Headlines
Bandits Kill Three Brothers in Fresh Katsina Attack
Three men from the same mother were on Saturday morning killed by bandits in Zaka village, Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Their corpses were brought to the palace of the Emir of Katsina, Abdulmumin Kabir, later in the evening.
The aged mother of the victims accompanied the corpses to the palace.
Palace officials advised the sympathisers, who came with the corpses in two buses, to return the corpses to the village for burial.
The spokesman for the Katsina Emirate Council, Mallam Iro Bindawa, advised them to ask the district head of the village to write to the palace, detailing the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Bindawa said, “The emir sympathised with them and advised that the corpses be taken to the village for burial.”
The spokesman for the police in the state, SP Gambo Isah, also confirmed the incident.
He said the victims were attacked on their farm close to one of the camps of the bandits.
Isah said, “The victims are of the same mother. Four of them were on the farm when the bandits attacked them but one of them managed to escape.”
Also, a man arrested for his alleged involvement in banditry in Zamfara and Katsina states has reportedly confessed to have killed at least in various operations.
Musa Isuhu, 36, reportedly made the confession after his arrest on June 4.
Spokesman for the police in the state, Isah, said these in a statement on Saturday.
The statement read in part, “During the course of the investigation, the suspect confessed to have killed at least seven of his victims in various attacks carried out by his gang in Zamfara and Katsina communities.
“He confessed to have participated in the recent attack on Batsarin-Alhaji village, Batsari LGA of Katsina State.”
He also revealed that three alleged suppliers of food items to the bandits were arrested on Thursday.
FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.
Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.
“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.
“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.
There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.
“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.
AFP
Iran, on Wednesday, shut the Strait of Hormuz following fresh Israeli strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon, raising fears that a fragile ceasefire with the United States could collapse less than a day after it was reached.
The closure comes amid renewed hostilities that have cast doubt over efforts to halt more than a month of fighting. While both Iran and the United States had earlier declared victory after brokering the truce, fresh missile and drone attacks were reported across Iran and parts of the Gulf, alongside intensified Israeli bombardments in Lebanon.
In Beirut, Israeli strikes hit residential and commercial areas without prior warning, leaving at least multiple people dead and many others injured in what has been described as one of the deadliest days of the conflict.
Iranian state media confirmed the closure, with IRNA reporting that the move was taken “in the wake of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon.” The development has heightened concerns over the stability of the ceasefire agreement mediated by the United States.
Authorities in Iran also imposed strict controls on maritime movement in the strategic waterway. Ships near the strait were instructed to seek permission from Sepah, a special operations unit under the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, before passage. A radio message cited by The Wall Street Journal warned that any vessel attempting to cross without approval “will be destroyed.”
Earlier in the day, Iran had indicated a willingness to reopen the strait during the proposed two-week ceasefire, noting this would be done with “coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.” U.S. officials, meanwhile, said American forces could assist in managing ship traffic, although details remain unclear.
U.S. President Donald Trump also told ABC News he was open to a “joint venture” arrangement with Iran that would involve charging tolls for vessels passing through the strait.
However, reports of ceasefire breaches soon emerged. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who played a role in negotiating the agreement, said on X that violations had already been recorded, further deepening uncertainty over whether the truce will hold.
The Presidency has come up with reasons behind President Bola Tinubu’s absent at the commissioning of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s projects in Lagos, on Wednesday.
Tinubu was noticeably absent at the scheduled project commissioning in Lagos, sparking public curiosity.
However, Sunday Dare, his Special Adviser on Public Communications and Orientation, has clarified the reason behind the last-minute development.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Dare revealed that the President had to prioritise urgent national security matters over the event.
According to him, although Tinubu is currently in Lagos, he has been deeply engaged in high-level State duties, particularly ongoing security briefings tied to recent developments across the country.
“The president has been busy taking constant briefs and has to prioritise when it comes to state matters, especially security,” Dare stated.
He referenced rising security concerns, including recent unrest linked to incidents in Jos, noting that the President has been closely monitoring the situation and working directly with intelligence agencies.
Dare emphasised that Tinubu remains fully engaged behind the scenes, actively coordinating with security operatives and receiving continuous updates to address emerging threats.
The absence, he stressed, should not be seen as neglect of official duties but rather a reflection of the President’s focus on safeguarding national stability at a critical time.
Tinubu skipped the Lagos commissioning not out of disregard, but to handle pressing security issues demanding immediate presidential attention.
