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100 Days Giant Strides of Yobe Governor, Buni | By Abba Dukawa
Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Abraham Lincoln was even more graphic in underscoring the value of planning when he said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four hours sharpening the axe.”
As an observer, since Governor Mai Mala Buni
took over the affairs of Yobe State, he had unveiled his administration’s readiness to partner with North East Development Commission, local and international humanitarian organizations toward implementation of his ambitious Resettlement, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation (R3), for the people affected by insurgency to live a life of honour and dignity. To accomplish his plan named – R3, Governor Buni signed an agreement with Family Homes Funds Ltd, to construct 2, 600 housing units across the state.
The houses, comprising two-bedroom and three-bedroom bungalows, will be built at the total cost of N10, 830, 339, 654.00 with an envisaged completion period of 18 months.
Within one hundred days in office he had made a giant stride in many infrastructural developments in the state, starting from Agricultural development in the state, Buni’s administration plans to hold another “Yobe Agricultural Retreat”, the retreat aimed at assembling relevant stakeholders to re-position agriculture and move it away from its current subsistence level to a commercial enterprise.
For example, Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni directing that a bag of the NPK varieties, which sells for N10, 000.00 in the open market, be sold to farmers at the subsidized rate of N3, 000.00 and also unveiled 103 Mercy Ferguson tractors which will be deployed to the 17 local government areas to be used by farmers’ associations to boost food production in the state.
On his aspersion towards improving educational development in the state, precisely on Wednesday, June 19 this year in Damaturu, the state capital, the stakeholders in primary and secondary education gathered to proffer solutions to the emergency declared on the sector in the state. The summit birthed a working committee called the ‘Technical Committee to Revitalise Basic and Secondary Education’, which was charged with the responsibility of materialising the lofty recommendations of the education summit.
In his efforts toward sustaining the success of the education summit, the governor has already studied and approved the report, and instructed for specific course of action to be taken, including the recruitment of qualified teachers, establishment of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education schools, and an audit of teachers across the state to ascertain their competencies and determine those who need training, re-training or even deployment to other sectors as appropriate. There is justified hope that education in Yobe State will witness an outstanding uplift in the coming months and years.
On healthcare delivery as the saying goes, health is wealth; Mai Mala’s administration considers it necessary to upgrade the capacities of health institutions in the State by providing state-of-the-art medical facilities and equipments to provide the best services to the people.
Governor Buni continues to look into the welfare of healthcare providers to enhance healthcare delivery. Mala’s administration set to establish at least one functional primary Health Care Centre in each of the 178 wards of the State. Similarly, General hospitals on the course in the Local Government Headquarters where none exist to ease the burden of travelling long distances to access secondary healthcare services. His administration fast – tracked the establishment of the Contributory Health Management Agency and a Drugs and Consumables Management Agency to make the state eligible to access the basic healthcare provision fund.
The state’s economy is largely dependent on the federal allocation with very low Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). However , Governor Buni had set to change this trend of the state dependency on the monthly federal allocation. To achieve his administration’s target towards improving the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), Governor Mala Mai Buni has already provided 50 hectares of land in Potiskum for the construction of trailer park under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.
The foundation-stone-laying ceremony of the park, which will also house a mechanic village, hotels, fuel stations, among others, and projected to create over 5,000 direct jobs was performed receynty. In conjunction with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Governor Buni is building a Modern Trailer Park in Potiskum, which has the distinction of being home to the highest number of trailer trucks in the whole of the North.
The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will that will help others. Described by most people as gentle, generous, humble, trustworthy, extremely loyal and down-to-earth, Mai Mala no doubt, displayed high and esteemed leadership qualities which endeared to the people of the state. Indeed, he perfectly fitted into the postulation by John C Maxwell when he said: “Success knows your purpose in life, growing maximum potential and sowing seeds that will benefit others.
The 100 days in Yobe State have been action-packed and applause-worthy and indicate that the governor has started his journey on a very sound footing. Nevertheless, Governor Buni has gone beyond sharpening the axe in many areas of infrastructural development. He has already chopped down many trees these past 100 days.
What should be obvious by now to any perceptive observer is that Buni has devoted a large chunk of his first 100 days in office to plan, strategize and solicit broad experts counsel on government policies, planning and forethought are central to success in governance.
Residents of the Hotoro area of Kano were thrown into panic after a woman allegedly set her co-wife and two children ablaze in a late-night domestic attack.
The incident occurred on Monday night in the Mai Allo area of Hotoro, leaving four persons with varying degrees of burns.
The victims — a 28-year-old woman and her two children aged seven and three — are currently receiving treatment at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala and Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital.
Their father, who reportedly sustained injuries while attempting to rescue the victims from the inferno, is also undergoing treatment.
A relative of the family informed that they received a distress call around 3am informing them that the woman, her husband and the children had been set ablaze.
According to the source, the victim had spent less than two weeks in her matrimonial home before the attack occurred.
“She is about 28 years old. The children are from her previous marriage. They are stepchildren to the husband, who works as a tricycle rider,” the relative added.
Residents of the area described the incident as horrifying and called on security agencies to ensure justice was served.
“We are shocked by what happened. This kind of violence has no place in our community,” a resident said.
The suspect has since been taken into custody at the Mariri Police Division.
As of the time of filing this report, the Kano State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.
Crime & Court
UNIBEN killing: Edo security squad arrests 12 suspected cultists, seals initiation centres
Security operatives in Edo State have arrested 12 suspected cultists and sealed two apartments allegedly used as initiation centres during coordinated raids across parts of Benin City following the killing of a young man near the gate of the University of Benin.
The operation, code-named “Operation Flush Out Cultists and Kidnappers,” was carried out by the state’s Special Security Squad after the killing recorded on Sunday, May 10, 2026.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Monday Okpebholo, Patrick Ebojele.
According to the statement, the Chief Security Officer and Principal Security Officer to the governor led the raids conducted in Ekosodin, Isihor, Old Road off S&T Barracks, Airport Road, 19th Street Ugbowo, Ogba-Evbuodia and Evbuomore Quarters, all in Benin City.
Spokesman for the security squad, Noah Idemudia, alleged that some youth leaders within communities in the state were aiding violent crimes and harbouring criminal elements.
He said intelligence reports indicated that sophisticated weapons used in deadly attacks were often traced to communities across the state.
“Reports reaching us indicate that some persons are allegedly harbouring criminals. Intelligence reports also suggest that sophisticated weapons used in deadly attacks on citizens are allegedly sourced from communities.
“The governor is warning community leaders to maintain peace in their various communities and ensure that no unlicensed weapons are found in their possession, as they will be held liable and treated as criminals,” Idemudia said.
He, however, clarified that the 12 suspects arrested were not directly linked to the killing near the university gate.
According to him, the suspects were allegedly identified as members of different cult groups after security operatives reportedly discovered symbols, signs and other incriminating materials on them during the raids.
Idemudia added that the suspects had been handed over to the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Nigeria Police Force for profiling and further investigation.
Speaking on the properties sealed during the operation, he said one of the apartments was allegedly being used as a cult initiation centre.
He explained that operatives came under attack while attempting to arrest suspects at the location, forcing authorities to seal the premises and invite the property owner for questioning.
He added that another apartment raided allegedly contained shrines and fetish items scattered across several rooms, which investigators suspect were being used for initiation into different confraternities.
According to him, the owner of the property had also been invited for questioning by security agencies.
“The governor has warned those sponsoring cultism and violent killings in the state to desist immediately.
“Anyone found aiding criminality in Edo State will face the full weight of the law, as the state will no longer be conducive for criminal elements,” Idemudia added.
He also warned against unlawful gatherings, alleging that some cult groups were planning anniversary celebrations across the state.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday convicted and sentenced former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, to a cumulative 75 years imprisonment in absentia over a ₦33.8bn money laundering scandal linked to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects.
The trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, found Mamman guilty on all 12 counts bordering on conspiracy and money laundering filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The judge ruled that the prison terms would run consecutively, bringing the total sentence to 75 years.
Justice Omotosho held that Mamman deliberately absented himself from court on the day of judgment and during the previous adjourned sitting in a bid to frustrate the administration of justice.
He agreed with counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 empowered the court to proceed with sentencing despite the defendant’s absence.
The court consequently sentenced the former minister to seven years imprisonment each on Counts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 without an option of fine.
Mamman was also sentenced to three years imprisonment on Count 4 with an option of a ₦10m fine, and two years imprisonment on Count 5 without an option of fine.
Justice Omotosho further ordered that the sentence would commence from the date of Mamman’s arrest since he was convicted in absentia.
The judge directed security agencies within and outside Nigeria, including Interpol, to arrest the convict wherever he is found and hand him over to the Nigerian Correctional Service to serve his jail term.
The court also ordered the final forfeiture of two Abuja properties linked to the former minister, alongside various sums recovered in different currencies by anti-graft agencies.
In addition, the court ordered Mamman to refund the outstanding balance from the ₦22bn already traced to the Zungeru and Mambilla hydroelectric power projects out of the ₦33.8bn allegedly diverted.
The conviction followed a lengthy trial instituted by the EFCC, which accused Mamman of conspiring with ministry officials and private companies to divert funds earmarked for the two power projects.
Mamman was arraigned on July 11, 2024 on a 12-count charge and pleaded not guilty.
During the trial, the EFCC called 17 witnesses and tendered 43 exhibits to support its case.
Following the close of the prosecution’s case, the former minister filed a no-case submission on November 19, 2025, contending that the EFCC had failed to establish sufficient evidence against him.
However, Justice Omotosho, in a ruling delivered on December 11, 2025, dismissed the application and held that the prosecution had established a prima facie case requiring the defendant to open his defence.
The matter was subsequently adjourned for continuation of defence before Wednesday’s judgment brought the proceedings to a close.
The case, regarded as one of the most significant corruption convictions in recent years, stemmed from Mamman’s arrest and detention by the EFCC on May 10, 2021.
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