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Teacher Abducted With Kaduna Schoolchildren Died In Captivity – Gov

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A teacher who was abducted alongside the Kuriga schoolchildren in the Chikun Local Area of Kaduna State died while in captivity.

The state governor, Senator Uba Sani, who disclosed this on Channels Television’s Sunday’s Politics programme, said all the schoolchildren abducted by the terrorists were rescued by the military in collaboration with local authorities from neighbouring Zamfara State.

The abducted Kuriga schoolchildren were taken from the Government Secondary and Primary Schools, Kuriga 1, Chikun LGA of the state, on March 7, 2024 and spent 17 days in captivity.

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Sani, however, noted with regret that the teacher could not make it alive following health complications while in captivity.

READ ALSO: N2.3bn Suit: Davido Settles With Pinnick

“It’s only one person that has not returned, and that is the teacher. That is the fact of the matter, but all of the 137 children are safely back.

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“We had the unfortunate incident that the teacher couldn’t make it because he had some complications; he was sick — that was the report we got from the military and the security agencies but the rest of the children, all of them are back with us,” he said.

Meanwhile, The PUNCH learnt that the rescued 137 schoolchildren had arrived in the state capital and were being kept in an undisclosed medical facility in the state.

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Group Commends COREN For Training Engineers In Engineering Failure, Forensic Investigation In Nigeria

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Foundation for the Development of Shira Community (FODESCO) in Shira Local Government Area of Bauchi state has commended the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) for conducting a pioneer training on Engineering Failure and Forensic Investigation (EFFI) for 50 licensed engineering practitioners across the country.

Engr. Shehu Wakili, the Chairman of the Foundation made the commendation in an interview with newsmen on Friday.

According to him, the training which was conducted by COREN in collaboration with the Nigerian Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) and the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Certified Fraud Investigators of Nigeria (CIFCFIN), was to equip engineers and professionals from academia, industry, and government MDAs with practical skills to investigate infrastructure failures and prevent recurring building collapses.

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READ ALSO: ICPC, COREN Working To Curb Quackery In Engineering — Don

He added that the training was also to build a pool of trained specialists who could investigate building collapses and other engineering failures, determine their root causes, and recommend measures to prevent recurrence, saying that the trainees would form part of a register of trained and certified forensic engineering investigators.

He further lauded COREN for the subsequent induction of its member, Engr. Abdullahi Muhammad MNSE, who among the 50 participants, hails from Bauchi state as a Chartered Engineering Forensic and Failure Investigator (CEFFI), certified by CIFCFIN.

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“FODESCO is proud of him and wishes him well in all his endeavours”, he prayed.

Wakili, also the Chairman, Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Bauchi state chapter, revealed that the training covered failure analysis, forensic investigation methodologies, risk assessment, and professional reporting.

“This initiative supports broader efforts by COREN and the National Assembly to enforce stricter building codes, identify quackery, and ensure accountability across the construction sector,” he said.

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NBS: Lagos, Rivers, Enugu Top List As States Generated N5.15trn In 2025

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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that 36 states and the FCT generated a total of ₦5.15 trillion in 2025, indicating a growth rate of 40.93 percent from ₦3.65 trillion recorded in 2024.

NBS stated on Thursday citing the Nigeria Revenue Service ( NRS) as source of its information that Lagos emerged top on the list of states with the highest revenue generation in the sum of ₦1.77 trillion.

“Followed by Rivers state ₦428.42 billion and Enugu with IGR record of ₦406.77 billion in the period referenced.”

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The. Bureau said Yobe, Ebonyi and Sokoto states reported the least revenues with ₦16.01 billion, ₦17.18 billion and ₦20.48 billion, respectively.

READ ALSO: Trump Bans CNN, Others From White House Coverage, Gives Reason

According to NBS, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) was the most tax revenue recorded during the period, valued at ₦2.64 trillion, representing 69.51 percent of the total tax revenue collected, while capital gains tax was the least with ₦12.40 billion while the share of total tax revenue to total IGR was 73.64 percent nationally.

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“Other states and their share of IGR are FCT – N356.34 billion, Ogun – N252.36 billion, Delta – N202.49 billion, Edo – N132.21 billion, Oyo – N103.25 billion and Kano – N102.26 billion.

“Ten other states in lowest category of IGR include Yobe – N16.01 billion, Ebonyi – N17.18 billion, Sokoto – N20.48 billion, Taraba – N28.16 billion ; Benue – N29.57 billion, Zamfara – N30.07 billion, Kebbi – N31.23 billion, Nasarawa – N32.57 billion, Adamawa – N33.76 billion andcBorno – N36.36 billion “.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Economy Grew By 3.13% In Q1 2025 — NBS

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NBS noted that the states generated their most and least revenue from taxes and other government sources. “PAYE was the dominant revenue source nationally, generating N2.64 trillion and accounting for 69.51% of total tax revenue for the year.

“Other sources included direct assessment, road taxes, stamp duties, withholding taxes and capital gains tax, which was the smallest contributor at N12.40 billion,” the Bureau stated.

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Judge Orders Trump White House To Restore Access To Banned Media Outlets

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A US federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore White House access to journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico after the three news organisations challenged their exclusion from the presidential complex.

US District Judge Timothy Kelly issued a 14-day temporary restraining order early Thursday, directing the White House to immediately return, reinstate and restore the press credentials of journalists from the three outlets.

The ruling followed a lawsuit filed on Monday by CNN, MS NOW and Politico, which challenged President Donald Trump’s decision to bar their reporters from the White House.

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Trump announced the ban on September 18, accusing the outlets of repeatedly publishing what he described as “FAKE NEWS” and negative coverage of his administration.

READ ALSO: US: White House Launches Trump TV After CNN, Others’ Ban Backfires

The three organisations argued that the administration’s action violated their First Amendment rights and deprived their journalists of due process under the Fifth Amendment.

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In his ruling, Kelly said the outlets were likely to succeed in showing that their press credentials had been revoked without constitutionally adequate due process.

The judge also rejected the administration’s argument that national security concerns justified the restrictions.

“The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds,” Kelly wrote.

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READ ALSO: Trump Bans CNN, Others From White House Coverage, Gives Reason

He also noted that Trump had focused on the outlets’ reporting when announcing the ban rather than national security concerns.

“Certainly, that is not what President Trump said when he announced that he was ‘banning’ plaintiffs from the White House—instead, he focused on the alleged lack of truthfulness and negativity of plaintiffs’ reporting,” the judge wrote.

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The administration had argued in court that access to the White House was a privilege rather than a right and that the outlets’ reporting raised concerns about national security and professionalism.

The Justice Department is expected to appeal the ruling.

READ ALSO: Trump Launches Task Force To Tackle Birth Tourism, Revokes Over 600 Visas

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Trump had previously said he would probably allow the three organisations back into the White House if a court ruled against his decision.

The dispute began when reporters from CNN, MS NOW and Politico were turned away from the White House after their press credentials were revoked.

The decision also affected the White House television pool. CNN had been scheduled to travel with Trump to New York for the United Nations General Assembly as part of the pool, but its removal led the other participating television networks to suspend the pool in solidarity.

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READ ALSO: Trump Confirms Secret Plane Swap Over Possible Iranian Missile Threat

Other media organisations also joined the legal challenge indirectly by filing a friend-of-the-court brief supporting the three outlets.

The case now moves forward with the temporary restraining order in place for 14 days. During that period, the court is expected to consider whether longer-lasting relief should be granted.

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The ruling comes as Trump faces a series of high-profile events at the White House, including his scheduled meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The administration and the three news organisations are expected to continue their legal arguments as the court considers the broader dispute over press access and the constitutional rights of journalists covering the president.

(TimeMagazine)

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