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2023:Zamfara PDP Accuses Governor Matawalle Of Planning Attack On Their Campaign Trail

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The people’s Democratic party and its Gubernatorial Candidate for 2023 general elections in Zamfara state have accused governor Bello Matawalle of planning an attack on their members.

The publicity secretary of the party in the state Abba Bello Oando stated this while addressing newsmen in the state.

Read the full statement below

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to this press conference. As members of the 4th estate of the realm, we have invited you here to share with you our dismay at the unfortunate and barbaric incidences happening in the political atmosphere of our beloved State, Zamfara.

Before going into the main issue deeply, I would like to first and foremost crave our indulgence to kindly observe a one-minute prayer in our minds for the repose of the souls of our dear state men and women who lost their lives as a result of banditry attacks and to as well pray for peace to reign in Zamfara State, in particular, and Nigeria as a whole.

Gentlemen of the press and our teeming supporters, the good people of Zamfara State, you are all living witnesses to what we have been experiencing in this State of ours, hardly a day will pass without killing someone by bandits or their cohorts due to the negligence and lack of political will by the Government of the day (Zamfara State Government).

Scarcity Of New Naira Notes: Nigerians Should Check APC Government Houses- Kwankwaso

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Despite all this ugly development that has led to the loss of lives and property of tens of thousands of our people, instead of the State Government working towards addressing the issue of insecurity, it decided to engage in do-or-die electioneering without minding the direct negative effects it has on the lives of our people. Their aim is just to retain the mantle of leadership by hook or crook by heating the polity.

We, the members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were reliably informed by a credible source who wants to be anonymous, that based on intelligence gathering made available to us indicated that the present Governor of Zamfara State, His Excellency, (Dr.) Bello Muhammad Matawalle, MON, and some of his followers have planned a violent attack on the entourage of our peace-loving Gubernatorial Aspirant, Alh. Lawal Dare whenever he goes out for campaigns.

They are planning to lunch their ill-conceived ulterior motive by using hired thugs and the State Government-owned Anti-thuggery unit to cause bodily harm to our teeming supporters during campaign rallies, especially in the State Capital, Gusau, and Tsafe town, respectively.

Their plan is aimed at causing chaos and confusion which will disrupt our activities and depress our followers and well-wishers, and to as well, further, escalate the security situation in the State.

They have also specifically, identified some prominent Party leaders individuals as their primary target of attacks. Such individuals are His Excellency, Dr. Dauda Lawal (PhD); Mal. Wadatau Madawaki; Alh. Salihu Maibuhu Gummi; Alh. Rabiu Ilili Bakura; Alh. Garba Bisu; Alh. Abubakar Bargaja Gummi; Alh. Musa Mallaha; Alh. Muktar Muhammad Lugga; Alh. Aliyu Ikra Bilbis; to mention but some.

Gentlemen of the Press, it is on record that some of our legally established campaign offices and vehicles have been destroyed and vandalized by the APC thugs under the instruction of  Governor Bello Matawalle. Notably among them are those situated in Talata-Mafara, Zurmi, and Shinkafi local government areas.

We would like to use this medium to call on our peace-loving supporters to remain calm and resolute by not taking the law into their hands. It may interest you to note that we have officially notified President Muhammadu Buhari and all the relevant security agencies in the country, including the Inspector General of the Police about the planned violent attacks on the PDP members, to be executed by some hired political thugs and the State-owned Anti-thuggery Unit.

The People’s Democratic Party will remain resolute and firm in ensuring that we secure and sanitize Zamfara State from the hands of the present selfish leaders. ”

 

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President Tinubu Counters Police Academy in Kano, Establishes New Campus in Ogun

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the establishment of a new campus of the Police Academy in Erinja, Yewa South Local Government Area in Ogun State.

A statement by Bayo Onanuga
Special Adviser to the President,
Information & Strategy, says President Tinubu also approved a special take-off grant of N15billion for the college.

The President’s approval was in fulfilment of the provisions of the Nigeria Police Academy (Establishment) Act, 2021, particularly with respect to the expansion of the Police Academy based in Wudil, Kano state, into multiple campuses across the country.

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The intervention fund will be sourced from the TetFund 2026 allocation to finance priority infrastructure, academic facilities, student accommodation, and core training assets.

A high-level consultative meeting involving the Minister of Police Affairs, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, officials of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Inspector-General of Police and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC) recommended the siting of the new campus in Erinja.

The meeting considered student intake capacity, funding realities, academic quality assurance, and the long-term needs of the Nigerian Police Force, which is currently recruiting more men.

President Tinubu believes the expansion will strengthen institutional governance, modern policing education and national security.

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Retired Police Storm Villa Gate, Call Contributory Pension Scheme a ‘Killer Disease’

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Retired police personnel and their families, under the umbrella of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, on Monday blocked one of the gates of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in protest.

The retirees are demanding the removal of the Nigeria Police Force from the Contributory Pension Scheme, which they described as “fraudulent, illegal, inhumane and obnoxious.”

Protesters carried placards reading “End CPS,” “If military, DSS were removed from PENCOM, why not police?” while many were chanting, “Police dey work, PenCom dey chop.”

They said the protest was aimed at urging President Bola Tinubu to assent to the Police Exit Bill passed by the National Assembly on December 4, 2025, and transmitted to the Presidency on March 16, 2026.

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According to them, the bill, if signed into law, would exempt police personnel from what they called a “slavery and untimely death-inducing pension scheme.”

Speaking in a video of the protest posted by Channels Television, a retired ASP, Nurudeen Dahiru, said, “We are not begging anybody. We have come to fight for our rights. We have suffered.

“We are not here to fight anybody. We are just here to demand for our rights. We have served for 35 years.

“According to the Constitution of the country, when you serve your country for 35 years, you should go home and rest. But see us suffering now. We are not able to take care of our children.

“We have no food to eat. We are dying. Silent killing. So this contributory pension scheme is a killer disease. 35 years is not easy. We are not here to fight anybody.”

Another retired officer said, “We don’t have anything to train them. As I retired 20 years ago, how much are they paying me?

“It is 24,000 that I am paying you because I retired with the inspector. So they have to sign our bill and give us all our money.

“So that somebody can use it for something. You can buy a house. And then now we don’t have a house.

“How can an ASP, a DSP, a CP retire and they are paying him how much? No, no, no. Enough is enough. It is a do or die. Even if some people are killed today, others are coming.”

Speaking to reporters, the National Coordinator of the Police Retired Officers Forum of Nigeria, CSP Raphael Irowainu (retd), who led the protest, said the group was at the Villa to press for the President’s assent to the bill exiting the police from the CPS.

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Court Admits Nine Exhibits Against Malami and Family

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

A Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja and presided over by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik on Monday, April 20, 2026 admitted nine exhibits against a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, alongside his wife, Hajia Bashir Asabe, and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami.

The exhibits were presented before the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in its ongoing trial of the former Minister and some family members.

The EFCC is prosecuting the defendants on an amended 16-count charge bordering on conspiracy, procuring, disguising, concealing and laundering proceeds of unlawful activities to the tune of N8,713,923,759.49 (Eight Billion, Seven Hundred and Thirteen Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Three Thousand, Seven Hundred and Fifty-Nine Naira, Forty-Nine Kobo), contrary to the provisions of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The exhibits, which are documentary in nature, were tendered through the fourth prosecution witness, Mashelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank Plc.

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, J. S. Okutepa, SAN, the witness told the court that, in the course of his official duties, he received correspondence from the EFCC requesting documents relating to several accounts linked to the defendants and associated entities.

“I work as a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, Maitama branch. My duty includes receiving correspondence from law enforcement agencies and responding accordingly,” he said.

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Bata further disclosed that the bank complied with EFCC’s requests by providing both soft and hard copies of documents relating to accounts belonging to the defendants and companies such as Rayhaan Hotels Limited, Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited, Nashab Limited, Golden Age Global Ventures, and Rahamaniyya Properties Limited.

“My lord, the documents are nine,” he stated, confirming his ability to identify them when presented in court.

Upon application by Okutepa, the court admitted the documents, dated between July 19, 2024 and March 12, 2026, as Exhibits D1 to D9, despite an initial objection by defence counsel, J. B. Daudu, SAN, who noted that “the dates are almost all in March.”

Continuing his testimony under further examination by prosecution counsel, Ekele Iheanacho, SAN, the witness provided details of transactions contained in the exhibits.

He identified Exhibit D1 as containing account opening documents and statements for accounts belonging to Abubakar Malami and A.A. Malami & Co, including a naira account and a dollar account.

According to him, the statement of account for one of the accounts covered the period from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2023.

The witness confirmed that the accounts were active between 2015 and 2023, noting that “there were transfers within that period.”

He further revealed that total credits into one of the accounts stood at N383,637,21.55 between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2023, while total credits from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015 amounted to N560,506,465.12.

On debits, he stated that N384,322,120.85 was recorded between 2016 and 2023, while N571,891,174.08 was debited between 2012 and 2015.

Giving further breakdown of transactions, the witness told the court that on November 11, 2020, the account received N194,791,608.00 from New Horizons Limited, and on June 24, 2022, it received N622,500,000.00 from Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.

He added that on July 1 and July 7, 2022, the account received N250 million each from Rayhaan Hotels Limited, while on December 22, 2022, there was an inflow of N500 million linked to Rayhaan Bustan Agro Allied Limited.

Continuing in that format, the witness identified so many transactions running into billions.

Following the testimony, the defence counsel, J.B Daudu SAN sought an adjournment to enable him study the exhibits and prepare for cross-examination.

“My lord, we need time to go through the nine exhibits tendered,” Daudu said.

Justice Abdulmalik subsequently adjourned the matter till May 13, 2026, for continuation of trial.

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