Author: Aminu Imam

Key lessons from 2025 Africa Women Conference

Aminu Imam
IMG 20251126 WA0078

By Jumai Ahmadu The 9th edition of the Africa Women Conference (AWC) has come and gone but its echo continues to inspire and strengthen women across the African continent and even beyond. Since its March 2018 inaugural edition at the NGO/CSW in New York, the AWC has become a vital platform dedicated to empowering women and girls across Africa. Held at the Marriot Hotel, Accra, Ghana, from November 19th to 21st, 2025, and organised by the Helpline Social Support Initiative, a non-profit organisation based in Abuja, Nigeria, the conference brought…

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24 abducted Kebbi schoolgirls regain freedom after coordinated security operation

Aminu Imam
Kebbi schoolgirls

…Tinubu hails rescue, orders push for remaining victims The 25 female students abducted from Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) Maga in Kebbi State, have regained their freedom following a strategic intervention by federal security agencies eight days after terrorists stormed the school at dawn on November 17, killing an official and injuring a security guard. Security sources confirmed to newsmen yesterday that all the kidnapped students had been rescued through efforts led by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Department of State Services, (DSS). Initial reports…

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Insecurity: Northern Govs.  to hold crucial meeting in Kaduna Nov. 29  

Aminu Imam
Northern govs.

Governors of 19 northern states are to hold a crucial meeting on Saturday, November 29, to discuss the region’s urgent security issues. Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to the Nasarawa State governor, Peter Ahemba, who disclosed this in an phone interview, added that the meeting, set to hold in Kaduna, will be attended by notable traditional rulers. “The meeting aims to develop a unified approach to tackling security concerns affecting the region and to discuss the way forward on security matters”, he explained. Ahemba assured that decisive decisions will…

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11 abducted in Kwara, as Tinubu orders massive forest cordon, air–land raids on bandits

Aminu Imam
Kwara fresh attack

Bandits have launched yet another deadly raid in Kwara State, abducting 11 residents – including a pregnant woman, two nursing mothers and several children – in a fresh attack that has deepened national anxiety over escalating rural insecurity. The attackers, reportedly more than 20 and moving with a large herd of cattle, stormed Isapa community in Ekiti local government area on Monday, firing sporadically. An elderly woman was said to have been struck by a stray bullet while houses and doors were riddled with gunshots. Dozens of expended AK-47 shells…

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Kano: 10 kidnapped, as bandits shift operations after Katsina peace deal

Aminu Imam
Kano kidnapping

Armed bandits on Monday night abducted 10 people during coordinated attacks on Biresawa and Tsundu villages in Tsanyawa local government area of Kano State, heightening fears that criminal gangs are relocating their activities to previously safer border communities. The attackers, who reportedly came on foot around 10 p.m., stormed Biresawa and took five residents before moving to Tsundu, where they seized another five. Victims were mostly women and girls. Kabiru Usman, a relative of some of the abducted victims in Biresawa, said his wife, 17-year-old daughter, his brother’s wife, and…

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FG denies nationwide ban on open-grazing

Aminu Imam
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…Says transition to ranching is ongoing The Federal Government has dismissed reports claiming it has imposed a nationwide ban on open-grazing, describing them as false and misleading. In a statement issued yesterday, the Minister of Livestock Development, Idi Mukhtar Maiha, said no such policy had been announced. Instead, he explained, the government is pursuing a phased and carefully planned transition from open-grazing to modern ranching systems. Mukhtar revealed that Nigeria currently has 273 gazetted grazing reserves spanning more than 4.5 million hectares. According to him, the Federal Government is collaborating…

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“Why airstrikes remain off the table” – FG explains rescue tactics

Aminu Imam
FG on rescue tactics

…Says DSS, military contacted bandits to free 38 Kwara worshippers The Presidency has offered fresh insight into how 38 worshippers kidnapped from Christ Apostolic Church, Eruku, in Ekiti LGA of Kwara State, were rescued — and why the military cannot simply bomb bandit hideouts despite having intelligence on their locations. Speaking on a television programme  on Monday, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, Bayo Onanuga, said the Department of State Services (DSS) and the military used a non-kinetic approach, making direct contact with the kidnappers and…

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Gumi vows to champion Kanu’s release if he shows remorse

Aminu Imam
Sheikh Gumi vows

Renowned Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has said that if the leader of the banned Indigenous People of Biafra, (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, had shown remorse, he would have been at the forefront calling for his release. Gumi made the statement while appearing as a guest on a television programme yesterday. His comment comes barely a week after Justice James Omotosho, of the Federal High Court in Abuja, sentenced Kanu to life imprisonment, following his conviction on all seven counts of terrorism filed against him. “This Kanu that was imprisoned for…

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‘Terrorist attacks pushing 35m in the North towards severe hunger’ – UN warns 

Aminu Imam
UN warns on hunger in North

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has issued a stark warning that escalating terrorist attacks and worsening insecurity in northern Nigeria are driving hunger to levels unseen in years, with millions now at risk as the 2026 lean season approaches. According to a statement issued yesterday, nearly 35 million people across northern Nigeria are projected to face severe food insecurity between May and September – the period between planting and harvest when rural communities typically struggle the most. In Borno State, the epicentre of the 16-year conflict with Boko…

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Nation’s mood: ‘Some ministers may go soon’ –  Presidency sources

Aminu Imam
Cabinet reshuffle imminent

‘There should be no sacred cows’ – Itse Sagay, others assess cabinet members’ performance President Bola Tinubu is preparing for another sweeping overhaul of his cabinet, with top Presidency insiders confirming that several ministers may soon be shown the door as part of efforts to strengthen his administration ahead of the 2027 elections. Weeks after dismissing the nation’s service chiefs on October 28, credible sources say the President is determined to replicate the shake-up in his cabinet, ensuring that only high-performing ministers remain in office as Nigeria battles economic hardship…

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