Suspected herdsmen have shot a Catholic priest along the volatile Makudi-Naka road in Benue State.

The Catholic priest, Rev Fr.Solomom Atongo was attacked on Saturday evening.

A statement by Rev.Joseph Beba, who is the Chairman, Diocesan Priests, revealed that Rev. Atongo was shot on Makurdi-Naka road on his way from Naka, headquarters of Gwer West Local Government Area.

The victim is the priest in charge of St Johns Quasi Parish, Jimba.

Rev Atongo was said to be in critical condition as he was immediately rushed to the hospital for treatment.

The Makurdi-Naka road has become the epicenter of herdsmen violence in the past two years.

The road has been abandoned due to the activities of hoodlums who kidnap and kill people on the road.

DAILY POST gathered that Fr. Atongo was in the company of two people when the hoodlums struck.

After shooting the priest and thinking he was dead, the herders reportedly whisked away the other persons to an unknown destination.

There is no information about their whereabouts as of the time of filing this report.

[DailyPost]

Former Chief Whip of the Senate, and Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has said the new appointment of northerners by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu into key government parastatals and agencies has addressed the imbalance in his previous appointments.

Recall that in the announcement on Friday, 12 individuals from the North were placed into strategic national positions.

They are Yazid Shehu Umar Danfulani (Zamfara) as Managing Director, Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC); Alhaji Hamza Ibrahim Baba (Kano) as Programme Manager, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP); Alhaji Abubakar Umar Jarengol (Adamawa) Executive Director, Operations – Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC), Barrister Sama’ila Audu (Katsina).

Others are Executive Director, Administration – Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), Professor Musa Garba Mai Tafsiri (Kebbi), Executive Secretary, National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education, Comrade Isa Aremu, (Kwara) and Director-General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS).

Ndume in a statement on Saturday described the appointments as a reflection of President Tinubu’s commitment to inclusive governance.

Recall that Senator Ndume had last month expressed concerns over “lopsidedness” in the Tinubu administration’s appointments which he described as a clear violation of the Federal Character principle enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

In his new statement, the senator said, “President Tinubu is someone who surrenders to constructive criticisms. I have known him to be a fair minded, cosmopolitan person. Yes, we are all bound to make mistakes. No one is infallible.

“The hallmark of a good leader and statesman is to quickly adjust when he takes a decision or makes a policy pronouncement that a large section of the people find unpopular and uncomfortable with.

“This recent appointment of Northerners into key positions in Federal parastatals and agencies was meant to address the imbalances thrown up by his previous appointments which left the North stranded.”

[DailyTrust]

In Nigeria, family planning is often considered a woman’s responsibility, and this gendered perception continues to shape reproductive health decisions across the country.

While modern contraceptive methods have the potential to ease population growth, improve maternal health, and reduce poverty, many Nigerian men remain sceptical or outright resistant to family planning.

Despite efforts by health organisations, the uptake of family planning remains relatively low, particularly among married women in Northern Nigeria.

According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, the contraceptive prevalence rate among married women is just 17 per cent, with even lower rates in rural areas. Experts say this slow progress can be largely attributed to male opposition.

What exactly drives this resistance? To understand the roots of this opposition, one must explore a web of cultural, religious, social, economic, and psychological factors.

Nigeria’s population surge

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is experiencing an explosive population surge that poses significant challenges for sustainable development.

According to the World Bank, Nigeria’s population, currently estimated at over 220 million, is projected to surpass 377 million by 2050, making it the third most populous country in the world after India and China.

This demographic trajectory, while offering potential in human capital, also presents critical risks if not matched with commensurate investments in healthcare, education, and economic infrastructure.

Among the most vulnerable to the consequences of unchecked population growth are rural communities, where access to reproductive health services remains limited and cultural resistance to family planning is often deeply entrenched.

The scale

According to data from the United Nations Population Fund, nearly 44 per cent of Nigeria’s population is under the age of 15.

The country’s fertility rate stands at approximately 5.3 births per woman, with rural areas often recording higher rates due to limited contraceptive use and poor access to maternal health services.

This creates pressure on local resources, education systems, and employment opportunities.

UNICEF Nigeria has warned that unless urgent steps are taken to manage population growth through voluntary family planning, the country risks exacerbating poverty, food insecurity, and healthcare shortfalls.

Rural communities bear the brunt of Nigeria’s population boom. In states such as Niger, Zamfara, and Kebbi, large families are common, often viewed as a sign of wealth or divine blessing. In many of these areas, women have little say in reproductive decisions, with patriarchal norms dominating household choices.

Mrs Grace Tanko, a midwife serving in the FCT, noted that many rural women are not aware of modern contraceptive methods.

“In many villages, family planning is still seen as a foreign concept, or worse, as an attempt to reduce the African population,” she noted. “Some women want to space or limit births but are afraid of their husbands or community backlash.”

Cultural norms, patriarchy

Nigeria’s patriarchal society bestows significant decision-making power on men, especially in the family unit.

According to a public health physician, Dr Chinyere Mbachu, “In many homes, men make all major decisions, including those regarding reproduction.”

In some ethnic groups, a man’s wealth and status are measured by the number of children he has. Among the Hausa and Fulani in the North, and even among parts of the Igbo and Yoruba ethnicities, large families are seen as a sign of strength, blessing, and social security.

Anthropologist Mercy Ifijeh explains that many men believe that children are assets: labour on farms, inheritors of lineage, and caretakers in old age.

“This belief fuels resistance to family planning, which is seen as limiting blessings,” she added.

Misinformation, fear of side effects

Another key reason for male resistance is the widespread misinformation about contraceptives. “There is a common myth among men that family planning will make their wives promiscuous or infertile,” says Dr Ifeoma Ezike, a physician.

Some men also fear that hormonal contraceptives could cause long-term health complications. While minor side effects like weight gain or mood changes can occur, they are usually manageable.

Yet, due to inadequate counselling and education, these fears often go unchallenged.

A 2020 study published in Contraception and Reproductive Medicine showed that over 45 per cent of Nigerian men surveyed believed that family planning leads to permanent infertility. This false belief fuels hostility.

Masculinity, sexual control

For some men, resisting family planning is about control over sex, reproduction, and their partners. 

“There’s this idea that if a woman is on birth control, she won’t fear getting pregnant and will be more likely to cheat,” says counsellor Ngozi Amadi, of the Women’s Rights and Health Project in Lagos.

This idea reflects deep-rooted insecurities about trust and fidelity, often tied to traditional gender roles.

In a society where many women rely economically on their husbands, men often feel threatened by anything that might give women more autonomy over their bodies.

Low male involvement in reproductive health

Despite being key decision-makers, many Nigerian men are not actively involved in family planning education.

Mbachu said, “Most campaigns are targeted at women, leaving men feeling excluded and suspicious.”

Only a few clinics have male-friendly reproductive health services. Male-focused education, either through community meetings or faith-based outreach, remains inadequate.

Economic considerations, poverty

Ironically, while large families are often pursued for economic reasons, they also strain limited household resources.

Yet the idea that more children equate to more income is persistent.

Economist Oladayo Adenubi notes, “In agrarian societies, children are seen as free labour. The idea is that you produce more children to help with farming, street trading, and other informal jobs.”

Family planning is wrongly seen as a luxury for the elite, rather than a tool for poverty reduction.

According to a 2022 report by the World Bank, countries with higher contraceptive prevalence generally have stronger maternal health indices and lower child mortality rates.

What some Nigerian men are saying

Some men have begun to speak out in favour of family planning.

In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Lagos-based tailor Abdulrahman Adeyemo shared, “After our fourth child, I told my wife to go for family planning. We couldn’t keep up with school fees and rent.”

Likewise, a teacher in Anambra, Samuel Uzo, revealed, “I used to be against it. But my wife had back-to-back pregnancies. We agreed on the implant, and our lives are better now.”

However, several others said family planning makes women promiscuous.

A 42-year-old mechanic in Owerri, Imo State Chukwudi Dimkpa, insists he will never allow his wife to take contraceptives.

“Once a woman knows she can’t get pregnant, she starts misbehaving. Before you know it, she’ll be sleeping around because there’s no consequence,” he said.

Similarly, a trader in Kaduna, Mallam Idris, who spoke to our correspondent over the telephone, viewed contraception as a slippery slope.

“Islam says children are a blessing. But also, when a woman doesn’t fear pregnancy, she can forget her boundaries.”

In Lagos, a retired civil servant, Mr David Abayomi, sees birth control as an invitation to marital discord.

“You want your wife to be faithful, not to start feeling too free. If she’s not scared of getting pregnant, she may start experimenting. You don’t know these women,” he said in an interview with Sunday PUNCH.

Medics call for inclusive campaigns

Health experts argue that more inclusive, culturally sensitive campaigns are crucial to change the narrative.

According to Dr Amaka Eze of the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, “Men need to see family planning as beneficial to the family, not as a threat to masculinity.”

NURHI and other NGOs have begun organising couple-centred clinics where both partners receive counselling.

Faith-based organisations are also stepping in, like the Federation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Nigeria, which educates imams on medically acceptable forms of contraception.

Religious beliefs, doctrines

Religion plays a huge role in shaping attitudes toward contraception. In the North, where Islam predominates, some clerics preach that family planning interferes with divine will.

For example, a prominent Islamic cleric in Kano State, Sheik Ibrahim Khalil, once stated in a public sermon that “family planning encourages moral laxity and goes against the teachings of Islam.”

However, there are divergent views within the Islamic community. Some progressive scholars refer to the Prophet Muhammad’s allowance of ‘azl (coitus interruptus) as implicit approval of family planning under specific conditions. International Islamic authorities such as the Islamic Fiqh Academy, under the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, have issued fatwas permitting contraception, provided both spouses consent and no harm is caused.

Despite these theological flexibilities, many Muslim-majority states in Nigeria remain unreceptive, partly due to local clerics’ influence and the association of family planning with Western liberalism and perceived moral decay.

Christian views on family planning vary widely depending on denomination. The Roman Catholic Church maintains a firm stance against artificial birth control, promoting Natural Family Planning instead.

The Church’s teachings, based on the 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, assert that procreation must remain open in every sexual act.

Bishop Lucius Ugorji of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria reaffirmed this view during a conference in Enugu, stating, “The use of contraceptives undermines the sanctity of human life and marriage.”

Pentecostal and Evangelical churches present a more varied picture. While some pastors endorse contraceptive use as a means of responsible parenting, others strongly oppose it.

Pastor Chris Okotie of the Household of God Church in Lagos, for instance, has spoken against contraceptives, associating them with promiscuity.

Yet there are prominent Christian voices in support. Reverend Father Anselm Adodo, a Benedictine monk and pharmacist, has written extensively on the importance of family planning to reduce maternal mortality and improve the quality of life.

“They say, ‘Why should you control what God has destined?”, says Reverend Godwin Okoh of Lagos.

This misunderstanding of religious texts has led many men to reject family planning.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, if all Nigerian women had access to modern contraceptive methods, unintended pregnancies would drop by 85 per cent, significantly reducing maternal and infant mortality.

For rural dwellers, this could mean fewer unsafe abortions, improved maternal health, and increased opportunities for women to participate in economic activities.

Policy, legal landscape

Contrary to popular belief, there is no law in Nigeria that limits the number of children a family may have.

However, several government policies encourage family planning as a means of achieving sustainable development.

The National Population Policy, revised in 2004 and again in 2019, promotes access to reproductive health services and aims to reduce fertility rates through voluntary methods.

Despite these efforts, implementation remains weak, particularly in rural regions.

Many local governments lack the infrastructure, trained personnel, and consistent funding to provide quality family planning services.

To address Nigeria’s population challenge, especially in underserved areas, a multipronged approach is essential.

Experts have advised that the government and NGOs invest in rural health centres and mobile outreach to deliver family planning tools and education.

Religious and traditional leaders have also been called upon to dispel myths and encourage dialogue.

[Punch]

• Shuns Osun governor, party chiefs during visit
• Aregbesola’s, Adeleke’s alliance heads for the rocks
• Fresh confusion over proposed PDP NEC meeting
• Atiku, Obi, El-Rufai, Amaechi, others meet today
• Obi: I’ll run on Labour Party’s platform in 2027

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar  appears to have drawn the battle line with state governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) , and officials of the party who are opposed to his bid to enter into coalition with other political parties against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Despite Atiku’s insistence on a coalition, believing it is the only way the APC can be defeated in 2027, the PDP has stoutly rejected the move.

The PDP says it is strong enough to wrest power from the APC and that all it needs to do is to put its house in order.

In this regard, it set up a reconciliation committee headed by a former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki.

On Friday, Atiku was in Osun State where he shunned the state governor ,Senator Ademola Adeleke and the  state executives of the  party.

Officials  of the PDP yesterday interpreted the action of the ex – Vice President as a declaration of hostility.

“He has drawn the battle line because our governors are not with him in his move to forge a coalition and then run for president as usual,” a source in the PDP national secretariat told our correspondent yesterday.

The former vice president and his allies in the coalition talks are due to meet in Abuja today for more discussion on the way forward.

Top on the meeting’s agenda  is the platform they intend to use for the 2027 election.

Presidential candidate of  the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, who is widely speculated  as Atiku’s possible running mate in 2027 said yesterday that he still looks forward to contesting the election on the platform of LP,  which means he is unlikely to go along with the coalition.

Political sources said yesterday that Gov.Adeleke may have incurred Atiku’s wrath on account of  his (governor’s) stand on the coalition being promoted for  the former VP’s 2027 presidential bid.

Atiku had gone to  the state for the coronation of the new Owa of Ijesaland, HRH Adesuyi Haastrup.

He also  refused to meet with the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Sunday Bisi and other members in the state.

Instead he  paid a courtesy call on ex-Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who is his new coalition ally.

According to findings,  Atiku’s cold attitude shocked Adeleke and PDP members in the state.

It was gathered that the ex-VP was unimpressed by lack of a firm commitment to his 2027 ambition by the governor and as a result, decided to draw the battle line early in the day with him.

Political observers in the state believe Atiku might have miscalculated because apart from being a sitting governor,  Adeleke’s popularity is at its peak in the state while Aregbesola’s influence is dwindling.

A senior government official, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: “the ex-VP shocked the governor and PDP members by not notifying the state government of his visit. He did not pay a courtesy call on the governor and there was no notice to the state chapter of PDP of his coming.

“It is convenient for him to call his shuttle a private visit but as the former VP, he is under our care.

“It is a slight to shun the governor and visit Aregbesola in Ilesha. The message is clear to all. He has something up his sleeves.”

Asked what might have accounted for Atiku’s attitude,  the source said: “Maybe he is acting on body language or intuition to reach conclusions on Governor Adeleke who is amiable and amenable. I think for an experienced politician like Atiku, it is too early to arrive at any conclusion. He has a presumption that the governor has a mindset for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.

“The second reason which is definitive is that Atiku is desperate for a new coalition and he knows that Governor Adeleke might not leave the PDP. Not coming to the governor was a message that he was done with the PDP.

“But Aregbesola cannot win Osun State for him in 2027. We wish Atiku good luck. His attitude has earned him more disdain than anything in Osun. It was a misstep.”

Atiku’s behaviour toward Adeleke was the subject of political discussion in many parts of the state all through Friday and yesterday. 

Atiku’s spokesman, Paul Ibe was yet to respond to questions sent to his WhatsApp line.

A PDP source said he wasn’t  surprised that  there is a political misunderstanding between the President and Governor Adeleke.

The source added: “As a matter of fact,  when Sen. Isiaka Adeleke died, President Tinubu wanted Governor Ademola Adeleke to succeed his brother but Aregbesola refused. Adeleke  was denied the ticket because of his closeness to the then President of the Senate  Dr. Bukola Saraki. He left APC for PDP and won the senatorial ticket.

“When the President asked why Governor Ademola Adeleke was refused APC senatorial ticket, the powers-  that-  be in Osun then  said he might contest for the  governorship. Asiwaju then asked ‘why not?’ Everything has come to pass, ” he said.

Unknown to many, a cold war has been brewing between  Adeleke and Aregbesola over their performances in office.

In the last few weeks,  Adeleke and Aregbesola have taunted each other at public functions in what appeared a sign of frosty relationship.

At a Rotary District  Conference in Ede, Osun State, Aregbesola,  who was the guest speaker,  spent quality time to reel out his achievements. He spoke of  how he transformed Osun State.

But  Adeleke, who came midway into Aregbesola’s lecture was ‘unsettled ‘  by what his predecessor said.

When it was his turn, Adeleke, who took style to say he was building on Aregbesola’s achievements, said the era of half salary was gone; he has not borrowed a dime; the Debt Management Office (DMO)  has confirmed that the  state  has cleared 40% of inherited debt since he  came into office.

He also said that he has completed a 14-kilometre dual carriageway in Ilesha and established University of Ilesha with 70 courses accredited.

“It is a matter of time before we end the alliance with Aregbesola, ” a PDP source added.

At a meeting  last month , PDP governors ruled out coalition with other parties for the 2027 presidential election.

The governors said the PDP was strong enough to oust the APC from power but welcomed any party that may want to join it.

Adeleke was at the meeting.

Atiku is nonetheless forging ahead with his bid to enter into coalition with interested parties.

 Last week, he and his coalition partners announced that they would use the ADP, instead of the SDP they had earlier announced, as the vehicle to realise their 2027 dream.

Atiku, others  push ahead with coalition despite PDP’s stance

 It was gathered yesterday that members of  the Atiku-led coalition will meet in Abuja today to perfect their plan ahead of 2027.

Some of those expected at the meeting are the immediate past governor of Kaduna State,Mallam Nasir El Rufai,former Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi and former Osun State governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

It was gathered that the group is banking on the support of the likes of the League of Northern Democrats (LND) which said last week that it was mobilising intensely across the north while considering the   options of registering a new opposition political party or fusing into an existing one.

It said in a communiqué that it would support the National Opposition Coalition Group chaired by Sen. President David Mark in “driving the transitional politics towards the 2027 general elections.”

I’ll contest on Labour Party’s platform, says Obi

Obi,in a video interaction with his supporters yesterday said he would contest the 2027 election on the platform of the LP.

 “I will still continue to run in the Labour Party. I’m a member of the Labour Party,” he said in response to  a question by one of his supporters.

He blamed the federal government for the crises in the PDP and LP,saying: “What is happening in the Labour Party and the PDP is caused by the government, quote me anywhere.

“We had a problem in our party before, in the past; Yar’Adua was the President. I went to him then; he called the INEC chairman (Prof. Maurice Iwu) and told him ‘I don’t want any problem in any party. We were forced to fix it.

“But today, in all the parties, there are problems; these are deliberate problems caused by the system. These are some of the things I want to clean up if I have the opportunity.

“Parties will function very well because you can’t have a system working without a strong opposition.”

No coalition yet, we are discussing how to move Nigeria forward, says Obidients’ National Coordinator

 National Coordinator of the Obidients Movement, Dr. Yunusa Tanko said there was no agreement in place yet on whether the group should join a  coalition of political parties ahead of the 2027 general election. 

Tanko told The Nation by  telephone that what is currently going on is discussion among respected Nigerians who are concerned about the way the country’s democracy is going.

He said ” It is just a group of persons who have tremendous respect for each talking about how to move the country forward.

“They are concerned about what is happening in our country and the way our democracy is going. They are concerned about reforming our electoral system to avoid what is going on right now when people are decamping anyhow.

Maybe if we had done this before now, people would  not be decamping the way they are doing now, taking the mandate of one party to another. It’s like having a football match and in the middle of the game, you jump from your team to the other because they are winning. If we allow that to continue, you won’t have anybody left in the opposing team to complete the game.”

Fresh confusion over PDP NEC meeting

A letter written  yesterday in the name of the embattled national secretary of the PDP,Samuel Anyanwu,has sparked confusion over the party’s much rescheduled National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting.

Daboikiabo  Warmate, spokesman to Anayanwu said in the letter that the NEC meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 27, 2025 had been put on hold owing to what he called constitutional breaches.

He claimed that  a purported letter illegally signed by the Deputy National Secretary, Setonji Koshoedo inviting party members to the meeting was in violation of the party’s constitution which authorized the substantive National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu to act in that line of duty.

According to the statement, the national Secretary of PDP, Most Distinguished Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu, is neither aware  nor directed the Deputy National Secretary to issue such notice, therefore remains a nullity.

“We therefore, urge and advise all state chairmen and esteemed members of NEC of our great party to disregard, any of such notice of invitation that does not emanate from the National Secretary himself, the Most Distinguished Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu till further notice”

While relying on the provision of the constitution of PDP, he  said, “It is expedient to emphasize that, following section 36 (1)b, of the PDP constitution as amended in 2017, it is one of the core responsibilities/functions of the National Secretary and not the Deputy National Secretary to issue notice of NWC, NEC, CAUCUS and CONVENTION.”

“And all extant and relevant laws in the PDP constitution as amended in 2017, and the supreme court judgement, points to the fact that, Most Distinguished Senator Samuel Nnaemeka Anyanwu, as always, remains the National Secretary of PDP and in due time will issue the notice.”

He told  party leaders, members, and critical stakeholders that the meeting would not take place  as scheduled until issues affecting the party were resolved.

Northern leaders endorse Tinubu for 2027, back reforms in security, economy, governance

 The Northern Bridge Builders Forum, a coalition of respected leaders from the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), yesterday threw  its weight behind President Bola Tinubu’s administration and endorsed him for a second term in 2027. 

The forum commended his sweeping reforms in security, the economy, local government autonomy, and national unity.

 Speaking during a press conference at the Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja, the Convener of the forum, Senator Joel Danlami Ikenya, said the group, made up of eminent personalities from the three northern geopolitical zones, gathered to evaluate the impact of federal government policies on the region and the nation since President Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023.

 According to Senator Ikenya, who was flanked by his members, the Northern Bridge Builders Forum resolved to support the President’s reform agenda while also proposing key recommendations to address rising security concerns and economic pressures in the region.

 The forum acknowledged the administration’s strategic focus on national security, particularly in the northern states plagued by insurgents, bandits, and other criminal groups. 

It hailed the proposed establishment of Armed Forest Guards, now before the National Assembly, as a commendable move to combat insecurity in forested areas.

 However, the forum raised the  alarm over renewed deadly attacks in states like Borno, Zamfara, Benue, Plateau, Katsina, Sokoto, and Niger, warning that groups such as Boko Haram, ISWAP, and other criminal gangs appear to have regrouped and rearmed.

 “The resurgence of violence in our communities is alarming. The wanton destruction of lives, farms, and properties reinforces fears that terrorist groups are once again gaining ground,” Ikenya said. 

The forum praised President Tinubu’s economic reforms, describing them as bold and necessary.

 While acknowledging the hardship that followed the removal of fuel subsidy, they said the increased monthly allocations to states and repayment of Nigeria’s IMF debts were signs of economic progress.

They also lauded the President for stabilising the currency and attracting foreign investments, referencing praise from the British High Commissioner as evidence of growing international confidence in Nigeria’s economy.

“Though the economic reforms have caused some short-term pain, we believe they lay the foundation for a more prosperous and stable Nigeria.

One of the key highlights of the forum’s deliberations was support for the implementation of local government autonomy. 

They hailed the Tinubu administration’s efforts, especially its successful legal battles at the Supreme Court to uphold the constitutional rights of local governments to financial independence.

The forum urged state governors to comply fully with the implementation, which they said would fast-track grassroots development and bring governance closer to the people.

The Northern Bridge Builders Forum applauded the President’s inclusive leadership style and efforts in promoting national cohesion across ethnic and religious lines.

 They described Tinubu’s approach as tolerant and dialogue-driven, citing the appointments of Vice President Kashim Shettima and SGF George Akume as symbols of northern inclusion in national leadership.

“The North is well represented and has confidence in the team Mr. President has assembled,” Senator Ikenya added.

In their final communiqué, the forum urged Nigerians to be patient and continue supporting the Tinubu administration’s reform agenda. 

They resolved to consolidate and sustain recent security gains, particularly in the North; urge the National Assembly to expedite the passage of the Armed Forest Guards Bill; provide timely farming inputs to improve food productivity; and introduce short-term economic relief measures to cushion the current hardship.

The forum publicly endorsed President Tinubu for a second term, citing his “visionary leadership and courage in initiating necessary reforms.”

“In view of the efforts so far, the Northern Bridge Builders Forum unequivocally endorses Mr. President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for a second term in 2027 to continue the good works he is doing,” Ikenya declared.

[pThe Nation]

Marte, the headquarters of the eponymous Local Government Area (LGA) on the western floodplains of the Lake Chad in Borno State, north-east Nigeria, has been a site of lingering contest between Nigerian troops on the one hand and Islamist insurgents of Boko Haram on the other for over one decade. At 3,154 km2, Marte LGA is just a little under the size of all of Lagos state. 

For a while between 2014 and 2015, Boko Haram reportedly bivouacked in Marte on its way to its more permanent operational headquarters in the Sambissa Forest. For much of 2015, control of the town exchanged hands in succession between the Nigerian Army and Boko Haram. Around May 2015, Boko Haram reportedly took back the city from the Nigerian troops who had held it for three months from February of the same year. 

For the most part, Nigeria has controlled Marte thereafter with the exception of a brief duration in 2021, when the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) temporarily visited havoc upon a military base in Marte. 

All that appears to have changed recently. Around Monday, 12 May 2025, Islamist insurgents reportedly attacked the Forward Operating Base of the 153rd Task Force Battalion in Marte, resulting in considerable carnage. Sources familiar with the early morning attack reported that “over 10 soldiers were killed and hundreds of personnel deserted. The (terrorists) burnt down armoured tanks and made away with arms and ammunition.” The beleaguered governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, has been left appealing to his ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to ensure that Marte does not fall back into the hands of Boko Haram and its allies.

In the same week that they attacked Marte, the insurgents also attacked the 3rd Battalion base in Rann, in Kala Balge district, killing at least five soldiers and leaving at least four others reportedly injured. The intensity and scope of the attacks by Boko Haram in Borno State in the past six months led the state governor to raise an alarm last April, suggesting that the country was “losing ground” in the fight against Islamist terror. 

National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, a retired assistant inspector-general of the Nigeria Police Force, who has run for and is credibly rumoured to retain ambitions for another tilt at the presidency, ostensibly failed to get the governor’s memorandum. Addressing the National Summit, so-called, of the APC, the NSA claimed to have killed 13,543 Boko Haram elements in the first two years of the administration and recovered over 11,000 arms from them. He notably did not mention the haul of arms the insurgents have been busy harvesting from Nigerian military formations. Over the same period, he claimed, “124,408 Boko Haram fighters and their families” also surrendered.

It is unfortunate that the ruling party has chosen to make national security a party political matter. It is even more tragic that the wannabe political opposition has allowed them to get away with it. The result is a vacuum of leadership in the security sector filled and fed with an atrocious body count of Nigerian casualties whose death and suffering barely register on the priorities of the people supposed to protect the country, its people and communities. 

The central problem is a failure of strategy. To understand this, it is necessary to explain that the presidency is many jobs in one. A president is – among other things – party leader, chief marketer of the country, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Every one of these roles of the president can be delegated except the last. As commander-in-chief, the president sets the security strategy. 

For over 50 years, Nigeria’s national security strategy docked onto the neighbourhood of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). There was good reason for that. The country’s northern boundaries feed into the southern rim of the Sahel. With Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to its north as founding members of ECOWAS, the country could count solidly on friendly neighbours as buffers against the historical brutalities of Sahelian violence. 

This understanding was at the heart of the transformation of the ECOWAS from an economic integration arrangement envisioned at its foundation in 1975 into a collective security arrangement in 1981. For much of the period since then, this arrangement held together. 

However, following the military coup in Niger Republic in July 2023, the country lost its marbles and decided to bite its nose in order to spite its sovereign face. On behalf of ECOWAS, President Tinubu committed the blunder of threatening to invade another member of the ECOWAS collective security arrangement. He alone knows what he was thinking.

The hubris of President Tinubu’s handling of the coup crisis in Nigeria is inexplicable. With a landmass of over 1.267 million km2, Niger Republic constituted about 22% of the 5.8 million km2  of the landmass of ECOWAS. The idea of an invasion of the country in order to militarily restore the ousted administration of President Mohamed Bazoum was always worse than bluster; it was plainly unviable.

In invoking war against Niger on behalf of ECOWAS, President Tinubu managed in one stroke to violate the prohibition against the use of force in international law; create the impression that Nigeria’s Sahelian neighbours did not matter; and suggest that France was a more important factor to Nigeria’s neighbourhood strategy than its immediate neighbours.

That much should have been evident to the people who thought up the idea. But the damage was beyond a resort to fantastic bluster, where hard-nosed rationality was needed. The costs have been prohibitive and rising; and the result has been devastating. 

In September 2023, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger created their own collective security arrangement and orbited off into the realm of Russia’s mercenary diplomacy. Since then, the consequences for Nigeria have been stark. In the period since September 2023, and despite the fantasies of NSA Nuhu Ribadu, Nigeria’s internal security situation has disintegrated into mayhem. 

In the north-west states of Sokoto and Kebbi, a new terror group, Lakurawa, has taken root. South of Kebbi, in Kwara State, another new terror group, Mahmuda, runs murderously rampant. To the east of Kwara in Nigeria’s Middle Belt, vast swathes of territory and communities in Benue, Nasarawa, and Plateau states are being emptied in intense attacks credited to so-called “foreign herdsmen.”

The politicians are reluctant to acknowledge what is obvious and the soldiers have been trained not to say that their commander-in-chief has left them in an insecurity pickle. But that is exactly what President Tinubu has done with the way he has brought about the transformation of ECOWAS from an integrated security arrangement for the region into a rump of an association of Atlantic West African States (AAWAS). 

The evidence is everywhere in the rising casualty count, which NSA Nuhu Ribadu will not acknowledge. According to monitoring coalition, Nigeria Mourns, 4,416 people were killed in atrocities in Nigeria in 2023. In 2024, President Tinubu’s first full year in office, the number rose 21.2% to 5,353, including 308 security personnel. 88.5% of these killings occurred in Northern Nigeria. Another 5,171 were abducted. 

Behind these numbers are people, families, communities, traumas that both Nuhu Ribadu and the ruling APC will not allow Nigerians to see, hear, acknowledge or mourn. They are the experiences of loss and indignity that the dissolute wannabes in the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP) cannot bring themselves to ask the APC to account for or acknowledge. 

On 28 May, the civic Coalition Nigeria Mourns invites all Nigerians wherever they may be to spare a thought for all these victims and their loved ones in a National Day of Mourning (NDoM) “to rage, resist, and demand action from the government” in memory of all who have been killed or violated. A more responsible government would not have waited for a group of unarmed, unelected citizens to remind them.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has released the results of its resit examination for candidates affected by its 2025 UTME technical error.

The results from JAMB’s original 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination were released on May 9.

An analysis showed that more than 78 per cent of candidates scored less than 200 points out of the 400 maximum points obtainable.

JAMB undertook a review in response to public protests and uncovered a major “technical error”.

On May 14, Ishaq Oloyede, JAMB registrar, said that the results of 379,997 candidates across 157 centres were affected.

He cited faulty server updates that prevented candidate responses from being uploaded during the first three days of the exam.

Oloyede said the problem, which was caused by one of its technical service providers, went undetected before the results were released.

JAMB conducted a resit exam for those affected in Lagos and the south-east, starting from May 16 and extending beyond May 19.

The results of that resit were released on Sunday, May 25, after extensive stakeholder consultation.

Of the 336,845 candidates scheduled for the resit, JAMB said 21,082 were absent.

The board said performance analysis remains consistent with those from the past twelve years of UTME.

More to follow…

[The Cable]

UNTIL the metamorphosis of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) last month, the latter never saw anything good and reassuring in his almost two years in office. The governor, his former party, PDP, and the APC were at daggers drawn practically over any policy or action the Oborevwori government took.

The APC took joy in pounding him from all corners.

Bombardment

 The APC’s Publicity Secretary, Valentine Onojeghuo, expressed disappointment over what his party described as the deteriorating state of infrastructure, governance, and social welfare in the state in a statement early this year.

The party noted that the state, under Oborevwori’s leadership, had witnessed a dramatic stalling of key projects, failure to deliver on crucial promises, and a general lack of the expected vision for sustainable progress despite receiving a mind-boggling federal allocation.

The statement read in part, “Deltans have been left in despair as their hopes for a better future continue to fade and now look like a distant mirage.

“The Delta APC notes that one of the key areas of concern includes infrastructure decay. “Presently, the state’s roads, especially in rural areas, are in deplorable condition as promises of road reconstruction and maintenance remain unfulfilled, leaving residents to contend with the daily struggle of impassable roads that hinder economic activities and the mobility of citizens.

“Furthermore, the education sector is in crisis as the educational institutions in the state are grappling with outdated facilities and a lack of support.

“The failure of the administration of Governor Oborevwori to invest adequately in schools and teachers is pushing the education sector into further decline, robbing our children of the quality education they rightly deserve.

“The health sector suffers from abject neglect; despite numerous promises to improve healthcare, our hospitals and clinics continue to suffer from inadequate staffing, poor facilities, and a lack of essential drugs and equipment.

“The lives of ordinary Deltans are now at risk, yet the Oborevwori administration has shown little or no interest in prioritizing this fundamental area.

“It is becoming clear to the people of Delta State that grand promises made by Governor Oborevwori during the campaigns are now gone with the wind, as so far, there has been little to show for them. 

“From job creation to improving security, the current administration has failed to live up to its commitments, leaving many wondering if there was nothing more than empty rhetoric.

April 30, also said, “We wish to categorically state that with his entry into the APC, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori assumes the position of the leader of the party in Delta State. This position is not subject to debate or contention.”

Referencing the Vice President Kashim Shettima’s remarks at the defection ceremony as affirmation of the governor’s new status, which, it said, was “authoritative, binding and final,” he said, “Delta APC finds it strange, arrogant and reprehensible for any individual to continue to arrogate or to parade himself as the leader of the Party in Delta State in clear opposition to the present reality.

“Anyone who seeks to undermine this position… will face severe sanctions from the party”.

‘It was all propaganda’

Speaking to Sunday Vanguard, a former Publicity Secretary of the PDP in Delta State, Chief Sunday Apah, said the development showed “all that they (APC) were doing was propaganda to score popularity.

Apah went on: “They were aware that the scorecard of Governor Oborevwori is huge; it is something that nobody can contend with.

“You see, since the defection, they have all been singing a new tune, which is that Governor Oborevwori is a good man, he is the best governor. We knew that what they were doing was just propaganda.”

Criticisms made Oborevwori do more –Ahon, CPS

 Chief Press Secretary to Oborevwori, Sir Festus Ahon, however, noted, “There is no permanent friend, no permanent enemy in politics. What is permanent is interest. 

“Today, we are one in one political family under the platform of the APC, led by His Excellency, Rt. Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, the Governor of Delta State.

“We are united because we want to build enduring legacies for our people. We want our people to feel the impact of democracy.

 ”Our decision to align with the government at the centre under the platform of the APC was for the collective interest of our people.

 ”While they criticized us in the past, we did not take offence. “We saw such criticism as a call for us to look inwards and improve on what we were doing for Deltans.

“We were not dissuaded by the criticisms, rather, we were strengthened by the criticisms because we are determined to govern and bring the dividends of democracy to the doorstep of every Deltan.

 ”So, today, we are in one political family, devoid of tendencies or faction, and we expect that more dividends will come to our people. We will build enduring legacy projects for our people”. 

[Vanguard]

Blood-thirsty jackasses are on the prowl in the digital forest of the world wide web. They prey on the gullibility of their captive audience. Nothing sells like bad news, and that is what they have aplenty. Through the instrumentality of various apps otherwise designed for positively creative ends, they bend reality or create something attuned to their depravity to spread fear, horror, hate, and, ultimately set the stage for massacre or ethnic cleansing.

Flashback

It is a trend that started about one decade ago but gained primacy around 2018 when the Nigerian police highlighted a case in which incendiary images on Facebook fuelled more than a dozen killings in Plateau State. That part of the country had been on the boil for several months with horrendous killings of farmers and rural folk by marauding bands of militias, some of whom were suspected to be foreigners. Ethnic profiling of the Fulani tribe was rife.

In the midst of the grisly sacking of villages and the attendant loss of lives, some e-jackasses saw an opportunity to escalate things by posting fake photographs of imaginary victims butchered by imaginary Fulani warriors. One picture showed a baby with open machete wounds across his head and jaw. Another showed a man’s skull hacked open. There were pictures of huts burnt to the ground. Other graphic posts showed bloodied corpses dumped in mass graves, and children murdered in their beds.

The e-jackasses who posted the images claimed that there was a massacre underway in the Gashish district of Plateau State in which Fulani Muslims were killing thousands of Christians from the state’s Berom ethnic group. The truth is that there was actually an attack which claimed many Berom lives in that area but the photographs posted on Facebook had nothing to do with that particular incident.

According to the BBC Africa Eye, “Some of the most incendiary images circulating at the time had nothing to do with the violence in Gashish. The image of the baby, which was shared with a call for God to “wipe out the entire generation of the killers of this innocent child”, had first appeared on Facebook months earlier. The video in which the man’s head was cut open did not even come from Nigeria, it was recorded in Congo-Brazzaville nearly a thousand miles away, in 2012.

So, what the e-jackasses preyed on was the power of outrage. The aim was to shock the consumers of their fib to such an extent as to become part of an unthinking mob. It was bad enough that some children were killed in the Plateau crisis, but the sense of abominable savagery was heightened when a fake photograph of babies divided into halves with the use of a meat cleaver was shared to millions of Facebook users.

If you didn’t bother to trace the source of the photos, you’d think that they were of the plateau killings. And whereas the extra-legal killing of any human being is condemnable, the deliberate inflammation of passion with the use of fake graphics to activate a mob is totally reprehensible.

Since then, there has been a discernible pattern of revving up tension by internet jackals who dispense journalistic carrion in the name of “Breaking News”. The more horrific the photos, the greater the mileage made by the posts— and the wider the net of victims both of the garbage posts and the ensuing inter-tribal and inter-religious mayhem.

Imaginary Victim

Only recently, a tendentious piece of fake news trended massively on social media alleging that one 22-year-old Zainab Muhammadu who had recently converted to Christianity had been arrested by the Muslim establishment and was due to be tried under the Islamic Sharia law. The combustible story generated nationwide indignation, particularly in the southern parts. Against the background of historic contestations between the two major religious groups, public commentators warned against the opening of another war front that could compound the country’s security situation.

An online news medium had quoted ‘family sources’ as saying that Zainab’s crime was converting to Christianity. According to the report, Zainab’s journey of faith started when she met one Pastor Samuel, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member posted to her area. However, when the authorities discovered her change to Christianity, they ordered her arrest.

According to the story, the trial was to be held the following Friday. Many legal experts and human rights advocates decried the development as a gross violation of a Nigerian citizen’s constitutional right to religious freedom.

One of the religious groups that lapped up the story is the Christian Rights Agenda (CRA) which promptly issued a statement fin which it called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately intervene to save the supposed victim. The body noted that, “In most states of the Northwest and Northeast, government officials, including emirs, engage in massive forceful conversion of Christians, especially women, young and underaged girls, but here they are now trying to murder Miss Mohammed who willingly converted to Christianity.”

The organisation also drew attention to the incidence of terrorism and banditry and how the twin evils had led to the forceful conversion of Christian girls to Islam by the terrorists. They reminded the nation of the well known case of Leah Sharibu who is still being held by the terrorists for refusing to renounce her faith.

Some other Christians also rose in defence of their faith, reminding the nation of the case of Deborah Samuel who was alleged by some of her schoolmates to have committed blasphemy against Islam and was stoned to death and then incinerated in plain sight. Her suspected killers were arrested and charged with bailable offences following which they were eventually acquitted for lack of diligent prosecution.

Bomb Defused

The Zamfara State government was mindful of the time bomb in its hands and moved fast to douse the tension by declaring that the Zainab story was false. The government said it had checked with all relevant authorities and security agencies to verify the authenticity of the story and also confirmed with the Grand Khadi of the Zamfara Sharia Court of Appeal regarding any similar cases. There was no such case before any Shari’a court in Zamfara State.

Sulaiman Idris, the spokesman for Governor Dauda Lawal, said the wide dissemination of the fabricated story exemplified yellow journalism. He urged the relevant security agencies to investigate the source of the “misguided story” which, in his view, was designed “to create significant religious tension” in Zamfara State.

It turned out that the photograph used to illustrate the imaginary victim of religious intolerance was that of an American citizen who lives in Texas, Ms Aliaa Reeves, who has probably never heard of Zamfara State all her life and is certainly not on trial in the state. Her photograph was simply pinched from a social media site and used to illustrate the imaginary victim.

So, if the situation ballooned into an inter-faith conflagration with the usual killings, arson, displacement and human misery, it would all have been in pursuit of a lie!

Why do we do these terrible things to ourselves?

It is time that e-jackasses in news outlets and the social media who enjoy their grisly chortle at the expense of our collective rest of mind, stepped back to rethink their pastime. It’s easy to start a bushfire but when the wind takes over, it may consume the pyromaniac too.