By Suleiman Yakubu

Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago said on Wednesday that the University of Agriculture and Climate Change, Mokwa, as well as the University of Technology and Innovation, Zungeru, will soon come on board.
The governor disclosed this during the inauguration of a sixteen-member governing council of the newly established Engr. A. A. Kure University of Education at Government House, Minna.
At the event, the governor said his administration will give priority to education, described the event as historic, and thanked the members for accepting to key into the "New Niger" vision.
The governor, who assured the board members that funding has already been secured for the take-off of the university, said a committee was already in place to look at the funding necessities needed for the continuous development of the institution.
He said the university of education located in Minna will soon be transformed into a conventional one to have fields like medicine, aviation, science and technology, and climate change studied at the institution.
He said scholarships will be introduced for all students in public schools who obtain five credits, including English and mathematics at their level, to study at the university.
He also said the decision to invest heavily in the IBBU Lapai Teaching Hospital was to serve all universities within the state that are going to be offering medicine and other medical science-related courses.
Professor Mohammed Kuta Yahaya, who is the pro-Chancellor of the new university of education, said the National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved all 41 programmes submitted.
He said 14 of them will be implemented in the 2023–2024 academic session, and admission will soon commence, while others will follow subsequently.
The Pro-Chancellor said NUC has approved a 3,000 admission quota for the institution, and that has been communicated to the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) for immediate admission processes.
He said the governor's support was key to the completion of developing academic briefs for the 14 programmes.
He described Governor Bago as a visionary leader and commended his support in making their task of developing the academic briefs easy.
The sixteen-member Board Council of A.A. Kure University of Education has Prof. Kuta Yahaya as Pro-Chancellor, Professor Muhammad Aliyu Paiko as Vice-Chancellor, and Prof. Tsado Jacob as Deputy Vice-Chancellor.
Others are Dr. Garba Abdullahi as Registrar, Hajiya Hajara Kuso as Bursar, Dr. Abubakar Abdullahi as Director Academic Planning, Garba Muhammad Shambo as Librarian 1, and Maryam Suloboyi as Librarian 2.
Those who will serve as council members are Haijya Kere Ahmed, Muhammad Dattijo Usman, Barrister Abbas Bello, Hajiya Hassana Adamu, Abdullahi Lawal Maikano, Hamidu Jantabo Mu'azu, and Abdullahi Adamu Mamagi.
Appointment letters were presented to them even as the Pro-Chancellor made a symbolic presentation of the accredited programmes to the Farmer Governor.

By Suleiman Yakubu

The Minna Chief Magistrate Court number one ordered Tuesday the remand of 46-year-old Hadiza Mohammad and 46-year-old Usman Alhaji Umar for alleged kidnapping and culpable homicide.
The Presiding Chief Magistrate, Hajiya Uma Mohammed, then ordered the prosecutor, Inspector Bello Mohammed, to, within 14 days, forward the case file to the state Ministry of Justice for legal advice.
They were remanded on four counts of charges that bothered the criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, and cattle rustling laws of Niger State, as well as culpable homicide.
According to the Police First Information Report (FIR), marked MN/CR/01/2024, the three count charges were punishable under sections 3 (1) and 2 (2) of the kidnapping and cattle rustling law of Niger State 2016 and section 221 of the penal code law.
The charge sheet read in part: "On December 30, 2023, one Mohammad Mohammad of Sabon Gida Fulani camp, via Beji in Bosso Local Government Area of Niger State, reported at the Zungeru divisional police command that you Hadiza Mohammad of Sabon Gari area of Wushishi Local Government criminally conspired with others now at large.
"While armed with guns, he invaded his house, kidnapped his younger brother Alhaji Musa Mohammad and his wife Kande Mohammad to an unknown place, and collected the sum of N2.1 million through Abubakar Mohammad as ransom.
"And instead, you all went ahead and killed the said Alhaji Musa Mohammad, while Kande Mohammad managed to escape from captivity," the charge sheet added.
The police prosecutor, Inspector Bello Mohammed, further told the court that police detectives swung into action and effected the arrest of Hadiza Muhammad, and during the police investigation, one Tecno mobile phone, which was collected from the said Abubakar Mohammad, was found in your possession, which you revealed to be given to you by Usman Alhaji Umar".
When the three-count charges were read to the two defendants through an interpreter by the presiding chief magistrate, Hajiya Uma Mohammed, they all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
At this point, the prosecutor told the court that one of the charges cannot be tried by the court as the court lacks jurisdiction for the case of culpable homicide, which is capital in nature and can only be tried in a high court.
He then objected to the bail of the two defendants, said the police would forward the case file to the state ministry of justice for legal advice, and ordered the prosecutor to expedite action.
While remanding them in correctional custody, she then adjourned the case to January 17, 2024, for further hearing.