The Kano State Government has directed the reopening of all government and public secondary schools that will be writing the National Examination Council (NECO) and National Board For Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS).
In a statement signed by the State Commissioner of Education Muhammad Sanusi Said-Kiru says governor Abdullahi Ganduje the SS3 students in boarding schools return on Sunday, 20th September 2020 while SS3 students in day schools resume on Monday, 21st September 2020 to give sufficient time for review and biometric of all candidates.”
Mr. Kiru also advised all directors and principals of the concerned schools to maintain full compliance with the COVID- 19 protocols by all staff and students.
A file photo of Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has approved N257 million for the payment of tuition and maintenance fees for 43 students of the state studying in Egypt.
Mr Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, made the disclosure in a statement on Thursday in Kano.
Anwar said the students were sponsored by the state government to pursue various programmes of study at Al-Mansoura and October 6 universities in Egypt.
“Gov. Ganduje has approved the released of N209 million for the payment of outstanding tuition and maintenance fees of students at Al-Mansoura University.
“The governor also approved N48 million being outstanding tuition and maintenance fees in respect of the six sponsored students of OCTOBER 6 University, Egypt,” he said.
Anwar noted that the governor also pardoned the students in spite of their involvement in politics.
“The 37 students studying at Al Mansoura, wrote an apology letter to the governor, regretting that they were hoodwinked by some elements to score political gains,” the statement added.
According to him, the governor also employed modalities to fast track upward review of bursary allowances for internal students, to ameliorate their sufferings occasioned by the COVID -19 pandemic.
Anwar added that the State Scholarship Board had been directed to commence registration of prospectus students to facilitate payments before the reopening of schools.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has waded into the reported case of a musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu who was sentenced to death in Kano State for blasphemy.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by the NBA National Publicity Secretary, Dr. Ernest Nduka, NBA President, Olumide Akpata, has set up a two-man Fact-Finding Committee.
The committee, comprising the association’s first Vice President, John Aikpokpo-Martins and the National Welfare Secretary, Mr Kunle Edun were mandated to visit the Federal Correctional Centre in Kano.
According to the statement, the visit followed calls by well-meaning Nigerians to allow the convicted musician to have access to his lawyers.
SEE FULL STATEMENT HERE:
*NBA WADES INTO THE REPORTED CASE OF REFUSAL BY THE FEDERAL CORRECTIONAL CENTRE TO ALLOW LAWYERS ACCESS TO YAHAYA SHARIF-AMINU, WHO WAS SENTENCED TO DEATH BY THE KANO STATE UPPER SHARIA COURT. *
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association – Mr. Olumide Akpata, in response to the allegations on the social media by Nigerians and calls by members of the Nigerian Bar Association on the Federal Correctional Centre, Kano to allow Yahaya Sharif-Aminu have access to his lawyers, set up a two-man Fact-Finding Committee made up of the NBA 1st Vice President – Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins and the National Welfare Secretary – Mr. Kunle Edun. The committee was mandated to urgently embark on a fact-finding mission to the Federal Correctional Centre in Kano.
On the 2nd day of September 2020, the 1st Vice President and the National Welfare Secretary visited the said Correctional Centre and sought audience with the Controller of the Correctional Centre.
Recall that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was recently sentenced to death by the Kano Upper Sharia Court having been convicted for blasphemy. The Governor of Kano State has been reported to have promised to sign the execution warrant if Yahaya Sharif-Aminu fails to appeal the death sentence within the statutory time allowed by law.
At the Correctional Centre, the NBA National Officers were informed that the Controller of the Correctional Centre was not available. They were granted an audience by the Second in command.
The NBA National Officers informed the said Second in Command about their mission at the Federal Correctional Centre, Kano. They requested to see Yahaya Sharif-Aminu in order to ascertain the veracity of the allegation that lawyers were not allowed to gain access to him. The said Second in Command informed the said National Officers that he does not have the authority to grant the access sought, but would seek the permission of his boss, the Controller (who was not available as at the time of the visit) before allowing the National Officers access to Yahaya Sharif-Aminu.
The afore-mentioned National officers were eventually denied access to Yahaya Sharif even after the said Second in Command made the call to his superior.
However, the said National Officers were able to confirm that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu has been denied access to any lawyer since his conviction. They were further informed that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu was not represented by a lawyer during the trial at the Upper Sharia Court.
The Nigerian Bar Association states that since the visit was a fact finding mission, the NBA shall take further steps in ensuring that Yahaya Sharif-Aminu is given the requisite opportunity to exercise his constitutional right of appeal and his right to be represented by a lawyer of his choice. It is imperative that Yahaya is granted access to a lawyer of his choice.
*Dr. Rapuluchukwu Ernest Nduka*
National Publicity Secretary, Nigerian Bar Association
The former Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi has arrived Kaduna state more than five months after he was deposed by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state.
Sanusi’s visit to Kaduna state happens to be his first to any part of northern Nigeria since he was removed from the throne on March 9, 2020.
He is expected to visit Governor Nasir El-Rufai, his long time friend of over forty years at the Kaduna State Government House.
File photo: Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai greets deposed Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi on Friday, March 13, 2020. Photo: Kaduna State House / Twitter
The former Emir on arrival in Kaduna was received by a crowd of supporters who joined his motorcade.
Some of them displayed 2023 campaign posters with his photograph on their vehicles.
Sanusi, an ex-central bank Governor had frosty relations with Kano Governor Abdullahi Ganduje since 2017.
His supporters believe he was sacked for opposing Mr Ganduje’s re-election last year.
Sanusi was seen as a reformist and had been critical of some government policies – a stance that frequently put him at loggerheads with ruling politicians.
Exiled Ruler
Following his deposition, El-Rufai had met with the dethroned Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi at Awe in Nasarawa State.
Governor El-Rufai had on March 13th, 2020, arrived Awe Local Government where Sanusi was residing then.
Due to a heavy security presence, journalists were only allowed to stay 200 metres away from the place.
File photo: Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai sits with deposed Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi in an automobile on Friday, March 13, 2020. Photo: Kaduna State House / Twitter
Sanusi later left Awe for Lagos after a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja granted an interim order releasing him from detention in Nasarawa.
Justice Anwuli Chikere granted the order in line with the prayers on the exparte motion filed on behalf of the deposed Emir by Mr Lateef Fagbemi SAN.
The former Emir had approached the court seeking an interim order of the court directing his immediate release from detention.
‘Moving On’
Not disturbed by his dethronement, the former CBN governor said he was “moving on” with his life, but, admitted that challenging his removal could have been the easiest thing to do if he wanted to.
“I have done what I could in six years, I’m moving on. I don’t want to go back. The truth is, if I had wanted to go back, the dethronement letter was so badly written, it was not done professionally. The easiest thing is just to go to court.
“It’s a simple, fair hearing, ‘did you query him? Did you ask him to defend himself? Did you even call him to ask him any question?’ That’s all but I think we should go on to a new phase in life,” he said.
35-year-old man, Ibrahim Lawan, regains freedom 15 years after he was imprisoned by his parents in Kano State.
A 35-year-old man, Ibrahim Lawan, who was imprisoned by his parents in Kano State has regained freedom after 15 years.
His hope for freedom from incarceration came to reality after Ibrahim was rescued by a Police Medical Team and operatives of Operation Puff Adder.
The victim was removed from confinement on Sunday in Sheka, a community in Unguwar Fulani in Kumbotso Local Government Area of the state.
He was later moved into an ambulance waiting just outside the building and was whisked away in company with armed security operatives.
The Public Relations Officer of the Kano State Police Command, Abdullahi Haruna, confirmed this to Channels Television.
He disclosed that Ibrahim has since been moved to the hospital for medical attention and the police have commenced an investigation into the incident.
Security officials rescue Ibrahim Lawan 15 years after he was imprisoned by his parents in Kano State.
Ibrahim’s rescue came just two days after the police in Kano apprehended one Aminu Farawa.
Farawa was arrested for locking up his 30-year-old son, Ahmed Aminu, inside his car garage for seven years.
He, however, claimed to have had his son locked up for three years after suspecting him of drug abuse.
Ahmed was rescued by the police and taken to the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano for proper treatment.
Reacting to the incident, the Commissioner of Police in Kano, Habu Sani, ordered that the case be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
“We are currently investigating the matter to uncover the real course behind this act, the victims are also in our custody at the moment,” Haruna told Channels Television in a phone chat while giving an update in the incidents.
Unlike Farawa, the command’s spokesman said no reason was given by Ibrahim’s parents as to why they kept their son in detention for 15 years without proper feeding or medical care.
Ahmed Aminu, 30, was alleged locked up by his father, Aminu Farawa (R) for seven years.
The Kano State Police Command has arrested one Aminu Farawa for locking up his 30-year-old son, Ahmed Aminu, inside his car garage for seven years.
According to a statement released on Friday by the Command spokesman, Abdullahi Haruna, the victim has been rescued and admitted at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital in Kano for proper treatment.
According to Mr Aminu, he had had his son locked up for three years after suspecting him of drug abuse.
The State’s Commissioner of Police, Habu Sani has ordered the case transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.
A Kano State Shariah court has sentenced a musician to death for blasphemy against Prophet Muhammad.
The Kano Upper Shari’a Court sitting at Hausawa Filin Hockey sentenced 22-year-old Yahaya Sharif to death by hanging.
The judge, Aliyu Kani, gave the verdict on Monday after finding Mr Sharif guilty as charged.
He was convicted based on Section 382 (b) of Kano penal code of 2000.
Mr Sharif, a resident of Sharifai in Kano metropolis, was accused of committing blasphemy against the prophet of Islam in a song he circulated via WhatsApp in March 2020.
Following the incident, protesters burnt down the singer’s family home and led a procession to the Kano Hisbah command’s headquarters.
The Hisbah is a Kano State-owned security outfit that enforces the Shariah law in the highly conservative state.
Mr Sharif’s father, Aminu Sharif, had disowned him, saying he was not living at his house when he committed the crime. He also said that he did not share his son’s religious views.
“I want to categorically inform the general public that blasphemy is not my ideology, and I promise to arrest him (my son) and hand him over to security agents whenever he is found.
“If I had the authority to punish him by law, I will do that right away,” Aminu Sharif had said of his son.
On Monday, the court also sentenced one Umar Farouq of Sharada quarters of Kano metropolis to 10 years imprisonment with hard labour for making derogatory statements concerning the Almighty Allah in a public argument.
The judge said the convict committed the offence at a younger age, and his trial was delayed to enable him to attain adulthood as proscribed by Maliki Islamic jurisprudence and the administration of criminal justice law.
Both convicts have 30 days to appeal the judgment.
Kano State Government has approved the reopening of Senior Secondary Schools in the state on August 10 to enable exit students to sit for their final examinations.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by the state Commissioner of Education, Sunusi Kiru.
The Commissioner explained that Governor Abdullahi Ganduje approved the resumption date to enable SS3 students to write their West African Senior School Certificate Examination scheduled to commence on August 17.
According to Kiru, the state government has directed all principals and proprietors of secondary schools to note that they have only a week from August 3 to commence preparation and put adequate measures against COVID 19.
Following this development, schools have been warned against reopening before the planned date.
Also, principals are expected to ensure that working hours are reduced in the schools while adhering to the social distancing guidelines.
Meanwhile, the resumption dates for other examinations and for the rest of the classes including the SS1, SS2, and JSS 1-3 as well as primary schools will be announced in due course.
While noting that the Ministry of Education is encouraging the e-learning education program and other online platforms until full normalcy is fully returned, Kiru commended the efforts of stakeholders for their continued support.
The Kano state Executive Council has approved the establishment of Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) Computer Based Testing Centres (CBTCs) in the five Emirates Councils as zonal offices and 44 Local Government Areas in the state.
The commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammadu Garba stated this on Sunday while addressing newsmen on the outcome of the council’s weekly meeting held at the Africa House, Government House, Kano.
He said it became necessary to increase the number of CBTCs, to prevent a situation where candidates have to be sent to neighboring states of Bauchi, Kaduna, Jigawa and Katsina for JAMB exams.
Garba also revealed that during its sitting, the council approved the establishment of the State Council on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to fast track the spread of ICT skills to the grassroots.
The council, according to him, would be co-chaired by the commissioner of Science, Technology and Innovation and that of local government, while the commissioners for Information, education, higher education as well as all the chairmen of the 44 local governments in the state will serve as members.
Speaking further, the commissioner stated that the council received a proposal from a private developer to use the old Triumph Publishing Company complex to create a specialized Forex Market (Kasuwar ‘Yan Chanji), the first of its kind in Nigeria and another one from Fari Properties Ltd. seeking to transform the abandoned Daula Hotel in the state capital into a residential.
Garba indicated that the council also received proposal for the construction of a multi-purpose ultra-modern shopping complex at the premises of Daula Hotel in the metropolitan area.
The Kano State Government has approved N490 million to avert the collapse of a bridge in the state.
Channels Television learned that the money is meant for the extension of Shimar Bridge along Karfi-Rano Road to avoid total cut-off of the road in the face of heavy downpour being recorded during this rainy season.
The State Executive Council also gave approval for the proposed construction and establishment of an ultra-modern and Multi-Purpose Shopping Mall at former Daula Hotel premises, located at Murtala Muhammad Way by Mudatex Mudassir and Brothers Ltd.
Briefing journalists on the outcome of the meeting which held at the Government House on Friday, the Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, said N338.9m has also been approved as the counterpart fund for the implementation of the 2020 Health Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Work Plan for improving healthcare delivery.
He explained that the council also made other approvals including the release of funds for the award of contract for the revised estimated cost of N724.1m for quantity adjust upward of the Underpass and Flyover at Dangi Roundabout along Zaria Road among others.
Also, the state government released N27m for the production of two million assorted seedlings for venue, departmental and institutional planting, and distribution to farmers.
In this photo taken on April 15, 2020, Jigawa State Governor and Chairman of the Committee on Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, Badaru Abubakar, announces the Federal Government’s plan to reduce the price of fertiliser at the Government House in Dutse.
The Committee on Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI) has arrested three suspects who specialise in adulteration of fertiliser and selling such to farmers in the north-west region of the country.
Jigawa State Governor, Badaru Abubakar, who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Committee disclosed this on Monday.
He made the disclosure during an inspection visit to some fertiliser blending plants in Kano State.
Governor Abubakar said the suspects who have since been detained in police custody were arrested in Kano, Kaduna, and Zamfara States.
He explained that they were nabbed for selling adulterated fertiliser and packaging them just like that of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative.
A map of Kano State in north-west Nigeria.
The PFI chairman decried that the action of the suspects was capable of tarnishing the hard-earned reputation of the Federal Government of providing the Nigerian farmers with qualitative fertiliser.
He, however, stated that his committee would make sure that the quality of fertiliser under PFI watch was not compromised and, in an event, where such happens, the culprits would be arrested and made to face the full wrath of the law.
Governor Abubakar also faulted the rumours that PFI fertiliser was sold beyond N5,000 per bag – the approved price by the Federal Government.
He, therefore, appealed to farmers in the country to make use of the whistle-blowing number printed on the fertiliser bag and report persons involved in such acts for prosecution.
During the visit to Kano, the PFI chairman inspected the Alu Fertiliser plant in Birninkudu, Kasco Fertiliser blending plant at Bompai, and Nagari Fertiliser blending plant in Madobi town.
He was satisfied with the quality and quantity of fertiliser produced daily at the various plants visited.
Governor Abubakar believes the quantity of fertilizer produced daily is more than enough for farmers in the three states of Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina under the jurisdiction of the plants.
Five humanitarian workers have been abducted by Islamist insurgents in the restive northeastern region, aid group Action Against Hunger said.
The Paris-based organisation said in a statement Tuesday that one of its employees was among those kidnapped last month.
“Action Against Hunger condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the abduction of our employee, Ishaiku Yakubu, and we urgently call for his release,” it said.
It said Yakubu was abducted in June by a non-state armed group along with four other humanitarian workers from different organisations.
The five, all Nigerians, have appeared in a video that surfaced this week on the Telegram messaging app.
In the footage — apparently shot on June 21 — they said they had been kidnapped by fighters aligned to the Islamic State group at different times last month and appealed to be released.
Aid workers have been repeatedly targeted by jihadists waging a decade-long insurgency in northeastern Nigeria.
Last year fighters from the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) faction abducted a group of six humanitarian workers — including a female ACF employee — in the region.
Five of the hostages were later executed and the ACF worker remains in captivity.
ISWAP splintered from the jihadist group Boko Haram in 2016 and swore allegiance to then IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The 10-year conflict in northeastern Nigeria has killed 36,000 people and displaced about two million from their homes in northeast Nigeria.
Aid groups provide a vital lifeline for some 7.9 million people who the United Nations says are in need of urgent assistance in the region.
