Minister of Agriculture Babawuro Tofai, the younger brother of Sabo Nanono, minister of agriculture, has been abducted in Kano. Gunmen had whisked the victim away from his family house in Gabasawa local government area of the state on Monday morning. One of the aides of the minister confirmed the abduction, saying the gunmen struck around 10am on Monday. Abdullahi Haruna, police public relations officer in Kano, also confirmed the incident, saying investigation was ongoing

A total of 138 members of the National Youth Service Corps have tested positive for COVID-19, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, said on Monday. Disclosing this during the briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja, the NDDC Director-General, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the safe reopening of the NYSC orientation camps across the country was successful. He stated that none of those who tested positive was allowed into the camps. According to him, “a total of 34,785 corps members and members of the camp communities have been tested…

Friday Olokor, Abuja The Federal Government has berated US-based Cable News Network for its coverage of the #EndSARS protest in Lekki area of Lagos saying “CNN breached the most basic of the core principles of journalism – balance and fairness.” The goverment also demanded “an immediate and exhaustive investigation from CNN into its ‘investigative’ report on the Lekki Toll Gate incident to determine, among others, its authenticity.” The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this in his letter to Jonathan Hawkins, VP (Communications) in CNN Centre Atlanta, Georgia.…

Ahmadu Bello University authorities have raised alarm as kidnappers invade its campus, went to residential area and abduct a staff, his wife and daughter. The event is believed to have taken place in the wee hours of today. According to the statement from the school authorities, the kidnappers invaded the main campus in Zamaru, Zaria, abducted the staff and his wife as well as their daughter. When they realised that security agents were closing in on them, they dropped the man’s wife and daughter and went away with him. It…

The Police Command of the Federal Capital Territory has launched an operation to rescue a Catholic reverend father kidnapped on Sunday at Yangoji village along Kwali axis, Abuja. The command urged the members of the public to remain calm, while it intensifies effort to liberate the unidentified victim unhurt. This is happening barely one week after five persons were kidnapped in the early hours of Wednesday in a village along Pegi, Kuje Area Council, Abuja. Also, last month, about 10 persons including councillors and workers from the Kuje Area Council…

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has declared that no money was missing or stolen under his watch between September and December 2019. Fashola denied reports that he supervised the illegal payment of N4.6bn into private accounts when he served as Minister of Power, Works and Housing. An online report (not The PUNCH) had stated that Fashola’s ministry paid over N4.6bn into personal accounts of directors and staff in four months, stressing that this was in clear violation of extant law. The report claimed that between September and…

Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, has ordered troops involved in counter-insurgency operations in the North-East to swiftly ready themselves to war mode. According to Peoples Gazette, Buratai lamented a slack in personnel performance that had prolonged the war. An internal army correspondence seen by the newspaper, titled: “COAS Special Order-01 Change to War Mode,” also directed soldiers deployed in ‘Operation Lafiya Doleé a special anti-terrorism combat squad to treat all individuals in the troubled region as Boko Haram suspects until properly identified. “All persons must be treated as suspects unless fully…

There is uneasy calm in the Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) over the 2023 election and plot to whittle down the influence of the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Daily Trust can report. Though the 2023 election is still far off, the state APC is said to be worried by recent developments which showed some chieftains already declaring interest in the state governorship position. The chieftains are not only showing interest but also said to be challenging the authority of Tinubu who is…

The Confederation of African Football (CAF)’s president, Ahmad Ahmad has been handed a five-year ban by football’s governing body, FIFA, for financial misconduct, the AP reported on Monday morning. The football administrator, who saw to the end of the career of CAF strongman, Issa Hayatou just three years ago, had been embroiled in financial malfeasances that seem to have finally put an end to his reign as the top man of African football. There have been many signs and signals that have all shown Ahmad in a bad light. In an interview,…