A 23-year-old man, Umar Auwalu, has told the Kano State High Court that he was responsible for the deaths of his uncle’s daughter, Fatima Abubakar, and her six children. While giving evidence before Justice Nasiru Saminu at High Court No. 11 on Wednesday, the defendant claimed he carried out the killings after receiving instructions from a herbalist.

According to Auwalu, a traditional healer identified as Thomas allegedly directed him to commit the act. He also claimed the herbalist gave him incense and encouraged him to continue carrying out similar crimes in the future.

The defendant also denied that the other two people standing trial with him were involved in the incident. He said Isyaku Yakubu Chobe and Yakubu Dayyabu had nothing to do with the case, adding that he only mentioned their names after he was allegedly tortured while in police custody following his arrest.

During the court session, the prosecution was led by Safiya Yalwati and Zaharaddeen Hamisu Kofar Mata. They appeared alongside police investigator Corporal Aliyu Jamilu, while the defence team also called witnesses to support its case.

After hearing from both sides, the court adjourned the matter to July 21, when the trial will continue.

The killings happened on January 17, when Fatima Abubakar and her six children were found dead inside their home in the Dorayi Chiranci community. The incident threw the area into mourning and prompted a police investigation.

Following the investigation, police arrested Auwalu, who is related to the deceased, together with two other suspects.

The three men first appeared before Magistrates’ Court No. 2 in Nomansland on February 5, 2026. They were charged with eight offences, including conspiracy, culpable homicide, robbery and rape.

After the Directorate of Public Prosecutions reviewed the case, it was transferred to the High Court in April. The suspects were arraigned again on a nine-count charge. While Auwalu admitted partial guilt, the two other defendants pleaded not guilty.

….alleges ₦200 million bribe demand by lawmakers

Former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung, has questioned how Adeniyi Adeyemi, the self-acclaimed Director-General of the alleged non-existent Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), gained access to the Presidential Villa and senior government officials.

Dalung raised the concern in a post on his 𝕏 account, where he shared a photograph showing Adeyemi alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima and other top government officials.

Reacting to the image, the former minister queried the level of access allegedly enjoyed by Adeyemi despite claims that the agency he represented did not exist.

Solomon Dalung

“What can you see? Should we also ask how the DG of the fake Federal Agency accessed the State House and enjoyed this level of proximity to the seat of power?” Dalung wrote.

His comments come after Adeyemi was arrested following a warrant issued by Justice Mohammed Umar of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Adeyemi is expected to face an eight-count charge in suit No. FHC/ABJ/CR/562/2025 bordering on alleged forgery, fraud and impersonation.

Although the case was listed for arraignment, the defendant did not appear in court despite his lawyer, Genesis Francis, announcing his appearance before the judge.

Dalung alleges ₦200 million bribe demand

In a separate development, Dalung has alleged that members of the National Assembly demanded a ₦200 million bribe from him during his first budget defence as minister under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaking in a statement reflecting on his time in office, the former minister described the incident as one of his earliest encounters with what he termed entrenched corruption within Nigeria’s public institutions.

According to Dalung, the alleged demand was made shortly after he presented the budget proposal of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development before lawmakers.

He claimed members of the committee requested ₦200 million despite the ministry having no budgetary provision for such a payment.

“I looked through the budget documents before me and replied that I had not seen any budget line titled ‘bribe.’ I told the committee that since no such provision existed in the ministry’s appropriation, I had no idea where they expected me to obtain ₦200 million,” he said.

Dalung alleged that his response effectively ended his participation in the meeting.

According to him, lawmakers subsequently excused him from the session and informed him that further discussions would continue with the ministry’s Permanent Secretary.

“They simply told me, ‘Okay, Mr Minister, you are excused. We will take it up with the Permanent Secretary,'” he recalled.

The former minister further claimed that after the incident, his involvement in subsequent budget defence exercises was significantly reduced.

He said he was thereafter only required to present a general overview of the ministry’s budget before being excused, while detailed deliberations allegedly continued behind closed doors between lawmakers and senior ministry officials.

Dalung also alleged that the practice extended beyond the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.

According to him, some ministers particularly those considered to have close ties with the Presidency allegedly complied with similar demands to facilitate the smooth passage of their budget proposals.

He argued that legislative oversight, which is constitutionally intended to ensure transparency and accountability, had in some instances been transformed into a means of personal enrichment.

Dalung maintained that when oversight responsibilities are influenced by illicit financial interests, accountability in public administration is weakened, public resources are more easily diverted, and citizens’ confidence in government institutions is eroded.

He further claimed that recurring corruption scandals involving ministries, departments and agencies have persisted partly because some institutions entrusted with oversight have allegedly become compromised.

The Kogi State Police Command has confirmed that gunmen attacked Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area on Tuesday evening, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member while candidates were writing their NECO examination.

According to a statement issued by the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Saliu Oyiza Afusat, on Wednesday, the incident occurred at about 5:25 p.m. on Tuesday.

The police spokesperson disclosed that a combined team of security operatives immediately launched a search-and-rescue operation following the attack and is currently pursuing the kidnappers.

She said one of the abducted students has already been rescued, while efforts are ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and arrest those responsible for the attack.

The statement added that the Commissioner of Police, Kogi State Command, CP Naziru Bello Kankarofi, alongside the Brigade Commander and the Kogi State Security Adviser to the Governor, was on his way to the scene to carry out an on-the-spot assessment of the situation.

The command assured residents that security agencies are committed to ensuring the safe rescue of the remaining victims and restoring calm in the area.

The police said a comprehensive statement containing further verified details would be issued as the investigation progresses.

The latest attack comes days after suspected kidnappers ambushed a funeral convoy along the Ochadamu-Ejule Road in Ofu Local Government Area on 9 July, abducting nine mourners, including two officials of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who were accompanying the remains of Deputy Corps Commander Augustine Ikwue to his hometown in Benue State.

The abductors later abandoned Mr Ikwue’s corpse near Ejule while demanding N450 million ransom for the release of the kidnapped victims.

The police said security operatives, including soldiers, vigilantes and local hunters, launched rescue operations after the attack.

The latest school abduction also comes despite recent efforts by Kogi and Benue states to strengthen security along their shared border.

Last week, the two states launched Operation Handshake Patrol, a joint policing initiative aimed at improving intelligence sharing, dismantling criminal hideouts and allowing security operatives to pursue suspects across state boundaries.

Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue said the operation was designed to tackle criminals who commit offences in one state and escape into the other, while security officials expressed optimism that the collaboration would improve patrols and reduce cross-border crimes.

Meanwhile, the latest incident has renewed concerns over attacks on schools in Kogi State.

On 10 June, suspected terrorists attacked Government Secondary School, Iluke Bunu, in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area, killing three people, including the school’s vice principal and a six-year-old child, in what the state government described as a failed attempt to abduct students.

The Kogi government later announced that security forces had killed the alleged mastermind of the attack, Kachalla Ibrahim Batijo, during a coordinated operation.

Authorities have also announced a series of security measures in recent weeks, including restrictions on motorcycle operations in parts of Kabba/Bunu, a ban on night travel on some state roads, intensified military operations and intelligence-led raids targeting suspected criminal groups.

Despite those measures, attacks by kidnappers have continued in parts of the state, particularly along major highways and in rural communities. Security agencies say operations are ongoing to rescue the remaining victims of Tuesday’s school attack and arrest those responsible.