News

Scavenging Outlawed on Abuja streets, activities restricted to dumpsites

Published

10 months ago

January 18, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Scavenging Outlawed on Abuja streets, activities restricted to dumpsites

By: Michael Mike

Scavengers activities have been restricted in and around the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja to dumpsites as they have been warned against moving around either during the day or at night in the city.

The present ban followed the criminal activities of some scavengers popularly known as ‘baba nbolas’ in the area.

They have been alleged to be involved in carting away critical infrastructure especially manholes from the expressways in the city.

Parading 36 scavengers who were arrested with dangerous weapons and vandalized items, the Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Dr Olusola Odumosu, said scavengers who roam the streets of FCT, indiscriminately, perpetrate all forms of criminal activities under the guise of scavenging.

According to him, the move by the FCT Administration was necessitated by the need to nip vandalism of public infrastructure such as manhole covers, streetlights, solar panels, armoured cables, and so on, in the bud.

Items recovered from the 36 suspects include four daggers, three jack knives, two chisels, three knives, two pinches and 10 bottles of codeine syrup.

Others are 45 wraps of indian hemps, thrash bags, pieces of iron rods and narcotic drugs.

The scavengers, he explained, go about the nooks and crannies of the city and satellite towns; house-to-house, estate-to-estate, scavenging for plastics, scrap metals and irons.

He said: “But from previous arrests, interrogations and investigations, we have realised that their real business is to vandalise and remove our road infrastructure such as: manhole covers, flood drain covers, streetlights, armoured cables, rail sleepers, iron rods for bridge enforcement and the likes, which would fetch them good money.

“The public also needs to know that some ‘Baba Nbolas’ now disguise to rob innocent commuters and bystanders as they go about with dangerous weapons to attack and disposes them of their personal belongings especially at night. Our record shows that many who dared to challenge them in the past had met their untimely deaths while others are maimed in various parts of the Federal Capital Territory” he said.

Many residents of the FCT and environs, Odumosu noted, have experienced sudden disappearances of many of their household items like generators, cooking pots, stoves, pressing iron, air conditioners, compressors, car batteries, security light panels, iron drain covers and so on.

“Scavengers are major suspects to most of such disappearances and they carry out these activities whenever they notice that there is no one in sight, but not without wielding dangerous weapons in case they are busted by the house owners.

“The most vital is that many of them work as informants for armed robbers, kidnappers, hired assassins, terrorists, bandits a#nd all sorts of criminal gangs. Many families have fallen victims of kidnapping, abduction for ransom, murder, assassination and the likes because they give information about your family, the number of children you have, the types of cars you drive, where you work and by extension, keeping tabs on your movement.

“They (baba nbola) also assess and profile you through the kind of household waste products you dispose which, in most cases, reveal your status and lifestyles.

Unfortunately, and in most cases, many of us perceive these miscreants and criminals as ordinary innocent, poor Nigerians, hustling for their daily bread so they move about unchecked and unquestioned by anyone, some of us even sympathise with them, by extending alms to them, whereas, they are responsible for the various crimes happening around you.

“Owing to these revelation and credible intelligence at our disposal, it is therefore imperative that citizens and residents join hands with the corps and other security agencies to flush out these dangerous elements in the FCT by chasing scavengers away whenever you see them in front of your houses, your streets, neighbourhood or estates.

“The public should note that, although, they appear innocent, armless and vulnerable, most of them are extremely dangerous, their activities are criminal in nature and they constitute threats not only to the safety and security of lives, property and infrastructure in the FCT but to Nigeria’s national security architecture as a whole” he noted.

The commandant used the occasion to advise FCT residents to dispose their refuse properly and stop patronising the Baba Nbolas for the sake of their own safety and that of their family members.

Scavenging Outlawed on Abuja streets, activities restricted to dumpsites

News

Zulum Approves ₦1 Billion for New Agric University’s Take Off

Published

2 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Zulum Approves ₦1 Billion for New Agric University’s Take Off

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has approved ₦1 billion for the immediate commencement of the Federal University of Agriculture and Entrepreneurship in Bama.

Governor Zulum announced the donation on Monday while receiving an inter-ministerial delegation on an assessment visit to the Government House.

The team included officials from the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission, the Budget Office, and the Office of the Head of Service.

The institution was established after a bill sponsored by Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan was signed into law by the President on May 22, 2025.

Governor Zulum had previously handed over the existing Umar Ibn Ibrahim Elkanemi College of Education, Science and Technology in Bama to the federal government to facilitate a quick start of academic activities.

“I want to announce the donation of ₦1 billion for the take off of the University,” Zulum stated. “I hereby direct the Commissioner for Education to facilitate the process and identify the immediate priority areas and gaps to channel the resources.”

He explained the state’s proactive role, saying, “The federal government announced the establishment of the university, but the state has to provide the enabling environment for the immediate take off of the institution.”

“Although the institution belongs to the federal government, the services that would be rendered is for the good people of Borno State,” he added. “For me, every federal institution, especially the tertiary institutions belong to Borno State government.”

The governor also promised to construct staff quarters and provide additional support.

He commended President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, sponsor of the bill, Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan, minister of education for ensuring that the university becomes a reality.

Leader of the federal delegation, who is also the Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Hajiya Rakiya Gambo Iliyasu, reported that the team was impressed after inspecting the Bama facility.

“Your Excellency, the team went round the institution this morning and what we saw was quite encouraging,” Rakiya said. “We can tell His Excellency that the institution has everything it needs to take off.”

She confirmed that the institution is ready to begin operations and that the team would proceed with staff verification.

The event was attended by the Deputy Governor, Hon. Umar Usman Kadafur; Senator representing Borno Central, Senator Kaka Shehu Lawan, SAN; Member representing Monguno, Marte and Nganzai federal constituency, Hon. Bukar Talba; Acting Chief of Staff, Dr Babagana Malumbe; other members of the State Executive Council as well as Special Advisers.

Zulum Approves ₦1 Billion for New Agric University’s Take Off

News

45 kidnapped victims regain freedom under peace accord in Katsina

Published

5 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

45 kidnapped victims regain freedom under peace accord in Katsina

By: Zagazola Makama

Forty-five kidnapped persons have been released from captivity in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State following engagements under the Operation Safe Corridor peace accord.

The victims, comprising men and women abducted from Guga in Doguwar Dorawa Fulani settlement camp and Gidan Danmayaki villages, were freed on Monday through a negotiation channel linked to a bandit leader identified as Isiya Kwashen Garwa.

Zagazola Makama report that the victims regained freedom at about 1400hrs and were immediately received by the member representing Bakori Constituency in the Katsina State House of Assembly.

The lawmaker transferred the victims to the Comprehensive Health Centre, Bakori, where medical personnel conducted evaluations to ascertain their physical condition after prolonged captivity.

Authorities said the freed hostages have since been reunited with their families.

Security personnel and community leaders are maintaining close monitoring as part of efforts to consolidate the peace process and prevent further attacks.

45 kidnapped victims regain freedom under peace accord in Katsina

News

Propcom+, Welcome2Africa International target £5 million investments into Nigeria’s agricultural sector

Published

6 hours ago

November 18, 2025

Ochuwa Ibrahim

Propcom+, Welcome2Africa International target £5 million investments into Nigeria’s agricultural sector

The UK Government, through its climate-smart agriculture programme, Propcom+ in collaboration with Welcome2Africa International, is spearheading a Strategic Agribusiness Deal Room designed to mobilise private capital into Nigeria’s agricultural value chains while supporting inclusive, market-led economic transformation.

This initiative underscores the UK’s commitment to strengthening agribusiness value chains, fostering sustainable partnerships, and driving inclusive economic growth across Nigeria.

Positioned as a high-impact investment marketplace, the Deal Room, which will be held from November 18 to 19, 2025, in Lagos, is expected to unlock over £5 million in potential investment and trade commitments, featuring more than 20 pre-vetted, investment-ready agribusinesses.

These enterprises operate across priority sectors, including grains, cassava and starch derivatives, livestock, bioethanol, food processing, mechanisation, agri-tech, and renewable energy, all demonstrating clear growth pathways, commercial traction, and scalability.

“The Deal Room represents a strategic opportunity to accelerate private investment into Nigeria’s agrifood sector and deepen the pipeline of climate-smart, inclusive enterprises,” Olumide Ojo, Propcom+’s Strategy Director, noted.

“By connecting high-potential SMEs with investors, we aim to drive capital mobilisation that strengthens market systems, improves resilience, and expands economic opportunities for farmers, women, and rural communities.”

Echoing the investment rationale, Welcome2Africa International CEO, Bamidele Seun Owoola, reinforced the platform’s role in facilitating cross-border capital flows.

“At Welcome2Africa International, our focus is to catalyse sustainable investment into Africa’s agrifood sector. Co-hosting the Deal Room with Propcom+ presents a unique opportunity to position Nigeria’s most promising agribusinesses before global investors. This platform is fundamentally about unlocking capital and forging long-term investment partnerships that deliver shared prosperity.”

The Deal Room forms part of Propcom+’s broader mandate to strengthen Nigeria’s agricultural markets, empower SMEs, and drive low-carbon, climate-smart growth. Following the event, Propcom+ will continue to support participating enterprises through technical assistance, investor engagement, due diligence, and transaction facilitation, advancing businesses toward investment closure.

Propcom+, Welcome2Africa International target £5 million investments into Nigeria’s agricultural sector