Mustapha Abubakar.

27/06/2025

*Photonews*

Katsina State Governor Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, joined the Muslim Ummah today in observing the two Rak’ahs of Jumu’ah prayer at a community mosque in Ikoyi, Lagos. He was accompanied by the Commissioner for Health, Musa Adamu, and other senior government officials.

The Governor’s presence at the mosque reflects his humility and strong connection with the people, regardless of location. It also reaffirms his deep commitment to spiritual values and community engagement.

By Cheif press secretary to Governor Katsina State Ibrahima Kaulaha Mohammed

27/06/2025

26/06/2025

When Travellers Become Targets

By

Kabiru Danladi Lawanti, Ph D.

The deliberate targeting and murder of innocent travellers on Nigerian roads, unprovoked, unarmed, and unaware signals the descent of our national conscience into a state of decay. Over the years this criminal activity has become normalised especially in Plateau and Benue State.

The killing of innocent travellers from Ningi, Bauchi State on the dangerous Riyom axis is still fresh in the minds of the families of the victims. These travellers were waylaid, murdered, and burned with their vehicle. Then in 2018 a group of Berom youth in Du community in Jos South local government ambushed and killed General Idris Alkali, a retired Army general passing through the area. His case is still being dragged in court.

In 2021, Muslims travellers from Ikare, Ondo State returning from an Islamic religious event organised by Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi’s home in Bauchi, were similarly attacked and after the attacked, 26 innocent travellers were lynched by these ethni-militias in Rukuba area of Jos city. To this day, no one knows the fate of the 20 or 21 criminals that unleashed this terror on innocent travellers the Plateau State government claimed they have arrested.

However, the recent massacre of an Ahmadu Bello University staff member and his family in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State raised a serious concern about our nation’s moral and security architecture. The victims, who hail from Basawa in Sabon Gari Local Government were travelling for a wedding in Quan Pan in an ABU-branded 18-seater bus. They were attacked by a mob – a criminal ethnic-militia at Mangun Community. They killed 13 passengers, some of the victims were, in a horrific manner slaughtered and the ABU-branded bus was not just burnt—it was symbolically annihilated, as if to erase any trace of their humanity.

This is not new. Even in the previous killings, the ethnic militia tried to erace any trace of their criminal activities by dismembering their victims or burying them in shallow graves. They also ditch their cars or buses they were travelling in into a pond, the way they did to General Alkali's vehicle or other vehicles discovered with that of Alkali in the Du horror pond.

As if that was not enough, yesterday again in Benue, two young people were similarly attacked and murdered in cold blood. In both cases, their only crime was their identity—real or perceived. These attacks made us to believe that they are not isolated incidents; but of an ethnic cleansing agenda – a systemic and sustained pattern that started in 1987.

If not, where else in Nigeria do we see travellers killed solely because of their ethnic or religious identity? Can anyone point to a single recorded incident—from 1914 to date—in Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Yobe, Adamawa or Borno where travellers were ambushed and murdered simply because they were "the other"? The answer, shamefully, is no.

But we have countless accounts from Taraba (Tinno, Mambilla, Takum), Plateau (Riyom, Barkin Ladi, Jos North, Mangu), Benue (Agatu, Makurdi), Southern Kaduna (Gonin Gora, Kachia, Kwoi) and Edo (Uromi) where the roads became bloodied altars. In these areas, travellers were stopped, profiled, and butchered in a manner that defies all forms of human decency. Some were burnt alive. Others were mutilated. Some were disappeared—never seen again. What is their crimes? They were targeted simply because they were MUSLIMS and Hausa-Fulani

What is happening in Plateau and Benue is not just criminality. It is barbarism cloaked in impunity. From 2002 to 2025, we may never fully know how many such travellers have met their end in this manner. Many cases are documented, with grotesque images uploaded by the killers themselves—proud, even gleeful—as they post selfies and videos on social media. Remember the Eid massacre and cannibalism by Berom youth in Jos? The ethnic cleansing on the Mambilla Plateau, in Taraba state? These are not rumours. They were reported, archived, and filed by security agencies.

It is telling that in the aftermath of the latest killings in Mangu, the Chairman of the Local Government attempted a rationalisation of the murder of Zaria wedding-bound travellers. His remarks were not just insensitive—they were dangerous. That a public official would seek to contextualise murder rather than condemn it outright speaks volumes about the ecosystem of impunity that now emboldens these crimes.

More chillingly, screenshots have emerged of individuals and groups on social media—such as Kefas Gyang Pam and the Bokkos WhatsApp group, openly celebrating these killings. In fact, the person who posted that distorted narrative in the Bokkos WhatsApp group was identified as Mador Amen, who lives in Jos. These are not anonymous actors. They are traceable. Yet, these individuals are still walking freely and instigating genocide. No official condemnation. No action.

At the root of this normalised savagery is a breakdown of state legitimacy in enforcing justice. But even deeper is the political infrastructure that incentivises silence, excuses, or even veiled support for ethnic violence. Some politicians and community leaders—whether for votes, vengeance, or victimhood—have chosen to look away or even stir the embers. When they do speak, it is often to obfuscate, not to clarify. To justify, not to prosecute.

We are witnessing the rise of ethnic militias masquerading as victims while turning highways into ex*****on sites. These are no longer communal clashes. These are organised crimes against humanity. And every day we delay accountability, we are deepening the fault lines of Nigeria’s fragile coexistence.

The President and the National Assembly must treat this as a national emergency. A full investigation into targeted killings of travellers must begin, with a special tribunal to prosecute ethnic hate crimes and highway ex*****ons. Also, the National Assembly should sanction the security agencies to monitor social media. Those who post celebratory comments or content supporting violence should be investigated under Nigeria’s anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws. Digital footprints don’t lie. It’s time to act.

Governor Nasiru El-Rufai as the Governor of Kaduna State has set a precedent. Local and community leaders who fail to condemn or, worse, excuse these atrocities must be held accountable. Federal funding and recognition should be withdrawn from LGAs that tolerate hate crimes against travellers.

This is not about Christians or Muslims. Northerners or Southerners. It is about our shared humanity and the right to travel without being profiled, maimed, or murdered. If a citizen cannot travel freely from Zaria to Jos without being ambushed and killed for who they are, then the state has failed its most basic duty: to protect life.

26/06/2025

Gwamnatin Katsina ƙarƙashin jagorancin Gwamna Mallam Dikko Umar Radda Ta bayyana gobe Juma’a a Matsayin Ranar Hutu ga ma'aikatan ta don Bikin Sabuwar Shekarar Musulunci.

Wannan dai na kunshe ne a cikin wata takardar sanarwar da ofishin Sakataren Gwamnatin jihar ya fitar.

26/06/2025

Gwamna Malam Dikko Radda Ya Taya Musliman Jihar Katsina Murnar Shigowar Sabuwar Shekarar Musulunci ta 1447 AH

Gwamnan jihar Katsina Malam Dikko Umaru Radda PhD,CON, ya miƙa saƙon murnar shigowar sabuwar shekarar musulunci ta 1447 AH ga ɗaukacin musulman jihar Katsina.

" Ina taya ƴan uwa musulmi murnar shigowar wannan sabuwar shekarar, a musulunce shigowar shekarar wadda ake ma laƙabi da Hijra abu ne mai muhimmanci domin tunawa da tarihin Hijirar fiyayyen halitta Annabi Muhammadu SAW domin ɗaukaka kalmar Allah" Cewar Gwamnan

Gwamnan ya yi kira da musulmai da suyi koyi da ayyukan alkhairin da Hijra ta ƙunsa domin samar da zaman lafiya, da haɗin kai a cikin addinin su da kuma al'adun su.

Gwamnan yace dukkanin wani cigaba yana zuwa ne a inda ake da zaman lafiya, haɗin kai, da kuma ƙaunar juna.

Daga ƙarshe ya roƙi Allah SWT da ya ya taimaki jihar Katsina da al'ummar ta, ya kuma bamu zaman lafiya.

26/06/2025

26/06/2025

Celebrating my 10th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. I could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

17/02/2025

*Radda the Game Changer Leads APC To Historic Victory in Katsina*

Ibrahima Kaulaha Mohammed

“To lead or not to lead, Radda leads indeed." This was exactly what Governor Dikko Umaru Radda encapsulated during the historic local government elections in Katsina on the 15th of February 2025. While many leaders and political actors might choose not to conduct truly democratic local government polls, Radda has shown that what makes an authentic and selfless leader is embracing democratic processes, even at the grassroots level.

At first, the news was all over the internet that the governor, alongside his wife and family members, cast their ballots at the designated Polling 010 Barebari A of Radda Ward in Charanchi local government. Of course, that might not make news to some folks, but in the real sense, that’s a leader leading by example. He started the mobilization on the need for people to exercise their franchise right from his roof. Applaudissements!

Readers? On this LG election, I started my mathematics before the elections proper, while the election was still ongoing I still had my notes handy and shortly after the State Independent Electoral Commission declared (APC) candidates as winners of the 34 local government areas of Katsina and the 361 wards councillor. I deem it expedient to share my 10 key takeaways from the elections with Katsinawa and, of course, political observers across the globe. Of particular note is how Governor Radda led APC to the historic victory.

First, Governor Radda, as the numero uno of the state, actively participated in the electoral process by voting at his designated polling unit in Charanchi Local Government. The governor’s hands-on involvement sends a strong message on the importance of civic engagement and how the governor is much more ready for grassroots democracy.

The unprecedented transition of power from one elected local government administration to another in Katsina State's history is the second takeaway in the state's democratic journey. I strongly believe this will interest political observers and advocates of good governance. This was made possible by Radda. He’s broken new ground and established lasting democratic traditions.

Now, let’s talk about the participation in the election. The massive turnout of voters across the state, including high-profile political figures such as former President Muhammadu Buhari, former governors Alhaji Ibrahim Shema and Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari, and government functionaries, validates the credibility of the electoral process. When you take a deeper look into this broad participation, you will agree that Governor Radda has built trust in the state’s democratic institutions. Every leader sees the need to exercise their franchise, not minding local, state, or national elections.

More so, the involvement of traditional rulers, district heads, and village heads in the electoral process shows Governor Radda has successfully bridged the gap between modern democratic institutions and traditional governance structures. Importantly, this integration is crucial for the acceptance and success of democratic processes at the grassroots level.



The fifth takeaway I have noted from the onset is the Governor's strong emphasis on compliance with electoral laws and regulations. This ensures primary elections were conducted ten months prior to the election proper. This, on a part, is in tandem with the Electoral Act. And politically, as the number one citizen of the state, the governor is the leader of the party, and whatever action is taken, his head will surely be called. The governor ensured that the party followed procedural foundations for democracy to stand. If you see His Excellency tomorrow and call him “Malam Due Process,” that’s never a mismatch. You have justifiable reasons for that.

Moving forward to the sixth takeaway, the peaceful and orderly nature of the elections, free from violence and disruptions, is worthy of praise. Can we see Governor Radda is a good manager? As the Chief Security Officer, his effective security management and political maturity were on display throughout the election, and it goes on like that. However, this achievement is particularly noteworthy given the security challenges faced by states in the northwest region, Katsina included.

So, a day after the election, the governor had a dialogue with the local government elections organizing committee chaired by Deputy Governor Faruk Lawal Jobe. At the meeting, Radda announced the introduction of an Inspectorate Department and the plan to appoint a Special Adviser for transparency at the local level. Well, one of the key attributes of a good leader known to me is the ability to make decisions confidently and plan ahead. Radda is not waiting until there are foul plays in the management of resources meant for the local government before setting up this watchdog committee. Also, on several occasions, the governor has given his stance on local government autonomy. One thing I am very certain about is the governor's commitment to ensuring accountability in the use of public resources, and one of the cornerstones to get that done is this. Let’s do it together with Radda.

Again, for development projects at the grassroots to reflect the community's needs and priorities. Radda, the game changer, established the Community Development Program with community-level committees. Even though this has been brought to life before the election, but certainly it will certainly aid participatory governance.

Take together the last two takeaways. During the election, there was a cohesive participation of All Progressives Congress (APC) members and the opposition parties. That’s to tell the world the election was not a one-man show. Every sane mind exercised their franchise in line with the constitutional provision. Lastly, media outlets and observers from within the country and outside were given room to freely participate in the election. I am cocksure that their recommendations and experience of the conduct of the election will further strengthen our democracy and leave Katsina in a good book.

This, therefore, takes me back to the opening phrase, “To lead or not to lead, Radda has indeed shown that effective leadership at the state level will give a helping hand to grassroots democracy and good governance. Then, only a game changer like Radda can do that. Writing a new narrative. Governor Radda owns Katsinawa more fascinating developments, and when the time is right, he’ll let them out from the “Building Your Future” agenda.

Ibrahim Kaula Mohammed is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Katsina State.