In a major medical intervention aimed at alleviating the suffering of the less privileged, the Sani Bello Foundation, with the Graceland Healthcare Development Foundation, has successfully concluded a massive free medical outreach at the General Hospital, Kontagora. The outreach, organized to commemorate the birthday of Col. Sani Bello (Rtd) recorded a massive turnout, with medical teams screening over 3,000 patients and successfully performing surgeries on more than 600 beneficiaries. Defying insecurity to save lives Speaking on the rationale behind the event, the Vice Chairman of the Foundation, Usman Sani Bello, disclosed that the board had considered cancelling this year’s outreach…
Author: Tina George
Eight days after the harrowing invasion of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools in Papiri, Agwara Local Government Area, the parents of the victims have expressed outrage at the Niger State Government’s handling of the crisis. Converging on the school premises to compile a register of the victims, distraught parents berated Governor Umaru Mohammed Bago for describing their children as merely “missing” rather than abducted. They further accused the administration of insensitivity, noting that no government official has visited the community to sympathize with them since the incident occurred over a week ago. The aggrieved parents, many weeping and…
In a widespread disruption that rippled across the internet on Tuesday, several high-profile websites, including X (formerly known as Twitter) and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, went offline due to a technical glitch at Cloudflare, a leading provider of online infrastructure services. The outage, which began around 12:30 p.m. Nigerian time (approximately 11:30 a.m. GMT), left users unable to access affected sites, greeting them instead with error messages indicating problems on Cloudflare’s network. Many reported seeing an internal server error alert, accompanied by suggestions to refresh the page or try again shortly. Cloudflare, which plays a critical role in protecting websites from cyberattacks…
Nigeria has emerged as a hotspot for data breaches in 2025, with over 566,300 accounts compromised so far, according to cybersecurity company Surfshark latest analysis. This surge comes as global breach rates drop, underscoring the country’s vulnerability in an era of AI-driven cyber threats. Key Findings from Q3 2025 In the third quarter (July-September), 408,900 Nigerian accounts were leaked, ranking the country 16th worldwide. That’s a staggering tenfold jump from 2nd quarter of the year, where breaches occurred at just 0.3 accounts per minute, rising to 3.2 per minute in 3rd quarter. Globally, breaches totaled 90.6 million in 3rd quarter,…
As the world marks the World Day of Remembrance for road traffic victims, they World Health Organization and the United Nations have called on countries to priortize and commit to reducing road deaths by 2030. This was stated in different statements by the Director, Department of Health determinants, promotion and prevention, Dr Etienne Krug and the United Nations Secretary-General Special Enovy for Road Safety, Jean Todt. According to Krug, there is need for government ri make road safety a political priority and ensure sustained funding and advance action to achieve the goal of halving road deaths by 2030. He stated…
Stakeholders at the 2025 Niger Disability Inclusion Summit have called on the Niger State Government to urgently implement disability-friendly policies and prioritise inclusive infrastructure development, especially as it undertakes several infrastructure projects across the state. Speaking at the summit themed “Advancing Disability Inclusive Development in Niger State” and organised by Succeeding Against All Odds (SAAO), participants stressed that accessibility must become a key part of public planning, not an afterthought. Founder of SAAO, Dr Valda Itunu Martins, said the state cannot claim to be a smart city while its infrastructure remains inaccessible to persons with disabilities. “A smart city is…
The Niger State Government has partnered with the World Bank, to implement the Sustainable Urban and Rural Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (SURWASH) project aimed at expanding access to clean water and improved sanitation across the state. Speaking during a two-day validation workshop in Minna, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources and Dam Development, Akilu Musa Kuta, underscored the state’s commitment to overhauling water infrastructure. “This administration is determined to ensure every community in Niger State has access to clean water and improved sanitation. The SURWASH project is a cornerstone of our vision, and this workshop validates the…
The Adunni Foundation has announced the maiden edition of the Basic Education Torchbearers Awards (BETA), a national program aimed at honoring individuals and institutions that have contributed to Nigeria’s basic education sector. The event which is scheduled for Tuesday, October 21, at the NECA Main Hall in Alausa, Lagos, will have Professor Michael Omolewa, a professor of education and former Nigerian ambassador to UNESCO, delivering the keynote address on the theme “Education is True Independence.” Launched on Oct. 1 to coincide with Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day, BETA seeks to recognize both celebrated and unsung heroes whose efforts have shaped the…
The Young Adult Literature Prize (YALP) 2025 has announced its regional finalists, spotlighting some of Nigeria’s most promising literary voices. From over 100 submissions received nationwide, Nigerian author and journalist Ejiro Umukoro emerged as the South-South regional winner with her novel The Distortion of Hardassah. Umukoro’s selection underscores her growing influence in African literature. The Distortion of Hardassah tells the story of eleven young adults across Nigeria as they struggle with themes of identity, acceptance, and opportunity – a narrative that mirrors the realities of many young Nigerians today. The author first gained widespread attention with her debut novel, Distortion…
Nigeria can only make its manufacturing sector competitive again if it shifts to home-grown engineering and new technologies, the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria (APWEN) has declared. Speaking at the close of APWEN’s 2025 international conference in Ibadan, Engineer Adebisi Osim said local engineers must lead the country’s industrial turnaround. “The future of Nigeria’s manufacturing sector lies not in imported solutions, but in home-grown innovations driven by Nigerian engineers.” Over 500 participants, including industry leaders, policymakers and international partners, flagged a familiar set of problems which include falling productivity, dependence on imports, skills shortages, weak academia-industry links and…