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Sultanate Council Debunks Rumors on Non-Sighting of Shawwal Crescent

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The Sultanate Council has refuted claims circulating regarding the non-sighting of the Shawwal crescent and the subsequent declaration of Eid-al-Fitr prayers on Monday. The council addressed the matter through an official statement posted on its verified Facebook page.

The post, written in Hausa, clarified that His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, has not made any formal announcement concerning the sighting of the Shawwal crescent or the date of the Eid prayer. The statement urged the public to disregard unverified reports and to await an official communication from the Sultanate.

The statement read:

*”Assalamu Alaikum. There is no place where His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, has declared that Eid-al-Fitr prayers will hold on Monday. Members of the crescent sighting committee are diligently performing their duties by gathering reports from various parts of the country.”*

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It continued:

*”At any moment, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, will make an official statement either confirming the sighting of the Shawwal crescent or otherwise. Any platform claiming that the Sultan has made a declaration about the crescent sighting is spreading false information. Please await an official announcement.”*

The statement emphasized the importance of following established protocols for crescent sighting to ensure that decisions regarding Islamic observances are made accurately and in accordance with tradition.

This development comes amidst heightened anticipation as Muslims in Nigeria and across the globe await the official confirmation to mark the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the month of Shawwal.

The Sultanate Council reaffirmed its commitment to transparency and encouraged the public to rely solely on authorized channels for updates. The crescent sighting committee is currently assessing reports from different regions of the country and will provide recommendations to the Sultan once their analysis is complete.

In the meantime, the council urged Nigerians to exercise patience and to refrain from sharing unverified information that could cause confusion or misunderstanding within the Muslim community.

 

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You’re a Hypocrite!” – Bashir el-Rufai Goes Nuclear on Brother Bello Over Uba Sani Loyalty

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

 

Bashir el-Rufai, son of former Kaduna governor Nasir el-Rufai, unleashed a barrage of slurs at his brother, Bello, on Saturday morning.

Bashir, in a series of expletive-laden posts on X, attacked Bello over his recent political moves, accusing him of abandoning the family while he was aligned with Uba Sani, his father’s successor.

Sani, the incumbent governor of Kaduna, was a former ally of el-Rufai, but both men fell out after the former won the 2023 governorship election.

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Following el-Rufai’s resignation from the All Progressives Congress (APC) in March 2025, Bello, who represents Kaduna north federal constituency, remained in the ruling party.

However, on May 7, 2026, Bello eventually defected from the APC to join his father in the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Commenting on Saturday, Bashir alleged that his brother remained loyal to Sani until he realised he was being “dumped”, after which he began talking about family loyalty.

“Stuck with Uba Sani until he realized he is being dumped then suddenly remembered family loyalty and moved to ADC. Where was he since? Purely serving his interest,” Bashir wrote.

He accused his brother of being neutral while others criticised the Kaduna state governor.

Bashir also alleged that Bello asked him to “pipe down my criticism of his former boss,” presumably Sani.

One of Bashir’s tweets. The expletives have been redacted.
“At this stage in my life, I hate nonsense,” he added, while calling his brother a hypocrite.

Bashir also made several other allegations against his brother in the X posts, some of which were later deleted.

The allegations bordered on fertility status and unsubstantiated drug use.

Their father, el-Rufai, has been in custody since February 2026 over alleged financial impropriety during his tenure as governor of Kaduna between 2015 and 2023.

On April 13, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) arraigned him at the Kaduna high court on an amended nine-count charge bordering on alleged fraud and abuse of office.

The Department of State Services (DSS) is also prosecuting el-Rufai before the federal high court in Abuja over allegations of wiretapping.

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Court Ultimatum Forces FBI to Hand Over Tinubu’s Fraud Records to Judge—But Keeps Them Hidden from Public

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has hand delivered records of President Bola Tinubu’s 1993 drug-trafficking and money-laundering case to Judge Howell Beryl of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, saying they are for her eyes only, court filings seen by Peoples Gazette indicated.

The FBI secretly submitted the records on Friday to avoid disobeying a court order while sidelining transparency campaigner, Aaron Greenspan, who petitioned the Bureau for the Nigerian leader’s records in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.

Following years of foot-dragging on a FOI petition filed by Mr Greenspan in 2023, the FBI on Friday complied with a court order directing it to release Mr Tinubu’s records. Mr Greenspan worked with Nigerian journalist, David Hundeyin, to file the petition in 2023.

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The records submitted as “under seal, ex parte, in camera declarations were hand delivered to the Court on August 28, 2026 in compliance with this Court’s Minute Order dated August 20, 2026,” filings showed.

Mrs Beryl lost her patience with the FBI after the bureau missed several deadlines , giving excuses on why it could not immediately provide the records.

She issued August 28 as the final ultimatum to the FBI, which prompted the FBI’s decision to comply, showing it “in camera” to the judge alone, without carrying along the petitioner.

Earlier this week , FBI claimed that submitting the records would violate Mr Tinubu’s privacy and argued that FOI was established to screen the operations and records of government institutions, not necessarily private individuals.

For decades, Mr Tinubu has avoided speaking on the drug affair, refusing to clarify controversies surrounding his involvement in a case that saw him forfeit hundreds of thousands of dollars to the U.S. government.

Mr Tinubu also sought to block the release of his records, asserting his rivals only sought to use them to discredit him in a Nigerian presidential election. He begged the court to protect his privacy rights.

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in 2023 released documents holding Mr Tinubu’s encounter with American authorities over allegations of narcotics trafficking and money laundering.

 

 

 

 

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NFF President Gusau Resigns

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Nigeria Football Federation President, Ibrahim Gusau, has resigned from office, announcing his decision during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday.

According to the Super Eagles news account on X (@SSE_NGA), Gusau was joined by board members of the Executive Committee in resignation.

The crisis follows the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a first in Nigeria’s history, after a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in the play-off.

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The Falcons had earlier been knocked out of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations at the quarter-final stage by Cameroon. The Super Eagles also failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The NFF has separately faced scrutiny over its handling of a ₦17bn Federal Government intervention fund released in 2024, as well as a fact-finding committee report alleging that board members and officials influenced national team invitations for financial gain.

Gusau’s exit comes ahead of the NFF’s elective congress, scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

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