President Muhammadu Buhari gives a speech at the palace of the Emir of Kano, Nasiru Ado Bayero, during a visit to Kano State on May 23, 2022.
He urged them to remain resolute and committed to their duty. His government, he said, invested much in equipping NAF, which has yielded results, and would do even more.
“In furtherance of our drive to continue to modernise the Armed Forces, we would continue to do more to support the Air Force,” Buhari told the gathering.
“To this end, we have approved the procurement of more platforms such as the Beechcraft, some modern helicopter gunships, and UAV for the Nigerian Air Force to enable it to man our airspace more effectively.
“Rest assured that in our government, we are willing to do even more to ensure the provision of the requisite support and the encouragement to overcome various security challenges.”
President Muhammadu Buhari with the Emir of Kano, Nasiru Ado Bayero, and Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, during a visit to the state on May 23, 2022.
The President promised to enhance the welfare of NAF personnel and expressed confidence that Nigeria’s security challenges would soon be a thing of the past.
Monday’s event was attended by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, service chiefs, the leadership of the National Assembly, and traditional rulers among others.
Earlier, the President had visited the Emir of Kano Aminu Ado Bayero to commiserate with him over the explosion that rocked the state last week. He was accompanied by Governor Ganduje.
The Governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje has assured the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan of “full cooperation” over his ambition to stand as the flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress(APC) in the 2023 Presidential election.
According to a statement by Senator Lawan’s Presidential Campaign Organisation, Ganduje gave the assurance on Saturday night while the Senate President was on a visit to see the party delegates in Kano ahead of the upcoming Presidential primaries of the APC scheduled for end of this month.
The governor described Kano state as a swing state in party primaries and even in presidential elections and declared that Kano State would swing when it is ready to swing.
Earlier, Lawan and his campaign team were received at the Aminu Kano International Airport by Ganduje himself amidst a mammoth crowd of party supporters who thronged the airport and routes with funfair to welcome them to the ancient city.
In his welcome remarks, Governor Ganduje said the people of Kano were aware of Lawan’s sterling qualities and his contributions to the stability of politics and governance in the country.
The Governor said, from Lawan’s antecedents, if he won the Presidency of Nigeria, there would be peace and stability both in politics and in governance.
Ganduje told Lawan: “Your Excellency, I want to inform you that we are fully aware of your capacity. We are fully aware, the way you handle the National Assembly, the House of Representatives and the Senate, which you are the chairman.
“If we can recall with nostalgia what happened between 2015 and 2019, we are all living witnesses that we had a lot of instability, poor relationship between the Legislature and the Executive.
“In fact, we had a situation where, in one day, 15 Senators from APC defected to PDP from the Senate Chamber. Your Excellency, I’m saying all these things in order to show your political dexterity in managing the National Assembly, in managing the relationship between the Executive and the Legislature.
“Today there is peace, cordial relationship between the Executive and the Legislature and we believe if you become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we can expect peace and stability between the Legislature and the Executive, with the Institutions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, with the sub-national government in the states, with the Local Governments.
“So Your Excellency we assure you of our full cooperation. Kano state is a swing state in the Presidential primaries, even in the Presidential election and Kano state will swing when it is time to swing.”
Ganduje dwelled in what made Kano so important in the political calculations of Nigeria.
He said: “Kano state has the largest number of delegates in the country. There is no gainsaying about that. This follows from the fact that we have the largest population in the country.
“So Your Excellency, this state is a very important state when issues of elections are concerned.
“We have 44 Local Governments, 484 wards. All our local government council chairmen are elected local government chairmen. Therefore, they are part of the statutory delegates in Kano state and in Nigeria.
“We have over 4,000 elected councillors in Kano state. And most of our 400 legislators especially House of Representatives, Senators, former Senators, principal officers of the state Assembly and National Assembly, Your Excellency, both of them, we are together and we are intact.
“So you can see the composition of our delegation, not only in terms of number but in terms of quality, in terms of capacity, in terms of capability and in terms of political dexterity.”
Speaking at the forum which held at the Coronation Hall of the Kano state government House, Lawan said his mission was to interact with the party delegates on his presidential bid ahead of the primaries.
“I’m here to see and interact with all the 500 delegates from Kano state and I cannot agree more with my leader when he said this is the largest sub-national democracy in Nigeria. I imagine that it could also be the largest sub-national democracy in Africa.
“When His Excellency, our Governor was rounding up his speech, he said Kano is a swing state and it can determine not only the Primaries, with 500 delegates, but also the general elections. Your Excellency, it will swing to my side by the Grace of God.
“I want all the 500 delegates. In fact, I need all the 500 delegates Your Excellency. If I can’t have the 500, please let me have at least 400.
“My brothers and sisters, distinguished delegates, I promise you that, when eventually we discuss and find common ground with His Excellency and vote for me, you will for ever be pleased with the way and manner I will lead this country because it is not possible for anyone to lead the country like Nigeria without the presence and contributions of people like Governor Abdullahi Ganduje,” Lawan said.
The Senate President thanked Governor Ganduje for the warmth reception and commended him for his achievements in Kano both in security, governance and party politics.
“I want to commend His Excellency, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje for the infrastructural miracle in Kano state. You have done so much Your Excellency. You have secured Kano state from banditry, from insurgency and so on. You are indeed a leader, a very successful one at that.
“No amount of propaganda will convince or confuse anyone that Kano is shaking at all. APC in Kano is steady, solid like a rock.
“Come 2023, by the Grace of God, we will have an APC governor and his deputy, all our three Senators will be APC, all the 24 members of the House of Representatives will be APC, all the 40 members of the state House of Assembly will be voted in by the Grace of God. They(opposition parties) will not have anything,” Lawan stated.
Buildings were affected and several people were injured, including children, in an explosion on Aba Road in the Sabon Gari area of Kano on Tuesday, May 17, 2022
There has been an explosion on Aba Road in the Sabon Gari area of Kano, leaving several people injured with some feared killed.
Details of the blast and its cause are still sketchy but visuals from the scene show that it affected some buildings and left several injured including school children.
The visuals also confirm that the blast might have claimed several lives with at least one corpse seen on the floor.
A crowd had gathered right after the blast with some people trying to help the injured and others lamenting the damage.
‘Explosion Not In A School’
Initial visuals from the explosion site showed several schoolchildren being moved away from the scene. One of them was injured. This led to speculation that the explosion occurred in a school.
But the Kano State Government has said that was not the case.
The Commissioner for Information in the state, Muhammad Garba, said in a statement the blast happened at an animal feed store opposite the school.
There has been confusion about what the cause of the explosion was with some reports saying it was a bomb.
The commissioner, however, said the cause of the explosion and the damage it cause had not been ascertained.
According to him, an investigation has commenced to determine the cause, impact, and measures to be taken.
He called on people in the state, particularly those living in the area where the incident occurred to remain calm while the government works with relevant agencies on the matter.
He cautioned the public against spreading unsubstantiated news and gave the assurance that the government would keep the public updated on any development on the matter.
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje speaks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today which aired on February 12, 2021.
Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, has asked political appointees and other public servants aspiring for elective positions in 2023 to resign before Monday, April 18.
Ganduje’s directive was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Abba Anwar, who hinged the decision on the provision of the Electoral Act 2022.
“Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State, directed all political appointees running for elective offices in the forthcoming 2023 general elections to resign from their respective positions,” the statement partly read.
The governor said appointees willing to contest for political offices have up to Monday to resign.
Many governors including Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Bello Abubakar (Niger) had earlier ordered their political appointees to resign in obedience to the provision of the Electoral Act 2022.
Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022, signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, stipulates that political appointees aspiring to contest elections must resign their positions before the conduct of political party primaries.
“No political appointees at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election,” the section stated
Road travel was at full swing on Wednesday at various motor parks in Kaduna State with the passengers trooping in to board vehicles to Abuja. The followed the attack on an Abuja-Kaduna bound train and the subsequent temporary suspension of train services on that route by the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Despite stories of occasional bandits attacks on the Kaduna-Abuja highway, many passengers in Kaduna have opted for the use of the roads as their alternative means of getting to their destination. They are also calling on the Federal Government to deploy more security on that road.
On their part, road transport officials while attributing the incessant cases of kidnapping and killings on the Kaduna-Abuja highway to the deplorable state of the road and lack or adequate security, believe the roads can be a safer and quicker means of travelling if they are in good condition and necessary security measures in place.
At the popular Command Junction Motor Park, passengers are trooping, either arriving or departing from the park unlike in the past years. Consequently, the the volume of daily commercial vehicles that load at this park since Tuesday has also increased from 30 to 45 vehicles daily according to the park officials.
Those who have braved the odds to travel by road may have to do so with their hearts in their hands and not by choice.
A three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, Abuja division, presided by Justice Haruna Tsammani has set aside the judgement of the FCT High Court, filed over the 2021 ward and local government congresses, for lack of jurisdiction.
The court quashed the lower court judgment which gave Senator Ibrahim Shekarau’s G-7 faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano victory over the faction led by the state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.
Upholding the appeal, filed by the Ganduje-led faction of the Kano APC, the appellate court held that the high court lacked the jurisdiction to try the case.
The Shekarau-led faction had approached the FCT High Court, shortly after the APC congresses in Kano during which the court upheld the group’s congresses, as against that of the Governor Ganduje-led side.
Dissatisfied with the high court ruling, Ganduje’s group headed to the Appeal Court to contest the ruling.
Also, in its ruling, the appellate court held that the case was not a pre-election matter but an internal matter of the ruling party, and therefore should be decided by the leadership of APC.
“The judgment of the lower court has been set aside for lack of territorial jurisdiction and also because it is an intraparty affair,” the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice for Kano State, Barrister Lawan Musa told Daily Trust.
“The third ground is that even the originating process that were used to file the case was wrongly done as such even the originating process was set aside. All the decisions are unanimous.”
The First Lady of Nigeria, Aisha Buhari, visited Kano State on Thursday to condole the parents of a five-year-old girl, Hanifa Abubakar, who was killed and buried in a shallow grave in a private school in the state.
While addressing the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, she described the girl’s murder as tragic, calling on the Kano State Government to ensure justice is served.
“We hope and pray that justice will be done for the innocent Hanifa in Kano. As a mother, I have children and grandchildren. Already, my grandchildren are in nursery and primary school and trust their teacher so much,” she said.
“In a situation whereby our children are not safe in their schools, that means the society has become something else. I think the punishment should be done in order to satisfy all the mothers in Nigeria.”
In his remarks, Governor Ganduje commended the president’s wife for carving out time from her busy schedule to visit the state. He described Hanifa as his daughter, vowing that his administration would leave no stone unturned in ensuring justice for the five-year-old girl.
The governor said the state government would prevent a recurrence of such an ugly incident, adding that he would reach out to Hanifa’s parents to provide alternatives to cushion the pain they are going through.
Hanifa, a student of Noble Kids Comprehensive College, was abducted late last year and one of those linked to the operation was her teacher, Abdulmalik Mohammed Tanko. The abductors demanded a ransom of N6 million but went ahead to kill her after receiving the money.
File photo of Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Kano State Executive Council (KSEC) has given approval for the execution of various infrastructure development projects in both urban and rural areas in the state.
The state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, announced this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the council’s weekly meeting held at the Africa House, Government House, Kano.
He said the council approvals for the projects include that of a contract for the supply and placement of polished Nigerian granite at Tijjani Hashim (Galadiman Kano) Underpass at the cost of N525, 435, 750.00 million. The project is aimed at controlling the high level of dampness, modernizing, and further beautifying the existing structure.
Malam Garba stated that approval has been given by the council for the revised estimate of the contract for the placement of polished granite to cover retaining walls of the existing underpass at Panshekara/Madobi Road Junction at an augmented cost of N65, 709, 198.00 million.
The commissioner further announced that a contract award has been approved by the council for the reconstruction of 3.35 kilometre Kwanar Gogori (off Shanono Road)-Gogori Town Road in Bagwai local government at the cost of N290, 265, 511.33 million.
The project, when completed, he said, would boost agricultural-cum-commercial activities and ease the transportation of both dry and rainy season’s farm produce, poultry, and animal husbandry.
He said the other approval by the council is the ratification of the determination of the contract for the completion of Kanye-Kabo-Dubagau Road at the cost of N1, 640, 524, 143.83 billion.
He said other approvals by the council include the release of N25, 559, 600.00 million for the payment of outstanding tuition fees, upkeep allowances, and airfare for 30 state-sponsored students of Medicine, Physiotherapy, Pharmacy and Information, and Communication Technology at SSIMS and RC, Dayananga Sagar College of Pharmacy Medicine/ Dayananga Sagar University and Dayananga Sagar College of Physiotherapy, India.
Other approvals by the council, according to him, include digitization programmes of Kano state public schools at the cost of N32, 940, 000.00 million and the release of N19, 800, 000.00 million for the hosting and sponsorship of an annual tournament to immortalize the former Head of State, Late General Murtala Ramat Muhammad.
Malam Garba added that approval has been given for the release of N22, 220, 000.00 million for the conduct of a two-day technical workshop on agency banking to Qur’anic teachers (Alarammomi) as part of measures to empower Tsangaya schools to become self-reliant and create poverty/begging free Tsangaya dwellers.
The commissioner explained that basic equipment/materials needed for each Tsangaya school to be effectively initiated into the agency banking industry include finger biometric machine, laptop, camera, POS android device, among others.
The Kano State government on Monday revoked the certificate of all private schools in the state, with educational institutions requiring revalidating their certification before continuing with operations.
This comes on the heels of the sad event that happened at Noble Kids Comprehensive College, a private school where Hanifa Abubakar, a five-year-old was kidnapped and eventually murdered by her proprietor.
Sanusi Kiru, the Commissioner for Education, announced the government’s decision to revoke all licences at a press conference in Kano on Monday.
He explained that the Ministry of Education in the state would set the criteria for their recertification.
Kiri stated that a panel had been constituted, comprising the Ministry of Justice, Department of State Services, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, private school owners association, and other relevant stakeholders to look into the revalidation of all private schools in Kano.
A photo combination of the five-year-old Hanifa Abububakar and Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje
“By this declaration today, all certificates issued to private schools in Kano State are hereby withdrawn,” he announced. “They will bring out criteria for the recertification of all private schools.”
Hanifa was abducted by her teacher who demanded ransom from her parents and later killed her in December last year.
The disturbing news of her death became a major discourse after the Police Public Relations Officer in Kano, Haruna Kiyawa, confirmed to reporters last Friday that Hanifa’s teacher, one Abdulmalik Tanko, was indicted in the murder.
He revealed that Abdulmalik confessed that he kidnapped the girl and took her to his house where he contacted her relatives and demanded a ransom of N6 million.
The said teacher later conspired with one Hashim Isyaku to kill the girl on December 18, 2021, having realised that the victim had recognised him.
Earlier on Monday, youths burned the school where the body of the five-year-old was buried in the north-western state.
The Kano State Government has arraigned three suspects involved in the murder case of the five-year-old Hanifa Abubakar.
The suspects – Tanko Abdulmalik Mohammed the school proprietor, Ishiaku Hamisu, and Fatimah Jibril were arraigned at the Chief Magistrate Court 12, Gidan Murtala.
The court read out the charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, concealing/keeping in confinement a kidnapped person, and culpable homicide, all of which they consented to.
However, the case was adjourned until February 2.
On his part, the Attorney General of Kano State, Musa Abdulahi assured Nigerians that justice will be served in the next one or two months unfailingly.
“What I will like to assure you is that the Ministry of Justice is going to, within the next three to four days, file a charge before the proper court.
“We intend to pursue this case vigorously and within the next month or two, we are going to finish with the prosecution of this case. Pls stay calm, let the law take its course. We are a society of law-abiding citizens.
“We do know that it is very painful when these kinds of things happen, we tend to ask ourselves what is happening with our society but we should understand we are living peacefully because of the laws governing us.
“If not for those laws and security agencies, these suspects would not have been arrested within the shortest possible time.”
Hanifa was abducted by her teacher who demanded ransom from her parents and later killed her in December last year.
The disturbing news of her death became a major discourse after the Police Public Relations Officer in Kano, Haruna Kiyawa, confirmed to reporters last Friday that Hanifa’s teacher, one Abdulmalik Tanko, was indicted in the murder.
He revealed that Abdulmalik confessed that he kidnapped the girl and took her to his house where he contacted her relatives and demanded a ransom of N6 million.
The said teacher later conspired with one Hashim Isyaku to kill the girl on December 18, 2021, having realised that the victim had recognised him.
Earlier on Monday, youths burnt the school where the body of the five-year-old was buried in the north-western state.
The scene of the Kano accident on January 23, 2022.
Tragedy struck in Kano metropolis when a train crushed a truck and a commercial tricycle in the north-western state.
The accident, which occurred on Sunday afternoon, left an unspecified number of passengers are feared dead.
Channels Television gathered that the accident the truck was loaded with about 300 bags of cement and the tricycle conveyed four passengers.
At the accident scene, the truck belonging to a cement company was seen upside-down with cement littered all over the rail tracks, while the tricycle was also seen crushed with broken glasses and tricycle parts on the rail tracks.
Residents of the area, who witnessed the accident scene, said efforts were made to flag down the trailer but it was not fruitful.
The source explained that the train hit the vehicle and the tricycle simultaneously when the driver of the trailer attempted to cross the rail line.
“What happened is that the train was already at a very high speed. I was beckoning on the truck driver to stop, warning him of the impending danger but he did not listen. Before you know it, the terrible accident occurred. I can’t say how many people died but it was very ghastly,” the source, who gave his name as Ahmed Adam, said.
Another eyewitness, Musa Danna, blamed the accident on overspeeding on the part of the truck driver.
“The truck driver was on high speed and the train was also on high speed. Onlookers were screaming that the truck driver should slow down but I guess too many voices left him confused,” he said.
“The train crashed into the truck, it lost control and crushed the tricycle. The train couldn’t stop, I couldn’t continue looking at the scene. It was so heartbreaking, and I walked away.”
See more photos from the accident scene below:
The scene of the Kano accident on January 23, 2022.
The Kaduna Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), on Thursday, January 20, 2022, arraigned one Wasila Musa Ibrahim and her company, Najaatu Petroleum Limited, before Justice Mohammed Nasir Yunusa at the Federal High Court, Kano.
They were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on money laundering and tax evasion.
The complainant alleged that sometime in 2020 the defendant approached him with a business proposal for the supply of Diesel and Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to a company known as Lee Group. The defendant collected a sum of Thirty-Eight Million, Two Hundred Thousand Naira (N38, 200,000.00) from the complainant and his family members to execute the business but diverted the money for her personal use.
When the complainant requested a refund, the defendant claimed she gave the money to one Alhaji Lawan who had absconded and could not be reached.
In the course of the investigation, it was discovered that there was no evidence to show that the defendant invested the said money.
It was also discovered that her company, Najaatu Petroleum Limited evaded tax payments from January 2013 to 2020.
Wasila Musa Ibrahim
One of the counts reads: “That you, Wasila Musa Ibrahim “F”, sometime in October 2020, in Kano within the Jurisdiction of this Honourable Court did make a cash payment of the sum of N38,200,000.00(Thirty-Eight Million and Two Hundred Thousand Naira) only to one Alhaji Lawan for the purchase of five (5) trucks of Diesel without passing through a financial institution and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 1 (a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (As Amended) and punishable under Section 16(2) (b) of the same Act”.
Another count reads: “That you, Wasila Musa Ibrahim “F”, Managing Director of Najaatu Petroleum Limited and Najaatu Petroleum Limited sometime in January 2013 in Kano, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did fail to pay your company income tax for the year 2013 to the Federal Inland Revenue Service and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 9 (1) (a) of the Companies Income Tax Act, 2004 and punishable under Section 82 of the same Act”.
The defendant pleaded ‘not guilty to the charges.
In view of her plea, the prosecution counsel, Y.J Matiyak, prayed the court to fix a date for the hearing and remanded the defendant in the EFCC custody. But the defence counsel, Suleiman Abdulrahim informed the court of a pending application for bail of the defendant and asked that his client be admitted to bail.
However, Matiyak opposed the application.
Justice Yunusa, after listening to the arguments, adjourned the matter till February 8, 2022, for a hearing of bail application and remanded the defendant in EFCC custody.
