News
INSECURITY! Cleric calls for support for Matawalle, CDS Musa on war against banditry
***Exposes politicians who don’t want insurgencies to end
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A renowned cleric, Sheikh Abdurrahman Azzamfari, has called for prayers and support for the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher G. Musa, for their tireless efforts in combating banditry in the northern region.
This was, even as, the Cleric has exposed those he described as “enemies of the people”, who do not want the insurgencies to end, but cashing on it for political gains.
Azzamfari, who spoke in Hausa language at a public lecture delivered at the weekend, x-ray the growing security challenges in Zamfara State, highlighting the dangerous forces working behind the scenes to perpetuate violence and unrest in the state, while commending the ongoing efforts of key government figures to restore peace.
According to the cleric, selfish interests and ignorance have been key drivers of the insecurity plaguing Zamfara. In his words, “This problem is like the case of two elephants fighting; who will suffer the most? The grass.”
Sheikh Azzamfari made it clear that the people of Zamfara are the ultimate victims of this ongoing conflict, which, he asserts, is being driven by powerful individuals who benefit from the continued violence.
“The insecurity in the north is a huge problem and there are many factors involved – like personal interest, politics, illiteracy; and only almighty God can put an end to it.
“Some people don’t want to see the end of insecurity because if it ends, some people’s political stake has come to an end; and they don’t want that because they want to use it for campaign in 2027 elections.
“And for some people, if insecurity stops they loose their source of income, while some people don’t want it stopped because the person that stops it will get huge credit and they can’t stand to see that.
“For these kind of people, they would rather see everyone suffer than lose their interest, and these people are big people with a lot of power, the more they clash, the more the poor masses suffer”, the Cleric asserted.
The cleric praised the Honourable Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Matawalle, and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Musa, for fighting the insurgencies, pointing out that, “these leaders have become targets of those who do not want to see peace return to the state”.
He said, “these people do not want the good efforts that Matawalle is making to end this incessant violence to come to fruition. They cannot afford to allow Matawalle or Christopher Musa to take the credit for ending this menace.
“Some people think if Matawalle and Christopher Musa succeed, they will get a huge credit and they don’t want that, we pray to God to resolve this issue and help them in their endeavor”.
In his closing remarks, he urged all believing Muslims to include Dr. Matawalle and General Musa in their prayers, imploring divine intervention to help these leaders overcome the evil forces plotting against them.
His call for solidarity emphasized the need for unity in supporting genuine efforts aimed at ending the banditry in Zamfara, while condemning those who are determined to undermine such initiatives for their own selfish gain.
The Universal Basic Education Commission on Tuesday announced plans to introduce a new template for disbursing counterpart funds under the Universal Basic Education programme.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary of the commission, Aisha Garba, during an interactive workshop with State Universal Basic Education Boards in Abuja.
Garba explained that the Federal Government, through UBEC, had recently restructured the delivery of basic education nationwide to align with four strategic pillars aimed at improving access and quality across states and the Federal Capital Territory.
She identified the pillars as expanding access to basic education, especially for rural and underserved populations; enhancing the quality of teaching and learning nationwide; strengthening accountability and the effective use of education financing; and optimising monitoring and institutional systems for quality service delivery.
She said, “The Hope Education Project of the present administration is a performance-for-reward initiative designed to support states that judiciously utilise resources in line with these four pillars.”
She added that the new approach had made it necessary to develop fresh templates that will guide SUBEBs in preparing work plans to access UBE intervention funds under the framework of the Hope Education Project.
Also speaking at the event, UBEC’s Deputy Executive Secretary for General Services, Tunde Ajibulu, described the workshop as timely and essential.
He stressed that the realignment of basic education delivery made the introduction of the new templates crucial.
“We expect you, as implementers of basic education in your respective states, to contribute positively and help develop workable templates,” Ajibulu said.
A Kano State High Court on Tuesday dismissed an application filed by former Kano State Governor and current National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, challenging the court’s jurisdiction to hear a bribery and misappropriation case against him.
The Kano State Government brought 11 counts against Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, son Umar, and five others, alleging bribery totalling $413,000 and misappropriation of N1.38 billion.
The other defendants include Abubakar Bawuro, Umar Abdullahi Umar, Jibrilla Muhammad, Lamash Properties Limited, Safari Textiles Limited, and Lasage General Enterprises Limited.
Delivering her ruling, Justice Amina Adamu-Aliyu dismissed all preliminary objections raised by the defendants, describing them as incompetent and lacking merit.
She ruled that the charges filed on May 13, 2024, were competent and that the matter should proceed to trial.
The judge further issued a summons to the sixth defendant, Lamash Properties Limited, and adjourned the case to July 30 and 31, 2025, for hearing.
Ganduje, his wife Hafsat, and son Umar, had through their lawyer, Mrs. Lydia Oyewo, filed a preliminary objection dated November 18, 2024, challenging the court’s jurisdiction and seeking to have all charges quashed.
In response, counsel for the state government, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), filed a counter-application dated October 22, 2024, urging the court to dismiss the preliminary objections for lacking merit.
Similarly, counsel for the third and seventh defendants, M.N. Duru, (SAN), submitted a motion on notice dated October 18, 2024, supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit and a written address, asking the court to uphold their application.
Counsel for the fifth defendant, Muhammad Shehu, also filed a motion dated October 18, 2024, and urged the court to grant it with substantial costs against the complainant.
Abubakar Ahmad, representing the sixth defendant, filed a preliminary objection dated September 9, 2024, supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit.
Additionally, counsel for the eighth defendant, Faruk Asekome, filed a notice of preliminary objection dated October 18, 2024, supported by a five-paragraph affidavit and written address, also seeking dismissal of the charges.
Justice Adamu-Aliyu, however, ruled that the objections lacked merit and cleared the way for the trial to proceed.
-
News17 hours agoJust in: Another major headache as 3 PDP senators defect to APC
-
News17 hours agoCourt Jails Two Six Months for Naira Abuse in Lagos
-
News18 hours agoUnion seals Lagos company over racial discrimination of workers
-
News17 hours ago$1.43m scam: Ajudua on the run as Supreme Court orders his return to prison
-
News18 hours agoCBN warns public against fraudsters claiming to act on its behalf
-
News15 hours ago10 WAEC students still missing as Rivers women demand Sole Administrator’s intervention
-
News15 hours agoReps reject bill on rotational presidency among six geopolitical zones
-
News15 hours agoIf sight led me, I wouldn’t have married my wife, says Pastor Enenche