Headlines
Police Kill Suspected Kidnapper of UBEC Chairman
A man who allegedly masterminded the kidnap last month of the Chairman of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and his daughter along the Abuja- Kaduna road has been shot dead during a shoot-out with the police.
Police spokesperson, Frank Mba, said this on Sunday.
The suspect, Sumaila Sule, alias Shaho, estimated to be in his mid-thirties, was a native of Rijana village in Kachia LGA of Kaduna State.
The police described him as “one of the most vicious and most wanted kidnappers that has been terrorising citizens in Kaduna and its environs.”
Mr Mba said the suspect died in the early hours of Saturday, following multiple bullet wounds he sustained during the shootout with police operatives attached to Operation Puff Adder.
PREMIUM TIMES reported how the UBEC Chairman, Mahmood Abubakar, regained freedom in April alongside his daughter.
Both were kidnapped along the Abuja-Kaduna Highway.
Mr Abubakar’s driver was shot dead during the encounter, which left their black Toyota SUV riddled with bullets.
The shootout took place in the evening of May 17 at the outskirts of Rijana village.
“The police operatives, in line with the mandate of Operation Puff Adder, were carrying out routine surveillance and raid of suspected criminal hide-outs,” Mr Mba said on Sunday.
“They suddenly came under gunfire attack from a heavily armed criminal gang. The police team fought back gallantly, repelling the attack and eventually bringing SHAHO down, whilst his gang members fled.
“Shaho was rushed to a hospital where he eventually died the next day.
“Meanwhile, acting on information elicited from the suspect before his death, police operatives, between the 18th and 19th of May 2019, carried out sweeping follow-up operations at different target locations.
“These coordinated operations led to the arrest of four other members of SHAHO’s gang and the recovery of three (3) AK 47 rifles.”
The police named the arrested suspects as Musa Hassan, 26; Yau Umar, 25; Umar MUSA, 22; and Muhammad Sani, 28; “all males and natives of Rijiana Village Kachia LGA Kaduna State.
“Shaho and his gang members have been on the radar of the intelligence community for a while.
“They have been implicated in several high-level kidnappings and other heinous crimes along Kaduna-Abuja road and beyond.
“In a similar vein, a combined team of Operation Puff Adder operatives, comprising of the IGP Response Team, the Technical Intelligence Unit, the Police Mobile Force and the Special Anti Robbery Squad have arrested another set of kidnappers.
“They have been terrorising citizens at Mubi axis of Adamawa State. One AK 47 rifle and twenty-six (26) rounds of live ammunition were recovered from the gang.”
The police named the suspects as Umaru Ibrahim, a native of Buni Yadi, Yobe State; Abdul Maina, a native of Maiha Adamawa State; and Mohammed Abubakar, also a native of Buni Yadi, Yobe State.
The police said the suspects have confessed to participating in numerous kidnapping and armed robbery operations within Adamawa State, including the kidnap and collection of a ransom of N7 million from one Abdullahi Umoru of Hong LGA.
“Investigations into these cases are on-going, while efforts aimed at arresting other members of the gangs still at large are being intensified.
“While commending police operatives for their gallantry, as well as selfless service to the nation and humanity, the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mohammed Adamu has reassured Nigerians that the war against crimes and criminality will soon be won.”
The IGP called for continuous support for the police and other law enforcement agencies, promising that the security agencies will not rest on their oars till normalcy is restored in every part of Nigeria.
Premium Times
By Eric Elezuo
The Presidency has announce that President Bola Tinubu will be departing Abuja to (Wednesday) for Paris, France, on a ‘short working visit’.
A statement to the effect, signed and released by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, was however silent on the shape of international relationship the working visiting the president was embarking on will take, but noted that Tinubu will use the ‘retreat’ to review his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones, as well as review progress of ongoing reforms.
While acknowledging that the president will spend ‘about a fortnight’ on the trip, the statement added he would supervise administration while away.
The statement in details
PRESIDENT TINUBU TO EMBARK ON WORKING VISIT TO PARIS
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart for Paris, France, today on a short working visit.
During the visit, the President will appraise his administration’s mid-term performance and assess key milestones.
He will also use the retreat to review the progress of ongoing reforms and engage in strategic planning ahead of his administration’s second anniversary.
This period of reflection will inform plans to deepen ongoing reforms and accelerate national development priorities in the coming year.
Recent economic strides reinforce the President’s commitment to these efforts, as evidenced by the Central Bank of Nigeria reporting a significant increase in net foreign exchange reserves to $23.11 billion—a testament to the administration’s fiscal reforms since 2023 when net reserves were $3.99 billion.
While away, President Tinubu will remain fully engaged with his team and continue to oversee governance activities.
He will return to Nigeria in about a fortnight.
President Bola Tinubu has sacked the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari.
Tinubu also dissolved its board, removing the Chairman, Chief Pius Akinyelure.
Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on information and strategy, announced this in a statement on Wednesday.
Onanuga said Tinubu invoked his powers under section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 to carry out the sweeping reconstitution, citing the need for “enhanced operational efficiency, restored investor confidence, and a more commercially viable NNPC”.
He announced that Tinubu has now approved a new 11-man board, which has Engineer Bashir Bayo Ojulari as the Group CEO and Ahmadu Musa Kida as non-executive chairman.
According to the statement, “Adedapo Segun, who replaced Umaru Isa Ajiya as the chief financial officer last November, has been appointed to the new board by President Tinubu.
“Six board members, non-executive directors, represent the country’s geopolitical zones. They are Bello Rabiu, North West, Yusuf Usman, North East, and Babs Omotowa, a former managing director of the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas( NLNG), who represents North Central.
“President Tinubu appointed Austin Avuru as a non-executive director from the South-South, David Ige as a Non-executive director from the South West, and Henry Obih as a non-executive director from the South East.
“Mrs Lydia Shehu Jafiya, permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, will represent the ministry on the new board, while Aminu Said Ahmed will represent the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.”
He added said that all the appointments are effective today, April 2.
President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Americans want him to run for another term, a step banned by the US constitution but which he continues describing as possible.
“People are asking me to run,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when asked about the possibility of a third term.
“I don’t know. I never looked into it. They do say there’s a way you can do it, but I don’t know about that, but I have not looked into it,” Trump said.
Trump was asked about the prospect of a race pitting him against former president Barack Obama, who served two terms.
“That would be a good one, I’d like that,” Trump said.
“I’m not joking” about the idea of seeking a third term, Trump said Sunday in an interview with NBC News.
The 78-year-old Republican served from 2017 to 2021 and began his second term in the White House on January 20.
The first US president, George Washington, established a tradition by not seeking a third term after completing his second one in 1797.
But this tradition was not formally added to the US constitution until after World War II, with the ratification of the 22nd amendment in 1951.
It says no one can be elected president more than two times.
