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FG, UNODC Join Forces Against Illicit Funds
The Federal Government has partnered with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against illicit financial flows, terrorism financing, and money laundering within the solid minerals sector.
This was the fallout of a meeting between the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, and UNODC officials held at the ministry headquarters in Abuja.
According to a statement issued on Monday by the media aide to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, the initiative seeks to enhance the capacity of Nigeria’s criminal justice institutions to detect, investigate and prosecute financial crimes linked to illegal mining and the financing of armed groups.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Minister in Abuja, UNODC’s Counter-Terrorism Project Coordinator, Mr. Tom Parker, commended Nigeria’s recent strides in sanitising the mining sector, particularly the establishment of the Mining Marshals, a specialised security unit drawn from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.
He said the project will be funded by the Government of Canada.
Parker, who led a team of project officers including Inneke Geysens-Bourgions and Nicole Andersen, noted that the UN agency would collaborate closely with the Ministry to ensure the successful implementation of the project.
In his response, the minister described the partnership as a major boost to the Federal Government’s ongoing reforms in the sector, especially in tackling illegal mining and associated security threats.
“We are excited about this collaboration. The support from the UNODC and the Canadian Government will further strengthen our resolve to dismantle the criminal networks profiting from our mineral wealth and using it to fund conflict and insecurity,” Alake said.
He added that the mining marshals, who have already commenced nationwide operations, were created to bypass the constitutional hurdles of establishing a new security outfit.
“When I assumed office, I saw the urgent need for a dedicated security architecture for the mining sector. I obtained presidential approval to set up the Mining Marshals under the NSCDC, and they’ve been making arrests and prosecuting offenders.
“This sends a clear message that illegal mining will no longer be tolerated,” the minister added.
The partnership comes amid growing concerns over the link between illegal mining, armed banditry, and terrorism financing in Nigeria’s resource-rich regions. Security experts and development partners have long called for a coordinated approach to addressing the opaque mineral trade, which often fuels insecurity and denies the country billions in revenue.
Alake also revealed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the deployment of satellite-based mine surveillance technology to help security agencies monitor remote mining sites in real-time and swiftly respond to illegal operations.
He said, “The new satellite monitoring system for mines to further curb malpractices and enable the security operatives to identify the location of the incident and mobilise the necessary forces to the site.”
Punchng.com
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has emerged winner of the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election in Kano state
The returning officer, Professor Muhammad Waziri of Bayero University, declared Garba Ya’u Gwarmai of the APC winner with 31,472 votes
Waziri defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Ali Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured victory in the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary election held in Kano state.
Announcing the results on Sunday morning, August 17, the returning officer (RO), Professor Muhammad Waziri from Bayero University, declared APC candidate Garba Gwarmai the winner with a total of 31,472 votes.
He defeated the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes, according to The Punch.
The supplementary poll was conducted after the initial election in the constituency was declared inconclusive. With a margin of 3,541 votes, Gwarmai’s victory marks a key win for the APC as the party continues to reinforce its influence across the state.
Meanwhile, the NNPP won the Bagwai/Shanono state assembly by-election in Kano state.
Daily Trust and Vanguard noted this update.
Announcing the result at 12:36 a.m. on Sunday, August 17, the RO for the election, Prof. Hassan Adamu Shitu, declared the NNPP candidate, Ali Hassan Kiyawa, winner with 16,198 votes, defeating the APC candidate, Ahmad Muhammad Kadamu, who polled 5,347 votes.
Former Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, has said that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is performing well but lacks an effective communication strategy to relay its achievements to Nigerians.
Aliyu made the statement on the Thursday edition of Arise Television’s ‘The Morning Show’, while reacting to the outcome of a recent public accountability session held in Kaduna.
Aliyu, reflecting on the discussions at the Kaduna Forum, said the government is facing public dissatisfaction not because it hasn’t delivered, but because it is failing to tell its own story effectively.
The ex-governor said it is proper for political leaders in the North to make demands from Tinubu’s administration since the bulk of the votes that took power came from the region.
“Let the people understand what is happening on the ground. If by what we say that 63/64 percent of the vote came from the north, it is only logical that the north will be expecting so much from the government.
“But from what we have seen so far is that the government is doing well but they do not know how to communicate very well,” he said.
News
New Twist As El-Rufai Snubs ADC, Announces Another Party To Vote In Kaduna Bye-Election [ Video Trends]
Former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, appeared to have taken a reverse from the coalition’s adopted political platform, ADC
This is as the former governor took to social media and asked the people of Zaria, Chikun to vote for another party in the Saturday, August 16 (today), bye-elections in the constituencies in Kaduna
Recall that the former governor recently visited Sokoto to canvass support for the ADC, while criticising President Bola Tinubu and the APC government.
Click to watch El-Rufai’s video here
— Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai (@elrufai) August 14, 2025
Nasir El-Rufai, the immediate past governor of Kaduna, has fueled speculations that he dumped the recently adopted coalition political platform, African Democratic Congress (ADC), as he called on the people of Chikun/Kajuru federal constituency and Zaria Kewaye and Basawa state constituency to vote for the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
However, in a dramatic turn, the former governor urged the people of Zaria and Chikun to vote for the SDP in the Saturday, August 16, by-election, a poll which was meant to test the opposition’s strength ahead of the 2027 general election.
Recall that El-Rufai defected to the SDP after dumping the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), but soon after joining the party, the SDP fell into a leadership crisis, and the former governor has been silent on his membership and allegations against him.
El-Rufai recently visited Sokoto on a mission to gather support for the ADC. He described his action as a patriotic one to rescue Nigeria from the grip of ‘nepotism’ and ‘incompetence’.
During his visit to Sokoto, the former governor attended two important events meant to sensitise the people and political stakeholders working to achieve the agenda of sacking President Tinubu and the APC in the next general election.
During his address at the event, the former governor lambasted the ruling party and called them ‘a failed, clannish, and visionless administration that has plunged Nigeria into deeper socio-economic misery’.
He declared that it was time for Nigerians to rise against the APC and accused the party of ‘broken promises and elite conspiracy’. He warned that any move to vote for the APC beyond 2027 would be a greater doom for the country.
However, in a sharp turn, the former governor, in a video posted on his social media page ahead of the by-election, urged the people in the constituencies where the poll will be held in Kaduna on Saturday, August 16, to vote for the SDP rather than the ADC he went to Sokoto to canvass for.
“I Don’t Pray My Prophecies Come To Pass” – Primate Ayodele Drops Shocking Message [VIDEO]
BREAKING: Winner Emerges In Kano Bye-Election As APC, NNPP Lock Horns
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