After four months of trial, Justice Hannah Olushola Ajayi of the Kwara State High Court sitting in Ilorin today, Thursday, sentenced Abdulrahman Bello, the suspected killer of Hafsoh Yetunde Lawal, a 24-year-old final-year student of Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin, to death by hanging.
The court, however, discharged and acquitted four other suspects: Ahmed Abdulwasiu ‘M’, 41 years; Suleiman Muyideen ‘M’, 28 years; Jamiu Uthman ‘M’, 29 years; and Abdulrahmon Jamiu ‘M’, 31 years.
Recall that Alfa AbdulRahman Bello, the killer of the final-year student of Kwara State College of Education Ilorin, Hafsoh Lawal, at the commencement of the trial confessed before the court to killing his Facebook lover for money rituals.
He also claimed to be an Islamic cleric and that he carried out the act all alone.
Bello, who said he killed Lawal because he needed human hands for money rituals, regretted that if only he had known another way to source the needed ingredient, he wouldn’t have killed her.
On February 13, 2025, Hafsoh Lawal was said to be attending a naming ceremony of her friend’s newbornbaby when AbdulRahman Bello called her to his residence somewhere around Offa garage area of Ilorin.
AbdulRahman Bello, during the trial, told the court that after having bouts of sex with Hafsoh, he choked her by the neck, after which she passed on, and he then dismembered her body.
At another time, AbdulRahman Bello said Hafsoh Bello died of asthma after having rounds of sex with her and that the fear of how to dispose of the lifeless body caused him to dismember her body. (Vanguard)
The Presidency on Thursday announced that President Bola Tinubu has extended the tenure of the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr. Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.
The tenure of the CG of Customs is due to expire on August 31, 2025, but the President has extended his tenure by one year.
The Presidency, in a statement by the presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, explained that the extension, approved by Tinubu, will enable Mr. Adeniyi to consolidate ongoing reforms and complete critical initiatives of the administration.
The statement listed the reforms to include the modernisation of the Nigeria Customs Service, the implementation of the National Single Window Project, and the execution of Nigeria’s obligations under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) protocol.
The statement further added that “President Tinubu recognises Mr. Adeniyi’s steadfast leadership and commitment to service.
“The President is confident that this extension will further strengthen the Nigeria Customs Service in achieving its strategic mandate of trade facilitation, revenue generation, and border security.” (Vanguard)
The Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia on Wednesday dissolved the State Executive Council.
Alia announced the dissolution in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Tersoo Kula, and made available to newsmen in Makurdi.
Kula said that the governor informed the council members of the dissolution at the end of the 12th (2025) SEC meeting.
The chief press secretary said that the governor directed the commissioners to hand over to the permanent secretaries of their ministries as soon as possible.
He appreciated all the former commissioners who worked with him for two years and urged those who might not be reappointed, to remain in the party.
He said those who would not be reappointed are only paving the way for other citizens to also contribute their quota to the development of the state.
Meanwhile, the governor has approved the immediate appointment of Mr Moses Atagher, a legal practitioner, as the new Chief of Staff to replace Mr Paul Biam.
Kula said that Atagher is a former two-term attorney general and commissioner for justice in the state.
Atagher, who is a seasoned administrator, is also the former acting managing director of the Federal Mortgage Bank.
Speaking for the dissolved commissioners, immediate past Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Mr Bemsen Mnyim, appreciated the governor for giving them the opportunity to serve the state.
“At every stage in life, everywhere you are called to serve is a school. We have learnt a lot while working with you,” Mnyim said. (Punch)
The Presidency has defended President Bola Tinubu’s $150,000 reward to the Super Falcons, arguing that the gesture is well-deserved, especially when compared to the ₦150 million prize money awarded to winners of the reality TV show, Big Brother Naija.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, said Tinubu’s generous reward to the Super Falcons following backlash from some Nigerians about the gifts splashed on Nigeria’s women’s national team.
Defending the President’s gesture in a tweet on Tuesday, Onanuga compared the gifts to prize money awarded by reality show Big Brother Naija, saying some Nigerians didn’t appreciate President Tinubu’s gifts to the victorious players.
He wrote: “When you remember that Multichoice, the organizer of the BBNaija reality show, is offering the winner ₦150 million grand prize, you wonder why some Nigerians are unappreciative of President Tinubu’s rewards to the Super Falcons. President Tinubu has rewarded excellence, creativity, hard work, soccer artistry and the undying Nigerian spirit.”
The comment comes amid debate over Tinubu’s lavish package for the national women’s football team after they clinched their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title in Morocco on Saturday.
On Monday, the President hosted the victorious Falcons at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, and announced national honours and substantial financial rewards for the team.
Each player received a national award of Order of the Niger (OON), a three-bedroom apartment, and $100,000 (approx. ₦153 million) in cash.
The 11-member technical team was also gifted $50,000 (₦75.6 million) each in recognition of their contribution to the team’s success.
President Tinubu praised the team’s resilience, calling their comeback from two goals down against host nation Morocco “a testament to the Nigerian fighting spirit.”
Despite widespread celebration of the win, some critics questioned the size of the reward amid Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The Super Falcons’ latest WAFCON triumph marks their 10th title, further cementing their status as Africa’s most successful women’s national team. (Vanguard)
Ex-police personnel under the aegis of the Kwara State Chapter of Association of Retired Police Officers of Nigeria held a peaceful demonstration in Ilorin, on Monday, demanding that they be immediately exited from the Contributory Pension Scheme.
They said the scheme has been fraught with a number of challenges since its inception; hence, retired officers who fall in the category of the pension platform should be excused like those who rose to the position of Generals in the force.
In its stead, the protesters sought the establishment of a Police Pension Board with sole responsibility of overseeing the pension matters of the police as applicable in other security agencies.
The ex-Police officers who brandished placards with inscriptions such as “President, NASS and IGP should honourably exempt the police from the “CPS, Establish Police Pension Board to manage gratuity and pensions, “Mr President: Improve Police Welfare for effective service delivery”, If CPS is so good, why did AIGs, DIGs and Is exempt themselves from the scheme?”
The Chairman of the state chapter of ARPON, Yakubu Jimoh, a retired Chief Superintendent of Police, who addressed his members during the peaceful demonstration to the Press Centre of the state Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ilorin, pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently come to their aid.
He said the retired police officers should be removed from the contributory pension scheme, adding the force pension board should be established to manage the pension of the officers.
Jimoh stated that the report of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Services on the bill for the establishment of Police Pension Board, which was held in public hearing in November last year, should be released, notwithstanding that it was conducted eight months ago.
He also called on the federal government and the National Assembly to fast-track the legislative process for the disbursement of the N758 billion, a pension shortfall owed to security agencies. He noted that retired officers were informed that payment was scheduled for June 2025, but expressed concern about the delay in the disbursement.
He appealed to the National Assembly to expedite action on the payment so as to assuage the suffering of the retirees and improve the retirement welfare of both serving and retired officers.
In the letter of agitation made available to the press, Jimoh said, “Our exit being advocated should be outright removal from the scheme. Since the inception of the contributory pension scheme, it has been one problem or another.
“It is unfortunate that officials of the National Pension Commission/Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), who came to deliver a lecture on the workings of the scheme, do not reveal their bitter experiences in the hands of their host to their masters when they get back.
“We have always resented this contributory pension scheme, which provides gratuity and monthly pension, but it is just a pittance and not a living wage. We are all witnesses to the lamentations of the retired police officers on social media. Imagine Superintendent of Police being paid N2.4million as his gratuity after 35 years of meritorious service and a paltry N30,000 as monthly pension.
“This, to say the least, is responsible for corruption in the Police Force, as the officers want to make it by all means. From Commissioners of Police down the ladder are lamentations of woe. Only the Police “Generalismos”, retired Inspector Generals, Deputy Inspector Generals and Assistant Inspector Generals recently exited the scheme while this agitation was on. They are getting fat pension benefits as the case may be.
“Back to memory lane, when the Military was to exit this scheme, their senior officers did not discriminate. They pulled out all the other ranks. In the case of the Police, IGP Egbetokun was asking a Police lecture parade of Senior Officers and men in Kwara State, Where are you expecting to? Because of the regimentality of the job, the audience kept mute and watched in “admiration” of the Speaker/IGP.
“The answer from retirees since then has been that we want to exit to where the Police Generals had gone to. Those agencies that exited the scheme, such as the Military, DSS, take more pension compared to their counterparts, of the same rank in the Police.”
The Legal Adviser of ARPON, Adekunle Iwalaiye, said the retired officers deserve to be paid living pension away from the crumbs they receive monthly.
Iwalaiye, a retired Superintendent of Police, tasked the government to act on the demand of the retirees, considering the meritorious services they rendered to the country for 35 years.
“We are here to get across to the press so that our voices can be heard in respect of the pains retired Police Officers have been passing through under the current pension scheme. What we are saying is that retired Police Officers are human beings too, that we deserve a living wage, that we are Nigerians with flesh and blood flowing in our veins.
“The set of people you are seeing here are Nigerians who have used 35 years of our youthful age to serve this country in various capacities. Some of us carried bullet wounds and various degrees of wounds suffered in the cause of our service to this nation.
“And that for God being so merciful enough for us to retire well, we deserve a living pension, and our demand is just simple. The government should just do the needful by pulling us out of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), the same way it has been done to some other security agencies in the country.
“It is disheartening for senior citizens to earn peanuts as monthly pension and even money that cannot get you anything as gratuity. Just imagine somebody, who retired after 35 years, being given less than N3million; the money cannot even buy a tricycle, assuming you want to go into a tricycle business.
“Somebody who retires, on a monthly basis, is being given less than N50,000 as pension that cannot even buy a bag of rice. Our wives and children are suffering. Most of our members are dying prematurely of all forms of illness. We can’t take care of our children, either.
“We have chosen not to be violent. We are not violent people. We have served this country diligently and we cannot be part of what will lead to breakdown of law and order,” he said (Punch)
The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Nnaji, has expressed confidence that the All Progressives Congress will take over Enugu State in the 2027 general elections.
Nnaji made this assertion while receiving over 500 defectors from the Peoples Democratic Party, Labour Party, and the All Progressives Grand Alliance into the APC on Monday.
The minister condemned the Enugu State government’s indiscriminate demolition of markets and people’s shops without notice and compensation, saying it has inflicted untold hardship on traders, leading to the death of several traders in the last year.
“Enugu has never had it this bad, and as I stand today, I imagine how a people can survive without something like Ogige Nsukka market.
“Ogige Nsukka market has gone; they have bulldozed Ogige Nsukka to ashes, without any notice.
” Many of our people have died out of that singular act of government. If you come to Enugu too, Holy Ghost suffered the same fate, Garki and Abakpa suffered the same fate, and Ogurute market here in Igbo-Eze North LGA suffered the same fate, and I wonder how our people who are predominantly businessmen can survive without trading.”
Nnaji expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for appointing Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, who is from Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area, as the Chief of Naval Staff.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu knows that we are here; he knows we are doing all these things for the state and for him and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“He knows and he has our support 101 per cent and he is behind us, we are APC,” Nnaji said.
The minister assured that the APC will do everything possible and within the law to displace the PDP government under Governor Peter Mbah in 2027.
“We are going to fight, we are going to do everything humanly possible and within the ambit of law to make sure that come 2027 our people will start rejoicing again,” Nnaji asserted.
The APC State Chairman, Ugochukwu Agballah, welcomed the defectors, describing the influx of new members as a “rainbow movement.”
“You know that in the last election, the Labour Party won in Igbo-Eze North, LP won the House of Assembly, won the House of Rep, won everything, but they were rigged out.
“Do you know why they were rigged out? It’s because they were in a one-man show. One-man-show parties don’t go far, politics is like a market, one person does not constitute the market,” Agballah said. (Punch)
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has faulted United Kingdom Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, over her claim that she cannot pass Nigerian citizenship to her children because of her gender.
During an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria on Sunday, Badenoch asserted that she cannot pass on her Nigerian citizenship to her children because of her gender. She suggested that it is easier for Nigerians to acquire British citizenship than for foreigners to become Nigerians.
She said, “It’s virtually impossible, for example, to get Nigerian citizenship. I have that citizenship by virtue of my parents. I can’t give it to my children because I’m a woman.
“Yet loads of Nigerians come to the UK and stay for a relatively free period of time, acquire British citizenship. We need to stop being naive.”
Reacting in a statement issued on Monday, Falana described Badenoch’s statement as “a display of utter ignorance” and accused her of misinforming the British public to score political points.
Falana said, “In her desperate attempt to impress the British electorate, Kemi Badenoch keeps running down Nigeria.
“Contrary to her misleading claim, her children are Nigerians because she is a Nigerian. Her assertion that she cannot give Nigerian citizenship to her children because she is a woman is not in consonance with Section 25(b) and (c) of the Nigerian Constitution which provides that every person born in Nigeria after independence, either of whose parents or grandparents is a citizen of Nigeria, or any person born outside Nigeria to a Nigerian parent, is a citizen.
“Furthermore, by virtue of Section 42(2) of the Constitution, no citizen shall be subjected to any disability or deprivation merely by reason of circumstances of birth, gender, or class. Therefore, her two children are Nigerian citizens. The fact that she may not want them to claim it is irrelevant. For now, they are dual citizens of Britain and Nigeria.”
Falana also faulted her assertion that Nigerian citizenship is impossible for foreigners to obtain, noting that “Sections 26 and 27 of the Constitution clearly state that foreigners can acquire Nigerian citizenship through naturalisation or registration once they meet the legal conditions.”
He, however, acknowledged gaps in the law, saying that “A woman married to a Nigerian man can be registered as a citizen, but the same privilege is not extended to a man married to a Nigerian woman, which reflects the patriarchal nature of the law. This should be urgently amended.” (Punch)
The Police Command in Enugu State has killed a suspected kidnapper, arrested five suspects and rescued a victim in multiple operations in the state.
The Command’s Spokesman, SP Daniel Ndukwe, in a statement on Friday in Enugu, said that police operatives also recovered an AK-47 rifle with two rounds of live ammunition.
Ndukwe said that other items recovered included a Toyota Corolla car, ₦10 million in cash obtained as ransom and other incriminating exhibits.
He said that the command achieved the feat through series of intelligence-driven operations conducted from July 5 to July 16.
According to him, the command has recorded significant breakthroughs in its sustained fight against violent crimes, particularly kidnapping.
“On July 16, at 3p.m, operatives attached to Okpuje Division, in collaboration with members of the Neighbourhood Watch, Forest Guards, and local hunters, swiftly responded to a distress call regarding suspected armed kidnappers.
“The armed kidnappers were sighted in a forest at Okpuje-Ani community in Nsukka Local Government Area.
“Upon arrival, the armed suspects engaged the team. The operatives returned fire, neutralising one of the suspects while others escaped.
“An AK-47 rifle loaded with two live rounds of ammunition was recovered from the neutralised suspect,” he said.
The spokesman said that in a separate operation on the same day at about 4.00p.m., operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad, acting on credible intelligence, arrested one Aliyu Adamu, 23, at Ugwu-Onyeama axis of Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.
“During interrogation, the suspect confessed to participating in multiple kidnappings and stated that he had been invited from Awka, Anambra, by another suspect now at large for criminal operations in Enugu State,” he said.
Ndukwe said that on July 15, at about 2:20p.m., the Commands Anti-Cultism Tactical Squad apprehended two female suspects – Juliet Chukwu, 39; and Nancy Chukwu, 40; – in an intelligence-led operation.
“The suspects, who are sisters and claimed to be law enforcement officers, were apprehended while sharing a ransom of ₦10 million.
“The ransom was obtained from their kinsman, whom they had conspired to kidnap on July 14, 2025, after initially demanding ₦50 million.
“The victim was rescued unharmed, and the operatives recovered the ransom cash and a Toyota Corolla vehicle belonging to one of the suspects,” he said.
The spokesman said that earlier, on July 5, at about 5:30p.m., operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad arrested two suspects – Usman Musa, 20; and Musa Zaria, 24; both from Kogi State.
He said that the two suspects were apprehended during a tactical operation at Okemmou, 9th Mile Corner in Udi Local Government Area.
“The suspects were found in possession of clothing and a wristwatch belonging to two male victims kidnapped on July 4, 2025.
“The victims later identified both the items and the suspects as those involved in their abduction.
“The detained suspects will be arraigned in court once investigations are concluded. Efforts are ongoing to detain other suspects at large,” he added. (Vanguard)
The ongoing offensive against criminal elements in Kwara State has resulted in another mass arrest of several outlaws who were involved in recent security breaches in Edu and Patigi Local Government Areas of the state.
A government House statement released on Thursday said that more than 15 criminals, including an outlaw criminal named Tambaya, have been arrested in the new security clampdown in the area.
“Tambaya was the major mastermind of the recent attack on security forces and vigilantes in Gada, Lafiagi. Tambaya and eight others were arrested in one encounter with the security forces, while several of his gang members were eliminated.
“During the operation, we rescued two victims of their criminality and recovered N11m, which is apparently proceeds of the crime,” the official said.
The crackdowns on the criminals were at the instance of the state government in partnership with the Office of the National Security Adviser, state security commanders, and local vigilante.
It would be recalled that the state commissioner of Police Mr Adekimi Ojo while addressing journalists in Ilorin on Friday, July 11, 2025 or so said the Command’s renewed focus on intelligence-led operations and tactical fieldwork is yielding results in curbing insecurity across the state.
In another twist, three women were arrested on June 25 at Babanla Motor Park in connection with arms smuggling. The police recovered an AK-47 rifle with 31 rounds of ammunition hidden in a passenger’s bag.
Interrogations revealed links to a kidnapping syndicate operating out of the Baba-Sango forest. One of the women admitted she was on her way to join her husband, a known kidnapper hiding in the forest. A fourth female suspect fled and is currently at large.
Also alarming was the arrest of Suleiman Jamiu and Mumini Mohammed on July 6 in Share. The duo were found in possession of ₦11.3 million during a late-night stop-and-search. The CP revealed that Jamiu was linked to a February 2025 kidnapping case where ₦20 million ransom was demanded. Investigators believe the cash may be proceeds from ransom payments.
On May 30 and June 1, suspected kidnappers launched deadly attacks in Oro, abducting six people and killing one during raids on a cashew factory and a residential community. Three men, including Mohammed Olaiya Dende and Mohammed Dende, have been arrested and charged with conspiracy, kidnapping, and culpable homicide.
Six other suspects were arrested in connection with the kidnapping of Alhaji Abbass and Abubakar Issa in Lafiagi. Acting on intelligence, police and local vigilantes stormed Gbugbu and apprehended the men, recovering two firearms. The suspects confessed to being part of a syndicate operating between Kwara and Niger States and working under a wanted ringleader known as Tambaya.
In another case, one Buba Lawal was caught in Oko, Ifelodun LGA, with an AK-47 magazine loaded with eight rounds. Police say the suspect is linked to multiple kidnapping attempts and is being profiled for further investigation.
Ojo assured that operations would intensify until all criminal hideouts are uncovered. “These arrests and recoveries are proof that no part of Kwara is safe for criminals,” he said. “We will continue to disrupt their networks and bring every last accomplice to justice.”
In Amoyo on July 4, officers uncovered a locally-made double-barrel pistol after three young men fled from an uncompleted building during a patrol. One of the suspects, known as Olamide alias “Bold”, a notorious drug dealer in the area, is now being sought.
Perhaps the most daring encounter occurred in Okuta, Baruten LGA, where a reported case of kidnapping on June 22 sparked a counter-operation by the police and local security groups.
According to the CP, “One of the suspects was neutralised, another arrested, and the victim found abandoned in the bush.”
An AK-47 rifle and 13 rounds of ammunition were recovered, alongside a red Golf car believed to be used by the kidnappers. One suspect, Idirisu Sariki, is in custody and has confessed to multiple kidnappings in the border region.
Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, has said that about 4,000 mushroom schools have been discovered in the state.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Kula Tersoo, while briefing journalists about his achievements in the educational sector in the past two years on Thursday, the governor said that the mushroom schools were not conducive for learning and they do not have qualified teachers.
While he declined to comment on the next step the government would take, Tersoo stated that 9,700 qualified teachers have been recruited into primary schools across the state.
The governor further said that in 2023/2024, the government paid the external examination fees for about 19,000 students who sat for the West Africa Examination Council, the National Examination Council, and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board.
He further stated that the present administration had cleared the backlog of 38 months of earned allowance for staff of the Moses Adasu University, formerly Benue State University.
He said, “The present administration has stabilised the educational sector in the state with its various interventions, which is the reason our tertiary institutions have been having uninterrupted sessions since this administration came into office.
“For instance, the backlog of 38 months of earned allowance owed to staff of the State University has been cleared.
“It will also interest you to know that the present administration has recruited 9700 qualified primary school teachers to reposition our schools.
“Also, the government has identified 4,000 schools that are substandard and not good for learning and do not have qualified teaching personnel.
“In the 2023/2024 academic session, this administration paid the WAEC fees for 8,119 students, NECO fees for 8,979 students, and also NABTEB fees for 1,547 students.
The governor said that his administration had successfully secured a license to establish a State University of Technology at Ihugh in the Vandeikiya local government area of the state. (Punch)
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