News

Hamas To Return Bodies Of Four Israeli Hostages Amid Ceasefire Deal

Published

10 months ago

February 20, 2025

Hamas is due to hand over the bodies of four hostages on Thursday, including those of the Bibas family, who have become symbols of the hostage crisis that has gripped Israel since the Gaza war broke out.

The transfer of the bodies is the first such handover of remains by Hamas since its October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.

The Palestinian militant group said the return of the bodies of Shiri Bibas, her two young boys —- Kfir and Ariel -— and a fourth captive, Oded Lifshitz, would take place in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.

Footage of their abduction, filmed and broadcast by Hamas militants during their attack on Israel, showed the mother and her sons Ariel, then four, and Kfir, just nine months old, being seized from their home near the Gaza border.

Yarden Bibas, the boys’ father and Shiri’s husband, was abducted separately on October 7, 2023, and was released from the Gaza Strip in a previous hostage-prisoner exchange on February 1.

The repatriation of their bodies is part of the first phase of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which took effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Thursday would be “a very difficult day for the State of Israel -— a heartbreaking day, a day of grief”.

Under the ceasefire’s first phase, 19 Israeli hostages have been released by militants so far in exchange for more than 1,100 Palestinian prisoners in a series of Red Cross-mediated swaps.

Of the remaining 14 Gaza hostages eligible for release under phase one, Israel says eight are dead.

The Bibas family members have become national symbols of the hostage ordeal, encapsulating the despair that has gripped the nation since the Hamas attack.

While their deaths are largely accepted as fact abroad after Hamas said they were killed in an Israeli air strike early in the war, Israel has never confirmed the claim and many remain unconvinced — including the Bibas family.

Late on Wednesday, the Israeli campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said it had been informed about the “heart-shattering” news of the deaths of the three Bibas family members.

The Bibas family said it would wait for a confirmation from official channels.

“Should we receive devastating news, it must come through the proper official channels after all identification procedures are completed,” it said in a statement late Wednesday.

Israeli authorities have not officially named any of those to be returned, but Netanyahu’s office said on Wednesday that it had received a list of the hostages whose bodies were to be handed over and that the families had been informed.

The National Forensic Medicine Institute in Tel Aviv has mobilised 10 doctors to expedite the identification process, public broadcaster Kan reported on Wednesday.

Israel and Hamas announced a deal earlier this week for the return of the remains of eight hostages in two groups this week and next, as well as the release of six living Israeli captives on Saturday.

The hostages forum named the six as Eliya Cohen, Tal Shoham, Omer Shem Tov, Omer Wenkert, Hisham al-Sayed, and Avera Mengistu.

The ceasefire in Gaza has been held despite accusations of violations on both sides.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Tuesday that talks would begin “this week” on the second phase, which is expected to lay out a more permanent end to the war.

Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP on Wednesday that Hamas was ready to free all remaining hostages held in Gaza in a single swap during phase two.

He did not clarify how many hostages were currently being held by Hamas or other militant groups.

Hamas and its allies took 251 people hostage during the attack, of whom 70 remain in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli military says are dead.

That attack resulted in the deaths of 1,211 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 48,297 people in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

News

Malami Breaks Silence On Alleged Terrorism Financing

Published

1 hour ago

December 6, 2025

Editor

A former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has broken his silence on allegations linking him to terrorism financing, dismissing the claims as baseless, misleading and politically motivated.

In a statement issued on Friday, Malami said he was compelled to respond after a publication suggested that he and several others had connections to persons described as terror suspects or alleged financiers.

Malami described the claims as “unfounded, unfair and contrary to both my record in public office and objective facts.”

The former minister stressed that he had never been accused, invited, interrogated or investigated by any security, law-enforcement or intelligence agency within or outside Nigeria for terrorism financing or any related offence.

He said: “I state clearly and unequivocally that I have never at any time been accused, invited, interrogated, investigated or charged by any security, law-enforcement, regulatory or intelligence agency—within or outside Nigeria—in respect of terrorism financing or any related offence.”

Malami noted that even the retired military officer cited as the principal source of the publication admitted that he did not accuse Malami or the other individuals of financing terrorism, but merely referenced vague “business” or “institutional” connections allegedly linked to some suspects.

He said the publication misrepresented this clarification and was politically exploited to create damaging insinuations about him.

Malami warned that normal professional or institutional engagements must not be misconstrued as evidence of supporting terrorism.

“To suggest that lawful professional or institutional engagements can be read as evidence of terrorism financing is both mischievous and unjust,” he said.

Highlighting his record, Malami listed several anti–money laundering and counter-terrorism reforms spearheaded during his tenure, including:

Establishment of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) as an independent entity

Enactment of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022

Enactment of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022

He noted that improved inter-agency coordination under these laws contributed to Nigeria’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list.

“During my tenure, I worked to strengthen—not weaken—Nigeria’s legal and institutional framework against money laundering and the financing of terrorism,” he said.

Malami urged the media to exercise caution when reporting on sensitive national security issues, warning that careless publications can damage reputations and undermine confidence in state institutions.

He reaffirmed his commitment to the rule of law and Nigeria’s international obligations, adding that he reserves the right to seek redress against any publication that misrepresents his role in the fight against terrorism financing.

News

Otuaro Pledges To Expand PAP Scholarship As Beneficiaries Bag Master’s Degrees From UK Varsities

Published

11 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Editor

Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Dr. Dennis Otuaro, has expressed his unwavering commitment to expanding the PAP scholarship scheme.

The PAP boss made the pledge at a graduation reception for nine students who were awarded foreign post-graduate scholarships by PAP in universities in the United Kingdom.

A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Igoniko Oduma, said the successful scholars are the first graduates in the offshore post-graduate scholarship deployment to UK institutions by the PAP Administrator, Dr Dennis Otuaro, for the 2024-2025 academic session.

According to the statement, they graduated from the Anglia Ruskin University, University of Dundee and The University of Law with master’s degrees in cyber security, data science and engineering, law, construction and civil engineering management, project management, and ICT.

Otuaro disclosed in the statement that 711 undergraduate and post-graduate scholarship beneficiaries are expected to graduate from universities within Nigeria this year.

According to Otuaro, the expansion of the scholarship scheme is aimed at creating more opportunities for indigent students of Niger Delta extraction to access higher education with a view to closing the human capital development gap in the region.

Otuaro said it was for this reason he deployed 3800 beneficiaries in-country in the 2024-2025 academic year, and increased the figure to 3900 in the 2025-2026 academic session with 200 for foreign scholarships.

He said under his administration, 7700 students have been so far deployed for the PAP scholarship scheme within Nigeria in less than two years.

According to him, aince he took over, he has deployed 162 students from the region for post-graduate programmes in targeted disciplines in the UK universities.

According to him, this is in conformity with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu for the Niger Delta, who has given unprecedented support to the PAP because of his sincere love for the area.

The PAP boss said, “Our decision aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR for the Niger Delta. We will continue to create more higher educational opportunities for students from indigent backgrounds in our region.

“We are also deepening the implementation of the programme’s mandate in informal education and other areas for the sustainable peace and socio-economic advancement of the region.”

Otuaro, who congratulated the master’s graduates on their successful graduation, stressed that they completed their programmes in record time which shows the seriousness they had put into their studies.

He said they have justified the Federal Government’s investment in their education with their successful graduation, and urged other beneficiaries not to be distracted in their academic pursuits.

“We congratulate these scholars on their successful graduation. It shows that they took their studies seriously. That is what we demand of every scholarship beneficiary, whether at the undergraduate or post-graduate level”, Otuaro said.

News

Okpebholo Declares Edo Business-friendly

Published

14 hours ago

December 5, 2025

Editor

Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State on Friday declared the state as Edo business-friendly environment and ready to welcome any investor to the state.

The governor spoke when he played host to members of the South – South Coalition of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (COSSCIMA).

The governor, who received his guests through the Office of the Deputy Governor, Hon. Dennis Idahosa, said his administration has provided the enabling environment for investors to promote their businesses.

The governor commended the COSSCIMA for deeming it fit to choose the stata as host to the annual general meeting of the body.

“It is not surprising that you pick the state as a choice because we have provided the enabling environment by investing in infrastructure and reducing insecurity to the barest minimum.

“So, we assured potential investors that the state is safe, secured for all to come and invest,” he stated.

Also speaking, Hon. Omoh Anabor, Commissioner for Business, Trade, and Investment, said that the state was ready to partner any firm.

Earlier in his address, President of COSSCIMA, Hon. Indutimi komonibo said, “The Edo State Governor is doing a great job.

He, however, pointed out that nonetheless reiterated, “No government can succeed without partnering with the organized private sector.”

“We seek collaboration wherever we go. We carry the emblem of national development. Investors are looking for where their business will thrive. We understand the language of the business.”

He stated that COSSCIMA membership cut across the six Chambers of Commerce that make up the South-South states of the federation.