The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has described social media as a terrorist organisation, calling on security agencies to confront its growing influence and disruptive potential.

Speaking during the 7th Executive Committee Meeting of the Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council held behind closed doors in Maiduguri, Borno State, the monarch expressed strong disapproval of the negative role social media plays in spreading falsehoods and inciting unrest.

He declared, “Social media is one terrorist organisation. Somebody can sit in the comfort of their home and formulate stories, and you will consider that it is true.

Social media is a terrorist organisation that we must deal with. Security agencies must deal with this terrorist organisation called social media.”

The Sultan also addressed the continuing violence in Plateau and other parts of the country, strongly condemning the loss of innocent lives and urging swift action from political leaders and law enforcement.

“Our coming together as traditional rulers in the North, I believe, we have more than 86 in the North. We will speak with one voice to say ‘enough is enough’ of this senseless killing of innocent people across the North and the country.

“We have released so many statements of condemnation, but how many times do we need to condemn these killings before our political leaders and security agencies stop or reduce the insecurity in the country to the barest minimum?

“We, the traditional rulers, feel bad and saddened when our people are killed by people we don’t know. It’s high time we worked harder, talked to ourselves and in a closed-door meeting, discuss it.”

“We shall advise our political leaders, they are at the helm of affairs and we will work with them,” he said.

A member of the House of Representatives from Kano State, Alhassan Kabiru Rirum, has issued a warning to local hunters from his constituency, urging them to desist from traveling to southern Nigeria with dangerous weapons.

Rirum, who represents Rano/Bunkure/Kibiya Federal Constituency, expressed concern that transporting such weapons could provoke unrest.

He made the remarks on Thursday during a condolence visit to the families of 16 hunters killed in Uromi, Edo State.

The former Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly visited Torankawa village in Bunkure Local Government Area to commiserate with the bereaved and emphasized that such movement of hunters is outdated and potentially dangerous.

According to him, “The present-day Nigeria requires people doing businesses or traditions that would not create any suspicion that might result in uncertainties.”

Rirum, a member of the Aniebonam-led faction of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), donated N5 million to support the grieving families.

He also pledged to sponsor a bill in the National Assembly to address the safety concerns surrounding local hunters and their interaction with host communities.

He stated, “Carrying dangerous Weapons and moving around with them from one end to another in this sensitive period of Insecurity in the land will surely send a bad signal and result in causing chaos, therefore, our hunters should henceforth stop it.”

Rirum recounted a recent incident involving hunters from his hometown, saying, “Just recently, over 30 of my Rano Hometown Hunters were apprehended in Ondo State, I had to personally go and see the Governor and show every evidence that they are not Criminals before he worked out for their release.”

He added, “If those people in Ondo who arrested our Rano Hunters were as senseless as those of Uromi, what do you think would have happened? The story would have been different by now.”

Also commenting on the matter, factional NNPP Chairman in Kano, Senator Masaud Jibrin Eldoguwa, said he was deeply affected by the incident but hoped it would serve as a lesson.

Eldoguwa said plans were underway to commence construction on a promised school, aimed at giving hope to the children of the slain hunters.

“The aim was to give the children of those killed hope that they are not neglected,” he said.

Meanwhile, Edo State Governor Monday Akpoholo had earlier visited the bereaved families three weeks ago, accompanied by top members of his cabinet.

He vowed that justice would be served and those behind the killings would be brought to book.

In a related move, the Kano State Government has set up a fact-finding delegation headed by Deputy Governor Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo.

The team is tasked with visiting Edo State to negotiate compensation for the victims’ families.

The Ondo State Police Command has denied that a vehicle in the convoy of Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, was responsible for the death of a seven-year-old girl, Saratu Lawal, in Akure on Thursday.

Earlier reports alleged that Saratu, a pupil of Islamiyar Arabic School in Shasha, was struck by a butter-coloured Hilux vehicle reportedly part of the First Lady’s convoy during her visit to the state.

A security source was among those who confirmed the incident.

According to one eyewitness, the tragic event occurred in Oba Ile, just before the Oba Ile Central Mosque.

“It claimed the life of the child as every effort to save her could not yield the desired result even when she was rushed to the primary healthcare in Oba Ile,” the source said.

The grieving father, Malam Lawali, a trader in the Oba Ile market, expressed his sorrow, stating he has “handed everything to God.

However, in a statement, DSP Olushola asserted that the vehicle involved in the accident did not belong to the First Lady’s convoy.

He stated that eyewitnesses and preliminary investigations indicated that a hit-and-run driver operating an unregistered white Lexus was responsible for the incident.

“A witness who observed the hit-and-run pursued the fleeing vehicle on a motorcycle immediately after the incident, which occurred around the Oba Ile area of Akure,” Olushola said.

“These accounts have been corroborated by several individuals at the scene as well as by the parents of the deceased.”

Olushola also took issue with part of SaharaReporters’ coverage, saying, “SaharaReporters inaccurately claimed the deceased girl to be 9 years old,” although the platform had reported her as seven in both its headline and story.

He further noted, “The Commissioner of Police, Ondo State Command, was personally present and met with the grieving family to ensure a full and transparent investigation.”

“At no point was the First Lady’s convoy involved in this tragedy,” Olushola maintained.

The Concerned Christian Youth Forum has voiced strong condemnation of the continued violence and killings in Benue and Plateau States, calling on the Federal Government to urgently intervene.

Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, the group’s convener, James Adama, expressed deep frustration over the persistent attacks in the North Central region, which he described as a “national tragedy.”

“We are tired of mass burials. We are tired of digging graves for our people week after week,” Adama said.

“This human carnage must stop, and the perpetrators must be brought to justice without further delay.”

According to him, the unrelenting violence has resulted in the deaths of countless innocent people, including women and children, and continues to endanger Nigeria’s unity and collective existence.

Adama further criticized what he called the Nigerian government’s sluggish response to the worsening security crisis, emphasizing the need for urgent, proactive steps to protect lives.

He appealed to security agencies to redouble their efforts in shielding vulnerable communities from ongoing attacks.

At the same time, he acknowledged the bravery of personnel already deployed in the crisis zones.

“This is not just about Benue and Plateau, it’s about the future of our nation. Every Nigerian deserves to live in peace and dignity,” Adama stated.

The forum called on faith-based organizations, civil society bodies, and international human rights groups to raise their voices against what it termed “the ongoing carnage and silent genocide” in Nigeria’s Middle Belt.

Additionally, the group urged the Federal Government to provide more humanitarian assistance and commit to rebuilding communities destroyed by violence.

The Bayelsa State High Court has finally moved to accelerate the trial of 15 domestic workers who have spent nearly six years in detention without conviction over allegations surrounding missing jewellery belonging to former First Lady, Patience Jonathan.

The defendants, arrested in 2019, have been held at the Okaka Correctional Centre in Yenagoa without bail, as their case dragged on amid consistent reports of interference in the judicial process.

SaharaReporters learned that during Thursday’s proceedings, the prosecution and defence reached a rare agreement to fast-track the case.

“The court proceeded well today, and both parties have agreed to finish the case as soon as possible, with an accelerated hearing. So victory is coming,” a source close to the defence told DAILY GAZETTE.

Throughout the years, the case has been marred by accusations of manipulation, allegedly led by Patience Jonathan’s private legal representatives, Ige Asemudara and Samuel Chinedu Maduba.

“The prosecutors are Ige Asemudara and Samuel Chinedu Maduba,” confirmed one source.

“One of them comes from Lagos while the second travels in from Port Harcourt. They’ve been handling this case from day one, presenting witnesses who come to tell lies. One witness took almost two years,” another insider recounted.

There have also been allegations that Mrs Jonathan directly instructed delays in the proceedings.

“The aim is to frustrate the process and keep these innocent people in prison as long as possible. It’s an abuse of the legal system,” a courtroom source stated.

Delay tactics reportedly included frequent health excuses, absentee witnesses, and adjournment requests.

“Sometimes, Ige Asemudara would claim he is sick or his witness has work. Other times, he just asks for long adjournments,” the source said.

The judiciary has also faced criticism. One source alleged that the presiding judge declined early bail applications, saying she preferred to hear some of the prosecution’s evidence first before making a decision.

“When the case started in 2019, they all applied for bail,” the source said. “But the judge told their lawyers to wait so she could hear some evidence. After that, she shockingly denied bail, saying the offences were capital and therefore not bailable.”

While the court denies complicity, it has stated that multiple defence counsels and cross-examinations slowed the case. It reaffirmed its commitment to timely justice.

Despite that, the accused—Williams Alami, Vincent Olabiyi, Ebuka Cosmos, John Dashe, Tamunokuro Abaku, Sahabi Lima, Emmanuel Aginwa, Erema Deborah, Precious Kingsley, Tamunosiki Achese, Salomi Wareboka, Sunday Reginald, Boma Oba, Vivian Golden, and Emeka Benson—remain in prison, entangled in a legal saga shaped by power and delay.

A deadly new militant group known as Mahmuda has emerged in North Central Nigeria, unleashing terror across rural communities, particularly those around the Kainji Lake National Park.

The group on Thursday killed over 15 vigilantes and civilians in Kemanji, a village in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State.

The group’s reach spans multiple local government areas, including Kemaanji, Tenebo, Baabete, Nuku, and Nanu in Kaiama LGA and villages within Yashikira District in Barutein LGA—all in Kwara State.

Their influence also extends to Babana and Wawa districts in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.

Sources confirm that the Mahmuda group, led by an individual whose voice note has been circulating among local communities, threatens residents, kidnaps people for ransom, and carries out deadly attacks without resistance.

“They called themselves Mahmuda group. Their leader in a voice note is threatening all the communities. They kill and kidnap victims and also demand ransom,” one source told newsmen.

Another added, “The surge of insecurity in Nigeria has been a source of concern to the citizenry because of its destructive factor to livelihood, and unfortunately, new militant groups continue to emerge and occupy the ungoverned spaces in the country.”

“With the Kainji Lake National Park left unguarded, the loggers, fishermen, and hunter groups take the opportunity and start enjoying the common good of the citizens for their personal gain.”

Initially, there were conflicts between the militants and local loggers, hunters, and vigilantes.

However, reports say that loggers eventually negotiated with the group, allowing them free access to the forest for tree harvesting, which has also become a financial lifeline for the militants.

“Currently, the community of Kainji National Park (KLNP), which includes Kaiama LGA (Kemaanji, Tenebo, Baabete, Nuku, Nanu) and Barutein LGA (villages in Yashikira District that share a border with the park), all in Kwara State, part of Babana and Wawa District in Borgu LGA in Niger State, have been under siege for years, and the world does not know what is happening to the Borgawas (Borgu people),” another source stated.

The group’s occupation dates back over five years, beginning with the expulsion of park rangers during a raid.

Originally displaced from Mokwa LGA by former Niger State Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu—who identified them as Boko Haram members—they settled in Welele, Kaiama LGA. Local and security authorities later expelled them again, prompting their relocation to a forest in Kaduna State.

From there, they reappeared in the Kainji Lake National Park, more organized and heavily armed.

“Thus, who are these new militant groups? Some people claim that the militant group came from the Benin Republic or Niger Republic.”

“This claim is also similar to a report from BBC Radio that there was an influx of militant groups to Kainji Lake National Park. Further study of them will reveal the true identity of this faceless group.”

The group has described itself as a moderate Islamist sect in a recent audiotape, identifying as a breakaway faction of Boko Haram, diverging from the Shekau-led wing.

Local recruitment is reportedly on the rise, with many community members allegedly serving as informants.

They refer to themselves as the Mahmuda Group or Mallam Group, led by a man known only as Mallam, said to be promoting Sunni jihadist ideals.

“The militant group mainly speaks Hausa. The saddened reality is that the activities of these militants, controlling a vast territory of 3,970.29 sq. km of the Nigerian state, have resulted in the community members living at the mercy and dictates of the non-state actor. Living at the mercy and dictates of the militants manifests in a number of ways.”

“First, the herders within the park pay dues (zakah) to the militants to allow them to graze their cattle. Second, the farmers to whom the militant allocates farmland within the forest also pay farming levies to the militants. Third, the militants forced the residents to work on their farm as sadaka.”

“Fourth, members of the community are kidnapped and made to pay ransom. Fifth, illegal mounting of roadblocks along the community, and regulating the social activities, particularly the sale of alcohol and all forms of smoking, and even settling disputes among the community’s members.”

“Sixth, the militants threaten the existence of herbalists that they assume are fortifying the community vigilante members to confront them. Unconfirmed reports also have it that the Mahmuda Group or Mallam Group is into illegal mining in the park environment.”

Under the guise of religious messaging, the militants organize gatherings to preach Islamic ethics while subtly encouraging disloyalty to the Nigerian state.

Community members are required to report all disputes to the group rather than recognized authorities.

“The loss of trust in the security agent to address the insecurity challenges in the area makes the vigilante group work hand in hand with the Mahmuda Group to rescue kidnapped victims from the bandits.”

“The group was able to force out all the bandits from the park area, and their collaborators within the communities were kidnapped to their place, and ransom was collected, or those judged to be more involved in the act of banditry were slaughtered.”

The fear among many locals is that such a powerful group operating with heavy weaponry must have tacit support from certain higher powers, although no one can say for sure.

“The assumption among the locals is that the militant group present in the National Park is known to the authority above, but by whom? Guess time will tell.”

“To some, it’s simply because of the sophisticated weapons in their possession, which makes it practically difficult for them to be dislodged from the national asset.”