Headlines
Buhari Condemns Killing of 30 Katsina Farmers, Cautions Against Retaliation
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the latest round of attacks on farmers by bandits in Damkal and Tsanwa villages in Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
At least 30 people were killed in the attacks on the two communities, the police said on Saturday.
The president was quoted in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Sunday.
Shehu said the president was reacting to the incident in which many homesteads were razed by fire with many people killed in the affected areas at the weekend by the bandits.
Buhari, who warned that “no one in the country has a right to take laws into his hands by the way of self-help or revenge”, added that ”killing people in the name of revenge is not acceptable.
”Local communities that catch bandits should hand over the suspects to law enforcement authorities instead of meting out capital punishment, leading to a cycle of revenge and counter revenge,” he said.
He urged community leaders and the local authorities to continue their efforts in partnership with law enforcement agencies that bring the surrender of bandits, leading to peace between farmers and herders.
“The authorities must be allowed to investigate and deal with any breach that occurs. There is no place for violence in a decent society,” he said.
Buhari prayed God to comfort families that had lost loved ones in the attacks and repose the souls of the victims.
The Attack
Bandits kill 30 in 2 Katsina villages – Police
The Police Public Relations Officer, Gambo Isah, who confirmed the incident on Saturday, said that the victims were killed in Tsauwa and Dankar villages in the area.
He said the bandits invaded the two villages riding on motorcycles on Friday night and begun to shoot residents of the two villages.
According to him, the bandits killed 21 persons in Tsauwa village and the remaining nine persons were killed in Dankar village.
He, however, said that the police and the military were able to arrest one bandit and recovered nine motorcycles belonging to the hoodlums.
Mr Isah said that additional policemen and the military were deployed to the areas with a view to protect the communities around.
He said the State Commissioner of Police, Sanusi Buba, had paid a visit to the affected areas for an assessment of the situation, with a view to preventing further occurrence and trail the bandits to their hideouts in the bush.
The News Agency of Nigeria gathered that the majority of those killed were the aged and children who could not run for their life.
The bandits burnt down many houses including animals and foodstuffs in Tsauwa village.
Katsina is one of the North-west states that have suffered attacks by bandits in recent years.
Hundreds of people have been killed and many others kidnapped in such attacks in Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna and Jigawa states.
Premium Times
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
