By Michael Lim

No community will be rendered homeless in Kaduna State because our administration believes in human dignity and the sanctity of life, Governor Uba Sani has vowed.

The Governor made the promise in what could be termed as correcting neglects of the past, as he distributed land titles to communities in Igabi local government area, whose lands have been a subject of dispute between the military and the inhabitants.

The beneficiaries, comprising 704 houses, with the benefitting communities including Unguwan Malam Auta, Unguwan Alhassan and Unguwan Lauya as well as Unguwan Aboki, Unguwan Danjuma, Unguwan Musa and Unguwan Yohana.

The alleged land seizure took place in the past but he is the one who has elected to bring a lasting, agreeable solution to all.

The matter though, reportedly, still in court, he caused the Director General of Kaduna State Geographic Information Service, KADGIS, Dr Bashir Ibrahim Garba, to issue the plots of land to the affected communities, including farmlands. The aim is to ensure the farming community members do not continue to suffer and be deprived of their livelihoods.

While speaking at the Birnin Yero Tsohuwa Primary School, venue if the event on Sunday, Governor disclosed that there were over 5,000 people living within the affected communities and more than 2,000 of them had been displaced because of the land dispute. In his words:

‘’Today, we gathered here not only to give free plots of land to all the members of the communities and the households, we are also here to ensure that we look at other problems.

‘’Apart from giving you plots of land, ensuring that all of you have decent shelter is important to our administration because we believe in the human dignity. We also gave each one of you a farmland as a means of livelihood because 90% of you are farmers.’

Sani also promised the communities five trucks of free fertiliser, in addition to extending a special intervention to enable them stand on their feet.

‘’I have directed the Secretary to Kaduna State Government, together with the Commissioner of Finance and Commissioner of Planning and Budget, to sit down with your leaders so as to support you with social intervention.

‘’We believe all the people here, particularly those that are vulnerable, deserve a level of compensation from our government. So, we are going to give you social intervention, so that some of you that have lost their livelihoods, will quickly go back to their activities, particularly those involved in small businesses,’’ he promised.

The Governor assured that Kaduna State Government will not abandon any community, adding that ‘’our heart bleeds when we saw the level of the pain and what happened to you.’’

Governor Uba Sani commended the communities for living in peace irrespective of their ethno-religious differences and party affiliations.

‘’I’ve seen the level of togetherness between the Muslims and Christians within these communities. You work together as one family. When the incident happened, I was informed you treated each other as one family,’’ he added.

In his welcome remarks, the Director General of KADGIS, Dr Bashir Ibrahim Garba, disclosed that the Governor Uba Sani administration has resolved 5,285 inherited land cases.

‘’The Governor has also supported more than 2,000 communities that were displaced by either disputes or land issues,’’ he added.

The DG recalled that the communities that were being compensated, were displaced by the military, adding that ‘’it is a 10-year dispute that has been lingering in court and past governments couldn’t resolve the matter.’’

Amanpour began her tenure at CNN in 1983

“After more than 43 years at CNN, Christiane has decided that the time is right to begin a new chapter,” Mark Thompson, CNN’s chief executive, said in a letter to newsroom employees that was obtained by NBC News.

Thompson said Amanpour, 68, plans to “scale back” her eponymous CNN International show to once a week early in 2027. “The program will conclude in May,” Thompson added, “and she will leave CNN at the end of June.”

“Christiane has thought carefully about this decision, and she and I have been discussing it for some months,”

Thompson said. “Like so many CNNers who will hear the news today, I’m very sorry to see her go, but l’ve come to accept that this is the right time for her, both personally and professionally.”

Amanpour has covered nearly every major international conflict and global crisis of the last four decades, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Bosnian War, the Persian Gulf War, the post-9/11 U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Israel’s war in Gaza.

She has also interviewed world leaders, including former President Bill Clinton, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi, and various Iranian presidents, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani.

In a statement, Amanpour confirmed her departures from both CNN and PBS, where she hosts the talk show “Amanpour & Company.” She also thanked “the amazingly talented people I’ve worked with throughout this incredible journey,” especially her “beloved show teams and field crews.”

Amanpour’s exit comes just weeks after David Ellison’s media corporation Paramount Skydance formally took over Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN.

Thompson will remain the head of CNN under the brand’s new ownership, reporting directly to Skydance co-CEOs Ellison and Ynon Kreiz.

By Seyi Balogun, Lagos .

Counterfeit and unwholesome products worth more than N5.3bn have been destroyed in a week by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC.

This was revealed to the PUNCH recently, detailing operations involving suspected counterfeit alcoholic beverages, repackaged products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, tomato paste and biscuits by the agency’s Deputy Director of Public Relations, Christiana Obiazikwor.

According to her, NAFDAC seized suspected counterfeit alcoholic drinks and illegally brewed or repackaged products valued at N2bn at the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex on October 13.

The agency also seized suspected fake drinks and packaging materials worth more than N700m in Aba, Abia State, while goods valued at N2.6bn were destroyed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Friday.

Obiazikwor added operatives uncovered more than 20 illegal stores at Zamfara Plaza, within the Trade Fair Complex, where they discovered activities involving the counterfeiting of popular alcoholic beverage brands, the revalidation of expired drinks and the stockpiling of banned imported products.

She added that two suspects were arrested during the operation and the seized products were evacuated from the premises.

Fake drinks, packaging materials uncovered in Aba

In Aba, NAFDAC operatives raided five shops at Old Court Road Market over suspected counterfeit alcoholic beverages and packaging materials.

Obiazikwor said the products seized during the operation were valued at more than N700m.

In addition, the materials included fake labels, corks, packs and outer packaging bearing the names of established brands.

NAFDAC said its officers encountered resistance from traders during the operation, affecting the evacuation of the materials.

The agency added that the shop owners were absent and the premises were placed on hold to prevent interference with the items left behind.

Speaking on another discovery, Obiazikwor said NAFDAC officials uncovered a suspected alcoholic beverage counterfeiting operation at No. 25 Omenazu Street, Aba, on October 15.

She said the facility was allegedly used to produce spirits and herbal liqueurs under unhygienic conditions.

According to her, the operator fled after officials arrived at the facility following a tip-off, abandoning his car.

She said a vehicle there contained labels and products bearing the names Sir Edwards Scotch Whisky and Scottish Hills Whisky, as well as empty bottles in the boot.

“A drum containing about 200 litres of liquid and a product branded Café Rum Whisky were also found,” Obiazikwor added.

She said operatives also discovered 200-litre drums containing ethanol, plastic buckets, pieces of tree bark, packaging materials, corks, tanks containing liquid mixtures, dirty sieves, sealing machines, bottles bearing popular brand names and cartons.

Obiazikwor said the materials and facility were valued at more than N500m.

In a separate exercise in Port Harcourt, NAFDAC destroyed products valued at N2.6bn, according to Obiazikwor.

The goods included pharmaceutical products, chemicals, tomato paste, biscuits and other items the agency described as unwholesome. They were intercepted and seized by the Nigeria Customs Service at Onne Port between 2025 and 2026.

The Chairman of the Federal Task Force on Counterfeit, Fake Drugs and Unwholesome Processed Foods in Nigeria, Dr Martins Iluyomade, who represented NAFDAC’s Director-General, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, spoke at the destruction site on Friday.

Iluyomade, who is also NAFDAC’s Director of Investigation and Enforcement, said the exercise demonstrated cooperation between the agency and the Nigeria Customs Service in disposing of seized goods.

He said the process began in 2025 and that both agencies had signed memoranda of understanding to facilitate the destruction of the products.

“This gesture corroborates the existing good relationship we have between NAFDAC and the Nigeria Customs Service. We have MoUs signed, but we have people who have to work behind the scenes to make sure that the MoUs work.

“The willingness of the officers of the two agencies to make the MoU work is what has led to what we are doing today,” he said.

Iluyomade said the exercise was the first phase, adding that more seized goods were expected to be brought from the port for destruction.

“What you see here right now, this is the flag-up; others are still coming out of the port, and I want to urge the Nigeria Customs Service to quickly facilitate the remaining containers to be here on time for destruction,” he added.

He called for cooperation among government agencies involved in the fight against counterfeit products and illicit activities, warning against inter-agency rivalry.

Representing the Enforcement Unit of the Nigeria Customs Service, Area II Command, Superintendent of Customs Elizabeth Abosede commended NAFDAC for the exercise.

The South-South Zonal Director of NAFDAC, Chukwuma Oligbu, represented by his deputy, Rita Chukwuma, said the exercise was part of the agency’s regulatory functions.

She added that the objective was to rid communities of fake and substandard products.

Public health risks

A public health expert, Olusoji Aramide, said adulterated alcoholic beverages could expose consumers to harm.

He added that counterfeit or substandard medicines might contain incorrect ingredients, inadequate quantities of active ingredients or contaminants, potentially undermining treatment and putting patients at risk.

Aramide said counterfeit packaging could also make products appear genuine and conceal their origins, expiry dates or contents.

NAFDAC has urged Nigerians to remain vigilant about suspicious products and report illegal manufacturing, repackaging and sales activities to the agency.