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NIPSS suspends participant over articles backing Tinubu’s reforms

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A Nigerian public relations professional, Yushau A. Shuaib, has petitioned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what he described as “unjust, humiliating, and deeply distressing” treatment at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, where he was suspended from the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 47 allegedly over harmless articles supporting the President’s Digital and Blue Economy agenda after paying a fee of N18 million.

The participant stated this in a detailed petition, titled: “Unjust Treatment at NIPSS Over Articles Supporting Digital and Blue Economy Reforms.”

In it Shuaib, founder of PRNigeria and a Golden World Award recipient of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA), accused the institute of harassment, cyberbullying, and professional ostracisation despite his full compliance with institutional guidelines and ethical publishing practices.

He revealed that following his suspension on May 2, 2025, he was asked to vacate the NIPSS premises immediately.

The abrupt action shocked his family and colleagues, who were left to speculate on the rationale, especially since all other participants remained in the programme.

This petition sets the record straight and seeks to prevent false insinuations that could damage my reputation,” he stated.

Shuaib recounted that on October 28, 2024, shortly after receiving an international award in Belgrade, he was nominated by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) to participate in the prestigious SEC 47 course.

He disengaged from his company, Image Merchants Promotion Limited, and joined the course in good faith.

However, on March 21, 2025, PRNigeria published a story, titled: “NIPSS Goes Digital,” which Shuaib neither authored nor edited.

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The article commended the institute’s transition to a paperless system and highlighted its alignment with the Tinubu digital transformation agenda.

Despite this positive coverage, Shuaib was issued a query by Nima Salman Mann, the Acting Director of Studies, and was subsequently pressured by Rear Admiral A. A. Mustapha a Directing Staff, to discard his initial written defence and submit a revised version dictated by them.

On April 7, 2025, Shuaib was summoned before a disciplinary panel, but was denied the opportunity to speak or present his case.

The panel relied exclusively on the rewritten response imposed by Rear Admiral Mustapha, rather than the original defence he had prepared.

He was then issued a perplexing final warning letter, his first and only formal warning since the commencement of the programme.

Other participants also reportedly faced disproportionate sanctions.

One was queried for commending the initiatives of Governor Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State during a vote of thanks at the Government House, Jos; another for arriving late after a family emergency; and a third for representing NIPSS positively in an external engagement.

On April 28, Shuaib received another query, less than two months after the first.

This time, the NIPSS cited a restricted internal PRNigeria editorial email dated April 25, 2025, titled: “Understanding the ‘Blue’ in the Blue Economy: A PR Perspective.”

The unauthorised interception of this internal correspondence constituted a serious breach of digital privacy and can rightly be described as cyberbullying and cybercrime.

Shuaib said: “The article, which I authored and later published in the media, provided insights into the government’s Marine and Blue Economy agenda from a Public Relations standpoint and did not refer to NIPSS whatsoever.

Shockingly, the institute had accessed the email before it reached its intended editorial recipient—a clear act of unwarranted surveillance and professional misconduct.

“This act was not just a violation of privacy—it amounted to cyberbullying and professional misconduct.”

The mental strain from the ordeal reportedly led to a hypertension diagnosis at the NIPSS clinic.

According to Shuaib, an official directive later barred other participants from interacting with him, leaving him completely isolated.

In addition to his suspension and exclusion from all official communication platforms, Shuaib was denied participation in the SEC 47 international study tours, despite having paid the full N18.2 million fee.

All other participants were granted travel privileges and Estacodes for official tours across Africa and other continents.

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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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