FORTY persons have been killed in another attack on the Zike community, Kimakpa, in the Kwali district of the Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State.
According to Channels TV, in the early morning of Monday, April 14, gunmen attacked the community and started shooting at residents.
Media reports said vigilantes responded to the attack and repelled the assailants, but not before 36 people were killed, with 4 more dying later.
The Plateau state police command has yet to confirm the incident.
Plateau State in Nigeria is experiencing recurring violent attacks, with a recent incident following the killing of 52 people in the Bokkos Local Government Area. The ongoing violence has resulted in significant loss of life, destruction of property, and erosion of trust in governance, demanding urgent national attention.
The ICIR reported that President Bola Tinubu has vowed that those behind the gruesome attacks on several communities in Plateau state will be apprehended and made to face the full weight of the law.
Reacting to the spate of killings in the Bokkos Local Government Area, the president, in a statement on Saturday, April 5, described the violence as “unacceptable” and directed security agencies to hunt down the perpetrators.
The statement, which was released by Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the president, Bayo Onanuga, extended his condolences to the families of victims in Ruwi, Hurti, Tadai, Manguna, and Dafo communities, where dozens were killed and homes destroyed.
The renewed violence, which began on March 28, 2025, escalated with a series of coordinated attacks on villages across Bokkos LGA.
The ICIR reported that the death toll, which rose from 40 additional bodies to 52 on Wednesday and Thursday, left communities in mourning and further exposed the vulnerability of rural populations to violent attacks.
According to the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard, 31 victims were buried in a mass grave, including five children burned beyond recognition in the village.
Other victims were killed in the villages of Ruwi, Manguna, and Daffo.
Reacting to this, Tinubu commiserated with Governor Caleb Mutfwang and the people of Plateau State, assuring them of his support in ending the spate of ‘wanton bloodletting on the Plateau.’
He further directed the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to work closely with state authorities to bring immediate relief to survivors and help rebuild affected communities.
Recall that on Wednesday, April 2 alone, over 10 people were reportedly killed when gunmen stormed several communities, burning homes, injuring dozens, and leaving many still unaccounted for.
This was according to the initial comment by the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC) Vanguard.
The affected communities include Mongor, Daffo, Manguna, Hurti, and Tadai.
These attacks came just six days after gunmen killed 10 others during a wake in the Ruwi community, bringing the weekly death toll to 20.
However, local leaders and rescue teams have said the actual number has now hit 52.
Speaking to journalists after the Wednesday attack, thechairman of the Bokkos Cultural Development Council (BCDC), Farmasum Fuddang, said more than 50 villages in Bokkos have been attacked in the past six months.
Meanwhile, Tinubu has ordered security agencies to fish out the masterminds of the cycle of killings in Plateau State.
Tinubu reaffirmed his government’s strong resolve to stop violent crimes and all forms of criminality everywhere in Nigeria.
THE police in Kwara State have again arrested singer Habeeb Okikiola Badmus, popularly known as ‘Portable’, over allegations of criminal defamation, threat to life, and incitement against popular Fuji musician Okunola Saheed, popularly known as Osupa.
The controversial musician was also accused of character assassination by the police.
Portable was arrested based on a petition filed by Osupa with the Kwara State Police Command, where he accused Portable of using abusive and defamatory words capable of instigating violence and damaging his reputation.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) of the Kwara Command, Superintendent (SP) Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, in a statement released on Sunday, April 14, said the command acted by the law after receiving credible evidence to support the petition.
According to the police, the petition borders on serious allegations, which include criminal defamation, threat to life, incitement, character assassination, conduct likely to cause a breach of peace, and the use of abusive and insulting words.
The police said Portable was arrested in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Saturday, April 13, 2025, around 7:25 pm, by Kwara State Police officers who had obtained an arrest warrant from a Magistrate Court in Ilorin.
He was taken to Ilorin for investigation, and his statement was recorded in the presence of his lawyers and representatives from the other party. Portable is still in custody and will be taken to court soon
The statement added that the command remains determined to maintain the rule of law and ensure that justiceis served fairly and transparently.
The ICIR reported that Portable surrendered to the Lagos State Police Command in February 2025 after he was declared wanted by the Ogun State Police Command.
The ICIR reports that Portable’s arrest followed an incident on February 5, 2025, in which he was accused of leading a violent attack on government officials from the Ogun State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development during an enforcement exercise in Ota.
The officials were reportedly inspecting buildings when they were assaulted by the singer and a group of men armed with dangerous weapons.
Nine of his associates were arrested and charged in court, but Portable, who had escaped arrest on the day of the incident, was said to have evaded multiple police invitations.
This prompted the Ogun State Police Command to declare him wanted on Monday, February 17. The police noted that it had secured a court order declaring him wanted.
The command further urged the public to provide any useful information that could lead to his immediate arrest.
Reacting to the declaration, the singer took to social media and declared himself a mentally unstable person undergoing treatment at the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta.
NIGERIANS are still battling with epileptic power supply in their households, despite the government claim that it has reported notable progress in the stability of the power grid.
The Nigerian government credited the grid stability to the addition of 700 megawatts (MW) in transmission capacity.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, over the weekend during a meeting with the European (EU) Ambassador to Nigeria, Gautier Mignot, at his office in Abuja.
Here’s an improved version of the sentence for clarity, grammar, and flow:
Over the weekend, several parts of Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), experienced widespread blackouts and power outages. Residents of areas such as Kubwa, Nyanya, and Airport Road confirmed to The ICIR that they had little to no electricity supply.
Let me know if you’d like a more concise or more casual version!
According to a statement issued on Sunday, April 13, by the Minister’s media aide, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu explained that the increased capacity was made possible through the Presidential Power Initiative, which secured $2.3 billion in funding to overhaul and upgrade the transmission infrastructure.
He noted that in the past, the power grid became unstable and vulnerable to collapse whenever supply neared 5,000MW. He further stated that almost 90 per cent of the newly added capacity has already been installed and is now in use, significantly improving the grid’s performance.
“We have installed almost 90 per cent of this, and they are working. And that has improved transmission capacity by over 700 megawatts, which is the result of what we are seeing now in terms of relative stability in the transmission grid.
“We have almost completed the pilot phase of that project, which involved the importation, installation, commissioning, and energisation of 10 power transformers across the country and another set of 10 mobile substations,” the statement read in part.
The minister explained that previously, the grid became unstable and frequently collapsed whenever the supply reached 5,000 megawatts.
However, he said that the country is now averaging between 5,000 and 8,000 megawatts, attributing the improvement to the government’s ongoing efforts and initiatives.
Adelabu also stated that the current administration has achieved two significant milestones in Nigeria’s power sector history.
He noted that, for the first time, the country recorded an average daily power consumption of over 20,000 kilowatt hours.
Additionally, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) transmitted and distributed a record 5,801.63 megawatts of energy, surpassing the previous peak set in 2021.
He further highlighted that the nation reached a generation capacity of 6,003 megawatts, the highest ever recorded. He emphasised that these achievements reflect the positive impact of the government’s efforts in the sector.
Meanwhile, the minister appealed to EU member states to maintain their support for Nigeria by providing technical, financial, and other forms of assistance, particularly in the power sector, which he described as the backbone of the nation’s economy.
He stressed the importance of the sector in ensuring the economy functions at its best.
Adelabu also reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to working closely with the EU and its development partners to achieve shared goals through both bilateral and multilateral agreements.
THE rush for solid minerals by illegal artisanal and small-scale miners in Benue State has left communities at risk of a lead poisoning outbreak, turning once fertile farmlands into degraded wastelands. This investigation exposes how the ugly trend has continued in two local government areas despite the ban on illegal mining activities.
It had been an exhausting day for 35-year-old widow, Terdoo Tyozenda, and her 11-year-old daughter, as they returned from a mining site in Anyiin, on the evening of January 19.
Both carried on their heads plastic bowls containing lead ore, but daughter absentmindedly fiddled her lead-coated finger in her mouth.
Lowering the bucket from her head, Tyozenda said, “mining has become our new farm. Without this (lead ore), we would die of hunger, and I won’t have money to buy basic things like soap.”
Terdoo Tyozenda (R) and her daughter (L) Photo credit: Sinafi Omanga/The ICIR
She estimated that the quantity in the bowl weighed around 3 kilograms. “We sell a kilo at N500 (to local traders), so I think I will make N1,500,” she said, adding that the killing of her husband during a 2023 attack on their village by armed herdsmen left her struggling to make ends meet.
Anyiin, a town in Logo LGA of Benue state is now home to thousands of displaced farmers living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, many of whom have turned to illegal mining activities for survival. Tyozenda and her daughter were heading to the camp when The ICIR sought to speak with her.
At the mining sites located about 15 kilometres off Akwana Road in Anyiin, women and children were found in their hundreds scavenging for lead ore and fluorite, with their bare hands. Some men operated heavy machinery, without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The scene resembled a rowdy market as sacks of lead ore and fluorite were on display for potential buyers.
Sacks containing lead ore on display for potential buyers and the location of Akwana Road on Google Earth Credit: Sinafi Omanga/The ICIR
Along the Akwana Road and Tyogbenda village in Anyiin were acidic mine ponds and pits which residents said overflow into nearby farmlands during the rainy seasons.
Similarly, Kwande LGA has several farmlands and water sources like River Mbagwa, which are contaminated by mining activities of gold.
Lead poisoning looms
In Benue State, the rush for solid mineral resources by artisanal miners who are often illegal and small-scale miners has left communities at the risk of a lead poisoning outbreak and turned once fertile farmlands into degraded wasteland. It has also caused revenue losses for the government.
Despite suspension on mining activities by the state government, the trend has continued in Logo and Kwande LGAs due to poor guidelines and enforcement.
An acidic mine pond in, Anyiin. Credit: Sinafi Omanga / The ICIR
Contamination leaves food consumers at risk- Soil science expert
Ibiwumi Nwachukwu, a professor of Soil Science at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, said Nigeria should be concerned that Benue, a state in the north-central region which provides a substantial portion of the country’s agricultural output, is now at risk of not only being stripped of its fertility but also endangering the health of food consumers.
When mining of heavy metals like lead is unregulated, the people are exposed to poisoning and the land suffers degradation, said the professor, whose current research is on heavy metals in soil-plant systems, soil contamination and remediation.
Shedding light on the danger of abandoned acid mine ponds overflowing into farmlands, Nwachukwu said, “If it overflows, of course, it will spill into the surrounding farmlands. The water will seep into the soil, and the plants will absorb it. It’s not localised; that is what we call diffuse contamination.”
“The danger is that, even though I’m far from that place and not directly exposed to the contaminants in the soil, I’m still at risk. All the food produced in those areas get transported across the country, and anyone can buy it in the market,” she stated.
‘They will die slowly, without knowing’
The U.S. Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in a report titled, “Lead Poisoning Investigation in Northern Nigeria” says when lead dust is in the air, children and adults breathe in the particles. They also get exposed by drinking water or eating contaminated food.
“Lead exposure can damage many body systems, including the brain, kidneys, bones, and the nervous system,” the report said, adding that children exposed to lead contamination “often die.”
On the threat of a lead poisoning outbreak at the mine sites and the IDP camps, Nwachuku said the women and children scavenging the minerals “without specialised gloves were exposed to slow death, without knowing.” She explained that children get poisoned by just touching the soil that has high lead in it.
Some illegal miners gathering lead ore with bare hands Credit: Sinafi Omanga/ The ICIR
“The poison goes into the body, into the bloodstream because the human skin has pores. They may feel it’s not affecting them immediately, but over time, the effects accumulate. After years of exposure, they’ll start to see the consequences. Some symptoms show up early, while others may take years to manifest,” she stated.
Curiously, Nigeria has faced some lead poisoning outbreaks. Between April and May 2015, 28 children in the remote villages of Kawo and Magiro, in Niger State died days after exhibiting symptoms like convulsions, insomnia, and hallucinations. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) later confirmed that the children died due to dangerously high levels of lead in their bodies.
Similarly, in 2010 there was another outbreak of lead poisoning in Zamfara, a state in Northern Nigeria notorious for illegal gold mining, which killed at least 400 people, mainly children.
Farmlands turned degraded wasteland
After walking 4 kilometres along a narrow path, Tyoughnande Tertindi, a 23-year-old farmer, stopped at an uncultivated piece of land near River Mbagwa, to share his growing frustration with illegal miners. For several years, the farmland in the Kwande LGA of Benue State had produced a bountiful harvest of cassava and sweet potatoes. However, the situation changed in 2023.
What was once fertile soil, has now been overtaken by open mine pits, and prone to flooding during the rainy season. The destruction of Tertindi’s farmland was caused by his fellow villagers seeking fortunes from imining of alluvial gold, which was discovered on the banks of River Mbagwa.
River Mbagwa in Kwande LGA has been contaminated as a result of mining activities. Credit: Sinafi Omanga/ The ICIR
The artisanal miners often leave behind open pits after extracting minerals, or even when their labour proves in vain. This results in farmers like Tertindi suffering the devastation of farmlands when the pits overflow during the rainy season. He estimated that his cassava and sweet potato farms worth over a million naira had been destroyed by illegal mining activities.
“I reported the case to our community’s mining chairman, but nothing has been done,” he said.
Open mine pit leaves Tyoughnande Tertindi’s farmland prone to flooding Credit: Sinafi Omanga/The ICIR
Aba Kimbi, a resident in Kwande, who is familiar with the history of gold mining in the state, said the scramble began in 2017 after an artisanal miner identified as Don Kwas made the discovery near one of the rivers tributaries in the neighbouring Agenago village. Kwas had returned home from Zamfara, a state notorious for illegal gold mining.
“After Kwas hit the jackpot, many villagers abandoned farming in search of gold (without government permit). They believe that a few grams of gold can fetch them money that several years of farming cannot,” Kimbi said during an interview in Adikpo, the local government headquarters.
Mining without geophysical data, guidelines, the genesis
After the 2017 discovery of gold in Kwande, some villagers began destroying their farmlands to strike gold and other minerals, said a geologist and the chief executive officer of Gemini Mining and Exploration Ltd, Andrew Kputu.
Kputu said he was shocked to observe the trend while serving as a Special Adviser to the former governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom, on Solid Minerals. “Ordinarily, mining is always bound to affect agriculture if carried out without proper geophysical data. The sad thing is these people are mining haphazardly.
Andrew Kputu. Photo by TheICIR/Sinafi Omanga.
“They do so without first checking to know whether the places they are digging have any commercial quantity of the deposit. So, they end up excavating and leaving these pits open, then move to the next place and continue the damage,” he noted during an interview at his Makurdi residence.
Briefing newsmen in October 2023, Comfort Akwanya Adau, the Chairperson of Benue State’s Task Force on Illegal Mining, said “huge mineral deposits” across the 23 local government areas of the state had been taken over by illegal miners.
“Presently, there are no guidelines for mining, as even under-age children from IDP camps are involved in digging a huge pit in the name of mining, which poses danger to their health,” she said.
There are 500,182 IDPs in Benue State as a result of the farmer-herder conflict, which has intensified in recent years. Out of the figures, Logo alone accounts for 13,633 individuals, while Kwande has 15,909 individuals, according to the January 2025 report by the International Organisation for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM).
An IDP camp in Anyiin. Photo Sinafi Omanga/The ICIR.
Benue food crisis deepens
As illegal miners continue to destroy farmlands in Benue, a food security analysis conducted by the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition, and Development showed that 50.3 per cent of the rural farming households in the state are food insecure. The study further revealed that rural households were often affected by environmental factors such as “limited water supply, and contaminated surface water.”
Similarly, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) has said there is at least 62.2 per cent prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in Benue State. The Policy and Advocacy Associate of the Swiss-based foundation, Toromade Olutayo, disclosed this during a training held at Makurdi in June 2024.
Furthermore, in November 2024, the Managing Director of the Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC), Raymond Asemakaha, stated that, “Food prices remain higher in Benue than neighbouring states despite being tagged the Food Basket of the country.”
Asemakaha stated this at a meeting with Benue Farmers and Traders Protection and Development (BFTPD) aimed to address food insecurity and improve the economic conditions of farmers in the state.
Revenue losses
Nigeria loses $9bn annually to illegal mining, according to the House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals. The chairperson of the committee, Jonathan Gaza Gbefwi said, “The unregulated exploitation of our natural resources jeopardises the sustainability of the mineral sector, leading to environmental degradation and revenue loss that could otherwise benefit our communities and nation as a whole.”
Despite having 34 out of the 44 solid minerals found in Nigeria, Benue State gets only N30 million as derivative from the federal government due to the activities of illegal miners, according to the Benue State Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee (MIREMCO).
At a media briefing in February 2024, Fidelis Mnyim, the Chairperson of MIREMCO, said, “The presence of illegal miners in the state, the problem of improper reporting of mining activities have denied the state the royalties and 13 per cent derivatives that it should receive.”
Rivalry over mining areas
Section 44(3) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution vests control of mineral resources in the federal government, but the land where mining takes place fall under the jurisdiction of state governments.
The Minerals and Mining Act (2007), the primary law governing Nigeria’s mining sector says, “No person shall search for or exploit mineral resources in Nigeria or divert or impound water for the purpose of mining except as provided in this Act.”
A document obtained from the website of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (NMCO) revealed that it has approved valid mineral titles for 124 companies that spanned a total of 3,725 Sq. Km in Benue state. NMCO is the federal government agency mandated by Section 5 (1) of the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act, 2007 to administer and manage minerals titles in Nigeria.
According to an analysis by The ICIR, 1,459 Sq. Km of the allotted titles are located on borderlines between Benue and its neighbouring states of Cross River, Nasarawa, Kogi, Enugu and Taraba.
However, Kimbi, the Kwande resident, earlier interviewed, said some local communities have formed resistance movements against companies that come to mine in their communities, despite obtaining licences from NMCO.
Kimbi, who works with Adila Nigeria Limited, a registered mining company, recalled how they were barred from entering a community to carry out exploration of gold, despite obtaining a licence from the government.
“The government got it wrong from the beginning when it failed to issue a clear guideline and sensitise the local people on how mining activities should be carried out. These villagers display a dangerous ignorance of the law,” he said.
Reacting to Kimbi’s claim, Kputu, the geologist, faulted some miners for obtaining exploration licences or mining leases without consultation with landowners or entering into a community development agreement (CDA) with the host communities.
“We have situations where investors try to shortchange the communities, sometimes they extend their operations into areas that are not within their scope. This has caused strife between host communities and investors,” he said.
Despite ban, illegal mining activities persist
At an emergency security meeting on August 18, 2022, the former governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom ordered the immediate suspension of illegal mining of gold across various communities in the Kwande LGA saying, “If allowed to fester, illegal mining posed security and environmental problems to the state.”
Despite the suspension, illegal mining was still prevalent in 2023 when Ortom’s tenure ended, ushering in the current administration of Governor Hyacinth Alia.
In March 2024, the state government again, suspended all mining activities in the state, expressing concerns over the contamination of water sources for residents in the affected areas, especially in Kwande, which The ICIR confirmed during the January visit.
“The state government will not tolerate any illegality. It is our administration’s prerogative to protect the lives and property of the people,” Alia said.
Hyacinth Alia, Governor of Benue State
Nine months after the embargo was placed on mining activities in Benue State, Governor Alia created a new Bureau for Solid Minerals to address illegal mining activities in the state, appointing Stephen Utah, who hitherto was his Principal Special Assistant on Solid Minerals, to head the bureau.
However, findings by The ICIR during a visit to Logo and Kwande revealed that illegal mining activities persist in the state. Reacting to the findings, the communications officer of the Bureau for Solid Minerals, Paul Iorlaha, in a telephone interview said the bureau was aware of the destruction of farmlands by illegal miners.
“These illegal miners are not people from abroad. Some of them are destroying their farmlands by themselves to get the minerals. As indigenes, sometimes they sneak out at midnight to carry out these illegal mining activities. It’s been difficult to checkmate them.”
While Iorlaha did not state the number of illegal miners that the state government had arrested or prosecuted, the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, told journalists in March 2025, that the federal government had arrested 320 illegal miners across the country, adding that 150 were facing prosecution, and 9 including 4 foreigners, had been convicted.
Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals
“Political, social, cultural sensitivities were major impediments to the eradication of illegal and unregulated mining activities in the country,” the Minister said.
Government paying lip services – Conservation group
The Chairman of the Benue Hike, Tourism, and Conservation Foundation, Tersoo Akula, said mining illegally meant that an environmental impact assessment was not carried out.
“The people discovered gold and started mining on their own, using crude tools and methods. They expose the environment to a lot of danger because they don’t know how, where and when to dig. They might not even understand the environmental implications of what they do,” he said.
To draw the attention of the state government and the general public to the danger posed by illegal mining in the local communities, the Benue Hike, Tourism, and Conservation Foundation in 2024 published a documentary, titled, “Gold Fields of Kwande – The Real Story.”
The seven minutes and seventeen seconds documentary show that apart from gold, other minerals discovered in the state include gemstones like agate, mica, quartz, pirate, topaz, ilmenite, and azurite.
“These minerals are in high demand for key industries like electronics, pharmacy, aerospace, and defence,” he noted.
In a telephone interview, Akula said despite writing several letters to the state government and paying advocacy visits to Governor Hyacinth Alia requesting urgent regulations, the foundation observed that “nothing had changed.”
Tersoo Akula, Chairman of the Benue Hike, Tourism, and Conservation Foundation
“It is worrisome that the Benue state government is aware that these things are happening but has not put in place a framework for regulating these activities. I do not see any concrete action and I think the government is paying lip service to those problems.”
However, the communication officer of the State Bureau for Solid Minerals, Iorlaha said Governor Alia’s decision to suspend mining in the state was one of the measures to address illegal mining activities.
He said the suspension was part of the state government plan to compensate farmers whose farmlands were destroyed by illegal mining activities and sensitise them on the need to comply with the law governing the mining sector.
“Definitely, farmlands must be destroyed for mining activities to take place. But the state government under the bureau is making sure that those concerns become a thing of the past,” Iorlaha said.
Towards a sustainable future…
Jonathan Ekafan, a professor of Plant Pathology at the University of Agriculture, Makurdi said he has observed an increasing number of cases of diseases linked to mining of heavy metals in the society.
“Exposure to these heavy minerals can damage vital organs like the kidney, the liver, the brain and the heart. That tells you how important it is to really think about controlling mining so that such effects are reduced,” he said.
Calling for stricter regulation and surveillance, Ekafan urged the government to make sure that only licensed miners are allowed to carry out mining activities “with clear guidelines that protect people and the environment.”
In addition to suspending mining activities, Nwachukwu, the professor of soil science at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, said the government must ensure the revegetation and remediation of the areas that have been destroyed by illegal mining activities.
“There is no quick solution, but the government must stop the unregulated mining activities,” said Nwachukwu, a member of Soil Science Society of Nigeria, Soil Science Society of America, and the British Society of Soil Science.
For Tyozenda and her daughter, addressing illegal mining activities in Anyiin must start from tackling the incessant attacks and displacement of farmers by armed herdsmen.
“If they (government) stop illegal mining, what else can we do?” she asked, trudging to the IDP camp, that has been their home since 2023.
THE Presidency has downplayed concerns surrounding a recent U.S. federal court ruling ordering American law enforcement agencies to release investigative records linked to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, insisting that the documents reveal nothing new.
The decision, handed down by Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, mandates the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to make public records related to a reported narcotics investigation from the 1990s.
Responding to the judgment, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stated on Sunday, April 13, that the administration has “nothing new to say” on the matter.
“There is nothing new to be revealed,” Onanuga said.
The report by Agent Moss of the FBI and the DEA report have been in the public space for more than 30 years. The reports did not indict the Nigerian leader. The lawyers are examining the ruling,” he said.
He added that media inquiries about the presidency’s reaction were not unexpected but emphasised that the administration remained unshaken.
Journalists have sought the Presidency’s reaction to the ruling last Tuesday by a Washington DC judge ordering the US FBI and DEA to release reports connected with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Our response is as follows: there is nothing new to be revealed,” he reiterated.
The ICIRreported that the US District Court for the District of Columbia ordered top law enforcement agencies to release confidential information related to President Tinubu during a “purported federal investigation in the 1990s.”
Beryl Howell, the judge, made the order on Tuesday, April 8.
Responding to a motion by Aaron Greenspan, an American who is seeking a reconsideration of an earlier ruling, Howell said protecting the information from public disclosure is “neither logical nor plausible.”
Greenspan had accused US agencies of violating the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by refusing to release records related to federal investigations into President Tinubu and one Abiodun Agbele.
In her ruling, Howell said the agencies’ attempt to shield the information from public disclosure is neither logical nor plausible.
She specifically faulted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for relying on so-called ‘Glomar’ responses—refusals to confirm or deny the existence of records.
The judge ruled that both agencies failed to demonstrate that their reliance on Glomar responses was justified under FOIA exemptions. “Since it has already been acknowledged that Tinubu was the subject of investigation by the FBI and DEA, continuing to withhold that information is not defensible,” Howell said.
Greenspan argued that the public’s right to access the records outweighs any privacy concerns. He also cited previous official acknowledgments of investigations involving both Tinubu and Agbele, as well as confirmation by the CIA that it holds responsive records related to Tinubu.
ON Palm Sunday, Pope Francis thrilled worshippers with a spontaneous tour of St. Peter’s Square, despite doctors advising him to avoid crowds while recovering from pneumonia.
For the second consecutive Sunday following his longest hospital stay as pope, the 88-year-old Pontiff left his Vatican residence, distributing sweets to children and shaking hands while touring the Vatican landmark.
Seated in his wheelchair, the Argentine pope appeared to be in good health, notably without the nasal cannula, used to aid his breathing during recovery, still attached.
Since his discharge from the hospital, the Pope has made several outings despite his doctors advising him to rest, with his unannounced visits not listed on any official Vatican schedule.
AFP reports that on Thursday, the Pope made an unplanned visit to St. Peter’s Basilica to check on renovation progress and to pay his respects at the tomb of Pius X. Then, on Saturday, he visited his favorite Church, Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, for prayer.
During his Sunday Angelus prayer, shared by the Vatican, the Pope expressed gratitude for the prayers of the faithful and reiterated his usual plea for peace in the world.
After his scheduled meeting with King Charles III was canceled due to his health, Pope Francis privately received the British monarch and Queen Camilla on Wednesday.
However, the Vatican has yet to confirm the Pope’s level of involvement in next week’s Easter celebrations, the most sacred period of the Christian calendar.
The Pope was admitted on February 14, 2025, for bronchitis, abd while there, he developed additional infections that required him to remain under the care of doctors, and soon after developed pneumonia in both lungs, according to the Vatican.
He was discharged on March 23 with a prescription of two months of rest and was advised against taking any meetings with large groups.
The Rotimi Sankore scholarship award for indigent students is seeking applications from brilliant indigent undergraduate students from the Lagos State University (LASU).
The scholarship is open to students studying Communication and Media Studies, particularly those interested in pursuing a career in developmental and data journalism.
This initiative was established in memory of the late Sankore, who lived from June 6, 1968, to April 12, 2024.
The ICIRreports that he was a renowned journalist, data analyst, and radio host, widely recognised for his expertise in using data to analyse and highlight national trends and issues.
Funded by media entrepreneur and philanthropist Kadaria Ahmed, the scholarship will cover both tuition and accommodation expenses.
To be qualified for the award, applicants must have spent one full academic session at the University with evidence of good academic performance and justification for deserving financial support towards the completion of the academic programme.
Interested students are required to submit a written application, including a brief 200-word statement explaining why they should be selected for the award.
Applicants are instructed to send all applications and supporting documents to rotimisankoreawards@yahoo.com by May 1, 2025.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for a physical interview.
THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command has apprehended a car theft syndicate in the Durumi axis, an official statement has said.
The arrest followed a distress call on Friday, April 11, 2025, received by the Durumi Division regarding the theft of a gold-colored 2005 Toyota Corolla marked: KUJ 208 DA from the owner’s residence.
This was contained in a statement by the spokesperson of the FCT police command, Josephine Adeh, made available to The ICIR on Sunday, April 13.
The vehicle was traced to a workshop in Durumi, where it was being refurbished. The color was being changed to avoid detection and enable a quick resale.
The statement added that a subsequent search of the premises also led to the recovery of another suspected stolen vehicle-a red Toyota Corolla (registration number GWA 844 CK), which had been previously reported stolen from a home in Jikwoyi.
“Three suspects: Steven Musa, David Dalyol (a painter), and Ibrahim Mohammed (a mechanic), were arrested at the scene. During interrogation, they confessed to being members of a car theft syndicate operating across Wuse, Central Area, Jikwoyi, and Bwari axis of the FCT.
They admitted to stealing several vehicles, refurbishing them, and reselling them as newer models.
“The suspects are currently in custody and will be charged to court upon the conclusion of investigations,” the statement read in part.
The statement further noted that the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Ajao Adewale, advised vehicle owners to install tracking devices and other anti-theft measures to assist in swift recovery actions.
It further urged the public to stay alert and report any suspicious activity through the emergency numbers: 08032003913, 08033111911, or 07057321547, while reassuring residents that the police remain dedicated to protecting the lives and property of all residents.
TROOPS under Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) have foiled a plot by the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) to establish operational bases in Plateau and Bauchi States.
In a statement issued on Sunday, April 13, the OPSH Spokesperson, Samson Zhakom, said two suspected ISWAP members were apprehended during a sting operation on April 11, in the Yelwa area of Shendam Local Government Area (LGA), Plateau State.
The suspects, 25-year-old Abdulkadir Dalhatu and Ubaidu Hassan, were reportedly operating under the guise of tailors while secretly working to expand ISWAP’s footprint in the North-Central region. Preliminary investigations indicate they were sent by an ISWAP commander to set up new cells in the two states.
In a separate operation, troops from Sector 4 OPSH also raided the hideout of a wanted criminal in Mazat village, Barkin Ladi LGA.
Although the suspect escaped, soldiers recovered an AK-47 rifle, a magazine, and other items buried within the building.
Elsewhere, troops from Sector 2, acting on credible intelligence, laid an ambush for bandits along the Pinau-Bangalala Road in Wase LGA. One bandit was killed, while others escaped with gunshot wounds.
Meanwhile, tragedy struck the Zogu community in Miango District, Bassa LGA, as terrorists launched an early morning attack on Saturday, killing a man and his two sons.
According to the Irigwe Development Association (IDA), the victims were identified as 56-year-old Weyi Gebeh and his sons, Zhu (25) and Henry (16).
Reacting to the killings, IDA’s spokesperson, Jugo, said: “The way criminal elements invade our motherland and kill with impunity seems to suggest a more sinister motive than mere reprisal for alleged wrongs.
“IDA therefore calls on the Plateau State government and security agencies to take urgent action and end the slaughter of innocent people in Irigwe land.”
In recent months, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), a splinter faction of Boko Haram, has intensified its insurgency across northeastern Nigeria, particularly in Borno State.
On January 26, 2025, ISWAP fighters launched a deadly assault on a Nigerian army base in Malam-Fatori, resulting in the deaths of at least 20 soldiers, including a commanding officer.Just days earlier, on January 14, ISWAP militants killed 40 farmers in Kukawa Local Government Area, despite the victims reportedly paying levies to the group for protection.
THE hyperactive life of nomadism is disruptive to basic education, making nomadic children unable to fit into conventional schools. TheCable visited nomadic settlements in Nigeria’s northern city of Kaduna and other small communities to document how inadequate access to education marginalises already disconnected nomads and potentially fuels crime.
In addition to the northern region, many nomadic communities down south lack functional schools. School-age children idle around their huts all day.
Where nomadic schools exist in the Iseyin town of Oyo state, just 62 miles north of Ibadan, the state capital, they lack critical infrastructure and sanitation, making them unfit to be called a place of learning for the young ones.
This is the case with Nomadic Primary School (NPS) Ajiwogbo, a nomadic primary school that tells of resilience draped in neglect.
There, a single dilapidated building struggles to hold its purpose. Its corrugated roof dulls under the sun, offering meagre shelter from the elements. Flies buzz relentlessly as bees would in an almost deafening hum of discomfort. The pupils swat them off their faces, barely distracted from the lessons happening inside.
The Fulbe Education Awareness and Development Association. Photo: Samuel Adebanjo/TheCable
Cow dung litters the surrounding pathways, a stark reminder of the livestock mingling freely with students on the premises. The air is thick with the acrid smell of waste and earth.
Barefoot children, many with patched clothes and moisturized skin, sit in these crude conditions with wide, curious eyes. They hold onto stubby pencils and frayed notebooks, determined to extract a future from the fragments of opportunity around them.
The absence of infrastructure — a proper floor, classroom furniture, windows, or sanitation facilities — speaks volumes of their reality, where education, though meagre, is a hard-won pursuit.
“We don’t have sufficient classrooms. We use two, despite needing at least six,” A.F Olalekan, the school’s assistant headmistress, explained to TheCable during a visit. “We had to mix the students.”
NPS Ajiwogbo recorded low enrollment despite the high population of nomads in the community. Olalekan narrated how door-to-door visits upped the school’s student population from 30 to over 100.
“We need more nomadic children to return to school to be useful within the community. The government must undertake awareness campaigns targeting nomadic parents,” the head teacher said.
Some 39 kilometres from Ajiwogbo is Ilero, a settlement where Muhammed Usman, a father of eight, lives without a school to enrol his children.
“We have engaged in a series of meetings with the government but got no help. During the electioneering season, they promised to build us schools. To date, they did not fulfil their promises,” he lamented.
Yakubu Bello, a traditional chief who looks out for the interest of the Fulbe in Oyo, noted that most nomads in remote communities lack access to adequate facilities to enable their education.
“The ones close to town join conventional schools. For those in the bush, however, it is either a nomadic school or no school at all. A lot of nomadic children are supposed to be schooling but are not,” he said.
Umar Ardo, director of extension education at the National Commission of Nomadic Education (NCNE), said at least N12 billion in consistent annual capital funding is needed over the space of five years to address its infrastructure deficits, with a 15 to 20 per cent yearly increase to hedge against inflation and the rising demands of nomadic education.
Budget analysis revealed NCNE was allocated a cumulative N2.29 billion for construction projects within the five-year window of 2020 to 2024. A stand-out was in 2024 when N1.33 billion was set aside for this purpose, a large chunk of which serviced ongoing projects not directly related to classrooms or schools. Within the 2020-2024 window, N1.14 billion was budgeted and allocated for repairs and rehabilitation.
Nomadic schools face severe teacher attrition
Umar Ardo said tutor attrition is extremely high in nomadic schools. He said many state-hired teachers trained with NCNE resources lobby relentlessly to transfer and relocate away from rural areas partly due to the nonpayment of hardship allowance by the state basic school boards.
He said this has forced NCNE to rely heavily on signing bonds with the local governments to ensure that the commission’s limited teachers remain in their assigned nomadic schools for at least a stipulated number of years before reassignment.
“Teachers have the right to in-service training that requires moving. In insecure areas, you can’t guarantee safety. No law mandates them to remain there for life. And you can only beg, not recruit,” he explained.
Classes in session at NPS in Ajiwogbo, Iseyin LGA of Oyo state.
In Kaduna, Musa Ibrahim Aboki, the state universal basic education board’s assistant director for access and equity, said the agency is looking to work with local government education departments to perfect the recruitment of 10,000 teachers, some of whom are expected to be nomadic.
Ibrahim Bayero, the Kaduna media director of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, said such recruitments are usually not enough to serve even the conventional public schools, talk more of nomadic.
“Nomadic schools are neglected. Very few are co-opted by the state to be sent teachers. SUBEB is not giving nomadic schools the attention they deserve,” Bayero raged in a phone interview.
On the national scale, Umar Ardo had similar concerns, “Most of those deployed to nomadic schools from states and local governments are low-quality teachers who are not wanted in conventional schools. They are sent as either punishment or replacement.
“There is an incessant transfer of trained teachers from nomadic to conventional schools. We spend a lot of time training them on nomadic pedagogy. But they look for posting and return to conventional schools.”
The bandits of tomorrow
Northwest Nigeria has had a history of violent farmer-herder conflicts driven by the tussle for land and water resources, slowly yielding a network of criminality that would come to be known as “banditry”. But analysts say what served to catalyse banditry in Nigeria over a decade ago may no longer solely be what drives it.
Poverty and limited economic opportunities increasingly forced marginalised people into joining bandit groups as a means of survival. Inadequate government presence and law enforcement in remote rural communities created a vacuum that the bandits exploited.
The proliferation of small arms escalated the intensity and frequency of bandit attacks, with a changing climate and stretching deserts worsening resource scarcity. Cattle rustling and abduction for ransom became lucrative, resulting in a cycle of almost never-ending blood spills, reprisal attacks, and migration.
Multiple reports indicate that this bandit culture has spread beyond the northwest, affecting Taraba and Adamawa states, where it overlaps with insurgency in the north-east as well as Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, and Ekiti in the south-west.
Banditry is a composite crime that includes abduction, massacre, rape, cattle rustling, firearms possession, and even illegal mining.
NBS data, as of 2022, shows the north-west had the highest poverty rate in Nigeria, with some 45.49 million people (75.8 per cent of the population) living in multidimensional poverty. In the region, states like Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna, and Sokoto have had security hotspots where entire local governments are reportedly overrun, and residents, including children, unwittingly mingle with bandits.
The CDD gives an admittedly tenuous estimate of at least 100 bandit groups operating in the north-west alone, constituting between 10,000 and 30,000 armed militants.
According to an IPI report, their activities have devastated communities with an aggregated 1,087,875 rural dwellers displaced as of 2022. Schools are often forced to shut down from the tension, leaving impressionable young children and students without meaningful social preoccupation.
In 2024, Nigeria’s Senate President Godswill Akpabio warned that the country’s unschooled children of today risk becoming the bandits of tomorrow.
Left on the margins of society and heavily dependent on adults, these young folks become vulnerable to recruitment into criminal activities that sadly offer an alternative sense of identity, protection, income, and power.
The Fulbe Education Awareness and Development Association, a non-profit, has been traversing disconnected nomadic communities in the north to revive dysfunctional schools and encourage child re-enrollment to avert this crisis.
“Many of our people get into banditry because they never had the opportunity to attend school,” said Hassan Lamido, the non-profit’s national secretary, who acknowledged the role of literacy in providing a pathway to inclusion, socioeconomic stability, and upward mobility for the nomads.
He affirmed, “Some young nomadic children are joining bandits because they lack access to education.”
Lamido cited a part of the Giwa LGA in Kaduna where he said children are “prone to commit to bandit groups” and even their uneducated “parents are not stopping them”.
“In Birnin Gwari and Chikun LGA of Kaduna also, it is happening. In Zamfara, Sokoto, and Birnin Kebbi, especially around places with lots of vegetation, children join bandit groups because they are not meaningfully engaged,” Lamido said.
“Some of their elders are bandits, so they grow into it and think banditry is noble work.”
Husseini Abdullahi, a Fulbe disaster analyst and now the LGA vice-chair in Kachia Kaduna, said tracking and resettling displaced nomadic communities, relocating affected schools, and re-employing teachers is a capital-intensive project Nigeria must undertake only after the scourge of banditry has been significantly neutralised. The latter, he said, must start by cutting off the illegal influx of small arms.
Nigeria’s creation of a livestock ministry, Abdullahi added, could ensure that nomad resettlement is prioritised. At the same time, a census can then be conducted to systemically capture nomadic populations in social interventions and secure the future generation of nomads from looming crises.
Legislative delays hold back urgent reforms
The legislation that guides the National Commission for Nomadic Education was introduced in 1989 under the late military leader Ibrahim Babangida’s regime and codified into Nigeria’s civilian laws by 2004. However, it has remained unchanged for 35 years despite the evolving needs of nomadic populations.
Efforts to re-enact this legislation have repeatedly stalled.
Legislative member bills proposing critical amendments to address the commission’s apparent funding deficits and teacher attrition troubles have failed to progress beyond the second reading in multiple national assemblies — ending at this stage during the sixth and seventh assemblies, reaching the public hearing stage during the eighth, and once again stalling at the second reading in the ninth.
Each failure has forced the process to restart from the draft with subsequent assemblies, illustrating the challenges of pushing through member-sponsored legislation.
In the tenth assembly, the re-enactment is taking a new path as an executive bill being drafted at the education ministry and undergoing reviews involving its legal department and the ministry of justice. This is intended to guarantee political, technical, and legal backing that could enable faster processing.
Submission to the legislature is anticipated by the end of the first quarter of 2025, following approval by the federal executive council.
By convention, Nigeria’s public school teachers are hired, owned, managed, and deployed by local governments who work closely with state basic education boards. Many of these conventional teachers will then be retrained to adapt their methods to the nomadic curriculum.
The proposed NCNE amendments aim to empower the commission to hire mobile and non-mobile teachers independently without relying on state universal basic education boards, ensuring seamless cross-border operations for mobile teachers who serve actively migrating nomadic communities.
The bill also seeks to establish a Nomadic Education Fund designed to stabilise funding through diverse revenue sources, including non-profit donations and foreign aid, managed by a dedicated board of trustees.
Additionally, the NCNE advocates state-level nomadic education departments with independent budgets to bolster financing and ensure comprehensive coverage, recognising that basic education is on the concurrent list with responsibilities for not just federal but also state governments.
It seeks a statutory percentage from the Universal Basic Education Commission’s two per cent cut of the consolidated revenue fund, a pool into which taxes, duties, fees, and other federal revenues are deposited for onward disbursement.
Whatever the bill’s fate, the prolonged legislative delays condemn nomadic children to an uncertain future, robbing them of the education they need to escape cycles of poverty and crime.
Nomadic schools remain unsafe
In 2015, Norway and Argentina led a process among UN member states to develop a political agreement that would become the Safe Schools Declaration (SSD). A total of 120 countries, including Nigeria, endorsed the guidelines of this pact. In 2019, Nigeria ratified the SSD, effectively committing to protecting students, teachers, and schools during conflict to guarantee the continuation of education.
The SSD holds that schools must remain safe havens during armed conflict or insecurity.
In the context of banditry and attacks by non-state actors, this implies implementing measures to prevent the targeting of schools or the abduction of children. For nomadic schools, it includes securing learning spaces to ensure they are not abandoned due to fear of violence.
SSD guidelines mandate the creation of contingency plans for securing education during crises. For nomadic communities, this could take the form of deploying mobile security units, early warning systems, or community-led initiatives to protect schools, teachers, and learners.
The SSD recommends support for children affected by attacks. For nomadic children traumatised by banditry or abduction, policy experts argue that mental health programmes and reintegration services would ensure they can continue education in a supportive environment.
SSD encourages governments to work with international organisations, non-profits, and communities in addressing education-related challenges. For Nigeria, this means leveraging partnerships to adopt and adapt innovative education models such as mobile schools.
In 2022, a finance plan for the Safe School Initiative (SSI) was launched, outlining investment totalling N144.8 billion over a four-year term to protect 62,271 at-risk schools and their learners, teachers, and non-teaching staff from attacks.
Nigeria was to spend N32.58 billion in 2023, N36.98 billion in 2024, N37.15 billion in 2025, and N38.03 billion in 2026. But budget funding has not materialised as planned, with the government setting aside a comparatively paltry N15 billion in 2023 and N5.01 billion in 2024 for the SSI. Budget analysis for both years also showed no structured and holistic funding for projects related to the SSI.
So, while the SSI laid a strong groundwork for safer learning environments, its uneven and inconsistent implementation has left many public schools, more so those serving nomadic populations, vulnerable to ongoing threats. As a result, the low-hanging response by states to persisting attacks and student abductions was to close those schools.
Badar Musa worked with Nigeria’s education ministry and the Education in Emergencies Working Group, a coalition of government stakeholders, the UN, multinational non-profits, and other stakeholders. He participated in projects that informed Nigeria’s policies around safe schools before joining Save The Children International’s office in Nigeria as an advocacy campaign and policy manager.
Badar Musa, an advocacy campaign and policy manager at Save the Children International in Nigeria. Photo: Samuel Adebanjo/TheCable
Musa said Nigeria tapped the newfound SSI funding in February 2023 to create a national safe schools coordination centre domiciled at the headquarters of the National Safety and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), where all Nigerian security agencies and MDAs are represented.
“By 2024, the centre had prevented 86 attacks on education nationwide. If it gets intelligence about impending attacks, the HQ alerts relevant security agencies around the threatened location,” he said.
“The centre is still registering all schools in Nigeria on their database with precise coordinates and contact persons. About 11,000 schools have been registered.”
In 2024, UNICEF analysed the implementation of Nigeria’s minimum standards for safe schools, which guides the domestication of the SSD, across a sample of states in the north-west and north-east. The agency reported a “minimal implementation rate” with an average score of 42 per cent as of 2023. Its findings concluded that “a significant gap between policy formulation and its execution” persists.
“Education has deteriorated. Nomadic education is at a higher disadvantage because it is non-formal, which is underfunded. If we can’t protect non-formal schools, how much more the ones located in coordinated environments?” said Musa over a video conference.
Nigeria is desperate to cut its alarming out-of-school children rate, integrate informal schooling into formal systems, and work out an accelerated basic education scheme for over-age underserved people in a scramble to score more positive development indices.
Yet, an observation of grassroots realities indicates that nomadic children remain no more than an afterthought.
