By: Lamara Garba

The Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Board has secured a strategic partnership with a Makkah-based humanitarian foundation to provide free eye care services to pilgrims from the state currently performing the 2026 Hajj in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The initiative will offer a wide range of eye care interventions, including cataract surgeries, comprehensive eye examinations, and the supply of prescribed medications, all at no cost to beneficiaries.

The programme is designed to improve the health and welfare of Jigawa pilgrims, particularly elderly worshippers and those suffering from vision-related ailments, enabling them to carry out their religious obligations with greater ease and comfort while in the Holy Land.

Speaking on the development, the Director-General of the Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Ahmad Umar Labbo, said the collaboration underscores the board’s commitment to prioritising the well-being of pilgrims throughout their spiritual journey.

According to him, the board remains focused on introducing impactful programmes and welfare initiatives that directly enhance the Hajj experience of pilgrims, both before their departure from Nigeria and during their stay in Saudi Arabia.

He explained that the free eye care programme would provide timely medical support to pilgrims with existing eye conditions, helping them overcome health challenges that could hinder the performance of Hajj rites.

Alhaji Labbo further noted that the partnership reflects the board’s determination to strengthen healthcare support services for pilgrims and ensure that they receive the necessary medical attention whenever the need arises.

The initiative has received widespread commendation from Jigawa pilgrims, many of whom described it as a welcome intervention capable of addressing common eye health problems among worshippers, especially the elderly.

Observers have also hailed the programme as a significant step towards improving pilgrims’ welfare, describing it as another milestone in the Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Board’s efforts to place the health, comfort and overall well-being of pilgrims at the centre of its operations in the Holy Land.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to resign from office, accusing him of failing in his constitutional responsibility to safeguard the lives and property of Nigerians amid escalating insecurity across the country.

The opposition party made the demand on Thursday against the backdrop of growing public concern over persistent kidnappings, banditry and violent attacks, including the recent abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State.

Recall that armed men on May 15 stormed three schools in the Ahoro-Esinle and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government Area, abducting scores of pupils and teachers and leaving families devastated. The incident sparked widespread outrage and renewed calls for urgent reforms to Nigeria’s security architecture.

In a statement issued on Thursday, PRP National Chairman, Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said the security situation under the Tinubu administration had deteriorated significantly, with criminal groups operating freely across various parts of the country.

According to him, insecurity is no longer confined to specific regions, as Nigerians across the country now live under constant threat.

“It is now beyond any doubt that President Bola Tinubu has failed woefully in discharging his prime responsibility as Nigerian President, which is to secure the Nigerian citizen. Under his watch, old threats have blossomed and mutated, while more and more Nigerians, irrespective of status or age, have fallen victim to violent criminals,” Baba-Ahmed said.

The PRP chairman lamented that the worsening security crisis had exposed even the most vulnerable Nigerians, including schoolchildren, to attacks by criminal elements.

“From generals to toddlers; from Bama to Badagry, no Nigerian is safe under this leadership. It is no longer the case that only parts of the country have been virtually surrendered to criminals. Now, no Nigerian in any part of the country is protected from rampant violent criminals who exploit our major weakness,” he stated.

“School children have joined the long stretch of soft targets, and the nation appears to be at the point of accepting this situation as normal. We must not submit to the weakness of leaders and the exploits of criminals. This is not how Nigerians should live.”

Baba-Ahmed further accused the President of concentrating political power without delivering corresponding improvements in security, arguing that there was little evidence the administration could reverse the trend.

“Our President has failed the nation, and there is no evidence that he can improve on his pathetic record. He has amassed all the power in the country around him, yet he has failed to use it to protect and defend Nigerians,” he said.

The former presidential aide maintained that democratic governance requires accountability and responsibility, insisting that Tinubu’s continued stay in office despite the country’s security challenges was untenable.

“In most other democracies, President Tinubu’s failure to respect the values of accountability and responsibility would not have been tolerated. Nigerians must rise to demand an end to this ineptitude and indifference. President Tinubu should resign, now!” he declared.

The PRP also argued that Nigerians should not be compelled to wait until the 2027 general elections to register their dissatisfaction with the administration’s handling of security matters.

“While he may have the luxury of ignoring our current deteriorating circumstances and awaiting the verdict of rejection by voters in 2027, Nigerians who will continue to fall victim to violent criminals do not have the luxury of waiting to vote him out in 2027,” Baba-Ahmed said.

“There is nothing democratic in insisting that incompetent and uncaring leadership must complete terms. Nigerians should demand, with one voice, that President Tinubu’s failure to secure Nigerians cannot be tolerated any further.”

The latest criticism adds to mounting concerns over recurring incidents of kidnapping, banditry, communal clashes and attacks on communities across the country, which have intensified calls for more effective security measures.

However, the Presidency has consistently maintained that the Tinubu administration inherited deeply rooted security challenges and is deploying military and intelligence resources to combat criminality and restore security nationwide.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday adjourned a suit filed by Nafiu-Bala Gombe against Sen. David Mark-led leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), until June 8 for hearing.

Justice Peter Lifu adjourned the case after Gombe’s lawyer, Robert Emukpoeruo, SAN, applied for an adjournment following the absence of counsel to parties seeking to join the suit in court.

When the case was called, only the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and parties seeking joinder were not represented in court.

Although it was confirmed from the court record that INEC was duly served with hearing notice, parties seeking to join were not served.

Counsel to ADC, Shaibu Aruwa, SAN, called the attention of the court to the history of the suit in relation to parties applying for joinder.

He said the former trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, had taken judicial notice of them in the previous proceedings.

Aruwa, therefore, urged the court to accord the parties seeking joinder the same respect to come and say why they needed to be joined in the interest of fair hearing.

Besides, he said issues had already been joined with the parties seeking to join the case, and that the plaintiff was in the know.

Responding, Emukpoeruo gave a titbit about the Supreme Court judgement which ordered for an accelerated hearing of the case, in line with the earlier Appeal Court judgement.

The lawyer, who applied that all pending processes be filed and served, sought an adjournment to give the parties seeking to join the leverage for fair hearing.

ADC’s counsel, Aruwa; Suleiman Usman, SAN, who appeared for Sen. David Mark; Realwan Okpanachi, who represented Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and P. I. Oyewole, lawyer to Chief Ralp Nwosu, did not oppose the application for adjournment.

The defence counsel however informed the court that the attitude of the plaintiff, in applying for the reassignment of the case when the matter was before Justice Nwite, had allegedly frustrated the order of accelerated hearing of the apex court.

But Justice Lifu, who said that nobody has the right to choose which court his case should be determined, said based on the directive of the chief judge who assigned the case to him and the Supreme Court decision for accelerated hearing, he was bound to do justice to the matter.

The judge said the court would take the full responsibility for inability to effect service of the hearing notices on the parties seeking to join the suit.

He subsequently adjourned the matter until June 8 for hearing.

Justice Lifu, who ordered accelerated hearing of the case, directed the bailiff of the court to serve all the parties seeking to be joined in the suit within 24 hours of the order.

“In the circumstances of this case and overall interest of justice and order of the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court, this case is hereby given accelerated hearing,” he said.

He ordered all the parties to file and serve all their processes before the next adjourned date.

The aggrieved former National Deputy Chairman of ADC, Nafiu Bala, had filed the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025.

The plaintiff, in the suit, is seeking an order restraining Mark, the embattled National Chairman of ADC; Aregbesola, the National Secretary, and members of their interim National Working Committee (NWC) from parading themselves as the party’s leaders.

He had argued that the emergence of Mark, Aregbesola and other NWC members as party’s leaders breached the provisions of the party’s constitution and the Electoral Act.

Gombe had sued ADC, Mark, Aregbesola, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Ralph Nwosu as 1st to 5th defendants respectively in the suit.

Nwosu was the former ADC National Chairman who stepped down for David Mark leadership of the party.

The former Vice President Atiku Abubakar emerged as ADC presidential candidate on May 27 after defeating two other aspirants, including Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation, at the party’s national convention.

Also, Dumebi Kachikwu, in a national convention conducted by another faction of ADC, emerged the presidential candidate of the party for the 2027 general election.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the party was adopted by factional members of the party as sole presidential candidate on May 24.