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Bandits, agents of disunity behind killings-Buhari

Published

7 years ago

April 26, 2018

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday urged Nigerians in Benue, who have been bearing the brunt of unparalleled violence in the country since the New Year to look beyond the surface, as agents of disunity may be at work.

“Repeated acts of mass killings and destruction in parts of the country and Benue State in particular, point to the evil design of enemies of peace and unity who have desperately been trying to bring the country to this sorry point: a brother killing brother, a neighbour killing a neighbour and a community attacking and killing members of another community”, President Buhari said in the statement by senior media assistant, Garba Shehu.

President Buhari thus urged all Nigerians against playing into the hands of the agents of disunity.

President Buhari said those behind the Church attack that left 18 people dead, including two priests, did not mean well for Nigeria and peaceful coexistence.

“The revenge attacks that followed in which 11 members of the Hausa community were killed are part of the agenda of the bandits and their sponsors to turn Nigerians against one another. We must resist all temptation to fall into this laid out plan.

The President said he was greatly pained by this persistent violence and the total disregard for the sanctity of life by those he called “these hideously evil people who have no iota of respect for humanity, decency and civilisation.”

The President reiterated that the government will not rest on its oars in its determination to fish out these barbarous mass murderers and their clandestine sponsors.

President Buhari equally assured Nigerians that measures being put in place by the government will, sooner than later, bring to an end, these extremely brutal and wanton killings.

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Breaking : US cuts Nigerian non-immigrant visas to three months, single entry, With immediate effect

Published

8 hours ago

July 8, 2025

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The United States Department of State has announced an update to its non-immigrant visa policy for Nigerians.

According to a press release issued by the US Embassy in Abuja on Tuesday, “most non-immigrant and non-diplomatic visas issued to citizens of Nigeria will be single-entry visas with a three-month validity period.”

The new visa restrictions take immediate effect.

However, the embassy clarified that, “those US non-immigrant visas issued before July 8, 2025, will retain their status and validity.”

The statement emphasised that this move is part of the Department’s global visa reciprocity process, which the embassy described as “a continuous process and is subject to review and change at any time, such as increasing or decreasing permitted entries and duration of validity.”

The US explained the rationale behind the policy update, noting that “US visa criteria and standards are designed to protect the integrity of US immigration systems.”

The embassy added that “these standards are based on global technical and security benchmarks.”

According to the embassy, the US Mission is working with Nigerian authorities to meet these benchmarks.

“The US Mission is working with the Government of Nigeria to ensure that Nigeria can meet the criteria,” the statement said.

Examples of these standard criteria include “Secure Travel Documents: Ensuring countries issue secure travel documents with verified traveler identities.

“Visa Overstay Management: Implementing measures to limit overstays by travelers on US visas, and Information Sharing: Sharing relevant security and/or criminal record information to protect public safety.”

Despite the new restrictions, the embassy reaffirmed its diplomatic relationship with Nigeria.

“The United States values its longstanding relationship with Nigeria and remains committed to expanding our partnership based on mutual respect, shared security priorities, and economic opportunity, keeping both our countries safer and stronger,” the statement read.

The embassy also expressed support for ongoing Nigerian reforms, stating, “We commend the ongoing efforts by the Government of Nigeria’s immigration and security agencies to meet standards of international best practices.”

Nigerian travelers were advised to comply with visa regulations.

“Nigerian travelers are encouraged to respect and adhere to the terms of their visas, and ensure travel documents are authentic, accurate, and up to date,” it added.

The embassy concluded with a reaffirmation of its engagement with the Nigerian people and government.

“The United States remains a committed partner in deepening people-to-people ties with Nigeria via business, educational, and cultural exchanges.

“We look forward to continued cooperation at all levels with the Nigerian public and government officials to ensure safe and lawful travel between the United States and all countries,” it said

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JUST IN: Abuja Primary School teachers suspend strike after Wike’s N16bn intervention

Published

8 hours ago

July 8, 2025

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The decision follows the intervention of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who convened a stakeholders’ meeting on Thursday, July 3rd, to address the lingering impasse.

This was contained in a communique dated July 4th, 2025, made available to our correspondent on Tuesday.

Recall that Primary school teachers in the FCT had embarked on industrial action on March 24, 2025, over the non-payment of arrears and failure to implement the new national minimum wage.

The Minister had, however, last Thursday, resolved to use 10 per cent of internally generated revenue for the Area Councils to offset the salaries of the primary school teachers. https://punchng.com/fct-councils-forfeit-six-month-igr-to-end-teachers-strike/

According to the Communique signed by the NUT Chairman, Abdullahi Shafas, State Secretary, Margaret Jethro, and Publicity Secretary, Ibukun Adekeye, the Union said the latest offer from the FCT Minister provided a workable pathway to temporarily halt the action.

The SWEC, after reviewing the Minister’s offer, noted the “positive disposition of the Honourable Minister for taking over the payment of the Primary School Teachers emoluments by the FCTA”, and resolved to suspend the strike upon the release and disbursement of the N16 billion.

“Consequent upon the implementation of the New Minimum Wage and payment of five months Arrears into the Teachers accounts today, 8th July 2025; the SWEC, hereby suspends the ongoing Strike action and
appeals to all Primary School Teachers in FCT to, with effect from Wednesday, 9th July 2025 return to the classrooms and continue with the Union intensifies more efforts to
their legitimate duties while ensure the settlement of the remaining entitlements.,”the communique read.

The union also extended its appreciation to stakeholders and supporters who stood by them during the industrial action.

“The SWEC – In Session wishes to use this medium to appreciate all members especially the Primary School Teachers for their unwavering support, solidarity, cooperation and prayers while the strike lasted.

“Our special thanks go to the FCT Royal fathers, Civil Society Organizations, and other well-meaning individuals who, in one way or the other intervened and stood by us during the strike.

“We equally wish to thank the National Head Office of our Union-NUT, the National and the FCT Council of the NLC for the support and guidance,” the communique added

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Breaking: Universities adopt 150 as cut-off mark for 2025/2026 admission and sets admission age at 16, Says Alausa

Published

17 hours ago

July 8, 2025

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Vice Chancellors of Universities in the country have adopted 150 as the minimum cut-off mark for 2025/2026 admission.

The decision was reached in a voice vote supervised by the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, on Tuesday at the ongoing policy meeting on admission in Abuja.

At the meeting, the minimum cut-off point for admission into polytechnics was pegged at 100, while the colleges of education and agriculture adopted 100 as the entry point.

Colleges of nursing adopted 140 as the entry point for admission

The Federal Government has formally set 16 years as the minimum age for admission into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced this on Tuesday during the 2025 Policy Meeting of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board held in Abuja.

Alausa, while declaring the meeting open, emphasised that the age benchmark is now official and non-negotiable. He warned that any admission carried out outside the Central Admissions Processing System would be considered illegal.

The minister further stated that heads of institutions found culpable of admission fraud or circumventing CAPS would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.

The annual policy meeting sets guidelines for the conduct of admissions into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education for the coming academic session

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