Benue State Government has suspended the Chairman and the Executive Secretary of the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board over allegations of Hajj slot manipulation and financial mismanagement.

The decision was reached by the State Executive Council, which also approved the appointment of Ahmed Adamu as the acting chairman and Adamu Babi as the acting Executive Secretary.

The acting officials are expected to manage the board’s affairs while investigations into the allegations are ongoing.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Solomon Iorpev.

According to the statement, the suspension of both officials took effect on September 21, 2026, and would last for three months.

“The suspensions follow petitions alleging misuse of the allocation of Hajj slots and mismanagement of funds.

“The petition against the Executive Secretary also alleges irregularities in the distribution of government palliatives.

“If found to be true, the allegations would amount to serious misconduct, contrary to the principles of public service, accountability, transparency and probity,” the statement read.

Iorpev explained that the suspension was necessary to facilitate an impartial and comprehensive investigation while preventing possible interference with the process.

He stressed that the decision should not be interpreted as a declaration of guilt against the suspended officials.

The affected officers were also instructed to immediately hand over all government property in their possession to the newly appointed acting officials.

“The Benue State Government, under the leadership of Governor Hyacinth Alia, reaffirms its commitment to transparency, accountability and the proper management of public resources, particularly those connected to the welfare of intending pilgrims in the state,” the statement added.

Abia State government has vowed to prosecute the perpetrators who defiled and raped five minors and one adult in the state.

It said that a 10-year-old girl who survived the rape has undergone surgery at the state’s Nchedo Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

The state government also promised that the suspect who physically assaulted a pregnant woman in the state recently would not escape the wrath of the law.

Abia State Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, made this known at Government House, Umuahia, on Monday while addressing journalists on the outcome of this week’s Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.

He disclosed that seven GBV and SGBV cases, comprising six cases of sexual violence and one case of domestic violence, were recently recorded in the state.

According to him, the cases involved five minors aged between 10 and 14 years and two adult women aged between 25 and 40 years.

He said the reported cases involved alleged defilement, rape and domestic violence against a pregnant woman.

Kanu added that the Nchedo Sexual Assault Referral Centre provided medical and other support services to survivors, including medical intervention and surgery for a 10-year-old survivor who sustained severe vaginal bleeding.

The commissioner said the cases had been documented for appropriate protection, investigation, referral and legal processes, assuring that the state government remained committed to ensuring that perpetrators of gender-based violence were brought to justice.

“This administration is committed to ensuring that perpetrators of gender-based violence are brought to justice, no matter what it takes,” Kanu said.

Kanu further said this year’s World Igbo Day, which will be hosted by Abia State, would be used to unite Ndigbo and lay wreaths for fallen Igbo legends.

Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has commended the military, Department of State Services (DSS) and local vigilantes for foiling a planned mass kidnapping in Bakori Local Government Area and neutralising 18 armed bandits.

The operation took place at about 1am on Monday, September 21, 2026, at Gidan Iyado in Kakumi Ward, according to the state Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs.

The ministry said the joint operation involved hunters, members of the Community Watch Corps and local vigilante groups, who ambushed the bandits following intelligence about a planned mass abduction for ransom.

The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasir Mua’su, said the operation was intelligence-driven and targeted a group allegedly terrorising Kakumi Ward and neighbouring communities.

“The operation was intelligence-driven. Acting on credible information about planned mass abduction for ransom by the criminal group, our forces laid ambush using operational assets and engaged the bandits.”

The commissioner identified the alleged leader of the group as Alhaji Musa Duki, a former school headmaster who reportedly became a bandit kingpin operating from Mununu Forest in Faskari Local Government Area.

Security forces recovered one G3 rifle, two AK-47 rifles, 14 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition and three motorcycles during the operation.

They also recovered two cows and 94 sheep believed to have been rustled by the criminals.

Mua’su said Governor Radda praised the security personnel for their gallantry and assured residents that operations would continue to dismantle the criminal network.

“A sustained covert operation is ongoing to track and neutralize the kingpin and dismantle his network completely. We will not relent until every forest and hideout is cleared.”

He added that the military and DSS were working to identify other members of the network, locate their hideouts and prevent further kidnapping attacks in Bakori, Faskari and neighbouring communities.

The state government described the operation as a major breakthrough in its ongoing efforts to tackle banditry and protect communities across Katsina State.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Governorship Campaign Council in Ebonyi State has demanded full disclosure of the financial details and beneficiaries of the state government’s foreign and local postgraduate scholarship programme.

Chief Emmanuel Igwe, spokesperson to the PDP governorship candidate, Chief Dr Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii, made the demand while speaking with newsmen on Sunday, following the reported departure of another batch of Ebonyi scholarship beneficiaries for the United Kingdom.

Igwe said while the initiative could contribute to human-capital development, the programme should be subjected to full public scrutiny because it is funded with taxpayers’ money.

He challenged the Ebonyi State government to publish the names of all beneficiaries, their universities, courses of study, tuition fees, accommodation costs, allowances and the total amount paid for each student.

“Let the government publish the names of the beneficiaries, the schools they attend, the courses they are studying and the exact amount paid to each institution. Ebonyians have the right to know how much public money is being committed to this programme,” Igwe said.

The spokesperson also questioned the widely circulated financial figures surrounding the scholarship programme, asking the government to provide a comprehensive breakdown rather than relying on aggregate figures.

Available reports indicate that the state government says the programme targets 1,000 beneficiaries — 300 for overseas postgraduate studies and 700 for postgraduate studies within Nigeria.

The Chairman of the Ebonyi State Scholarship Board, Chief Chaka Nweze, repeated those figures in June 2026.

The 2026 Ebonyi budget also reportedly provided N20 billion for scholarships, comprising N15 billion for foreign scholarships and N5 billion for local scholarships.

Igwe said those figures make it even more important for the government to provide citizens with a detailed account of expenditure.

He asked: “If the government says it is sponsoring 300 students abroad and 700 locally, where are the names? Which universities are they attending? What are the tuition fees? How much is being spent on accommodation and living allowances? How much has actually been released and to whom?”

According to him, the issue is not opposition to educating Ebonyi youths but the demand for transparency, accountability and value for money.

He further alleged that the scholarship programme could be vulnerable to abuse if complete records were not made public, while stressing that any allegation of financial misconduct should ultimately be tested against documentary evidence.

Igwe also dismissed suggestions that criticism of the programme amounted to opposition to human-capital development.

“Education is an investment. Nobody should oppose investment in the education of Ebonyi youths. But because it is public money, every naira must be accounted for,” he said.

The PDP spokesman said the departure of another group of scholars for Britain should therefore be an opportunity for the state government to publish comprehensive records and put the controversy over the programme to rest.

Reports published earlier this year stated that 98 beneficiaries constituted the second phase of the overseas postgraduate programme, with the government saying the scholarship covers tuition, accommodation and living expenses.

Igwe maintained that the government could easily settle the questions being raised by making the relevant documents publicly available.

“If the programme is transparent and everything is above board, publish the records and let Ebonyians see them. That is the simplest way to answer every question,” he said.

He added that Ifeanyi Chukwuma Odii supports investments that develop Ebonyi’s human capital but believes such programmes must operate under strict transparency and accountability.

The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has described the presidential ambition of Governor Seyi Makinde of the state as an escape strategy to evade probe.

APC made this declaration in a statement signed by its Publicity Secretary, Wasiu Sadare.

The governor is expected to finish his second-term tenure in May next year.

Sadare, in the latest statement issued on behalf of the APC, explained that the governor decided to run for the highest office in the country in order to create an avenue for him to escape from the country before May 29, 2027.

He said that Makinde was making all efforts to evade justice in view of many alleged cases of graft and abuse of office hanging on his neck.

The APC spokesman also alleged that the governor was planning to leave the country in January next year.

Sadare, in the statement, also alleged that the governor was contesting in order to deceive many Nigerians.

“Meanwhile, we can authoritatively inform the whole world that Makinde is only out to hoodwink Nigerians, distract the anti-graft agencies which are on his cases and also secure an escape route from the country anytime from January 1, 2027.

“We are working on the details of his plans even as relevant security agents are already on red alert because he (Makinde) will be made to answer for all his atrocities since he was sworn in as governor in May 2019.”