Amid growing insecurity in different parts of the country, Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, has urged residents to defend themselves against persistent bandit attacks.

He insisted that his administration would neither negotiate with nor pay ransom to criminals under any circumstances.

Bago made the declaration during a visit to the Rijau and Magama local government areas, where several communities were recently attacked by bandits operating from the Kontagora axis.

The governor said the State has reached a critical stage that demands collective action, warning that ransom payments would only embolden the criminals and turn kidnapping into a profitable venture.

“I will not negotiate with bandits. I will not pay ransom.

“The moment we start paying, they will open shop on our heads and continue kidnapping people,” he said.

“The situation has reached a state of war that requires collective resistance. We are surrounded by enemies, but we will not give up.

“The constitution gives us the right to defend our lives and property, and we will do just that,” the governor added.

Describing the recurring attacks and displacement of residents as “embarrassing and unacceptable,” Bago announced plans to recruit and train 10,000 personnel into the state’s joint task force to strengthen community security and restore peace.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Print Media, Aisha Wakaso, the governor also announced a total ban on all mining activities across Zone C of the state.

The affected local government areas include Magama, Kontagora, Rijau, Wushishi, Mariga, Borgu, Mashegu, and Agwara.

Bago explained that illegal mining had become a major driver of insecurity in the zone, noting that many miners had unrestricted access to forest areas considered unsafe for residents.

“It is suspicious that miners can enter the forests freely, yet the bandits don’t touch them. I have ordered the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to arrest anyone caught engaging in mining activities,” he said.

Governor Bago also reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ending the cycle of violence and restoring lasting peace throughout the state.

A notable rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has insisted that a thorough process for the selection of the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will go a long way to make the body free from external control.

Falana said that advertising the vacant positions of members of the electoral commission and resident electoral commissioners, as recommended by the Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais panel in 2008, would guarantee the independence of INEC.

According to him, such a process was already in place in African countries.

“What other countries in Africa have done – Lesotho, Botswana, and the rest of them – is to put in place a mechanism whereby vacant positions in the electoral bodies are advertised.

“And this was the recommendation of the Uwais Panel as far back as 2008, that in choosing members of the electoral commission and resident electoral commissioners, we should advertise the positions,” the lawyer said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.

“Right now, such an advert has just been published in Lesotho, an African country, so that those who believe they are credible will conduct good elections, men and women of character and integrity will apply.

“Members of the public will be given the opportunity to object to any of them who are not qualified morally or otherwise. And then the names are shortlisted, and the best three are sent to the National Assembly,” he explained.

“The Uwais Panel had recommended that the National Judicial Council be the body that will scrutinise the candidates and recommend the best three.

“So the President will simply take the names to the National Assembly for the legislators to choose from the list.

“This goes a long way to make the body free from control,” the SAN added.

Falana’s position came amid concerns over the ability of INEC to conduct transparent and fair elections without interference.

Last Thursday, the Senate has confirmed a Law professor, Joash Amupitan, as the new Chairman of the INEC after screening him at the upper chamber.

The 58-year-old academic was nominated by President Bola Tinubu earlier and received formal endorsement from the National Council of State.

When sworn in, Amupitan will become the sixth substantive Chairman of INEC, succeeding Mahmood Yakubu, who has officially concluded his tenure.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has suspended the two-week warning strike it began on October 13, 2025.

The strike, which would have expired next Monday next week, was suspended following renewed commitments from the Federal government and the National Assembly to address the union’s demands.

ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced the suspension during a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, citing recent interventions and engagements with the Yayale Ahmed-led committee and the Deputy Senate President as the reasons for suspending the action before its scheduled end.

However, the lecturers urged the government to take advantage of the one-month suspension window to meet their demands, which include the review of the 2009 ASUU-Federal government agreement, payment of outstanding salaries and earned allowances, and disbursement of the university revitalisation fund, among others.

ASUU also warned that the union would resume the industrial action without prior notice if no concrete steps are taken within the next one month.

On October 12, ASUU declared a two-week “total and comprehensive” strike following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the government on September 28.

ASUU based its two-week warning strike on the Federal government’s failure to address issues concerning staff welfare, infrastructure development, implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, and payment of salary arrears.

Following ASUU’s strike declaration, however, the Federal government faulted the union for the industrial action, saying it was addressing its demands.

It later directed varsities to implement a “no work, no pay” policy following the strike.

“In line with extant provisions of labour laws, the Federal government reiterates its position on the enforcement of the ‘no work, no pay’ policy in respect of any employee who fails to discharge his or her official duties during the period of strike action,” the Ministry of Education said in a circular read.

It also ordered vice-chancellors to conduct roll calls and physical headcounts of academic staff in their institutions and submit reports showing those on duty.

Last week, the Senate stepped in to intervene in the industrial dispute between the ASUU and the Federal government.

It expressed concern over the government’s inability to meet ASUU’s demands, describing the situation as unacceptable.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Aliyu Dandutse, disclosed after a closed-door session with the leadership of ASUU.

He further noted that the Senate would immediately initiate a negotiation process involving key stakeholders, including ASUU, the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission (NUC), to chart a path toward a permanent resolution of the crisis.

To address the controversial issue surrounding the University of Abuja land, the committee confirmed that the Senate would also engage with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to find an amicable solution.