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Breaking: DSS denies journalists access from covering Kanu’s court case
The Department of State Services, DSS, has again, denied journalists access to the court room where trial of detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, is expected to resume today.
Kanu, who was re-arraigned before trial Justice Binta Nyako of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, is facing a seven-count amended treasonable felony charge the Federal Government preferred against him.
As a early as 6am when this reporter arrived at the court which is adjacent the Federal Ministry of Justice, heavily armed operatives of the DSS ordered him to turn back.
The hooded operatives, who barricaded all routes leading to the court, equally barred both print and broadcast Journalists from major media organizations from entering the court premises.
“We are working on instruction. We can’t let you people in”, one of the operatives told newsmen
As at 8:23am when this report was filed in, the operatives had yet to allow any Journalist to gain access to the court premises.
Similarly, some lawyers and Igbo traditional rulers that arrived the court around 7am, were also turned back.
Other security agents on ground to ensure that no journalist is allowed into the court, were drawn from the Nigerian Police Force, and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps.
Officials of the court had after a meeting it held with leaders of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents, NAJUC, on Tuesday, disclosed that Justice Nyako insisted that she would only allow five journalists into the courtroom.
Sequel to their instruction, a five-man list, comparising of journalists from the Print, Television, Radio and Online news outlets, among whom included this reporter, was submitted to the court.
However, upon arrival at court on Wednesday, DSS operatives, refused to allow any journalists in.
Effort to persuade the security agents to bulge is still ongoing.
FG had in the amended charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/383/2015, which was signed by a team of government lawyers led by the Director, Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mr. M. B. Abubakar, alleged that Kanu had in furtherance of an act of terrorism, issued a deadly threat that anyone that flouted his sit-at-home order should write his or her will.
FG alleged that as a result of Kanu’s directive, banks, schools, markets, shopping malls, fuel stations were not opened for businesses, with vehicular movements grounded in the South East region of the country.
It said the action amounted to an offence contrary to and punishable under 1(2) (b) of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.
FG alleged that Kanu had “on or about the 28th April, 2015 in London, United Kingdom did in a broadcast on Radio Biafra monitored in Enugu, Enugu state and other parts of Nigeria within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, referred to Major General Muhammadu Buhari, GCON, President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a paedophile, a terrorist, an idiot and an embodiment of evil, knowing same to be false and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 375 of the Criminal Code Act, Cap C. 38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004”.
He was alleged to have committed treasonable felony, an offence punishable under Section 41(C) of the Criminal Code Act, CAP C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria
He was alleged to had between 2018 and 2021, through Radio Biafra, professed to be a member of IPOB, a proscribed organization in Nigeria, and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 16 of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.
In count five of the charge, FG alleged that Kanu had on April 22, 2021, in London, United Kingdom, on Radio Biafra monitored in Enugu and other parts of Nigeria, did an act of terrorism “in that you incite the other members (followers) of the Indegenious People of Biafra (IPOB), a proscribed organization in Nigeria, to look for security personnel, their family members through a Radio Biafra on 102.1FM monitored through the IPOB Community Radio, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under section 1 (2) (h) of the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.
Attached in support of the amended charge dated October 14, included a seven-paragraphed affidavit of completion of investigation deposed to by one Loveme Odubo, a prosecutor in the Federal Ministry of Justice.
FG equally lined up five witnesses to testify in the matter, among whom are officials of the DSS and one Ronald S. who was identified as the manager of a Hotel in Lagos.
Vanguard
metro
Sokoto Officials Deny Mosque Attack as Bandits Kill Five in Gatawa Raid
Sokoto Officials Deny Mosque Attack as Bandits Kill Five in Gatawa Raid
Chairman of Sabon Birni Local Government Area in Sokoto State, Ayuba Hashimu, has dismissed viral reports alleging that bandits attacked a mosque in the council area, killing an Imam and several worshippers.
Some online platforms had circulated claims that armed bandits stormed a mosque in Sabon Birni, murdered the Imam and congregants, and abducted others.
However, Hashimu, speaking by telephone, described the reports as entirely false.
“I don’t know any mosque that was attacked, not to talk of killing of an Imam and worshippers. The story is false,” he stated.
A member of the state legislature representing the area, Hon. Aminu Boza, also debunked the claims, insisting that no mosque attack occurred on Saturday.
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“I don’t know how they got their story, but it is not true. No mosque was attacked by bandits,” he said.
While officials denied the alleged mosque incident, a separate early morning assault on Gatawa town within the same LGA resulted in five deaths and left one person critically injured.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Daily Trust that six people — including two married women, two teenage girls and two young boys — were abducted by attackers suspected to be bandits.
“The bandits invaded our community around 1:30 a.m. and started shooting sporadically. Our vigilantes engaged them, but four of them paid the supreme price on the spot. Two others sustained gunshot injuries and were taken to the hospital, but one later died,” the resident said.
He added that the attackers also stole livestock as they fled.
“We heard them exchanging fire with security agents, but none of the abducted persons was rescued,” he recounted.
Sokoto Officials Deny Mosque Attack as Bandits Kill Five in Gatawa Raid
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FG Begins Recovery of 157 Almajiri Schools
FG Begins Recovery of 157 Almajiri Schools
The Federal Government has commenced the official recovery of 157 model Almajiri schools built during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, in a renewed push to overhaul Almajiri education across the country.
The move was confirmed by Nura Muhammad, spokesperson for the National Commission for Almajiri and Out-of-School Children Education (NCAOOSCE), during an interview in Abuja on Sunday. He described the recovery process as a crucial step toward fully revamping and institutionalising Almajiri education.
Muhammad explained that the effort follows the establishment of a legally backed national body now responsible for all Almajiri-related programmes — a structure he said was missing during earlier reform attempts.
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While commending former President Jonathan for constructing the schools, which he described as “a noble and well-intentioned stride toward modernising the system,” Muhammad noted that the previous initiative struggled due to weak policy implementation, including inadequate engagement with Alarammas, the traditional Qur’anic teachers who play a central role in the Almajiri system.
He added that the lack of a strong institutional framework — with the project operating only as an initiative under the Federal Ministry of Education — contributed to its challenges.
According to him, the Commission is now strengthened by law and guided by the newly adopted National Policy on Almajiri Education, positioning it to deliver sustainable reforms.
Muhammad expressed confidence that harmful practices linked to the Almajiri system would be addressed, emphasising that all recovered schools would soon be fully under the Commission’s control and rehabilitated to serve their original purpose.
FG Begins Recovery of 157 Almajiri Schools
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Delta State Police Arrest Suspects in Killing of Retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu
Delta State Police Arrest Suspects in Killing of Retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu
The Delta State Police Command has made a significant breakthrough in the investigation into the murder of retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu in Anambra State, arresting key suspects linked to the case.
Spokesperson SP Bright Edafe disclosed on Sunday that operatives of the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID), acting on credible intelligence, apprehended 25-year-old security guard Godwin Mngumi on 6 December 2025. Mngumi allegedly murdered the retired judge, and authorities also recovered the deceased’s mobile phone from him.
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According to Edafe, Mngumi confessed to inviting a friend, Nnaji Obalum, and another accomplice — who remains at large — to the residence where the crime was committed. Obalum has since been arrested, while a manhunt continues for the third suspect.
The arrests mark a major step forward in the effort to bring all perpetrators of the high-profile murder to justice.
Delta State Police Arrest Suspects in Killing of Retired Justice Ifeoma Okogwu
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