Author: Drum Africa Correspondent

A Deputy Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Kogi State, Adam Imam Yusuf, has been arrested over the alleged diversion of more than ₦3 billion. Yusuf was arrested by officials of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). ICPC disclosed this in a statement on its website, without indicating when he was nabbed. “Yusuf, who was at large until now, was taken into custody from his Gwagwalada, Abuja residence and is set to face prosecution,” the statement read. He was accused of conniving with a Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman…

Former Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has said that there is no corresponding breakdown of expenditures to justify the increase in the 2025 national budget. The statement comes after President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday, increased the appropriation bill for the 2025 fiscal year from N49.7 trillion to N54.2 trillion. Reacting to the development, Obi said that Nigerians need to know how the resources generated are being allocated for the sake of transparency and accountability. This, he said, was to ensure that they were judiciously spent on the country’s development and the well-being of the people.…

The Ministry of Education on Friday clarified that the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, merely proposed the introduction of a 12-year basic education system. The ministry stated that reports of an immediate policy change on the matter were untrue. Several media outlets had suggested that a new policy aimed at scrapping the Junior and Senior Secondary School system was already in effect. In a statement by the Director of Press at the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, the ministry emphasised that the National Council on Education would review the proposal before any final decision is made. “At the Extraordinary…

The Federal Government has urged the National Council on Education (NCE) to scrap Junior Secondary School (JSS) and Senior Secondary School (SSS) and adopt a compulsory 12 years of uninterrupted basic education in the country. Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, made the call at the 2025 extraordinary National Council on Education meeting in Abuja on Thursday, February 6, 2025. If the new policy scales through, it would abolish the 6-3-3-4 education system and bring in place a 12-4 model of education in the country. Alausa also sought the approval of the NCE to officially adopt 16 years as minimum…

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced significant leadership changes at several federal universities, including the University of Abuja, now known as Yakubu Gowon University. According to a statement by the President’s spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, these changes are effective immediately. At Yakubu Gowon University, Onanuga noted that President Tinubu dissolved the entire governing council and relieved Professor Aisha Sani Maikudi of her duties as Vice-Chancellor. Senator Lanre Tejuoso, currently Pro-Chancellor of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi, has been appointed Pro-Chancellor of the Yakubu Gowon University. He will be succeeded in Makurdi by Senator Joy Emordi, now pro-chancellor of Alvan Ikoku University…

The House of Representatives has directed the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the Nigeria Customs Service to implement strict measures ensuring that only unexpired and high-quality gas cylinders and kits are imported into the country. This resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Aderemi Oseni, who represents Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in Oyo State. Oseni, a member of the All Progressives Congress, expressed deep concern over the rising incidents of gas explosions, which have resulted in multiple deaths, severe injuries, and the destruction of property worth billions of naira. He attributed the frequent explosions to the influx of expired…

Bandits have reportedly kidnapped the former Director General of the National Youth Service Corps, Brgd. Gen. Maharazu Tsiga (retd.), in Tsiga village, Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State, in the early hours of Thursday. The bandits also killed one person and abducted at least nine others, even as they were said to have ransacked several homes, carting away valuables. The bandits attacked at 12.30am on Thursday, as eyewitness reports have it that the armed hoodlums stormed the community, shooting sporadically to scare residents. The Katsina State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abubakar Sadiq, was contacted to confirm the attack,…

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to temper justice with mercy and give freedom to the leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu from detention. Kalu made the appeal while addressing the press after the inaugural meeting of the House of Representatives committee on South East Development Commission (SEDC) at the National Assembly complex in Abuja on Wednesday. The Deputy Speaker commended Mr President for his continous and tremendous support and commitment towards peace, development and stability of the South-East region. He noted…

The Katsina Command of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency has called for a collective effort to address drug abuse in the state. The NDLEA Commander in the state, Mr. Muhammad Aminu-Abubakar, made the call on Thursday in Katsina during sensitisation and advocacy for women and youth on drug abuse awareness and prevention. Aminu-Abubakar expressed the need for the people of the state to contribute their quota in the fight against drug trafficking and abuse. The NDLEA commander explained that the fight against drug trafficking and abuse was a collective effort of stakeholders, noting that “all hands must be on…

The lifeless body of Justice Azuka, the member representing Onitsha North 1 Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, has been found by security operatives near the Second Niger Bridge. Azuka was reportedly kidnapped on December 24, 2024, along Ugwunaobankpa Road in Inland Town, Onitsha, while returning home for Christmas. He was abducted at gunpoint in a swift operation that lasted less than five minutes. The spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the discovery on Thursday, saying a joint security team found the decomposing corpse during a routine patrol. Ikenga said, “In the early hours…