News
EU to invest €5.4 million euros on teachers’ training
EU to invest €5.4 million euros on teachers’ training
…reiterates commitment to quality education in Northwest Nigeria
By: Michael Mike
The European Union (EU) has announced the investment of an additional €5.4 million euros in building the capacity of teachers in the Northwest.
This is in line with its commitment of reducing the high number of out of school children in the region by improving access to quality education and empowering youths in the region,
EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen made the disclosure in Abuja at the official launch of the €4O million intervention programme on education and youth empowerment in North Western Nigeria through the Global Gateway initiative.
She disclosed that the additional fund was to ensure teachers get the necessary and upgraded skills and learning needed to nurture students armed with requisite knowledge to become an army of solutions to the many challenges confronting Nigeria and the continent in general.
The EU Commissioner said: “Actually, this component is complemented by a €5.4 million euros separate programme that we signed today, which is dedicated to teachers for aiming to build their resilience and capacity in challenging environments. We have to remember that there is no education without teachers and that’s why we also have to invest in teacher training.
“The third objective of our programme is really that it empowers youth with the skills they need, providing vocational education as promoting behavioral change campaigns to challenge harmful social norms and empower girls.
Urpilainen also added that the European Union was set to provide vocational education and training for Nigerian youths in order to equip them with the necessary skills required to excel in the labour market.
She said: “This ambitious programme launched today has been designed with Nigerian authorities to ensure the ownership and an adequate response to the local needs. The EU is not only targeting the youth through this specific programme, it is also bringing the youth to the driving seat and this is why as the EU, we set up the Youth Sounding Board, also here in Nigeria, as well as in many countries to make sure that what we do is for the youth but also by the youth.
“We have to include young people in the decision making, we have to create spaces and structures where young people feel that they are visible and they watch this and this is precisely what the European Union is doing.”

Urpilainen while noting that Nigeria was not only the economic powerhouse on the continent and the most populous country in Africa, but the country was also a strategic partner of the EU in the West region, described education as the most transformative sector with ability to change the fortunes of a country.
She explained that the programme would focus on lifting out of school children off the streets to get the required education, especially girls through various components aimed at achieving one objective; access to quality education and youth empowerment.
She said: “Education is the most transformative sector in which we can invest and it is the cornerstone for creating resilient societies and finding solutions to the biggest challenges of our time.
“So the EU investment on access, skills and quality education and youth empowerment in Northwestern Nigeria brings actually all these different components together. It will be deployed in the Northwest Nigeria.
“The programme which we are launching today supports access to education for out of school children with a specific focus on bringing and keeping girls in schools. It also includes direct assistance to families cash, cash, transfers, social protection, income generation, gifts and indirect assistance through agricultural practices. I think it’s important that we are able to provide access to education each and every child in Nigeria so no one is left behind.
“Another talk and overall objective of our programme is that it really promotes validated teaching and learning in targeted schools. So it will support child centred medical, sexual reproductive health racial gender equality training and support community based and state level capacities to deliver on education.”
Speaking on behalf of the Northwestern states, Governor of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi while appreciating the EU for helping the region tackle the menace of out of school children, said they were committed to making education in their respective states a priority and have decided to invest heavily in the sector.
He said: “The Northwestern states have the highest population in the country, we are more disadvantaged when it comes to education so this support is coming at the right time.
“For each of us education is a priority and we have decided collectively and individually to invest in education and we are ready to change the narrative in next four years.
“This support has come at the right time and I assure you that this support will go a long way in helping us to revamp education in our various states. This intervention we will utilize in the best way possible and I assure you that the outcomes would be something commendable to improve our educational system and other aspects of social development.”
On his part, Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, warned that any attempt to downplay education would cost the country a fortune in terms of welfare and security.
” If our youths are not properly catered for, trained and empowered, we are toying with the future of the country. Not catering for them will allow poverty to grow, insecurity to foster.”
Mamman who urged state governors to focus on prioritising education and youth empowerment, disclosed that the soon to be released education sector roadmap covers same objectives of the European Union in revamping the sector.
“Our focus is shifting to basic education, out of school children, adolescent girls who needs to be trained and empowered.
“Our government is ready to commit 25% of the budget on education, all the President needs according to him is policies that will justify that budget and that is what we are working on.”
EU to invest €5.4 million euros on teachers’ training
News
Nigerian Immigration rescues 59 women, children from human trafficking in borno
Nigerian Immigration rescues 59 women, children from human trafficking in borno
By: Zagazola Makama
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has rescued 59 women and children from a human trafficking attempt from Katsina State to N’Djamena, the capital of the Republic of Chad.
The Borno State Comptroller of Immigration, Muktari Tanimu Musa, disclosed the development in Maiduguri on Tuesday, saying the victims were intercepted at Ngamboru, a border town near Nigeria’s frontier with Cameroon.
Musa said the group was travelling with a suspected trafficking agent, who allegedly lured them with promises of “good jobs” in Chad.
“After interviewing them, it became clear they were being trafficked. The agent deceived them with false employment offers. Many of the victims did not understand the risks involved,” he said.
The comptroller noted that the command had intensified surveillance along the Maiduguri–Ngala axis and was working with the Borno State Government to strengthen border security and curb the movement of trafficked persons through the corridor.
He urged Nigerians to be cautious of individuals offering foreign job opportunities, particularly those promoting so-called white-collar jobs abroad, stressing that legitimate employment opportunities exist within Nigeria.
Musa warned that traffickers often exploit victims for criminal activities, including organ harvesting, and highlighted that trafficking networks sometimes operate with local support.

“These activities are sometimes aided by community members. But recent breakthroughs came because of stronger cooperation with transport operators, drug control officers, and community leaders in Banki and Ngamboru Ngala,” he said.
He added that he had visited the border communities to meet chairmen and stakeholders, urging them to share timely intelligence with officers.
The NIS has profiled the rescued victims and will hand them over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) for further care and investigation.
Musa appealed to media organisations to support public awareness campaigns, saying, “The media play a crucial role in educating communities about the dangers of irregular migration and human trafficking. Their support is essential.”
Nigerian Immigration rescues 59 women, children from human trafficking in borno
News
Yobe police arrest 26 persons for illegal tree felling, desertification in Tarmuwa LGA
Yobe police arrest 26 persons for illegal tree felling, desertification in Tarmuwa LGA
By: Zagazola Makama
The Yobe State Police Command has arrested 26 individuals for criminal conspiracy, unlawful felling of trees, and deliberate desertification in the bush area of Garaji village, Tarmuwa Local Government Area.
According to sources the suspects, all male residents of Damaturu LGA, allegedly went into the bush on 02/02/2026 and cut down a large number of trees without the knowledge or approval of the local government authorities.
The act was described as deliberate and in violation of Yobe State laws that prohibit felling of trees to prevent desertification.
The police, acting on a complaint by Habu Mandadawa, Supervisor of the Tarmuwa Local Government Agricultural Department, visited the scene alongside members of the local vigilante group. During the operation, the officers recovered large quantities of firewood from the suspects at the scene.
The command noted that the illegal activity poses a significant environmental threat, contributing to land degradation and desert encroachment in the state.
Investigation is ongoing, and further developments will be communicated, the police said.
The police appealed to residents to report any unlawful environmental destruction to authorities to safeguard natural resources and prevent further desertification.
Yobe police arrest 26 persons for illegal tree felling, desertification in Tarmuwa LGA
News
Niger State Police rescue four kidnapped tree cutters in Kankara
Niger State Police rescue four kidnapped tree cutters in Kankara
By: Zagazola Makama
The Niger State Police Command has rescued four abducted tree cutters following a gunfight with armed bandits in Makulawa bush, Kankara Local Government Area.
According to sources the incident occurred on Feb. 3, 2026, at about 1230hrs, when police patrol teams on confidence-building patrol along Ketare–Kankara Road intercepted a group of suspected bandits hiding in the bush.
The patrol teams engaged the criminals in a sustained gun duel, forcing them to retreat into the forest. The operation led to the successful rescue of the kidnapped victims, identified as Ibrahim Dauda, 40; Yakubu Aliyu, 32; Hamisu Saidu, 23; and Aminu Garba, 22, all residents of Malumfashi Township.
The victims were safely reunited with their families, while major escape routes of the bandits were immediately blocked, and efforts to apprehend the fleeing culprits are ongoing.
The police confirmed that further developments will be communicated as the investigation continues.
Niger State Police rescue four kidnapped tree cutters in Kankara
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