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.

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.

By Son Tertsea, Abuja

The North Central Development commission’s management has been charged by Senator Titus Zam to ensure the prompt utilisation of its monthly allocations to deliver visible projects across the region, and not to lay back complaining about inadequate funding.

Zam, chairman of the Senate’s North Central Development Commission Committee, made the call while addressing journalists after a closed-door meeting with the commission’s management in Abuja.

Established to drive infrastructure, economic development and rehabilitation across the North Central states, particularly in communities affected by insecurity and underdevelopment, the commission is expected to complement federal and state government efforts in improving rural infrastructure, agriculture, mining and other critical sectors.

The North West Senator from Benue state said the committee reviewed the commission’s implementation timeline and stressed the need for accountability in the use of available funds. In his own words:

“What we have done is to meet with the management of the North Central Development Commission on the timelines for their activities. You know that this commission is about developing our rural communities.

“And we have heard the MD say that the Federal Government has started funding them, even though what is being given is not as much as they would expect. But there is always a gap between our wishes and reality.

“So the FG has started giving them some allocation each month. And we have met with them and agreed that those funds should be promptly used so that there will be deliverables at the end of the year in tandem with their mandate.”

Accordingly, the committee has resolved to do oversight visits beginning with the commission’s headquarters in Lafia, Nasarawa State, then inspecting projects across the six North Central states.
“We also agreed to commence immediate oversight visits first to their office in Lafia, Nasarawa and thereafter move around the North Central states to see the programmes and projects they have executed or planned to carry out.

“So, we have all agreed to work together to support them, and they have agreed to also perform credibly to avoid disappointing Mr President, Bola Tinubu, who brought this idea to fruition,” he stated.

While responding to questions, Zam revealed that the commission currently receives N2.9bn monthly from the Federal Government, which he said was insufficient when compared with its approved budget.

“Every month, they are given N2.9bn. And that’s just a drop in the ocean. For now, that’s what is being given to them. Remember that they had a budget of N140bn. If you give someone who has a budget of N140bn and he gets N2.9bn, multiply by 12 months. That is still not up to half of its budget.

“So we thank Mr President for, at least, dropping something for the take-off. I suppose that is just a takeoff funding. When the commission finally comes on stage, it is expected that much more will be released. For now, that’s what they are being given.”

The senator added that the committee had also advised the commission on priority areas that should receive immediate attention to maximise the impact of its interventions.

“Actually, the North Central region has certain comparative advantages over and above other regions. For example, North Central is mostly agricultural land. We have arable land, good rainfall and vegetation conducive for agriculture. So, we urge the management of NCDC to take agriculture very seriously.

“We also spoke about mining. Most North Central states are into mining, which needs to be supported. We also have a challenge of insecurity. The commission is advised to support the security forces and the state government to complement their efforts towards mitigating the tides of insecurity within the region.

“We also ask them to take rural development very seriously because we are also rural in nature. Apart from state capitals and a few local wetlands, most of North Central is rural. So they have to concentrate on doing things like culverts, bridges and so on,” he noted.

Zam said the Senate committee would continue to work closely with the commission to ensure it delivers on its mandate and provides tangible development projects across the North Central region.