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RFI Tasks Media on Reporting Women, Children, and Minors

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Radio France Internationale (RFI) has urged journalists to broaden their coverage to include issues affecting women, children, and minors, as part of its Hausa Service programme Rayuwata. The head of RFI Hausa Service, Joe Penny, made this call while addressing journalists in Kano during preparations for the upcoming Rayuwata event. Penny emphasized that the programme this year will spotlight personal stories shared by women and children, underscoring the importance of amplifying their voices.

According to Penny, RFI, headquartered in France with 17 language services, operates its Hausa Service from Lagos. He noted that the station has successfully reached millions of people through social media, particularly Facebook, where it boasts 2.3 million followers. He explained that the decision to host the event in Kano was deliberate, given the city’s role as a cultural and economic hub in northern Nigeria.

Penny further stated that RFI’s outlets have traditionally focused on politics and security-related attacks, but the organisation is now expanding coverage to other aspects of life. “Last year, we partnered on sports and signed a memorandum of understanding with Kano pillars football club . This year, we are focusing on women and children,” he said. He added that the programme will feature videos designed to spark conversations and highlight pressing social issues.

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The Hausa Service head also revealed that the event will celebrate achievements in Kannywood, the Hausa-language film industry. “We have a series on Kannywood where we interview actors. It provides a service beyond us and a larger one. This is the first time we are doing this event in Kano, and there are new ways of engaging our audience,” Penny explained.

He stressed that public feedback would be crucial in shaping the festival, which he described as being in the public interest.

Highlighting the programme’s history, Penny noted that Rayuwata has been running for five years, consistently focusing on children and minors. He reiterated that the initiative seeks to celebrate, encourage, and educate, while also drawing government attention to the needs of vulnerable groups.

On his part, veteran broadcaster and co-anchor of Rayuwata, Muhammad Musa Muhammad Inya, emphasized RFI’s global reach and its commitment to ensuring Kano is not left behind.

He disclosed that RFI will collaborate with five local radio stations this year to strengthen community engagement. “We are helping those that are not privileged, especially fatherless children. We come to educate the government on the importance of children and the less privileged,” Inya said.

The upcoming Rayuwata festival in Kano is expected to serve as a platform for dialogue, cultural celebration, and advocacy, reinforcing RFI’s mission to expand media coverage beyond politics and security to include the everyday realities of women, children, and minors.

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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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