By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Voice and video platform, Skype, is shutting down.

This development comes nearly 22 years after the platform came into existence.

On February 28, Microsoft announced it would retire Skype on May 5 to streamline its services and prioritise Teams for communication and collaboration.

In 2011, Microsoft acquired Skype for $8.5 billion. At the time of acquisition, the organisation stated that it planned to make Skype a central part of its communications strategy.

This plan, however, faced stiff competition from platforms like WhatsApp and Zoom.

Microsoft’s own Teams also gained traction, which affected Skype’s popularity.

Launched in 2003, Skype quickly became a revolutionary tool for free voice and video calls over the internet, amassing more than 300 million monthly users at its peak in the mid-2010s.

The shutdown will impact both free and paid Skype users, although Skype for Business will continue temporarily.

Microsoft has urged users to transition to Teams by visiting skype.com and utilising the “Start using Teams” feature. All Skype chats and contacts will remain accessible through Teams using the same login credentials.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

In a post on his Truth Social account on Sunday, Trump wrote he is “directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ” to house the US’s “most ruthless and violent Offenders”.

President Donald Trump has directed federal agencies to rebuild and reopen the notorious Alcatraz prison, more than 60 years after it was shut down.

In a post on his Truth Social account on Sunday, Trump wrote he is “directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ” to house the US’s “most ruthless and violent Offenders”.

Speaking to reporters at the White House after a weekend trip to Florida, the president said the move was “just an idea I’ve had” in response to frustration with “radicalised judges” who, according to him, insist that deportees receive constitutional protections, Al Jazeera reports.

“It’s a symbol of law and order,” he said.

The announcement comes as Trump’s administration faces increasing legal challenges over the use of an 18th-century law to deport individuals without due process.

The law, originally enacted during wartime, has been used by the administration to justify deportations of alleged gang members and criminals.

Trump has also “repeatedly floated the legally dubious idea” of sending US citizens convicted of violent crimes to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, known as CECOT.

In a recent interview, the president said he “didn’t know” whether people in the US are entitled to due process rights. The US Constitution guarantees such rights under the Fifth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits states from denying “equal protection of the laws”.

Alcatraz, which operated from 1934 to 1963, was once regarded as the most secure prison in the United States due to its location on an island surrounded by frigid waters and strong currents.

While 36 men attempted to escape in 14 separate incidents, no successful escapes were ever officially recorded. Five prisoners are listed as “missing and presumed drowned”.

The facility was shut down due to crumbling infrastructure and high operational costs. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, it was nearly three times more expensive to run than any other federal prison at the time.

Today, Alcatraz Island is managed by the National Park Service and attracts over a million tourists each year. It is also designated a National Historic Landmark.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat whose congressional district includes Alcatraz, criticised the proposal. “It is now a very popular national park and major tourist attraction. The President’s proposal is not a serious one,” she wrote on

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

No fewer than 10 hunters were killed in an ambush by armed bandits in Mansur Forest, located in the Duguri/Gwana Districts of Alkaleri local government area of Bauchi State on Sunday.

The hunters from Duguri and Gwana Districts were on a routine patrol along the Duguri–Mansur–Dajin Madam Forest corridor, a border zone between Bauchi and Plateau States, when they were ambushed by the bandits.

Local sources from Duguri confirmed that four residents from Duguri and five others from Mansur lost their lives in the attack.

The incident reportedly occurred on Sunday morning and the bandits also rustled an unspecified number of cattle and sheep from the area.

It was further gathered that apart from the hunters killed, several of the bandits also died during the clash, including villagers from Sabuwar Sara village were also said to have been killed while attempting to flee the violence.

The Bauchi State Police Command has confirmed the incident but did not state the exact number of those who lost their lives during the attack.

In a statement issued on Monday by the Command’s spokesperson, CSP Ahmed Mohammed Wakil, it was revealed that the attack occurred at about 05:40 hours on May 4, 2025, and was reported to the Alkaleri Divisional Police Headquarters around 09:40 hours.

“A combined team of professional hunters from Duguri and Gwana Districts, while on a routine patrol along Duguri, Mansur, and the Dajin Madam forest, bordering Bauchi and Plateau States, encountered an ambush by armed bandits,” Wakil stated.

He added that the confrontation resulted in multiple casualties on both sides, including members of the vigilante group and the assailants.

The PPRO further said tactical teams were dispatched to the scene, where the bodies of victims were recovered.

Police preliminary investigations indicated that the deceased included both local hunters and villagers from Sabuwar Sara village, who were shot while fleeing the attack.

The Command has launched a manhunt for those responsible, with a specialised team tasked with tracking down the perpetrators and anyone connected to the attack.

Commissioner of Police, CP Sani-Omolori Aliyu, has deployed additional tactical teams to Mansur village in Alkaleri LGA and met with community stakeholders.

He condemned the killings, describing them as “utterly reprehensible” and a serious threat to peace and security in the state.

He also extended his condolences to the families of the victims and assured the public that the Command was committed to a thorough investigation and to bringing those responsible to justice.