Police disbursed over ₦8 million to families of deceased officers in Yobe

By: Yahaya Wakili

The Yobe state police have disbursed the sum of ₦8,075,586.30 in Group Life Assurance to 10 families and beneficiaries of deceased police officers from the command.

Presenting the cheques to the families and beneficiaries at the command’s headquarters in Damaturu, the state capital, the Commissioner of Police, CP Usman Kanfani Jibrin, psc, mspsp, sm, icm, said the scheme aimed to provide financial support to families of officers who are no longer with the force.

“No financial benefit can replace the loss of a loved one; the Group Life Assurance Scheme provides a measure of assistance to families at a particularly difficult period,” CP Jibrin said.

CP Usman Kanfani appreciated the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, PSC, NPM, for his continued commitment to the welfare of police personnel and their families.

According to CP Usman, such initiatives demonstrate the force’s recognition of the sacrifices made by the officers; he urged the beneficiaries to utilize the funds judiciously, particularly towards their welfare, education, and the future well-being of their children and dependents.

The commissioner further assured the serving personnel that the force remains committed to improving their welfare and working conditions; he tasked officers and men to remain dedicated to their duties and uphold the core values of discipline, professionalism, integrity, and service to humanity.

“The command remains committed to supporting the families of its fallen and deceased colleagues and ensuring that their sacrifices and contributions to policing and public safety are duly recognized,” CP Jibrin added.

A representative, speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, expressed profound appreciation to the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police, and all officers and personnel of the Yobe State Police Command for their support, compassion, and concern for the families of the deceased officers.

Police disbursed over ₦8 million to families of deceased officers in Yobe

2027: Invest in Peace Daily or Risk Democracy, IPCR DG Warns

…Insists Without Peace, No Food Security, No Investment, No Future

By: Michael Mike

In a stark warning ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections, the Director-General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, on Monday declared that Nigeria must stop treating peace as a seasonal intervention and start funding it like roads and power.

Speaking at the IPCR Conference Hall, Abuja, during the Institute’s 2026 International Day of Peace Commemoration Lecture, Ochogwu said the country’s democratic stability and development prospects now depend on deliberate, daily investment in peace, justice, fairness and inclusion.

The lecture coincided with the global observance of the International Day of Peace, marked annually on September 21 in accordance with a United Nations General Assembly resolution, under the 2026 UN theme “Investing in Peace for Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.”

Ochogwu said the theme marks a critical shift from viewing peace merely as the absence of war to recognising it as a continuous investment essential to national survival.

He domesticated the theme for Nigeria as “Renewed Hope Agenda: Investing in Peace for Democratic Stability – Everyday Pathways to Justice and Inclusion Ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 General Elections.”

According to him, the ballot alone will not guarantee credible polls. What happens between now and 2027 – in communities, on social media, in markets and in local government councils – will determine whether the elections are peaceful, credible and inclusive.

Ochogwu listed Nigeria’s interconnected fault lines that must be addressed urgently, including violent extremism, farmer-herder conflicts, banditry, youth restiveness, communal tensions, climate-induced competition for resources and misinformation.

He added to the list, grievances among youths and women, hate speech, weak access to justice at community level, and exclusion from the Nigerian project.

In his bluntest message, the IPCR boss warned of the economic cost of failure: “Without peace, we cannot have food security. Without peace, we cannot have quality education, healthcare, or attract investment,” he stated, noting that the absence of peace undermines development by disrupting livelihoods, weakening institutions and discouraging investment.

His prescription: treat peace infrastructure like physical infrastructure. “Every naira, every hour, every platform invested in dialogue is an investment in Nigeria’s survival,” he declared.

Ochogwu disclosed that IPCR has intensified election-related conflict prevention and will activate its national conflict telephony system to monitor and report incidents of electoral and political violence ahead of the 2027 elections, with reports to be escalated to relevant stakeholders for early intervention.

The Institute is also coordinating the National Conflict Early Warning and Early Response Platform, which connects state-level platforms to improve conflict monitoring and response.

Other measures include dialogues with political actors and traditional institutions, engagement with women and youth networks across the six geopolitical zones, and policy briefs on electoral violence mitigation.

Ochogwu, however warned that government alone cannot deliver peaceful elections. He called for a collective compact involving the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, the National Assembly, the private sector, traditional and religious leaders, civil society, the media and international development partners.

He urged the National Assembly to strengthen legislation supporting social cohesion, security agencies to deepen non-kinetic, community-centred approaches, businesses to treat peace as a business imperative, and the media to invest in peace journalism to counter hate speech and misinformation.

He charged Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to “Speak peace. Share peace. Fund peace. Teach peace.”

Also speaking, Yobe State Governor, Hon. Mai Mala Buni, said his administration has deliberately invested in Yobe’s peace architecture by strengthening early warning and response mechanisms, building residents’ capacity in conflict management, advancing peace education and dialogue, and deploying technology to counter information disorder.

Buni, represented by his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Brig. Gen. Dahiru Abdulsalam (rtd), said the interventions were targeted at “conflict entrepreneurs” who profit from instability, and reaffirmed Yobe’s alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda on durable peace, improved security and inclusive growth.

2027: Invest in Peace Daily or Risk Democracy, IPCR DG Warns

Borno: Kwaya Kusar LGA ​‌‌enrols 119 out-of-school children, rewards best teacher with N.5m

Kwaya Kusar Local Government of Borno has enrolled 119 out-of-school children in the area while rewarding the best teacher with N500, 000.

Hon. Dahiru Hamma, the chairman of the council while speaking during the event in Kwaya Kusar town on Monday said the initiative was to complement Gov. Babagana Zulum’s efforts at improving the education sector.

Hamma said that his desire was to ensure that all children in his council who are out-of-school were returned to school to benefit from the government’s investment in the education sector.

According to him, it will be unfair that with the kind of resources that the state government was investing in the education sector, some children are not in school to get the needed education to realise their dreams in life.

“What we are doing today is to take advantage of Gov Zulum’s investment in education to ensure that no child in our council is left behind.

“We are particular about what our children could become if well educated, that’s why we have taken 119 vulnerable children out of the street and enrolled them into school.

“All they need from books, bags, shoes, uniforms, writing materials, socks have been provided for them.

“So, we are working to see that all vulnerable children are taken out of the streets and enrolled into school,” he said.

On the reward to Saidu Mohammed, the best teacher in the council, the Chairman said that the gesture was to encourage him and his colleagues and to send the message that “hard work and commitment to duty pays.”

“Having considered his commitment to work and punctuality amongst others, we have selected him out of many others to be given N500, 000 as his reward.”

Hamma said while the school rewards excellence, it would not however, condone late coming and truancy amongst teachers.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in Borno, Mr Garba Zali commended Hamma for taking “this bold move to encourage our members and make teachers in the council happy.”

Zali also commended Zulum for giving cars to motivate teachers in the state while urging his members across the state to continue to put in their best.

The Emir of Biu, Alhaji Mustapha Umar-Mustapha II, represented by Alhaji Betara Aliyu, the Betara of Biu, commended the council’s efforts towards reducing out-of-school children.

“Any leader that prioritises education is a leader that understands the purpose of leadership; this is why I am commending the chairman,” Umar-Mustapha II said.

On his part, Mohammed told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he had been teaching for 25 years and had never received any award.

He said he would use the money to purchase a plot of land for building and use the remaining money to support his family.

Borno: Kwaya Kusar LGA ​‌‌enrols 119 out-of-school children, rewards best teacher with N.5m