The Commander General of the Coalition for Community-Based Security Organisation (C-JTF), Kano State Command, Sani Elmansur, has urged the Kano State Government to strengthen and properly integrate community-based security groups into the state’s security architecture to address growing challenges of insecurity, drug abuse and street gang activities.

Elmansur made the call while offering recommendations on ways the government could improve security across Kano State, stressing that the complexity of contemporary security challenges requires stronger collaboration between conventional security agencies and community-based organisations.

According to him, the Kano State Government should bring together registered community-based security groups that have been established to support conventional security agencies, rather than allowing their activities to operate without adequate coordination and supervision.

Elmansur said the leadership of many of the recognised community security organisations possesses considerable knowledge of community safety and security matters, adding that their experience should be properly harnessed in the fight against crime.

He explained that community-based security personnel are not merely individuals who patrol neighbourhoods, but include leaders and members with knowledge of local security conditions and the ability to identify emerging threats within their communities.

The C-JTF commander further called for specialised training for government-established initiatives such as the “Anti-Phone Snatching” groups, saying their effectiveness could be improved if they were exposed to modern security techniques and professional methods of crime prevention.

According to Elmansur, the government should ensure that such groups receive adequate training in modern security operations, surveillance, intelligence gathering, communication and appropriate responses to security threats.

He expressed concern over situations in which suspected street gangs or “Yan Daba” allegedly operate for long periods in some neighbourhoods without immediate intervention from conventional security personnel, despite reports being made by residents.

Elmansur said that in some instances, residents could report the activities of street gangs and wait for between one and two hours before security personnel arrive at the affected locations, a situation he said could expose residents and their property to unnecessary danger.

He, however, noted that security patrols and checkpoints alone may not be sufficient to deter criminal elements if the criminals are able to identify the security personnel and avoid their locations.

According to him, criminals may simply stay away from areas where they see security personnel conducting regular patrols, only to resume their activities after the officers leave, thereby reducing the effectiveness of conventional patrol strategies.

Elmansur therefore recommended the establishment of security posts in areas identified as hotspots for youth gangs and other criminal activities, saying such locations should have a continuous security presence rather than occasional patrols.

He said the government should identify neighbourhoods where large numbers of unruly youths and suspected criminal elements congregate and establish security structures that can remain operational around the clock.

The C-JTF commander explained that a system of continuous community surveillance would enable security personnel and community-based organisations to respond more quickly whenever suspicious activities are detected.

Elmansur also advocated stronger intelligence gathering at the grassroots, stressing that residents are often the first to notice unusual movements, gatherings or activities that could develop into serious security threats.

He maintained that if information about suspicious activities is obtained early and promptly transmitted to the appropriate security authorities, security agencies would have a better opportunity to prevent crimes before they occur.

According to him, the adoption of such a proactive security strategy would help reduce street violence, clashes and other forms of criminal activity within Kano metropolis and surrounding communities.

Elmansur emphasised that the objective of the recommendations is not to replace conventional security agencies, but to create stronger cooperation between them and properly trained, registered and coordinated community-based security organisations.

He urged the Kano State Government to consider a comprehensive framework for coordinating the various community security groups operating across the state, including clear responsibilities, reporting channels, training requirements and supervision.

The C-JTF commander said such coordination would prevent duplication of efforts and ensure that community security organisations complement the work of the police and other conventional security agencies.

He further stressed the importance of protecting the lives and property of residents, describing security as a collective responsibility requiring the participation of government, security agencies, community organisations and citizens.

“Those are some of the recommendations we are giving to the government in order to protect the lives and property of the people,” Elmansur said.

He added that a properly coordinated community-based security system, backed by modern training and effective collaboration with conventional security agencies, could significantly contribute to restoring peace and reducing criminal activities across Kano State.

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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.

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.

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.

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.