A total of 116 first degree graduates of the Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, made first class among 7,094 students of the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 academic sessions who are set to exit the university.
The graduands are to be presented their degrees next Saturday when the 29th and 30th combined convocation comes up.
In a pre-convocation press conference yesterday, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Ibrahim Umar, broke down the figures.
He said: “For the 2023/2024 academic session, a total of 2,034 first degree graduates will be presented for the award of degrees.”
He explained that 55 graduands of the 2023/2024 set are in the first class category and 599 in second class upper and 1,047 in second class lower, while 330 and three will earn third class and pass degrees.
According to him, for the 2024/2025 academic session, a batch of a total 3,673 first degree graduands will be presented, including those for first class (61 graduands), second class upper (1,199), second class lower (1931), third class (479) and pass (three).
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has dismissed the purported membership registration slip of the notorious bandit kingpin, Mohammed Bello Turji, that portrayed him as member of the party in Zamfara State as fake.
The party declared that the notorious terrorist has no association or link with the party’s membership register and database.
The social media has been awash with the APC membership slip of the bandit leader presenting him as a registered member of the ruling party.
APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, in a statement in Abuja, said the digital parameters represented on the fake slip bear no connection to the party’s membership register.
Highlighting the fault lines on the slip, Morka said: “For example, the slip purports to be registered in a nonexistent “Ward 13” of Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State which only has 10 Wards,” adding that “all other information paraded on the fake slip are nonexistent and certainly not contained in our membership database.
“This vile fabrication is the handiwork of mischief makers out to hoodwink and confuse members of the public for their sinister objectives.”
Earlier, the Zamfara State chapter of the party had distanced itself from the purported membership registration of the notorious bandit kingpin.
The party insisted that the temporary membership slip on display was forged.
The state Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Idris Gusau, in a statement yesterday said the fake membership slip in circulation on social media was a calculated attempt by mischievous elements to smear the party’s image and discredit its ongoing electronic registration in the state.
Gusau noted that the membership card was full of detectable forgery. He cited the photograph of the hardened criminal on the slip as the same popular picture known to security agencies and Nigerians.
The party argued that no person could be duly registered without a NIN number, a critical item the party expressed doubt if Turji has, therefore making nonsense of the efforts of the mischief makers for failing to realise that APC programmes are mostly flawless.
According to Gusau, “the forgers forgot that before any person is enrolled by NIMC he must fill a form that will contain his full information before he is captured how then could NIMC capture him with military uniform and gun on his shoulders or are they blind or had forgotten that such features are not acceptable.
“Also, from our records of today’s (Tuesday) registration from Kware ward, we did not have the ID number with the initial ID code ‘26’ which is for Niger state but forged for Zamfara membership card, talkless of the name.’’
The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has debunked reports circulating on social media alleging that it has neglected personnel wounded in action.
The military high command maintained that, contrary to a viral video alleging “lack of care and institutional indifference to the welfare of military personnel wounded in action,” the welfare of its personnel, especially those wounded in action, remains a top moral priority.
According to a statement by the Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen Samaila Uba, yesterday personnel injured during operations or combat are entitled to comprehensive medical care, locally and abroad, depending on the nature and severity of injuries, under established Armed Forces medical policies.
The statement said: “The Armed Forces of Nigeria routinely facilitates advanced treatment for critically wounded personnel in reputable medical facilities outside Nigeria where such care is required.
“Within Nigeria, wounded personnel receive treatment across the Armed Forces’ network of military hospitals and medical centres, complemented where necessary by referrals to specialised civilian facilities at government expense. Medical evacuation, surgery, rehabilitation, prosthetics and long-term care are integral parts of this framework.
“The Armed Forces also maintain favourable discharge and medical boarding conditions for personnel whose injuries prevent further service, ensuring access to pensions, gratuities and other statutory benefits in line with extant regulations.
“In addition, families of personnel killed in action are not abandoned. They are supported through death benefits, insurance payouts, pensions, educational support initiatives for dependants and continuous engagement by military authorities.”
The DHQ noted that beyond medical treatment, wounded personnel benefit from structured welfare support, including rehabilitation programmes, counselling, family support mechanisms and sustained command oversight.
It stated that the soldiers shown in the viral video were clear evidence of the military’s efforts to rehabilitate those wounded in action, as they were all living witnesses. This, it said, also proved that the report’s insinuation that “nobody cares” about injured or fallen soldiers was inaccurate and unfair.
For the first time in three years, stakeholders of the All Progressive Congress (APC), under the administration of Benue State Governor, Hyacinth Alia, and supporters of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, have put aside their differences and are working together in unity.
This new found harmony is attributed to the ongoing APC e-registration across the 23 local government areas in the state.
Previously, the party was divided into two factions, with the masses holding significant influence while the stakeholders struggled to assert their relevance.
However, with the e-registration, both groups have set aside their differences and are working together seamlessly,using a portal.
Those who spoke with The Nation welcomed this development and urged the parties to sustain the peaceful atmosphere within the party and put aside their differences in the interest of the people.
Meanwhile, there has been a massive turnout of party members for the e-Registration at the local governments and wards.
Alia kicked off the exercise two weeks ago, and Akume has deployed over 500 personnel to fast-track the process, with both groups working in peace and harmony.
The governor also compensated the three youth Corps members who were victims of the recent fire disaster which razed part of the camp with N500,000 each.
Radda gave the order when he sent a team from the Ministries of Youth and Sports Development and Works to the camp to assess the level of repairs.
The camp was built by the government of the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and was inaugurated by Governor Shehu Shema’s administration.
The facilities have since breakdown, especially the male hostels and staff quarters.
Successive governments have neglected the renovation of the camp and thus allowed it to deteriorate and be ravaged by vandals.
The facilities used for female hostels in the camp were renovated by the immediate past government in 2019.
The camp faced the problem of gross inadequate mattresses and old beddings, and lack of plastic chairs for sitting during lectures.
The decision of the government to renovate the camp, and build a training centre, was received with joy by the Corps members as it offered better conveniences.
The three Corps members affected by the fire in their places of primary assignment and lost their belongings to it, were also gladdened by the compensation from the governor.
Former Zamfara state Governor and Senator representing Zamfara West Senatorial District, has authorised the delivery of 746 trucks of assorted food items for distribution to the people as part of this year’s Ramadan welfare package.
Chairman of Senator Abdulaziz Yari Palliatives’ State Distribution Committee, Dr. Lawal M Liman, announced this in Gusau, the state capital.
Liman said out of 746 trucks, 628 are for the people of the state irrespective of their political alignment.
In a statement, the Chairman Publicity Committee of Sen. Yari Palliative, Ibrahim Danmadamin Birnin Magaji, gave the breakdown of the distribution as follows: “118 trucks of rice will be given to Polling Unit Committees through the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC across 147 political wards in Zamfara State as phase one.
He explained that each of the 14 local government areas of the state would receive 45 trucks.
The chairman further explained that a total of 315,000 beneficiaries were captured for the distribution which is expected to start before the beginning of the Ramadan.
The Gabon Naura implored executives of the distribution chain to ensure strict compliance with the procedures.
Children branded Almajiris are dumped in the capital. What does it mean for the city’s safety and soul? In the quiet hours before dawn, trucks roll into Abuja and disappear just as quickly, leaving behind their human cargo—children dumped in unfamiliar streets with no guardians, no shelter and no direction. As daylight breaks, they scatter across the city to survive on their own, turning what should be a child-welfare emergency into a growing security concern for Nigeria’s capital. NICHOLAS KALU and GBENGA OMOKHUNU report
On a cool, quiet morning near the Nyanya Expressway, a group of children sits under a tree with tattered sandals, hands cupped, eyes fixed on passing vehicles. No uniforms, no bags. They look too young and too alone to be here. A traffic warden driving past calls out: “Where are your parents?” One child shrugs: “We don’t have any here.”
This is not a scene from afar. It is happening in Nigeria’s seat of power, Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, where residents wake up daily to find hundreds of children tagged as Almajiri dumped in central locations in the dead of night.
It was gathered that trucks arrive early and offload them in clusters at shopping complexes, junctions, major roadsides and bus terminals. Once the doors open, the children scatter, blending into the city’s teeming streets, left to fend for themselves.
The phenomenon has become so regular that many Abuja residents no longer blink at sightings of forlorn children roaming the city. But the unease runs deep: this is more than a humanitarian issue; it is a security concern.
Who are these children?
Traditionally, the Almajiri system refers to children sent by families, typically in northern Nigeria, to Islamic teachers (malams) to study the Qur’an. Under that system, children lived in learning centres and often relied on begging to survive. But what is unfolding in Abuja bears little resemblance to traditional Almajiri education.
According to several community leaders interviewed across Abuja’s districts, the children arriving are not being brought by teachers but abandoned by unscrupulous handlers or traffickers. They are ferried from their home states in trucks dispatched overnight. Before dawn breaks, the vehicles pull up in busy parts of the city, Central Area, Kubwa, Wuse and dump their human cargo. In minutes, the children disappear into the labyrinth of the city.
A civil society worker in Wuse, who asked not to be named for security reasons, explained: “These children don’t know where they are. Some are not even from the northern states. They tell you they were told to come to Abuja to look for work, but when they arrive, drivers dump them and leave.”
Parents and guardians rarely accompany them; most arrive entirely on their own, vulnerable and bewildered.
The wave of abandoned children has stirred anxiety among Abuja residents and security officials alike.
Children scattered across the city are exposed to exploitation, theft, sexual violence, trafficking and other crimes. Large numbers of unsupervised minors in public spaces disrupt traffic, harass commuters and may be easily recruited into criminal activity.
‘We were told to go to Abuja’
In the midst of heavy traffic at the Nyanya Bus Terminus, a cluster of boys between eight and 12 years old approached with urgency; asking for money. A journalist sits with them under an overpass.
A boy, Abubakar, 10, says softly: “We were told there are jobs in Abuja. A man gave us biscuits and said we should come so we can work and send money home.”
Another, Sani, 12, adds: “We didn’t know where. The truck dropped us. We walked around and ended up here.”
None could name the village or town they came from. Several spoke of being dropped off late at night, hungry and alone.
“We sleep on verandas. Sometimes store owners chase us away,” said one of the children, clutching a frayed red T-shirt.
Their stories are marked by confusion, homesickness and fear rather than education or purposeful travel. None spoke of Quranic schools or malams.
One child rights lawyer in Abuja, Olamide Adeyemi, told The Nation that: “The law protects children, but the difficulty lies in tracing the handlers, transporters and sponsors behind these movements. Until we can break that chain, we will continue to treat the symptoms, not the cause.”
Public safety and community tensions
In some communities, the sudden rise in unsupervised children has spiked tensions. In Wuse Market, a petty trader, Musa Ibrahim, complained: “These kids beg aggressively. Sometimes they push customers. We want safety and order. It is not fair for traders to lose business because no one is managing this situation.”
Some residents have taken matters into their own hands, forming neighbourhood watch groups to steer children away from high-traffic zones or report them to local authorities.
At a community forum in Dutse, residents argued for increased lighting in vulnerable areas, more frequent police patrols, child education and protection centres.
Yet, others warn against stereotyping or criminalising the children, pointing out that they are victims first.
The city’s security apparatus may frame the issue in terms of public order, but the human cost is staggering.
Alone on the streets, these children face the daily realities of hunger, sickness, exploitation and despair. Without guardians, their risk of becoming victims of trafficking rings or criminal gangs is high.
For the children languishing in the shadows of Abuja’s gleaming skyline, every dawn marks another trial. The capital’s shining promise of opportunity and safety, remains out of reach for them.
What is being done?
Following the obvious development, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) last week evacuated 607 beggars and mentally challenged individuals from Abuja streets as part of efforts to clean up the city, from July 2025 to date.
The Head of Enforcement of the FCT Social Development Secretariat (SDS), Ukachi Adebayo, made this known while reacting to the development.
•An Alimajiri taking a nap after the day’s struggles PHOTO: ABAYOMI FAYESE
Adebayo said the Operation Sweep Abuja Clean team carried out the exercise, evacuating 607 individuals, comprising 583 beggars and 23 mentally challenged people.
She added that the evacuees had been counselled, profiled and returned to their states in collaboration with state governments and liaison offices.
“What we do when we apprehend the beggars and mentally challenged individuals is to counsel them to be able to profile them.
“After that, we take them to their various liaison offices to be returned to their respective states where they are expected to undergo rehabilitation,” she said.
Noting that the beggars and mentally challenged people always returned to the streets after the evacuation, Adebayo said that the operation was ongoing and would continue to take them off the streets of Abuja.
She said: “The more you take them out, the more they resurface.
“Some of them were driven by insecurity in their state, and they ran to Abuja to take refuge. But, we will continue to apprehend them and take them back.”
Similarly, the Acting Director of Social Welfare, Gloria Onwuka said some of the children begging on the streets were brought in from other states by unidentified individuals to beg and hand over the proceeds to them.
Onwuka added that some of the women who were caught with children begging on their behalf were not their biological children.
“Begging is now run like a business. People will hire people’s children from other states, put them in vehicles very early in the morning, come to Abuja and start begging.
“The families they are hiring these children from don’t even know that this is what they are using their children to do.
“We have caught so many of them like that,” she said.
Also, the Secretary of the FCTA Command and Control Centre, Dr Peter Olumuji explained that Operation Sweep was a joint security operation involving all relevant security agencies and the FCT’s Secretariats, Departments and Agencies.
Olumuji stated that the operation was instituted by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to sweep Abuja of miscreants, street beggars, scavengers and other criminal elements.
He also pointed out that beggars pose security threats and constitute a nuisance in the city, adding that some of them serve as informants to criminals.
“Not only that, the beggars and mentally challenged individuals also deface the beauty of the capital city, while some of them become victims of kidnapping for rituals and other negative purposes,” he said.
He said that the operation was ongoing and would continue to crack down on beggars, miscreants and other criminal elements wherever they resurfaced.
Recall that when the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Wike assumed office, with the high level of kidnappings and killings in the country’s capital directed that Abuja and the Satellite Towns be completely rid of street beggars/traders, one chance syndicates, scavengers, miscreants and other social nuisances.
It was then that he instituted the operation code-named Operation Sweep Abuja of miscreants, street beggars/traders, scavengers and other criminal elements.”
Wike said the action was in line with the Abuja Environmental Protection Act and other relevant laws.
He said: “Our country’s capital should be a secure symbol of pride and beauty, not a site for street beggars and scavengers; most of whom are agents of criminal elements.”
Former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has congratulated Gombe Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, on his Honorary Doctoral Degree conferred by Lincoln University College, Malaysia.
Pantami said the honour reflects measurable achievements recorded under Yahaya’s administration, particularly in the education and health sectors, which he noted are increasingly being viewed as reference points for reform across the region.
He highlighted the recruitment of 1,000 teachers to address manpower gaps, improvements in students’ performance in WAEC examinations in recent years, and the construction of modern school facilities in rural and underserved communities.
Drawing from his background in the Tsangaya system, Pantami hailed Gombe’s Almajiri Tsangaya programme under the Better Education Service Delivery for All (BESDA) initiative, which has put many thousands of out-of-school children into learning environments.
The establishment of modernised Tsangaya Mega Schools across all 11 local government areas stands out as an inclusive reform that harmonises traditional Islamic education with modern learning systems, Pantami added.
He also commended the construction of a 1,000-capacity Gombe State School of Nursing and Midwifery and the rehabilitation of 114 Primary Healthcare Centres—one in each ward—to strengthen the healthcare workforce and expand access to basic medical services.
The former minister noted that the Governor’s approach demonstrates the importance of synergy between government, academia, and industry in building a future-ready society.
“Education remains the most reliable instrument for bridging gaps,” Pantami stated, offering prayers for continued wisdom and guidance for Governor Yahaya, who holds the traditional titles of Dan Majen Gombe and Dan Amanan Daular Usmaniyya.
The German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), in partnership with Action Against Hunger (ACF), has kick-started the support of 1.4 million vulnerable persons in Borno and Adamawa States through the expansion of the social register and strengthened social protection systems, it emerged on Tuesday
The €1 million, one-year project funded by BMZ and the European Union (EU) was launched in Abuja on Tuesday, with a kick-off meeting outlining objectives such as technical alignment on methodology, timelines, roles, quality standards, safeguards, risk mitigation, and coordination among partners including ACF, the National Programme Manager of the National Social Safety-nets Coordinating Office (NASSCO), State Operations Coordinating Unit (SOCUs), GIZ, and civil society groups.
Andualem Fekadu, Deputy Country Director of Action Against Hunger Nigeria, revealed that the intervention will target communities affected by protracted conflict and insecurity, while also including a cash support component to strengthen resilience.
“This project is designed to support and strengthen the most vulnerable members of communities in Borno and Adamawa States whose livelihoods have been severely affected by prolonged security challenges,” Fekadu said, adding that the project will be implemented in close coordination with state governments.
He disclosed that one million euros has been allocated specifically for the expansion of the Social Protection and Outreach (SOQ) component, with robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in place.
“Both GIZ and Action Against Hunger have strong monitoring and evaluation teams that will work closely with state governments and beneficiaries. We will also collaborate with state-level monitoring and evaluation departments from the beginning to the end of the project,” he said.
Fekadu acknowledged widespread humanitarian challenges across North-East, North-West, and North-Central Nigeria but noted that funding limitations currently restrict the project to Borno and Adamawa.
He highlighted Action Against Hunger’s track record in Jigawa and Kano, where Jigawa became the first state to develop and implement a social protection policy with budget allocations for vulnerable groups.
Speaking on behalf of the GIZ Head of Programme, Mrs. Ana Vanambres, Bolaji Aina, the Deputy Commission Manager – Supporting Sustainable Social Protection, Participation and Economic Resilience in Northeast, Nigeria, said the project aims to expand, update, and improve the social register by approximately 1.4 million people.
She explained that insecurity, displacement, climate shocks, and economic hardship place heavy pressure on vulnerable households and social service institutions.
“The project will use geographical targeting, Community-Based Targeting (CBT), and proxy means testing to identify vulnerable households,” Aina said.
She emphasized that a credible and inclusive social register is essential for shock-responsive interventions, better targeting, policy coordination, and efficient use of public and donor resources.
Aina added that the project supports Nigeria’s broader social protection reform agenda and strengthens state systems, integrating women, internally displaced persons, returnees, and host communities into government structures rather than parallel mechanisms.
CBT, according to her, is central to enhancing transparency, accountability, and community trust.
“Success will be measured not just by the number of people registered, but by how well state systems are strengthened and how effectively the data is used to guide social protection and future policy decisions,” Aina said.
Mohamed Bala, speaking on behalf of NASSCO National Coordinator Funmilola Olotu, highlighted efforts to link households to foundational national identification systems.
“All 19 million households captured in earlier phases of the Social Register are currently undergoing validation and updates. Over 10 million households have been visited, with at least one member per household linked to a verified identity through the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
“In terms of individuals, we have submitted over 11 million records to NIMC, and about 10 million have been successfully verified. This reform is not only identifying poor and vulnerable households but also giving them identity,” Bala added.
He noted that household coordinates are being captured to strengthen accuracy and credibility.
Bala explained that while the National Social Safety Nets Project (NASSP) updated only 10.2 million households, the Federal Government aims to reach 15 million, leaving a gap of 4.8 million households, adding that partnerships with programs like SPIN and SUSI are helping bridge this gap.
“The government will be glad to report that partners are supporting the expansion,” he said, noting that future interventions will be fully digitized and implemented at the local government level, with NASSCO coordinating and supervising.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Sokoto State has pledged to deliver 90 per cent of the state’s votes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general elections, commending Senator Aliyu Wamakko for what it described as his visionary leadership of the party.
The party asserted that there is no viable opposition in the state, insisting that the APC remains the only dominant political force with strong grassroots support.
“The President should count on Sokoto State’s resilience and readiness to deliver bloc votes,” the party declared.
The state APC Chairman, Hon. Sadik Isah Achida, made the remarks on Tuesday in Achida town, Wurno Local Government Area, while receiving defectors into the party, including four-time House of Representatives member, Kabiru Marafa Achida.
Other prominent politicians who joined the APC include former Wurno Local Government chairmen, Mustapha Isa Matawalle and Abu Arzika Wurno.
Achida said President Tinubu deserves a second term, citing what he described as an unprecedented record of development anchored on people-focused policies aimed at repositioning the country.
“He has all encompassing policies that are beneficial to the future of Nigeria and it citizens”, he stated.
However, Achida noted that receiving the big wigs and their supporters into APC fold remain a landmark achievement that has collapsed all opposition’s in Wurno local government area.
“The return of Marafa and other prominent members from the opposition into APC is a home coming because he was part of us and now back after a wise thinking “, Achida said.
Speaking, Kabiru Marafa said his defection into APC was driven by the unprecedented developmental projects being executed in Achida and the entire Wurno local government by the current APC led government in the state.
“I have come to terms with conviction that Governor Aliyu Sokoto’s government is visionary and people oriented in spreading development through provision of infrastructure and human capital empowerment.
“I am glad to return home and will ensure we drive a united and purposeful agenda that will deliver the party with unprecedented margin come 2027,” Marafa disclosed as he simultaneously processed and obtained his e-registration and membership card while urging his supporters to do same ahead of the 2027 general elections.
