other in recent memory?

He alleges Christian genocide in a country where the Vice President went to the United Nations General Assembly, together with the Foreign Minister, and boldly condemned the holocaust of our time and unconciable genocide of the innocent and defenceless Christians and Muslims of Gaza by a psycopathic, cruel, genocidal and mass-murdering Jewish supremacist state which Senator Cruze and his crusaders are so enamoured with and insisted on an immediate cessation of the ethnic and religious cleansing and the unconditional establishment of peace, equity, humanity and a two-state solution?

He alleges Christian genocide in a country in which the Governor of Kaduna state, in North Western Nigera, has in just two years restored peace, harmony and love between the Christian and Muslim communities, built trust between the two more than any other Governor in recent history and has brought an end to the greatest carnage and persecution that Christians have ever faced in any state in our country which occurred under the watch of his predecessor in office for the previous eight years?

He alleges Christian genocide in predominately Muslim Northern states like Borno, Yobe, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kogi, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Niger, Nassarawa, Kebbi and Bauchi whose Muslim populations have sufferered far more in terms of casualties at the hands of the terrorists than the Christians?

He alleges Christian genocide in predominantly Muslim states like Kaduna, Borno, Kwara and Yobe where the Governors have not only gone out of their way to allay the fears and address the challenges and concerns of Christians with compassion, sensitivity and understanding but have also gone out of their way to bring peace and harmony between members of the two faiths, protect Christian communities and allow for the establisment, re-establishment, building and rebuilding of more Churches than at any time in their history?

Senator Ted Cruz and his Yankee crusaders will not know all this and neither do they care to find out because they are driven by a pathological hatred for Muslims, believe that all Muslims are terrorists and cannot conceive or abide a situation where Muslims and Christians can, generally speaking, abide in peaceful co-existence and skillfully manage their challenges and differences.

To Cruz the only good Muslim is one that is dead or does what he is told by the Americans and the only good Christian is one that goes running to Washington with his tale between his legs, asking for handouts and telling tall tales about how wicked and intolerant all Muslims in Nigeria supposedly are and how primitive and backward our country is meant to be.

That is the false narrative they applaud and wish to hear and these are the perfidious tales and infantile fables that bring joy to their hearts and that feed and justify their arrogance, condescending attitude, contempt and irrational hatred for and towards us.

It also provides them with a reason and plausible excuse to destabilise our nation in an insidious and desperate attempt to pillage our mineral resources, including our rare earth, our gems, our oil and our gold through their local surrogates and agents and eventually come in themselves to pick up whatever is left of us after we have torn ourselves to pieces.

They did it in Libya, Iraq, Somalia, Lebanon, Congo, Syria and elsewhere and now it appears that their evil eye has been focused on us.

More can be read about this in my widely published article titled ‘The Fiction of Christian Genocide and the Conspiracy Against Nigeria’ which I released one week ago.

When one considers all the facts that I have listed above it is clear that under such circumstances the charge of ‘Christian genocide’ and that Nigeria is ‘the most dangerous place in the world for Christians to live’ seems hardly sustainable. As a matter of fact it sounds utterly absurd.

Who in our Armed Forces and security and intelligence agencies pulls the trigger on the Christians and who gives the orders for them to be singled out for genocide whilst the Muslims are left unscathed and untouched?

Is it the Christians that head most of those institutions that are doing so? I doubt it and neither has it happened.

Ironically, to my recollection, it was only on one occasion that the Nigerian Armed Forces specifically targetted and killed over 1000 Nigerians in one day simply because they blocked a road and on account of their faith and the victims were not Christians but rather Shia Muslims and members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN).

This terrible incident occurred in Zaria, Kaduna state in December 2015, eight years before the inception of the Tinubu administration and under the watch of the previous Chief of Army Staff General Tukur Burutai.

In truth if any religious group in our country has the right and legitimate reason to complain to the world that they have been singled out for elimination by the state in the last twenty years, it is the Shia Muslims who have suffered mass murder in the hands of both Muslim and Christian leaders.

This begs the following question: have Christians been targetted and massacred in Nigeria over the years and the answer is ‘yes’ and a chilling and horrendous example is the massacre of Christians in four local Government areas in Southern Kaduna on December 25th 2016 in which no less than 808 Christians were targetted and killed in one day!

The difference here though is that firstly those massacres were perpetuated by non-state actors and savage ethnic militias and certainly not by our security agencies and secondly the same group of savages have consistently committed similar atrocities against Muslim communities too.

Both Muslims and Christians are still being massacred by those same non-state actors and savage ethnic militias today and our Armed Forces are engaging them in the field of battle and killing them in greater numbers than ever before.

Their attacks are not against Christians alone but against the Nigerian state and against men, women and children of all faiths.

That is the point that is lost on our Yankee crusaders and their supporters in Nigeria.

Thousands of Muslim scholars, teachers, Sheiks and Mallams were murdered in cold blood by these same terrorists simply for opposing and preaching against their beastly behaviour and barbarity.

Two examples are that of Sheik Jafar Mahmoud Adam from Kano and Sheik Albani Zaria from Kaduna who were two of the most respected Islamic scholars of their time.

They were both murdered in cold blood, one whilst praying in the mosque and the other whilst in his car on the way home.

Those that escaped with their lives were few but my good friend Sheik (Professor) Isa Pantami from Gombe, the former Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, was one of them.

His ‘crime’ was to have roundly defeated Mohammed Yusuf, the founder of Boko Haram, in a six hour public debate on western education and the place of violence in Islam where he argued that it was unIslamic to kill innocent people and to reject western education.

After Mohammed Yusuf was himself killed by security forces whilst in detention and Abubakar Shekau took over as the new leader of Boko Haram the first thing the latter did was to publicly announce that Pantami must be killed but thankfully, despite the fact that they tried to eliminate him no less than three times, he did not achieve his objective and the Sheik not only remains alive and well today but he has gone from strength to strength in his preaching, his academic achievements and his political career.

It was the same Sheik Isa Pantami that saved the lives of a number of Christians that had been attacked by a violent mob of criminals and terrorists a few years later in Bauchi.

To those that say Muslims are not targetted by Christians as well I challenge them to find out what happened in a mosque in Jos, Plateau state in 2012 when a mob of depraved so-called ‘Christian’ youths not only attacked and killed the Muslims as they prayed and burnt down their mosque but also cut them to pieces and proceeded to cook and eat them! The videos can be found on YouTube till today.

I can also cite the example of a well-respected Muslim Senator from one of the North Eastern states who is the Chairman of a powerful committee in the Nigerian Senate today whose father was killed a number of years ago by a wild and blood-lusting so-called ‘Christian’ mob before his very eyes a number of years ago.

It was in the same way that a Christian from Benue state by the name Gideon Akaluka was dragged out of a police cell and butchered by a wild, fanatical and crazed so-called ‘Muslim’ mob in Kano 1996.

A similar atrocity occurred in Sokoto state in 2022 when a young lady called Deborah Samuel Yakubu was literally torn from limb to limb and then burnt alive by a group of utterly deranged and lawless so-called ‘Muslims’.

There was also the case of Bridget Agbahime, a Pastors wife, who was killed by another crazed supposedly ‘Muslim’ mob in Kano in 2016.

These killings and sectarian mob actions are a great tragedy, as is the the case with the loss of any life, but that does not mean that Muslims or Christians are being subjected to genocide in Nigeria but rather that ALL Nigerians are being subjected to mass murder by demon-possessed, psychotic, cold-blooded killers and wild mobs that do not represent any faith, any cause or anything other than that which is evil.

There are many other examples of Christians being attacked and killed by so-called ‘Muslims’ and Muslims being attacked and killed by so-called ‘Christians’ and the cycle just goes on.

Criminals and drug-crazed, bloodthirsty mobs use these religious labels just to effect their evil purpose and none of them can legitimately describe themselves as members of a faith neither of which endorses or supports the genocide, ethnic cleansing and mass murder of innocents.

This is not Christian genocide, it is not Muslim genocide but rather it is genocide against all our people by depraved mobs of mindless killers from both sides of the religious divide and we as a people must resist them and dispatch them all to hell.

I am glad that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has rightly put a lie to the absurd and dangerous notion that what we are witnessing in our country is exclusively a ‘Christian genocide’ and have finally laid the matter to rest.

In an additional statement signed by Bishop Okah, the President of CAN, they affirmed the fact that Christians were being targetted by non-state actors, acknowledged the fact that the Federal Government is doing its best to address the issue after many years of neglect and they urged the security agencies to do even more than they have already done to put an end to the scourge.

There is nowhere in Bishop Okah’s statement where he alleged that the Federal Government or its security forces are subjecting Christians to genocide and neither did he allege or even insinuate that the horror that has been unleashed on our land by the barbarians affected only Christian communities.

There is also the aspect of a deadly and equally barbaric insurgency group and ethnic militia based in the South East called ESN which has been targetting and killing innocent Christians and Muslims from all over the country.

The members of this militia, just like Boko Haram, Ansaru and ISWAP who falsely claim to represent Islam, claim to represent Christianity and ethnic liberation but in actual fact they do not: they represent only Satan, his fallen angels and the Angel of Death.

Given the fact that this militant cult of murderous vampires has targetted and killed as many Nigerian Christians as any other and are indeed interested in the total dismemberment of the Nigerian state, it is interesting that Senator Cruz and his crusaders did not express any concern about their activities and have instead insisted on focusing on only what is going on in the North.

Could this be because he, his AIPAC sponsors and his Zionist and Israeli friends are the ones bankrolling and encouraging them?

Is that why the de facto leader of the political wing of their militia covertly met with select members of the American Republican caucus in Washington recently where and when they discussed events in Nigeria, the upcoming 2027 presidential election and finally came up with the battle cry of ‘Christian genocide’ as a way of rallying Christians in and outside of the country, discrediting and destabilising our Government and dividing our nation as a first step towards effecting regime change on or before the 2027 election?

These are questions that need to be answered by Senator Cruz and his cheerleaders.

The truth is we do not need a misguided and mischievous white-skinned religious zealot and deluded fake Messiah from Texas to save us.

In the name of God the Great, the Ancient of Days and the Lord of Hosts we shall save and deliver ourselves from the murderous psycopaths and homicidal barbarians that are butchering our people and that have afflicted our land and we shall protect both the Christians and Muslims in our country that are being slaughtered on a daily basis by the Janjaweed hordes from Mordor and the western-backed terrorists of ISWAP Ansaru and Boko Haram.

Whether Christian or Muslim, we are first and foremost Nigerians and there is no division between us on religious lines.

Our common enemy are the terrorists and those that covertly empower, aid and support them from outside our shores and not one another and we shall fight them as one!

Senator Ted Cruz and his colleagues and compatriots including Rep. Chris Smith, who has called on President Donald Trump to ‘arm Christian communities in Nigeria and to bomb Muslim ones’, Rep. Riley Moore who has alleged that Nigeria is the ‘deadliest place on earth for Christians’ and urged Trump to designate our nation as ‘a country of particular concern’, Senator Marco Rubio, who has been supporting all three in their nefarious endeavours and who has backed Moore strongly in his quest to ensure that our country is formally designated as one of concern and all the other members of the mischievous, misguided and misinformed cabal of Yankee crusaders and congress of fools, stand warned!

Your jaundiced and delusional perspective, which is rooted in a crass and vulgar display of ignorance and arrogance, defies logical and rational reasoning when it comes to the affairs of our nation and it must come to an end.

You are biting off more than you can chew and the consequences of your bullish and irresponsible behaviour and your mendacious categorisations and characterisations, if unchecked, will ultimately affect American vital and strategic interests not just in Nigeria but in the entire West African sub-region which remains our backyard and firmly under the sphere of our influence.

Stop misrepresenting our situation, leave our country alone and stop trying to provoke chaos and ignite a religious war.

You cannot love us more than we love ourselves! You are part of the problem and not the solution!

It is true that Christians are being killed in large numbers in Nigeria but it is NOT true to say that Muslims are not being killed in equal numbers.

There are over 110 million Christians in Nigeria and there can be no denying the fact that they have suffered immensely over the years in the hands of terrorists.

They have been subjected to mass murder, ethnic cleansing, torture, persecution, vilification and marginalisation for decades particularly in parts of the North.

I would not deny that and I have opposed it and spoken out against it for the better part of my adult life.

Where you have got it wrong though is that this does not translate into ‘Christian genocide’ simply because the Muslims in Nigeria, who are also 110 million strong, are suffering precisely the same things at the hands of the same people.

They have also been subjected to mass murder, ethnic cleansing, torture, persecution, vilification, marginalisation and in some cases even cannibalism in some parts of the North.

That does not however translate to ‘Muslim genocide’ because these terrible atrocities that are being unleashed are not limited to Muslims.

Both faiths have suffered immeasurably in Nigeria over the years and members of both faith have been subjected to genocide.

The terrorists that perpetuate this great evil make no distinction between their victims on religious grounds.

They wipe out Christian communities, take their land, enslave their women and children and desecrate and burn down their Churches and they mete out precisely the same treatment to our Muslim compatriots, Muslim communities and Mosques as well.

I repeat for the purpose of emphasis that what we are witnessing in Nigeria is not a genocide against Muslims or a genocide against Christians but a genocide against us all.

To couch or describe it in any other way as a consequence of ignorance or mischief is most unhelpful and darn-right dangerous and could ignite a full scale religious war the likes of which the world has never witnessed.

We need to tread very carefully indeed and we need to scrutinise the motivations of the Americans and view with the utmost suspicion their new found love for our Christian population.

As they say, ‘beware of the Greeks, especially when they bring gifts!’ Ancient Troy learnt that lesson the hard way with drastic and frightful consequences: let us hope that we don’t end up learning it the hard way as well!

To the Yankee crusaders, I say the following. If you want to talk about genocide in Nigeria then talk about the genocide of ALL Nigerians, both Christians and Muslims, at the hands of a group of vile and unconciable terrorists who are thoroughly evil and who represent no faith.

To call it ‘Christian genocide’ and not the ‘genocide of all Nigerians’ betrays the fact that you have an evil agenda and sinister motive.

No matter how hard you try we shall not drink from your poisoned chalice and you shall not divide or destroy us.

You will not plunge us into a cataclysmic cycle of fratricidal butchery and a second civil war which will undoubtedly result in the massive bloodletting and carnage that you so desperately seek.

That is not our portion and God will not allow it.

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the recent presidential pardon by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a reckless act that emboldens criminality.

Atiku, in a post on his social media platforms, said as expected, the development has ‘provoked outrage across the nation.’

Atiku explained that ordinarily, the power of presidential pardon is a solemn prerogative, ‘a moral and constitutional instrument designed to temper justice with mercy and to underscore the humanity of the state. When properly exercised, it elevates justice and strengthens public faith in governance.

‘Regrettably, the latest pardon issued by the Tinubu administration has done the very opposite. The decision to extend clemency to individuals convicted of grave crimes such as drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, and corruption not only diminishes the sanctity of justice but also sends a dangerous signal to the public and the international community about the values this government upholds.’

The opposition leader noted that at a time when Nigeria continues to reel under the weight of insecurity, moral decay, and a surge in drug-related offences, ‘it is both shocking and indefensible that the presidency would prioritize clemency for those whose actions have directly undermined national stability and social order.

‘Particularly worrisome is the revelation that 29.2% percent of those pardoned were convicted for drug-related crimes at a time when our youth are being destroyed by narcotics, and our nation is still struggling to cleanse its image from the global stain of drug offences.

‘Even more disturbing is the moral irony that this act of clemency is coming from a President whose own past remains clouded by unresolved and unexplained issues relating to the forfeiture of thousands of dollars to the United States government over drug-related investigations.’

Atiku, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023, added it was no surprise that this administration continued to demonstrate a worrying tolerance for individuals associated with criminal enterprise.

He argued that ‘A presidential pardon is meant to symbolize restitution and moral reform. Instead, what we have witnessed is a mockery of the criminal justice system, an affront to victims, a demoralization of law enforcement, and a grave injury to the conscience of the nation.

‘Clemency must never be confused with complicity. When a government begins to absolve offenders of the very crimes it claims to be fighting, it erodes the moral authority of leadership and emboldens lawlessness.

‘Nigeria deserves a leadership that upholds justice, not one that trivializes it.’

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja today, Sunday, October 12, for Rome, the capital of Italy, to participate in the Aqaba Process Heads of State and Government Level Meeting.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, in a statement, said the meeting, with special focus on the security crisis in West Africa, will begin on October 14.

According to the statement, the meeting will bring together Heads of State and Government, senior intelligence and military officials from African countries and representatives of inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations to discuss security challenges in West Africa.

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Launched by King Abdullah II of Jordan in 2015 and co-chaired by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Italian Government, the Aqaba Process Meeting is a counter-terrorism initiative recognising complex security challenges affecting West Africa.

The statement added, ‘It recognises the complex security challenges confronting West Africa, including the expansion of terrorist networks, the growing crime-terror nexus and the increasing overlap between land-based terrorism in the Sahel and the maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

‘At the meeting, participants will exchange assessments of the current security landscape in West Africa and foster collaboration between regional and international partners to address cross-border security challenges. Participants will also develop strategies to counter the terror threat on land and the sea.

‘The meeting will discuss ideas on how to coordinate efforts to combat online radicalisation and disrupt digital networks that facilitate terrorist propaganda and recruitment.’

The statement further noted that President Tinubu will also hold bilateral discussions with other leaders to explore ways of stemming the tide of insecurity ravaging the subregion.

‘In addition to attending the plenary sessions of the Aqaba meeting, President Tinubu will hold bilateral talks with other leaders to explore ways of addressing the rising security challenges across the subregion.

‘The President will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Mohammed Mohammed, and other senior government officials.’

Founder of the Citadel School of Government and Serving Overseer of the Citadel Global Community Church (CGCC), Pastor Tunde Bakare, on Sunday explained that his recent remark linking the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the opposition coalition, to an airline crash was not aimed at mocking victims of the October 29, 2006, ADC Airline’s crash.

He also clarified that the school which he founded in collaboration with the University of Lagos Business School, has no affinity with any political party and it is ‘completely non-partisan.’

Addressing a news conference in response to what he described as ‘misconceptions and misrepresentations’ of his comments at the first edition of the Citadel School of Government Dialogue Series on October 4, 2025, Bakare said his reference to the ADC was a metaphor to illustrate the challenges facing some political parties in Nigeria, not a commentary on the plane crash or its victims.

Daily Trust reports that the ADC Airline’s crash of October 29, 2006 was one of the fatal plane crashes in Nigeria.

The ADC Airlines Flight 53 which took off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja to Sokoto, crashed shortly after take-off, killing 98 passengers including the then Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Maccido.

Daily Trust reports that the formation of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the opposition coalition party chaired by former Senate President, Senator David Mark, has brought to light the tragic event of 2006.

Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio was recently called to order over his statement misinterpreted as mocking the victims of the crash.

Clarifying his statement, Bakare stated that his comment on Saturday, October 4, ‘did not in any way bring into the spotlight the victims of the October 29, 2006, ADC Airline crash,’ he said.

‘I pray that all those with lingering pain from that event will find complete healing and comfort,’ he added.

Bakare noted that some critics had taken his words out of context and accused him of insensitivity, stating that his use of the imagery was no different from how others have employed metaphors like the ‘Titanic’ to warn of impending danger.

‘When one takes the ‘text’ out of ‘context,’ one becomes a ‘con,” Bakare said, adding that he would not normally respond to public criticism but chose to clarify the matter for the sake of accuracy and fairness.

He also referenced Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s comment on the Senate floor, where Akpabio reportedly joked that ‘the ADC crashed even before it took off,’ reiterating that his remarks had no political motive and were made long before the Senate exchange.

He said, ‘I pray that all those with lingering pain from that event will find complete healing and comfort; that God will be the Husband of every widow, the Comforter of every widower, the Father of every orphan and the Restorer of every family affected by that unfortunate event, or by any of the many other calamitous events in the history of our nation.

‘I trust God to give us a nation where transportation infrastructure, whether in the air or at sea, on the road, on the rail or in the waterways, will become safe and accident-free.

‘Let this undue controversy surrounding the ADC crash metaphor serve as a warning. Let every person saddled with the solemn responsibility of steering the ship of state at any level, whether local, state or national, or in any arm of government, whether the executive, legislative or judicial, learn from history and recognize the transience of power.

‘For those struggling to obtain power, whether in the ruling party or the opposition, I hope they learn the lessons of history. I seriously hope that those in the cockpit of our nation’s governance, and those trying to change course midair, will see the handwriting on the wall, even when written in parables, and will commit themselves to using power as a platform for service to the people rather than for self. He that has an ear, let him hear.’

He also emphasized that the Citadel School of Government is an independent, non-partisan institution open to all Nigerians interested in transformative leadership.

‘Citadel School of Government has no affiliation whatsoever with any political party,’ Bakare stated, adding, the school exists ‘to raise transformational leaders who will spearhead the emergence of a new Nigeria – knowledge-driven, service-oriented, and globally competitive.’

He stated that he remains a non-partisan nation builder despite his political engagements when he was running mate to late President Muhammadu Buhari during the 2011 election and as a major player in the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He said, ‘With these ideas, I have, over the years, engaged political leaders across the political party spectrum with a view to building a political family with a shared commitment to building a Nigeria that works for every Nigerian.

‘This is why, despite my partisan engagements, I have remained a nonpartisan nation builder at heart. I have done this in the hope that leaders can rise above party divides and the limitations of what I call our four-year electrocracy and collaboratively and patriotically respond to the challenge of rebuilding our nation.

‘I have worked closely with past presidents to achieve this, from President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the late President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress.’

The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Taraba State Council, has appealed to Governor Agbu Kefas to direct the State Local Government Pension Board to refund monies allegedly deducted from the September pension of Local Government retirees.

The State Chairman of the Union, Comrade El-Nathan Bila Auta, made the appeal while addressing journalists in Jalingo, describing the deductions as ‘illegal and inhumane’.

He said, ‘The deductions came even as many pensioners in the state receive as little as N3000 and N4000 as monthly pension.’

According to Auta, the deductions, reportedly ranging between ?2,000 and ?3,000, were carried out by the Board without prior notice or explanation to the affected pensioners.

He added that the Union later learned that the deductions were made to cover the cost of producing the ‘Yellow Papers’, which were documents containing the full details of retirees’ payment records and entitlements.

‘In the entire history of the civil service, the Yellow Paper has always been issued to retirees free of charge after completing all retirement procedures

‘It is therefore unacceptable that the Board is now deducting from already meager pensions without considering the severe hardships faced by pensioners.’ he said

He lamented that some pensioners in Taraba State still receive as little as ?3,000 to ?4,000 monthly, describing the deductions as a form of exploitation.

‘While we are struggling for the implementation of the ?30,000 minimum wage for our members, the Board went ahead to deduct from the little they are receiving.

‘We view this as a serious violation of administrative ethics. If the deductions are not refunded, the Union will be forced to seek legal redress,’ he warned.

Some affected pensioners, including Hauwa Ibrahim (Donga), Ibrahim Aliyu Bello, Simon A. Bogbog, Yahya Abubakar, and Dame Raphael, also expressed anger over the deductions, describing them as unjust and insensitive amid the current economic hardship.

They called on Governor Agbu Kefas to intervene urgently by ordering an immediate refund and ensuring that the ?30,000 and ?70,000 minimum wages already implemented for active workers are extended to pensioners, alongside continued payment of gratuities.

When contacted for clarification, the Executive Secretary of the Taraba State Local Government Pension Board, Mr. Thomas Daniel, defended the deductions, insisting they were legitimate.

‘The deductions were made in good faith for the production and distribution of Yellow Papers to 1,166 local government pensioners enrolled in 2023 and another 1,133 enrolled in January this year,’ Daniel said

Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala, has said that recent claims of a Christian genocide in Nigeria were triggered by the country’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, particularly its condemnation of the ongoing war in Gaza.

At the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last month, Vice-President Kashim Shettima, who represented Tinubu, delivered Nigeria’s statement.

Shettima had condemned the killing of civilians in the Middle East and reaffirmed Nigeria’s support for a two-state solution as the most viable path to peace between Israel and Palestine.

‘We do not believe that the sanctity of human life should be trapped in the corridors of endless debate,’ Shettima had said.

‘That is why we say, without stuttering and without doubt, that a two-state solution remains the most dignified path to lasting peace for the people of Palestine.’

Speaking during an interview with France24 in Paris, Bwala said soon after Shettima’s comment, several Western figures began amplifying claims that Christians were being systematically targeted in Nigeria.

He described the allegations as ‘false and politically motivated.’

‘Those narratives began to spread after Nigeria condemned the inhumane treatment in Gaza,’ he said.

‘Within 24 hours, a comedian in the U.S., Bill Maher, started pushing this Christian genocide campaign.’

He accused some American politicians, including Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Riley Moore, of relying on ‘inaccurate and contradictory’ reports to justify their claims.

Cruz had recently introduced a bill to protect what he called ‘persecuted Christians in Nigeria,’ while Moore wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging diplomatic action against the Nigerian government over alleged religious persecution.

Bwala dismissed these allegations, insisting that insecurity in Nigeria affects people of all faiths and is not religiously motivated.

‘We strongly object to the notion that there is systematic genocide in Nigeria,’ he said. ‘Yes, we acknowledge there is insecurity, but those pushing a religious narrative are only trying to divide Nigerians.’

The presidential aide further argued that some Western actors were promoting the genocide claim to undermine Nigeria’s progress under the Tinubu administration.

‘It is a cooked-up narrative by the West because they see that we are making gains with the economy and in the fight against insecurity,’ he said.

The federal government has consistently denied claims of targeted killings of Christians, maintaining that its security operations address all forms of terrorism and violence without bias.