General News
Mark, Obi Demand Urgent Action as Gunment Killl 25 in Benue, Plateau Attacks
By Felix Umande
National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, Senator David Mark, and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, have called on the Federal Government to take immediate and decisive action to halt the wave of killings and kidnappings in Benue and Plateau states, following attacks that left at least 25 people dead.
Mark spoke on Monday while reacting to the killing of about 16 people in the Otukpo-Nobi community of Benue State and nine others, including a two-month-old infant, in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State by suspected armed militias.
Obi, in a separate statement, described the renewed violence as “painful and deeply disturbing,” warning that the persistent bloodshed can no longer be treated as normal.
Mark described the attacks as “barbaric” and “reprehensible,” and expressed concern over the reported hijacking of a Benue Links commercial bus along the Otukpo–Taraku–Makurdi Road, where gunmen allegedly abducted all passengers and took them into the bush.
“It is unacceptable that innocent Nigerians continue to be slaughtered in their communities while others are abducted on our highways. The primary responsibility of any government is the protection of lives and property. Every life lost is one too many, and every attack that goes unanswered only emboldens the perpetrators,” Mark said in a statement signed by his media aide, Kola Ologbondiyan.
He urged the Armed Forces, Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services and other security agencies to intensify operations against those behind the attacks. He called for improved intelligence gathering, sustained surveillance of vulnerable communities and highways, and rapid deployment of personnel to flashpoints.
Mark also demanded immediate search-and-rescue operations to secure the release of the abducted Benue Links passengers, and insisted that perpetrators “must be identified, arrested and prosecuted without delay to end what he described as a growing culture of impunity.”
The former Senate President also appealed to the Benue State Government, traditional rulers, religious leaders and youth groups to strengthen collaboration with security agencies by providing timely intelligence.
“The blood of innocent Benue people cries out for justice. This is the time for decisive action, not routine assurances. Benue deserves peace. Our people deserve to live without fear,” he added.
Obi said the killings in Otukpo-Nobi and Riyom underscore how families in Benue, Plateau and other parts of Nigeria have “lived under the constant shadow of fear, violence and displacement.”
“Mothers have buried their children, children have become orphans overnight, farmers have abandoned their lands, and entire communities have been left devastated. We cannot continue to accept this tragic cycle as though it were normal. It is not,” Obi said.
He stressed that the time has come to move beyond routine condemnations after every attack, and called for a security architecture that is “proactive rather than reactive, driven by intelligence, rapid response and accountability.”
“Every Nigerian life is sacred, and every life lost is one too many. These are not mere statistics; they are fathers, mothers, children, breadwinners and future leaders whose dreams have been violently cut short,” he said.
Obi extended condolences to bereaved families and to the governments and people of Benue and Plateau, praying for comfort for the mourning and healing for the injured.
“This is not about politics; it is about humanity. We must summon the collective will to secure our nation and restore hope to our people. No country can develop when its citizens live in fear,” he stated.
The renewed attacks come amid growing concerns over deteriorating security in Nigeria’s North-Central region. Benue, often described as the nation’s food basket, has suffered repeated attacks on farming communities, while Plateau has witnessed cycles of violence that have displaced thousands and destroyed livelihoods.
The latest incidents have renewed pressure on the Federal Government and security agencies to strengthen measures aimed at protecting vulnerable communities, securing major highways, and bringing perpetrators to justice.
By Felix Umande
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football to address repeated failures to qualify for major regional, continental and world tournaments.
The directive was contained in a Statehouse press release issued on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
The President said the reform must tackle longstanding weaknesses in governance, administration, stakeholder representation, development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability across Nigerian football.
“Football, Nigeria’s most popular sport and the greatest beneficiary of public support, investment and national attention, has continued to struggle basically due to structural deficits within the system,” Tinubu stated.
He noted that while other sports have recorded meaningful progress since the reset of the sports sector under the re-established National Sports Commission, football has lagged behind.
“Nigerian football must begin to match the country’s exceptional talent, passion and resources with stronger institutions and sustained performance,” the President said.
President Tinubu directed the Chairman of the National Sports Commission to work with the NFF Secretariat and relevant football stakeholders to ensure continuity in essential football administration and facilitate a broad, consultative reform process.
The process, he said, will include appropriate engagement with FIFA and CAF while safeguarding Nigeria’s obligations within the international football framework.
The President called on football stakeholders and Nigerians to support the transition and work together to build a stronger, more accountable and successful football system.
By Isa Abdul, Abuja
A viral video on social media of police officers allegedly extorting a resident of ₦40,000 along Wuye-Utako Road in Abuja has received the FCT Police Command’s attention as the officers have been identified and detained.
SP Josephine Adeh, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), disclosed this in a statement.
According to the command, the attention of the Commissioner of Police, FCT, CP Ahmed Muhammed Sanusi, was drawn to the video circulating on social media showing police officers allegedly extorting an FCT resident of ₦40,000 by Salem Church, within the Federal Capital Territory.
“The officers depicted in the video have been identified and are in custody,” the statement read in part.
The command also extended an invitation to the complainant to visit the FCT Police Command Headquarters to tender an official statement to aid investigation and disciplinary action.
The complainant was advised to reach the command’s PPRO via 07038979348 or 08180382808.
Sanusi reiterated that the command would not tolerate “any form of extortion, abuse of authority, misconduct, or unprofessional conduct by police personnel.”
“Any officer found culpable after due investigation will be subjected to appropriate disciplinary and legal action in accordance with extant laws and regulations,” the CP added.
The command urged members of the public to report cases of police misconduct and provide relevant information that may assist investigations, reaffirming its commitment to accountability, professionalism, and respect for the rights of all residents of the Federal Capital Territory.
By Isa Abdul, Abuja
The Federal Government has taken practical steps to solve federal workers’ transportation challenges by initially deploying 100 electric mass transit buses.
It also delivered the first batch of electric vehicles (EVs) promised to workers, as part of a broader move to cut transportation costs amid promoting cleaner energy use across the country.
On Wednesday, the first batch of 37 buses was commissioned at the Eagle Square, Abuja, by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs Didi Esther Walson-Jack, under the Federal Civil Service Electric Mass Transit Programme.
The initiative, approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) under the Renewed Hope Mass Transit Scheme, is meant to provide federal workers with safer, more affordable and reliable transportation along designated routes within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In another development, the Director-General, National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Oluwemimo Joseph Osanipin, who disclosed that the government had taken delivery of the first batch of EVs promised to civil servants, described it as the beginning of a wider rollout under the administration’s clean energy transportation drive.
He spoke while briefing journalists after meeting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House.
Speaking at the bus inauguration, Walson-Jack, described the intervention as central to workers’ welfare and productivity.
“For many civil servants, the daily commute shapes their finances, their safety, their punctuality and ultimately their productivity,” she said.
The retiring HoCSF said the launching was a fitting close to her tenure. In her words:
“This commissioning is providentially my parting gift to my dearly beloved federal servants. In a little under 24 hours, my time as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation comes to an end.”
Walson-Jack said the buses were acquired through the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development Fund and linked the programme to other government interventions, including the minimum wage review, the wage award following the fuel subsidy removal, digitalisation of the public service, and reforms in pensions, promotions and health insurance. “Each is a thread in the same commitment that reform must be felt, not merely announced,” she said.
The Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, said the buses programme was an investment in workers’ welfare and local industrial development. He said each bus could carry up to 200 passengers and travel a minimum of 200 kilometres on a full charge, and that the scheme would ease pressure on workers’ household incomes while supporting Nigeria’s automotive sector.
The buses, approved by NADDC, are expected to run on designated routes linking residential corridors with the Federal Secretariat and other government offices in the FCT, with the first deployment serving as a testing phase ahead of a wider rollout.
On the electric vehicle scheme, Osanipin said the government had also deployed EV-related infrastructure in about 16 universities to build the ecosystem needed to support the transition to alternative energy vehicles. He said policies promoting EVs and Compressed Natural Gas required complementary investment in filling stations, mobile refilling units and gas production before their benefits could be fully felt.
He disclosed that the number of companies licensed to retail gas had risen to about 81, from the previous four.
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