By Isa Abdul

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has countered claims that Government Secondary School, Olowa, in Dekina LGA of Kogi state, where five persons were abducted during the ongoing Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), is a “miracle centre”.

Gunmen abducted students from the school around 5:25pm, on Tuesday while candidates were writing the ongoing NECO examinations.

The principal of the school and a NECO ad hoc staff were also kidnapped during the incident.

Godiya Solomon Monde, commanding officer, 21 battalion, Nigerian Army, while speaking to journalists alleged that the school was a renowned place for examination malpractice, popularly referred to as “miracle centre”.

“The issue is that this school is definitely isolated as you can see; it’s actually tagged as a miracle centre for the students. Ten students were brought here for the literature,-in-English exams, and around 16:00 hours we got the call that the school was attacked,” Monde said.

“Even to locate the school was not easy, but we finally got here with the aid of somebody from the community. When we got here, we saw some papers littered on the ground.”

On Thursday, the Kogi state government referred to the school where four persons were kidnapped during the recent attack as an “unauthorised” examination centre.

Kingsley Femi Fanwo, Commissioner for Information and Communications, said that the rescue followed a coordinated security operation ordered by Ahmed Ododo, governor of Kogi.

But responding to the “Miracle Centre” allegation in a statement on Friday, Azeez Sani, NECO’s acting director of information and public relations, said the council disagreed with comments attributed to the army and Fanwo.

Sani expressed sympathy for the victims and commended the Kogi state government and security agencies for prompt efforts that led to the rescue of the remaining four abductees.

He said Government Secondary School, Olowa, is a state-owned institution that has existed for more than 40 years also presenting candidates for the NECO SSCE examinations since 2000. The added:

“The principal of the school, Daniel Iyamaa, who was among those abducted, is a Grade Level 17 officer in the Kogi state civil service.

“Similarly, the kidnapped supervisor, Solomon Audu, is a Grade Level 12 officer employed by the Kogi state government and posted to Community Secondary School, Effin.

“Available records also show that the abducted candidates are duly registered students of Government Secondary School, Olowa, who were presented for the 2026 NECO SSCE by the school in conjunction with the Kogi state government.”

The council stressed that the 28 candidates registered by the school for the 2026 SSCE are bona fide students and not external candidates, contrary to the impression created by the commissioner’s remarks.

–NAE President, Prof Bello

By Nick Ibe, Abuja

The proposed mandatory one-year Engineering Residency Programme by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) has been welcomed because it will enhance skill competence and make engineers more attractive as well as employable. This is the view of the Nigerian Academy of Engineering, NAE.

This was disclosed by President of the Academy, Prof. Rahamon Bello, while speaking to journalists ahead of its apex event, which includes investiture of past Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, as the 14th President of the NAE, its 2026 NAE yearly lecture, presentation of Lifetime Achievement Awards to 10 fellows and induction of 12 new honorary fellows, to be held in Lagos.

The proposed Engineering Residency Programme (ERP), when operational in Nigeria, will be a mandatory, one-year post-graduation training initiative to be anchored by COREN, designed for fresh engineering graduates to build practical, industry-aligned skills and complete professional requirements before proceeding to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

He said the residency programme, which has received the blessings of NAE, National Universities Commission (NUC) and other stakeholders, is the right way to deepen the competence of budding engineers in the country.

Bello explained further that the new curriculum the NUC had just come up with has allowed universities to engage external industry stakeholders to add value to the theoretical aspects of what engineering students are learning. In his words:

“I think the new curriculum will formalise internships for engineers. It hasn’t come up yet, but I believe that’s the way we have to go. So, as doctors go on internship, pharmacists go on internship, engineers will not be left out,” he said.

Bello, who is also the former Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos, said the Academy has officially submitted critical advocacy papers to the Federal Government, offering actionable engineering solutions to deep-seated national crises. According to him, the NAE has also been active in fulfilling its mandate as a think-tank for the engineering sector by organising strategic policy dialogues on engineering solutions for energy, efficient and profitable operation of the nation’s refineries, transportation, wastewater management, environmental stability and climate change, among others.

By Isa Abdul, Abuja

A 10-count charge has been filed by the federal government against three men over the kidnap of pupils and teachers from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The defendants, Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa and Shamsu Adamu Sani, are accused of terrorism, kidnapping, concealment, incitement and illegal mining.

The charges were filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday.

Umar is also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid, Musa as Yunusa bin Musa, and Sani as Abu Itisar.

All three are from Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.

The first count accused the trio of conspiring with Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab, sometime between January and May, to kidnap the schoolchildren and teachers in Oyo State, an offence the prosecution said contravened Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Counts two and three accused them of actively aiding the same three men in carrying out the kidnapping, contrary to Section 26(2) of the Act.

Counts four and five bordered on concealment. The defendants were accused of knowing the identities of Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab as the masterminds of the kidnapping, and of being aware of the abduction itself, yet failing in both instances to report the information to security operatives to enable their arrest.

Both counts cited Section 16(1) of the Terrorism Act.

The sixth count accused all three of professing membership of Darul Salam, described in the charge sheet as an affiliate of Jamaatu Asarul Muslima Fi Bilandis Sudan, or Ansaru, a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria.

The alleged offence was said to have occurred on or about June 2 and to contravene Section 25(1) of the Act.

Counts seven to nine were levelled solely against Umar, who was said to be resident of Sandako, Suleja.

He was accused of providing training and instruction to terrorists through a WhatsApp group titled “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace” in July, an offence said to contravene Sections 15 and 2(2)(g) of the Terrorism Act.

He was further accused of using preachings on the same platform to incite members to commit acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 18 of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.

The 10th count, also against Umar alone, accused him of engaging in illegal gold mining at streams in the Chaza area of Suleja between 2024 and 2026, without lawful authority, contrary to Section 8(b) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act.

The charges relate to the mass abduction that shook Oyo State on May 15 when gunmen stormed Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in the Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire. Earlier official accounts put the number of victims at 46, made up of 39 pupils and seven teachers.

Two people lost their lives in connection with the attack. The assistant headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, was killed while trying to escape during the raid, while a Mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded by his captors during the 56 days that followed.

The victims regained their freedom on July 10 after an intelligence-led military operation targeted the kidnappers’ hideouts in the Old Oyo National Park.

The Nigerian Army said 44 pupils and teachers were freed and eight suspected gang members arrested, while the Presidency insisted no ransom was paid and no concessions were made to the kidnappers, who had reportedly demanded N1 billion and the release of a detained commander.