₦airaland Forum

The Federal Government on Sunday dismissed claims by some international platforms and online commentators that terrorists in Nigeria are carrying out a systematic genocide against Christians.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Sunday, described the claims as false, divisive and harmful to Nigeria’s peace.

“The Federal Government strongly condemns and categorically refutes recent allegations by certain international platforms and online influencers suggesting that terrorists operating in Nigeria are engaged in a systematic genocide against Christians.

“Such claims are false, baseless, despicable, and divisive,” Idris said.


He stressed that Nigeria’s security challenges should not be misrepresented as religiously motivated.

“Portraying Nigeria’s security challenges as a targeted campaign against a single religious group is a gross misrepresentation of reality.

“While Nigeria, like many countries, has faced security challenges, including acts of terrorism perpetrated by criminals, couching the situation as a deliberate, systematic attack on Christians is inaccurate and harmful,” the minister added.

According to him, terrorists have attacked Nigerians across faiths, not sparing Muslims, Christians or people of other identities.

“These criminals target all who reject their murderous ideology, regardless of faith.

“Muslims, Christians, and even those who do not identify with any religion have suffered at their hands,” he stated.

Highlighting security operations, Idris said between May 2023 and February 2025, security forces neutralised 13,543 terrorists and criminals, while nearly 10,000 hostages were rescued across the country.

He recalled that the leadership of Nigeria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, Ansaru, was also recently captured.


“Only last month, the top leadership of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan — commonly known as ANSARU — was captured in a well-coordinated counter-terrorism operation,” the statement noted.

Idris further explained that over 700 convictions had been secured in the prosecution of Boko Haram suspects.


“In the fight against terrorism, Nigeria has made significant strides in prosecuting Boko Haram suspects.

“To date, we have successfully prosecuted seven batches of suspects, securing over 700 convictions,” he said.

He dismissed the genocide narrative as a distortion of Nigeria’s multi-religious reality, adding that the country’s leadership reflected inclusivity.

“Christianity is neither endangered nor marginalised in Nigeria. It is doubtful that foreign interlopers into Nigerian affairs are aware that the current heads of both the Armed Forces and the Police Force are Christians, a fact that underscores the inclusivity of our national leadership,” Idris stressed.

The minister also pointed to international recognition of Nigeria’s interfaith harmony.

“In March of this year, the inaugural Commonwealth Peace Prize was awarded to two Nigerian religious leaders, Rev. Dr. James Movel Wuye and Imam Dr. Muhammad Nurayn Ashafa, co-founders of the Interfaith Mediation Centre,” he said.

He urged international media and commentators to avoid sensationalism and divisive rhetoric, and instead support Nigeria’s efforts against terrorism.

“We urge the international media and other commentators to act with responsibility and have respect for facts.

“All stakeholders are advised to avoid ignorance, sensationalism, and divisive rhetoric, and instead support Nigeria’s ongoing efforts in the fight against terrorism and all forms of criminality,” Idris added.

Ibadan, capital of Oyo State is filled with excitement and expectation as the people prepare for the installation of Oba Rashidi Ladoja as the 44th Olubadan of Ibadanland on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the weeklong programme for the installation of the Olubadan of Ibadan will come to a climax on Friday.


Ladoja, who celebrated his 81 birthday on Thursday , a businessman, former senator and governor of Oyo State, rose through the Olubadan Chieftaincy hierarchy to become Olubadan.

The nomination of Ladoja as Olubadan followed the demise of Oba Owolabi Olakulehin on July 7, two days after his 90th birthday.

Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who has been on his annual vacation, is expected back in Ibadan on Thursday to present the Staff of Office to Oba Ladoja at the historic Mapo hall in Ibadan.

Some of the dignitaries and well-wishers expected at the installation ceremony scheduled for the Mapo Hall have started arriving..

Major roads in the city, including Iwo Road, Mokola, Ring-Road, Challenge Area, Sango, Eleyele, Molete, Apata, Akala Road, Akobo, and Bashorun, are adorned with bill boards with Ladoja’s photographs and congratulatory messages to the Olubadan-designate by corporate organisations, groups and individuals.

Also, at intervals of few minutes, one can hear sirens of vehicles in convoy conveying guests to their hotels on major roads in Ibadan ahead of tomorrow’s ceremony.

Officers of the State Road Traffic Management Authority were strategically positioned at key road junctions in Ibadan, effectively managing traffic flow.

Also, the personnel of the police and other security agencies have been deployed and are strategically located across the metropolis to ensure law and order.

The reopening of the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport in Ibadan, which has been undergoing upgrade, on Wednesday, is a key part of preparations for the Friday event,.

Tinubu, others storm Ibadan Friday as city agog for Ladoja’s coronation
President Bola Tinubu and other prominent dignitaries, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, are expected to arrive at the airport on Friday for the event.

The Organising Committee for the Installation ceremony headed by Chief Bayo Oyero, a former President, Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), said that markets in the metropolis would be closed on Friday during the event.

The Police Command in the state has also closed few roads adjoining the historic Mapo hall, venue of the programme, to motorists on Friday in order for ease of traffic flow for guests to the programme.

Motorists have been advised to take alternative roads to their destinations.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has fired back at the Presidency over its recent assertion that President Bola Tinubu has no plans to extend his tenure beyond 2031, describing the remarks as presumptuous and patently undemocratic.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC asserts that the President’s mandate ends in 2027, and the party is confident that Nigerians will not wish to extend his tenure by a single day.

Given the spate of banditry and killings raging across the country, the widespread hunger and suffering, the punitive taxes, the flagrant abuse of power at a scale never seen before, the President should be preparing to leave in 2027, any plan to stay in office beyond that date would indeed be a confirmation that this government is incapable of reading the room.


“The presidency’s desperate response to the recent remarks by former governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, that President Bola Tinubu has plans to be a life President only serves to confirm what Nigerians have long suspected: this administration is not only out of touch with reality, it has also become dangerously self-satisfied.”

“That the President is already speaking of remaining in office till 2031 betrays a mindset that dismisses re-election as mere formalities, rather than a constitutional requirement to present his score card to the people. But re-election is not automatic, and President Tinubu has not earned a second term.

“If anything, in two short years, he has shown Nigeria what he is capable of doing. He has divided the country like no other President before him and sent majority of Nigerians deeper into poverty. More innocent lives have been lost under him, and bandits have effectively taken control of a large swathes of our Northern territory. While the President taxes people and businesses to death from Abuja, bandits exert their own taxes in various states of the North.

“Under his watch, national security has degenerated into a cruel joke. Terrorists, bandits, and criminals now operate with total impunity. Citizens are kidnapped in broad daylight. Rural communities have become warzones. Insecurity has metastasized into national trauma, and the government has neither the will nor the capacity to stop it.

“The economy, meanwhile, is in free fall. The naira has collapsed. Inflation is out of control. Food prices have tripled in many parts of the country. Jobs are vanishing. The middle class is disappeaing.

‘Businesses that once thrived are collapsing under the weight of punitive taxes and policy inconsistencies Nigerians are now poorer, hungrier, and angrier than they were before Tinubu took office.”

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has declared that the Green Chamber is firmly behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s borrowing strategy, describing it as an indispensable tool for Nigeria’s economic growth and poverty reduction.

Speaking in Abuja on Monday at the 8th Annual African Network of Parliamentary Budget Offices (AN-PBO) Conference, Abbas dismissed reports suggesting that the House opposed Tinubu’s borrowing plans, calling them “mischievous and misleading.”

Recently, a speech delivered by the House Leader at the West African Parliamentary Conference (WAPC) was erroneously and mischievously reported out of context, creating the false impression that the House of Representatives does not support the borrowing strategy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. We wish to state clearly that this interpretation is both inaccurate and misleading.


“The 10th House and indeed the National Assembly have consistently affirmed that, in the face of pressing developmental needs, strategic and responsible borrowing is an essential fiscal tool. Like every modern economy, Nigeria must sometimes leverage credit to finance critical infrastructure, stimulate growth, and protect vulnerable populations. What is important and what the President has assured is that all borrowing remains targeted, transparent, and sustainable, consistent with Nigeria’s Medium-Term Debt Strategy and guided by global best practices,” he said.

The Speaker stressed that the 10th House, and indeed the National Assembly, fully recognises the need for borrowing to fund critical infrastructure, stimulate growth, and protect vulnerable populations.

“Under President Tinubu’s leadership, borrowed funds are being channelled towards transformative projects that will expand revenue-generating capacity, such as power, transport, and agriculture, rather than for consumption. The House stands firmly behind the President’s vision of using judicious borrowing as a catalyst for growth and poverty reduction, while simultaneously strengthening oversight mechanisms.

“In the face of pressing developmental needs, strategic and responsible borrowing is an essential fiscal tool. Like every modern economy, Nigeria must sometimes leverage credit to finance critical infrastructure, stimulate growth, and protect vulnerable populations,” Abbas stated.

He assured Nigerians that President Tinubu’s borrowing is guided by prudence and global best practices, adding that the funds are being targeted at transformative projects.

The Speaker also highlighted the establishment of the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) as a major reform to provide independent analysis on borrowing, debt sustainability, and fiscal policy.

He maintained that while borrowing was necessary, plugging leakages through corruption and illicit financial flows was equally critical. According to him, Nigeria loses about $18 billion annually to financial crimes, roughly 3.8% of GDP.

Abbas stressed that responsible borrowing, combined with strict oversight and anti-corruption reforms, would safeguard Nigeria’s economic future.

Tragedy struck in the early hours of Monday when Hon. Ejeh Udeh, a prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Otukpo, Benue State, was brutally gunned down by yet-to-be-identified assailants.

According to eyewitness accounts, the gunmen stormed Udeh’s Ugboju residence at about midnight, riding on a motorcycle.

They were said to have lurked in the shadows, waiting patiently for his return.

The moment he stepped into his compound, the attackers surrounded him and opened fire at close range. The chilling incident unfolded in full view of his wife and children, leaving the family traumatized.

Neighbors reported hearing sporadic gunshots that shattered the silence of the night, causing panic in the community. By the time they rushed out, Udeh was lying in a pool of blood.

He was later confirmed dead and his body has since been deposited at the Otukpo General Hospital morgue.

The killing has thrown the community into mourning, with residents describing the late politician as a grassroots mobilizer and a strong pillar of support for the APC in the area.

Security operatives have yet to issue an official statement on the assassination, but there are growing calls from residents and party members for an urgent investigation to track down those responsible.

The gruesome murder adds to the rising wave of insecurity in Benue State, where recent months have witnessed a series of violent attacks, kidnappings, and political tensions.

As the community grapples with shock, APC stakeholders and supporters are expected to react strongly in the coming days, demanding justice for Hon. Ejeh Udeh.

FBI nabs UK-based Nigerian fraudster Ajibola Oduntan over multimillion-naira ‘Wicked’ Broadway show ticket scam

The FBI has taken Ajibola Oduntan into custody after special agents identified his role in a ticketing scam that resulted in a loss of over $100,000 in ticket sales for the Broadway musical Wicked, between September 2023 and October 2023, for the Kentucky Performing Arts.

Mr Oduntan, 47, who also holds an Irish passport, was facing charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, in Louisville, after allegedly stealing the credit card information of many U.S. citizens to purchase at least 61 Wicked show tickets from KPA.

The UK-based suspect then resold the tickets to unsuspecting Broadway enthusiasts on StubHub, a top U.S. website for live event ticket resellers and buyers.

After a chunk of credit card companies discovered the fraud, they instituted chargebacks for their customers from KPA, resulting in a loss of at least $100,000, given that the money was only deducted after the performances.

KPA reported the incident to the FBI, submitting relevant payment information, including the names, emails, and IP addresses of the credit card holders used.

Despite using VPNs to obfuscate the scam, the FBI followed the money trail and found that the proceeds from ticket resale were deposited into PayPal accounts and subsequently transferred to personal accounts linked to Mr Oduntan.

FBI special agent Daniel W. Heath established numerous transactions between three StubHub accounts and linked PayPal accounts with multiple emails in a manner reminiscent of wire fraud.

Mr Heath found at least four emails attached to a PayPal account ,52254838476591*, which belonged to Mr Oduntan. They are fenandexadex@gmail.com, romanslady001@gmail.com, romanslady00@gmail.com, and samesonbar@gmail.com.

Before the Wicked show run in September, agents discovered transactions worth $350,000 wired from StubHub into PayPal accounts controlled by a Nigerian and a UK citizen. The funds were then transferred to Mr Oduntan’s Revolut account and Allied Irish Bank account in Ireland.

“PayPal records obtained under valid legal process showed that ODUNTAN deposited nearly $350,000 into PayPal from StubHub between January 2023 and July 2024,” stated court filings on August 7.

When Mr Oduntan submitted a U.S. visa application, his phone number matched the same phone number used for the fraudulent ticketing transactions in one of the emails registered to his PayPal account.

The FBI, which typically screens all U.S. visa applications for criminal records, applied to Magistrate Judge Regina S. Edward for an arrest warrant to apprehend Mr Oduntan on U.S. soil.

His warrant was granted and sealed until he landed in the U.S. in late August. Law enforcement agents swiftly arrested him and are currently holding him at the Grayson County Detention Centre after he pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy.

He was charged by a grand jury on September 3, but his trial is scheduled to begin on November 10.

Aliko Dangote, founder and president/chief executive of the Dangote Group, says he believes that the Ajaokuta steel company will never work.

Mr Dangote, in a video shared on the TVC X handle on Tuesday, emphasised the importance of a thriving steel industry for national development but believes Ajaokuta’s challenges make its success unlikely.

He likened attempting to revive the steel company to comparing outdated technology with modern advancements.

“There is no nation that you can build without a steel industry and honestly within us here, Ajaokuta will not work. We can keep deceiving ourselves and keep being passionate about it, but it’s not possible.


“It[b] like you now, if you remember those vehicles we used to produce from Volkswagen (Igala) if you bring Igala now, would you now compare it to the current Kia. No, things have changed,” Mr Dangote said.
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He emphasised the need for adaptation in a rapidly evolving world.

“Things have changed and all of us have to keep changing or you will become archaic. You have to change, now, when you carry something like Ajaokuta is like you going to the grave yard to bring a dead person or you go to the hospital to bring somebody who is on the dying bed to come and run 100 metres. It’s totally impossible,” he added.

Ajaokuta Steel’s chequered history
The steel company, located in Ajaokuta, Kogi State, was built between 1979 and the mid-1990s. It was not completed and has never operated optimally. It has been moribund for over two decades despite the efforts of different governments.

In September 2022, the Nigerian government agreed to pay $496 million to settle an Indian firm’s claim over the facility. The dispute followed the federal government’s revocation in 2008 of an agreement that handed control of the steelworks and the National Iron Ore Mining Company to the Indian firm.

In cancelling the deal, the Umar Yar’adua administration said the terms of the concession at the time were not favourable to the country.

In December 2022, the government said 11 companies had indicated interest in taking over the steel company on a concession basis. Three of the 11 bidders were Russian companies, the then Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite, said while listing his ministry’s achievements.

Upon assuming office in August 2023, the Minister of Steel Development, Shuaibu Audu, promised to revive the steel company. At the time, he added that he would set a roadmap for the development of the steel sector, aggressively pursue the completion of Ajaokuta Steel company, and enact the required bills to regulate the sector.

In September last year, the Nigerian government signed an agreement with a Russian Consortium Company for the rehabilitation, completion and operation of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant and National Iron Ore Mining Company in Kogi State.

Some parts of Lagos State, on Tuesday morning, were once again submerged by heavy flooding following a downpour that started in the early hours of the day.

The incident occurred weeks after rainfall wreaked havoc in the state.

PUNCH Metro reported that property worth millions of naira were destroyed in the Ikorodu area, which was mostly affected.

The experience on Tuesday was not far from different as major roads and some neighbourhoods in the state were overtaken by floodwaters.

From Ago Palace Way, Okota, to Ikorodu, Akowonjo, and Lekki, residents lamented how their homes and shops had been flooded, leaving them stranded.

In a viral video sighted by PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, Alhaji Idowu Street in the Akowonjo area was filled with water.

“This is just three hours of rain, and everywhere is flooded. When it is not as if the people living here are not humans. This is just too bad,” a resident in the area lamented.


It was a similar sight in the Okota area of the state as vehicles were seen moving at a slow pace on both sides of the already flooded Ago Palace Way.

In a video sent to our correspondent by a resident of Osapa London in the Lekki area, the roads linking estates in the neighbourhood were also flooded at different points.

The resident, identified simply as Mustapha, said, “When the rain started this morning, I knew there was no going out for me today. I have been indoors all day. There were some points in the flood where the water would almost flow into your vehicle, and I couldn’t take that risk. I took it before, but not again. Even Uber drivers don’t want to come to this side of our place because of the damage the flood does to their vehicles.”


Motorists and pedestrians were also trapped in the gridlock that built up on several flooded highways. In some areas, vehicles broke down on the waterlogged roads, worsening the situation for commuters rushing to work.

Sharing her experience, a pedestrian, Mojisola Ajisafe, lamented how the flood on the road linking Agege to Ogba and Wempco Road affected vehicular movement along the area.

According to her, vehicles were at a point forced to a halt when the road became almost impassable due to the flood.

“The T-junction by the Mobil filling station was heavily flooded as some vehicles did not move at all. They had to wait for some time for the water to reduce, except for some SUVs and commercial buses. This caused a lot of traffic and even made the resume late to the office.”


It was another nightmare for Ikorodu residents as another resident sent a video to PUNCH Metro, which showed some flooded areas in the community.

Commercial drivers plying the Egbeda-Idimu area also lamented as flood took over some parts of the road. They also called for the intervention of the state government.

One of them, who identified himself simply as Saheed, told PUNCH Metro, “This is not the first time we are complaining about flooding in this area. It is already getting out of hand. The government needs to find a permanent solution to it.”

The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunboh Wahab, said on August 4 via his X handle that the state government had resilient systems in place to manage flash floods, but the sheer volume of rainfall may temporarily overwhelm some drainage channels.

“As a coastal city, Lagos is naturally vulnerable to tidal lock-up when rising water levels in the lagoon slow down the discharge of runoff. This is further worsened by climate change. We are closely monitoring areas near rivers and lagoons, which are at higher risk of flash floods with strong currents,” he added.

The spokesperson for the ministry, Adekunle Adeshina, did not respond to calls made to his telephone line on Tuesday. A text message sent to him had yet to be responded to as of the time this report was filed.

Bandits yesterday abducted 43 worshippers from a mosque in Gidan Turbe village, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

They were also said to have kidnapped 12 persons at Godai village, Bukkuyum Local Government Area of the state, on Sunday.


Both incidents occurred at a time community leaders and some armed groups in neighbouring Katsina State had entered into a peace deal.

Security experts said that to effectively address insecurity, state governments in the North West must collaborate against bandits in the zone.

The Zamfara mosque attack, Daily Trust gathered, occurred around 5.30am during prayer. The gunmen were said to have surrounded the mosque and whisked away 43 worshippers towards Gahori Mountain.

Gahori Mountain, in Tsafe Local Government Area, is situated in a thick forest that spreads from Zamfara through parts of Kebbi State and down to Birnin Gwari in Kaduna State.

The forest is said to be an enclave of different bandits’ groups operating across Zamfara and parts of Sokoto and Kebbi states.

Locals alleged that almost all the famous bandit leaders, including Bello Turji, Ado Aliero, Dogo Gide, Dan Isuhu and Black, among others, have their enclaves around Gahori Mountain.

Residents, who spoke to Daily Trust yesterday, said the attack on the mosque had left several communities in Tsafe and environs in confusion and despair.

A resident of Gidan Turbe, Habibu Dogo, said: “The bandits silently surrounded the mosques and patiently waited for the worshippers to finish prayers. Shortly after they finished, the bandits gathered all of them outside and later moved them out of the village.

Aftermath of bandit attack on Kurya Madaro community in Kaura Namoda LGA of Zamfara State (File photo)
“It appears the bandits kept their motorcycles afar because nobody in the village noticed their movements. After they abducted the worshippers, they moved them towards Gahori Mountain.

Auwal Isa, a resident of Tsafe, said the community and its environs had been witnessing renewed banditry attacks in recent days.

He said, “From Kucheri-Tsafe, a distance of about 10 kilometres has become a death trap due to persistent banditry activities.

“Several communities within this parameter have remained under constant attacks by the bandits in recent days. Hardly a day passes without a community or two being attacked.

“Residents of some communities around the Gahori Mountain have deserted their homes for fear of being attacked. Right now, even the communities that had agreements with bandits are not being spared.

“The bandits will enter an agreement with a village and collect their money, but later attack them on the slightest provocation. This is the problem we are facing in this part of Zamfara State.”

One of the community leaders, who preferred not to be named, told one of our correspondents that the attack was carried out by bandits loyal to Adamu Aliero.

He alleged that the abduction was a consequence of Zamfara State’s refusal to enter into a peace accord with the armed groups.

“This is their usual pattern. Whenever they reach a peace deal with one community, they simply shift their attacks to neighbouring areas.

“The same thing happened before. When there was a peace agreement in Zamfara, the bandits moved their operations to Katsina.

“After the latest peace deal was brokered last Saturday in Katsina, I knew we would be their next target—because Katsina is our immediate neighbour,” the leader added.

We’re in distress – Residents

Muhammad Tukur Isa, a resident of Kaura Namoda, alleged that both the federal and the state governments were not sincere about fighting banditry.

The scene of bandits attack on Keta community in Tsafe LGA of Zamfara State (File photo)
“We are tired of the game the two governments are playing. All we want is peace. We want to return to our farms and markets and live a normal life. We have been attacked several times, and the bandits have looted all our belongings.

“For years, they have tormented us, and despite our repeated calls to the authorities, no real effort has been made to save our lives. What we saw during the just-concluded bye-election is enough to show that the government is not doing enough in the fight against banditry.

“If the government can deploy adequate personnel and weapons to secure elections in this community, why can’t it provide the same protection for our lives? Sincerely, the election exposed the government’s lapses,” he said.

Another resident, Alhaji Bello Yusuf Tsafe, urged urging the Minister of State for Defence and Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal to work together to tackle the insecurity in the state.

“They need each other, and until they put their heads together, Zamfara people will continue to suffer in the hands of bandits.

“We are praying that one day, these two gentlemen will sit under one roof and strategise on how to end banditry in the state. As the security situation deteriorates, they must put their grievances aside and salvage Zamfara,” he said.

The Sunday’s attack on Godai village in Bukkuyum LGA was said to occur around 3.40am when sporadic shootings by bandits forced residents to flee.

A security expert, Zagazola Makama, on his social media handles, said 12 persons were abducted in the process.

He quoted the Zamfara State Police Command as confirming receiving a distress call from the Divisional Police officer in the area and deploying officers there.

Governor Dauda Lawal had restated his administration’s firm stance against negotiating with bandits.

He had reiterated this during his recent condolence visit to Kagara, Dan Isa and Kasuwar Daji — three communities in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area hit by banditry in August.

In a statement by his spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, Governor Lawal said the visits were part of his administration’s commitment to prioritising security and standing with victims of violent attacks.

“Since assuming office, I have made it clear: we will not negotiate with those who murder innocent citizens. That position has not changed. These groups have never shown sincerity, and we will not legitimise their actions by engaging them,” he said.


Zamfara asks FG to deploy soldiers

The Special Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal on Broadcast Media, Alhaji Mustapha Jafaru Kaura, asked the federal government to deploy soldiers in the state like it did during the recent by-elections in the state.

“We have security personnel on the ground, but they cannot engage the bandits until they receive orders from Abuja. While they wait for orders, the bandits are busy killing innocent people, including the security personnel themselves,” Kaura said.

He alleged that Zamfara residents were being attacked daily while troops remained idle due to a lack of directives.

“The same federal government that could not give our soldiers orders to confront bandits deployed three battalions—about 3,000 soldiers—to Kaura Namoda during the recent by-election. They came with heavy weapons, gun tractors, Armoured Personnel Carriers, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police and four Commissioners of Police to protect votes in just six wards,” he said.

“If not politicisation, what stops the federal government from deploying the same resources to fight banditry? Even if they claim Zamfara is under opposition, why are banditry attacks still raging in APC-controlled states like Sokoto, Katsina, Kebbi, and Kaduna?” he asked.


A car burnt during an attack on Marhaba village, Matazu LGA of the Katsina State

Bandits on Saturday afternoon attacked farmers working on the outskirts of Kankara, Katsina State, kidnapping several people and stealing motorcycles.

The incident was revealed in a post shared on X on Sunday by security analyst, Bakatsine.

According to Bakatsine, the gunmen struck while the farmers were on their fields.


“Yesterday afternoon, bandits attacked farmers on the outskirts of Kankara, Katsina State, abducting several and seizing motorcycles.

“Kankara had only recently struck a peace deal with bandits, yet attacks on farmers in LGA remain relentless,” Bakatsine wrote.

Authorities in Katsina have not yet issued an official statement on the attack.

There have been at least two prominent instances when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu betrayed what I have called presidential dissociative disorder, which I define as power-induced divorce from everyday reality evinced by presidents who are ensconced in a bubble, who are sheltered from the real truth, and who are nourished with a steady staple of comforting falsehoods by obsequious aides.

During bilateral talks in Brazil on August 26, 2025, Tinubu boasted that his two-year presidency has stamped out corruption from Nigeria. “It’s getting clearer to the people,” he said. “We have more money for the economy, and no more corruption.”

Again, on September 3, 2025, he claimed that when he became president in May 2023, the naira was trading at ₦1,900 to the dollar, and that his administration has since stabilized it at around ₦1,450. “The economy has stabilized,” he said. “Nobody is trading a piece of paper for an exchange rate anymore. When I took over, it was ₦1,900 to a dollar, it’s ₦1,450 now.”

These wildly inaccurate claims have been fact-checked by multiple news outlets and found to be emphatically false. But these self-serving presidential mendacities are too nakedly transparent to even warrant fact-checking. You only need to be alive, well, and with a halfway functioning brain between May 2023 and now to know the truth.

Because of my long-term interest in the psychology of power, I am less concerned with the facticity of the president’s claims than the motive force behind them. My widely shared July 27, 2019, column titled “How Political Power Damages the Brain—and How to Reverse it” talks about how the intoxication of power, and the literal brain damage it causes, can deaden the moral sensibilities of, weaken the faculty for empathy in, and activate dissociation from reality by people who wield it.

I extended this insight into former President Muhammadu Buhari’s tendency to inhabit a universe that was completely disconnected from everyday Nigeria. In his parallel universe, I observed, he had transformed Nigeria into a Nirvana where there was a superfluity of the best imaginable nourishment for everyone and where life was pleasant, pleasurable, and perfect.

Recall that in the aftermath of a horrendously bloodstained communal upheaval in Taraba in March 2018, which compelled him to pay a forced sympathy visit to affected communities, Buhari told grieving communities that he had fulfilled his campaign promise to secure the nation. “Today, even our worst enemy can attest to the fact that the APC-led federal government has done well in the area of security,” he said. “We have decimated Boko Haram, while the fight against corruption is going on well.” If the government had “done well in the area of security,” why was he on a tour of scenes of bloodletting?

I called his condition presidential dissociative disorder. Tinubu is suffering from the same disorder. That’s the context of his claims to have eliminated corruption and improved the worth of the naira, even though the exact opposite is actually the truth.

Just like Tinubu said there was “no more corruption” in Nigeria and that the economy had “stabilized,” Buhari also boasted during a speech at the inauguration of his ministers on August 19, 2019, that he had "secured" the country, "improved the economy" and "fought corruption" to a standstill, adding “none but the most partisan will dispute that we have made headway in all three areas.”

Only power-drunk, brain-damaged people who are unmoored from reality and dissociated from the real world would even joke (let alone assert with a straight face) that Nigeria’s economy has improved or stabilized, and that corruption is being fought or has ceased to exist.

That’s why I think both Buhari and Tinubu are victims of presidential dissociative disorder (PDD). It’s a condition that causes presidents to take rent-free residence in cloud-cuckoo-land and that uncouples them from the experiential realities of real living people.

But I am concerned only with Tinubu in today’s column. There’s no doubt that Tinubu’s thoughts and actions and the reality in the country have parted company. What is sadder still is that his dissociative disorder is infectious. All his aides have caught it. In their world, everything is perfect. Only “haters” think otherwise. That’s why the entire country is caught in a state of suspended animation.


As I pointed out in the July 2019 column, researchers in the psychology of power have found out that excessive praise from subordinates, sycophantic drooling from people seeking favors, control over vast resources they once didn’t have, and all of the staid rituals and performances of power conspire to cause “functional” changes to the brains of people in power.

On a social level, it also creates what Lord David Owen, a British neurologist-turned-politician, called the “hubris syndrome” in his 2008 book titled In Sickness and in Power.

Some features of hubris syndrome, Owen points out, are, “manifest contempt for others, loss of contact with reality, restless or reckless actions, and displays of incompetence.” Sounds familiar?

But this power-induced dissociative disorder isn’t inevitable, as I pointed out. If Tinubu and the people who can persuade him are interested in coupling him back to reality, they might find these paragraphs I wrote from the 2019 column:

“Powerful people can, and indeed do, extricate themselves from the psychological snares of power if they so desire. Professor Keltner said one of the most effective psychological strategies for people in power to reconnect with reality and reverse the brain damage of power is to periodically remember moments of powerlessness in their lives—such as when they were victims of natural disasters, accidents, poverty, etc.

“They should also have what American journalist Louis McHenry Howe once called a “toe holder,” that is, someone who doesn’t fear them, expects no favors from them, and can tell them uncomfortable truths without fear of consequences.

“Winston Churchill’s toe holder was his wife, who once wrote a letter to him that read, in part, ‘I must confess that I have noticed a deterioration in your manner; & you are not as kind as you used to be.’….

“Another potent way to reverse power-induced brain damage is to periodically get out of the protected silos of power and solitarily observe the quotidian interactions of everyday folks—their humor, laughter, fights, etc. — without the familiar add-ons of power, such as aides, cameras, security, etc. This helps to stimulate the experiences of others and restore empathy.

“This is particularly important in Nigeria because power, at all levels, is almost absolute and unaccountable.”

Tinubu still has time, if he so chooses, to inoculate himself against the worst ravages of presidential dissociative disorder by embracing humility, surrounding himself with truth-tellers instead of flatterers, and venturing beyond the suffocating cocoon of sycophancy that now imprisons him.

But if he continues to luxuriate in his own delusions and to mistake fantasy for fact, he will not only deepen his personal divorce from reality but also drag the entire country deeper into the perilous fog of collective hallucination. And history, which has a long memory, will not be as forgiving as his aides.

Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has said the Nigeria Police Force cannot completely stop the deployment of officers to protect Very Important Personalities (VIPs) and private individuals, stressing that some categories of people must be secured.

“We cannot do away entirely with protecting our VIPs. These are employers of labour, owners of industries who pay thousands of workers, and top government functionaries. The ones we are withdrawing officers from are those who used deception to get our men,” he said.

Egbetokun stated this in Abuja on Thursday during a meeting with Border Patrol Squadron Commanders, where he admitted that the force’s manpower is overstretched as many officers are attached to VIPs instead of border security.

Highlighting Nigeria’s “vast and complex” borders spanning over 4,000km of land boundaries and long maritime corridors, the IGP warned that porous borders have fueled the inflow of arms, contraband, human trafficking, and infiltration by terrorists.

He urged border commanders to see themselves as “guardians of Nigeria’s doors,” stressing:

“A house without a door is a shelter for strangers. Our borders are Nigeria’s doors. If they are weak, every danger walks in freely. If they are strong, our children can sleep soundly.”

Citing the 2024 interception of a container from Turkey carrying over 800 rifles and 100,000 rounds of ammunition, he said intelligence and collaboration remain vital in border policing.

Egbetokun emphasized the need for synergy with Customs, Immigration, Armed Forces, and other security agencies, adding that criminals now use sophisticated tools like drones, forged documents, and encrypted networks.

“We cannot fight 21st-century crime with 20th-century tools. Technology—surveillance systems, drones, biometric scanners, and data analysis—are necessities, not luxuries,” he said.

The IGP also pledged improved welfare for officers, promising better tools, mobility, housing, and insurance. “We cannot ask you to give your best if your welfare is neglected. As long as I lead, I will continue to fight for your welfare,” he assured.

NEWS FLASH!

Federal government allowing partial rice importation is not intended to undermine local production but to mitigate the impact of high cost of food stuff resulting from the removal of the fuel subsidy. Federal government still encourage local producers -

Minister of… pic.twitter.com/uLzkYGqy4K

— NTANetwork (@NTANewsNow) September 10, 2025