The Kano Hisbah Board has demolished the “healing water site” located in Hotoron Arewa in the Kano metropolis.
Recall that the site had attracted thousands of residents and visitors from the neighbouring states, who came seeking divine or spiritual healings.
The Director General of the board, Abba Sufi, confirmed the demolition of the place to the PUNCH Online in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
The place was demolished on Monday, April 21 after we discovered that some disgruntled elements are using the place to mislead desperate patients seeking treatment,” Sufi said.
He maintained that the board would not allow some ‘undesirable elements to mislead people in the name of getting treatment for whatever ailments’.
Sufi warned Kano residents and those coming from other places to disregard what is being said about the sanctity of the place, describing it as a scam.
The Loogun of Ede in Osun State, Chief Jimoh Kabiru—recently suspended by the Timi of Ede and his chiefs—has said that the allegations of land grabbing against him are currently being investigated by the Timi-in-Council and other prominent individuals in the community.
PUNCH Online had earlier reported that the palace of the Timi of Ede on Monday announced the indefinite suspension of Kabiru from his position as Loogun.
In a statement made available to our correspondent, the palace alleged that Kabiru had shown disregard for the authority of the Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal.
However, in a response issued on Wednesday in Osogbo, Kabiru blamed mischief makers for attempting to create a rift between him and Lawal.
He also denied sponsoring any attacks on the Timi, insisting that there was no conflict between them.
“I want to state categorically that there was no time whatsoever that I, the Loogun of Loogun Ede or the Loogun Gbebi family of Loogun, mandated anybody or a group to attack or insult the revered institution of Timi of Ede. The write-up from the Loogun Gbebi family was to correct the misconception and accusation of a land grab against the Loogun on the family land at Loogun Ede.
“It is equally important to notify Ede indigenes at home and abroad, including the generality of the people, that there is no rancour or misunderstanding over land between myself and our revered royal father, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal, the Timi of Ede.
“As a guardian of our culture and tradition, I clearly understand, respect, and cherish the robust father-and-son relationship that exists between myself and our father, the Timi of Ede.
“Consequently, whatever might have been the case over the land matter is now receiving the attention of the Timi-in-Council and eminent leaders in Ede, and we are already working together to achieve an amicable resolution,” Kabiru stated in the statement.
He warned those allegedly trying to sow discord between him and the monarch to desist in the interest of peace, stability, and development in Edeland.
Kabiru also reaffirmed his commitment to working with patriotic sons and daughters of Ede to support Oba Lawal in efforts to promote and develop the community.
“We must always pursue peace because it is only in an atmosphere devoid of rancour and bitterness that progress and development can be guaranteed. And that is what I believe and stand for,” he concluded.
President Bola Tinubu is meeting the service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police at his official residence in the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.
PUNCH Online confirmed an influx of vehicles conveying heads of the Armed Forces to Tinubu’s residence this afternoon.
Wednesday’s meeting, which began at minutes past 03:00 p.m., confirms an earlier PUNCH Online’s report about plans by the President to meet with the service chiefs to discuss the rising killings in Plateau, Benue and other parts of the country.
Tinubu returned to Abuja on Monday night after spending 18 days on a working visit and retreat in Paris and London.
Several homes have been burnt, and at least 3,000 persons were displaced despite the deployment of security forces.
In Benue, at least 56 people were killed in Logo and Gbagir after twin assaults blamed on armed herders.
Multiple sources said the President was concerned by the security situation and would immediately meet with the service chiefs and the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, over the development.
On Monday, a top functionary privy to the development confirmed to PUNCH Online that the security meeting would review the rising violence and the measures to contain it.
“The President will certainly meet the service chiefs to review the security situation across the country and the flash point of Plateau, Benue and Borno.
“He has been getting security briefings while away and giving directives to the security chiefs. So, he will meet his security chiefs and ministers too,’’ he affirmed.
A trending video capturing the majestic entrance of a couple at their traditional wedding in Anambra State has taken social media by storm, drawing admiration and commentary from across the country.
The event, which marks the union of two prominent families, features Kene, daughter of billionaire businessman Obi Jackson, and the son of industrial magnate Emma Bishop Okonkwo.
The ceremony was held in grand style, befitting the stature of the families involved.
In a video shared by #shotbynobs on Instagram on Wednesday, the groom made his way into the wedding grounds clad in regal traditional attire, bearing the head of a lion on his shoulder, symbolizing strength, pride, and heritage.
His confidence and dignified gait drew applause from attendees and online viewers alike.
The bride, in an equally commanding display of cultural elegance, was carried in a golden palanquin by a group of traditionally dressed men.
She sat poised and radiant, adorned in rich attire and traditional beads, as she was ushered into the reception arena.
A trending video capturing the majestic entrance of a couple at their traditional wedding in Anambra State has taken social media by storm, drawing admiration… pic.twitter.com/IXESFgh3HV
Niger State Governor, Umar Bago, has reversed his controversial directive ordering the arrest of individuals with dreadlocks, following widespread backlash from the public and civil rights advocates.
The governor had earlier instructed security agencies to arrest anyone seen with dreadlocks across the state, linking the hairstyle to rising cult-related activities and insecurity, particularly in Minna, the state capital.
“Rascality in Minna anybody that you find with a dreadlock arrest him and barb his hair. From this moment is fire for fire. Any attempt to harass any security officer is an attempt to harass the government of Niger State,” Bago had declared during a public address.
In addition to the dreadlocks directive, Bago also announced a 12-hour daily restriction on commercial motorcycles and tricycles, banning their operations from 6pm to 6am, as part of a broader crackdown on violent crimes.
He also warned that any house found sheltering criminals or drug dealers would be demolished, emphasizing that his administration would “apply maximum force to restore order.”
The initial statements, particularly the one targeting individuals with dreadlocks, sparked intense criticism across social media and from members of the public, who accused the governor of promoting discrimination and lacking a proper grasp of effective crime-fighting strategies.
Responding to the outrage, Bago clarified his position on Wednesday during an event in Minna, where he declared the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Airport as an alternative to Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
“Yesterday, we read a riot act on hooliganism, and people misconstrued our words for people who have dreadlocks. We don’t have a problem with dreadlocks, but we have a problem with the cult here with dreadlocks. So, if you have dreadlocks and you have business, please come to Niger State,” Bago said.
He went on to describe the backlash as “media propaganda,” and reiterated that the enforcement efforts are targeted specifically at criminal groups.
He said, “We are only driving that cult that is becoming a menace in Niger State. Thank you.”
Bago maintained that law-abiding citizens are not under threat, stating the crackdown is solely aimed at criminal elements who use cult symbols, including dreadlocks, to mask their activities and evade law enforcement.
The Nigeria Premier Football League has slammed El-Kanemi Warriors with a ₦3.5 million fine, following crowd trouble during their Matchday 34 clash against Ikorodu City in Maiduguri.
The NPFL also ordered their stadium closed to fans for the rest of the season.
This was disclosed by NPFL in a post on its website on Wednesday.
This comes after El-Kanemi Warriors’ supporters were found guilty of vandalising the visiting team’s vehicle and throwing objects onto the pitch during the match, describing these actions as grave breaches of its code of conduct.
The statement reads, “El-Kanemi Warriors has been sanctioned by the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) for security breaches, including failure to ensure the sporting conduct of their supporters during the Matchday 34 fixture against Ikorodu City. The sanctions range from monetary fines to an order of the stadium to fans for the rest of the season.
“In a Summary Jurisdiction notice issued to the club following rowdy incidents before and at the end of the match in Maiduguri, the club was charged for breaches of Rules B13.52, C9 and B13:18 of the Frameworks and Rules of the NPFL. For failure to provide adequate and effective security, which resulted in unauthorised persons gaining access to restricted areas and harassing the match officials, the club was fined N1 million.
“El-Kanemi Warriors also got slammed with a N1 million fine for their supporters’ act of throwing objects onto the field of play, while another fine of N1 million was also imposed on the club for failure to ensure the proper conduct of their supporters, which resulted in damage to the away team’s vehicle.
“The club is to pay a half-million Naira compensation to Ikorodu City for damages to their vehicle. The last of the rulings on the incident is an order for the club to implement a more effective match-day security framework and crowd control measures, details of which must be submitted to the NPFL within seven working days of the date of this notice. In accordance with Rule C26, the club is required to through a written response, indicate acceptance of the ruling or elect to appear before a disciplinary panel.”
An accident involving a Honda EOd and a trailer caused considerable disruption of traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Wednesday morning, prompting swift intervention by officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps.
Trailer rams car into culvert on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Credit: Olabode Olalekan, Segun Odunayo
According to eyewitness accounts, the incident occurred when a trailer hit the Honda EOd, forcing it off the road into a nearby culvert
Trailer rams car into culvert on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Credit: Olabode Olalekan, Segun Odunayo
The damaged vehicle was subsequently dragged out of the culvert and hoisted into a towing van
Trailer rams car into culvert on Lagos-Ibadan expressway. Credit: Olabode Olalekan, Segun Odunayo
As of the time of this report, there have been no report of fatalities.
Many passengers were stranded on Wednesday at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano State, following a protest by staff members of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency over the non-implementation of the new national minimum wage.
The protest caused delays in several scheduled flights at the airport.
An airport staff member, who spoke to PUNCH Online on condition of anonymity, said the protest disrupted many flights, forcing the airport authority to cancel or delay them.
“As you know, flights are determined by weather, and NiMet is the agency providing weather information to pilots.
“So, though some flight operations are still ongoing, the protest has affected many flights,” he said.
It was gathered that many air travellers were left stranded as numerous flights experienced delays due to the protest.
The Northwest Zonal Chairman of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Employees, Timothy Meshelia, also confirmed that the protest disrupted several flights at the airport on Wednesday.
“The protesting staff are accusing the management of NiMet of failing to implement the N30,000 and N70,000 minimum wage, non-payment of staff allowances, ignoring requests to include omitted staff in past payments, and neglecting key training programmes, among other issues.
“The association has given the management one month to implement the new minimum wage or face industrial action,” he stated.
They also demanded that management take proactive measures to address the economic challenges faced by staff, including the payment of a subsistence allowance, as previously agreed with the unions.
As of the time of filing this report, officials of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, in Kano, had yet to make an official statement regarding the protest.
Equities rallied with Wall Street on Wednesday after Donald Trump said he had “no intention” of firing the head of the Federal Reserve and that eye-watering tariffs on China would be slashed drastically.
Global markets, already upended by a trade war, were battered further at the start of the week by fears the US president was looking to remove central bank boss Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates, calling him a “major loser” and “Mr. Too Late”.
Observers warned such a move would have dealt a blow to the Fed’s independence and sparked a crisis of confidence in the world’s top economy, sparking a sell-off of US assets and another global crisis.
However, Trump looked to temper those fears on Tuesday, saying: “I have no intention of firing him.”
“I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates — it’s a perfect time to lower interest rates,” he said.
“If he doesn’t, is it the end? No.”
The remarks gave a much-needed shot of relief to investors, helped by the president’s comments later indicating a more conciliatory approach to the trade war with China.
Washington has imposed tariffs of 145 per cent on a range of products from China, while Beijing has replied with 125 per cent duties on imports from the United States.
But Trump acknowledged on Tuesday that the US levies were at a “very high” level, and that this will “come down substantially”.
“They will not be anywhere near that number,” he said, but added that “it won’t be zero”.
That came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told a closed-door event in Washington that he expected a de-escalation soon in the United States’ tariff standoff with China, which he said was not sustainable.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said later, “The president and the administration are setting the stage for a deal”, noting that “the ball is moving in the right direction”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping also warned on Wednesday that tariffs and trade wars “undermine the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, hurt the multilateral trading system, and impact the world economic order”.
However, foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said later in the day that “the door for talks is wide open”.
Investors welcomed the developments from Washington with open arms.
Hong Kong surged on the back of a rally in tech firms, including Alibaba and Tencent.
Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington, Singapore, Mumbai, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok also advanced, while London, Paris and Frankfurt were also sharply higher.
Taipei jumped more than four per cent, helped by a seven per cent surge in chip titan TSMC.
However, Shanghai edged down.
Gold, which had hit a record high above $3,500 Tuesday on a rush to safety, retreated to sit around $3,300, while the dollar clawed back some of its recent losses against the pound, euro and yen.
Oil prices were also boosted by more than one per cent, having taken a recent hit by fears over the economic fallout from the tariff standoff.
The gains followed rallies of more than two per cent for all three main indexes in New York.
“While it is still early days, the mood in the market is evidently shifting and what was a strong ‘sell America’ vibe flowing through markets… has in part reversed,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone.
He added that Trump’s comments on Powell “should go some way to allaying fears of a major policy mistake”.
Investors were unmoved by the International Monetary Fund’s decision to slash its global economic growth outlook by 0.5 percentage points to 2.8 per cent this year, citing the effect of Trump’s tariff policies.
In company news, Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber, which recently bought the Dunlop brand, rose 3.7 per cent after it said it would hike tyre prices for US and Canadian cars and small trucks by up to 25 per cent.
Key figures at 0810 GMT include: Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 34,868.63 (close), Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 2.4 percent at 22,072.62 (close), Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,296.36 (close), London – FTSE 100: UP 1.4 percent at 8,445.62, Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1385 from $1.1420 on Tuesday.
Pound/dollar: DOWN $1.3305 at $1.3330, Dollar/yen: UP at 141.85 yen from 141.56 yen, Euro/pound: DOWN at 85.56 pence from 85.67 pence, West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.5 per cent at $64.63 per barrel, Brent North Sea Crude: UP 1.4 per cent at $68.41 per barrel, New York – Dow: UP 2.7 per cent at 39,186.98 (close).
The Kano State Pension Board has so far cleared over N21 billion in pension liabilities out of a total debt of N48.6 billion inherited from the previous administrations in the state.
The Executive Chairman of the Kano State pension fund trustees, Alhaji Habu Fagge made this known while addressing newsmen in Kano.
”The state the board was at the time of the current administration’s takeover was “deeply troubling.
”Pensioners suffered irregular and arbitrary deductions under the previous government, sometimes losing half of their meager monthly entitlements.
“At one point, pensioners receiving N6,000 had N3,000 deducted without explanation. We couldn’t find any clear formula for the deductions,” he said.
According to the executive chairman, the previous administration borrowed from the pension fund.
He said part of the recovery began when Governor Abba Yusuf approved deductions from the source for pension remittances, restoring regular payments and enabling the board to reach 100 per cent monthly pension disbursement.
“We inherited N48.6 billion in liabilities and also had to remit N75 billion that had been levied on local governments and some MDAs.
“Inspite of this, we’ve managed to settle N16 billion so far, with another N5 billion scheduled for disbursement soon,” Fagge said.
He praised the governor for showing empathy, noting that “even though the debt was inherited, the governor took responsibility and ensured payments were made, purely out of concern for the pensioners.”
The chairman also clarified the board’s involvement in housing projects in Bandirawo, Kwankwasiyya and Amana in the state.
Under the past government, he said,the board loaned funds for property investments, which led to legal disputes, and that following a court ruling and negotiations, 324 housing units were allocated to the pensions board as settlement.
“Those properties were in poor condition and neglected. The board opted to repurchase them at a negotiated rate of N4.5 billion, which was approved by the state government after clearance from relevant agencies,” he said.
On the issue of illegal deductions under the previous government, Fagge admitted that investigations were hindered by missing records.
“Without evidence, litigation would be fruitless and distract from our core duty—serving the pensioners,” he said.
Presently, he said, the board has over N4 billion in savings,adding that a proposal had been submitted to the Board of Trustees to use N3 billion to acquire more properties and the remaining N1.5 billion to support pensioners’ welfare.
The executive chairman then raised concerns over the rising number of retirees in the state.
“In December alone, over 4,100 new pensioners were enrolled due to mass retirements. With weekly interviews of about 200 to 300 retirees, the pressure is mounting,” he said.
In spite pf the challenges, he expressed optimism, citing recent increases in public sector salaries and upcoming mass employment plans by the state government as potential boosts to pension contributions.
“Our biggest challenge now is the surge in gratuity and pension obligations due to increased retirement benefits. But with continued reforms and support from the government, we believe we are on a sustainable path,” he said.
Describing the pension board office as a “hospital of last resort,” Fagge shared stories of desperate pensioners seeking funds for hospital bills, rent and basic sustenance.
“Our concern is the people’s concern. We are working to ensure that no pensioner is left behind. By God’s grace, we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” he added.
