Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has welcomed Dauda Lawal, Governor of Zamfara State, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Lawal reportedly defected to the ruling party on Monday, represented by the deputy governor and members of the state executive council, with APC flags displayed at the Government House.

In a statement shared on his X account, Matawalle described the development as a significant moment in the political history of the state and the country.

He said the governor’s move to the APC would strengthen collective efforts to address challenges facing the state, particularly insecurity.

According to Matawalle, the development would also help advance the “Renewed Hope” agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“Today marks a historic moment in the political history of our state and our dear nation as we welcome a friend and brother, the Executive Governor of Zamfara State, His Excellency Dauda Lawal, into our great party, the APC,” he said.

Matawalle added that politics should be seen as a means of building unity rather than division, describing Lawal’s defection as a political reunion.

He also called on party members to unite ahead of the 2027 Nigerian general elections, expressing confidence that the party would work together to achieve victory.

“As a progressive, I will support Governor Dauda Lawal in pursuing our collective vision for a more secure and prosperous Zamfara State,” he said.

A gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of African Democratic Congress (ADC), in Oyo State, Chief Adegboyega Adegoke has raised an alarm over the destruction of his billboards in Ibadan.

Adegoke who doubles as the Aare Egbe-Omo Balogun of Ibadanland made this declaration in a statement issued in Ibadan, the state capital, on Tuesday morning.

DAILY POST reports that Adegoke recently dumped the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state and joined ADC.

The ADC chieftain said that some of his billboards had been destroyed a few hours after he joined the ADC.

He added that those who destroyed the billboards were afraid of his popularity ahead of the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state.

Adegoke, however, said that he will not be intimidated by this development.

He said, “destruction of my billboards, other illegal acts will not deter me.”

Nigerians are in serious trouble as the premium motor spirit price rose to N1,400 per liter and Automotive Gas Oil (diesel) to N1,750 after Dangote Refinery hiked its gantry fuel price to N1,175 per liter for petrol and N1,620 per liter on Monday.

DAILY POST reports that while the fuel price keeps rising, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has kept mum and done nothing to ameliorate the surge.

Presidency keeps mum

When DAILY POST reporter contacted presidential spokesperson, Sunday Dare for a response on the burgeoning fuel price, he did not reply as of the time of filing the report.

Checks by DAILY POST on Monday evening showed that Ranoil, Empire, and other filling stations in Abuja and environs have immediately raised their petrol and diesel prices to between N1,350 and N1,400 per liter, respectively.

Diesel price hits N1,750 per litre

For diesel, the price may have to go up as high as N1,750 per liter in filling stations in Abuja, up from around N1,365 per liter.

Meanwhile, MRS filling station sells fuel at N1,200 per litre.

A manager at an MRS filling station in Abuja, who preferred anonymity, told DAILY POST that its fuel price would rise to N1200 per liter from Tuesday 10th March, 2026, up from N1,092 per liter.

“From tomorrow (Tuesday) we will start selling fuel at N1200 per liter. We did not have petrol on Monday,” he told DAILY POST.

DAILY POST reports that the price of petrol has risen by N525 per liter at Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets and other filling stations before the Iran-United States-Israel war escalated on February 28, 2026.

This comes as Dangote Refinery hiked its gantry price by N376 per liter in the last ten days to N1,175 per liter as of Monday evening.

The refinery attributed the gantry price hike on Monday to global crude price volatility.

DAILY POST reports that Brent crude surged by 6.76 on a day-to-day basis to $98.86 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dropped to $88.11 per barrel after an indication emerged that United States President Donald hinted at a plan to end hostility with Iran.

Trump hints at possible end to War as WTI crude price drops

Speaking with CBN news, Trump said “I think the war is very complete, pretty much”, and said the US was “very far ahead of schedule”.

His comment has made WTI crude plunge below 90 per barrel on Monday, the first decline since the conflict in the Gulf region escalated, creating anxiety in the Strait of Hormuz waterway and shutting down refineries in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Effect of transport fare hike on Nigerians

Several transporters in Abuja confirmed to DAILY POST a transportation fare hike as a ripple effect of Dangote Refinery’s price adjustment to N1,175 and petrol retail price to a maximum of N1,400 per liter and diesel at N1,750 per liter.

Adamu Abubakar, a taxi driver plying the Deidei to Area 1 route, said he has raised his price to N1,500 per trip from N1,200.

“It is our passengers that would take the brunt of the fuel price hike,” he told DAILY POST.

Constance Onuoha, a passenger in Abuja, confirmed the transportation fare hike.

“The government needs to intervene to prevent the fare hike due to the fuel price increment from getting out of hand,” she said.

DAILY POST reports that the hikes may also impact manufacturers, as the diesel price hike may trigger a product price hike in the coming days.

Fuel, diesel, may hit N2,000 or N3,000 per liter — PETROAN

Speaking on the development, the national president of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria, Billy Gillis-Harry, said the petrol and diesel prices may surge to N2,000 and N3,000 per liter if nothing was done.

He said, “We have a Naira-for-crude deal in place. However, the policy does not impact the crude oil price on the international crude oil market.

“The policy is only saving the dollar because the volatility of the currency is dependent on imports. Dangote has increased the petrol gantry price thrice due to the market realities.

“This is why we have urged the regulators to work towards a price stability programme without regulating price,” he told DAILY POST.

Petroleum Marketers speak, explain only benefit of Dangote Refinery to Nigerians

On his part, Chinedu Ukadike, spokesperson of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Oil and Gas Suppliers Association (NOGASA), told DAILY POST exclusively that marketers would sell petrol at the price they bought from Dangote Refinery and depot owners.

“Well, we are independent marketers. Whatever we sell, we buy from Dangote Refinery and depot owners.

“The only benefit of Dangote Refinery is that there will be supply, no fuel scarcity.

“Instead of getting it at N1,200 per liter, you will be getting it at N1,800 per liter because the commodity would have been scarce,”

A financial advisor and educator, Kalu Aja, has said that the removal of the petrol subsidy would remain a strategic mistake if the savings are not directed toward critical sectors such as infrastructure, healthcare and human services.

Aja made the remark in a post on the social media platform X on Tuesday while reacting to concerns over mounting pressure on federal finances and rising debt servicing costs.

According to him, the decision to remove the subsidy would only make sense if the proceeds were transparently invested in projects that directly benefit citizens.

He alleged that the funds saved from the removal of the Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, subsidy were not being used for such purposes.

Aja accused government officials of using public resources to sustain what he described as a “fake lifestyle.”

He wrote: “The removal of the PMS subsidy remains a strategic mistake if the proceeds did not go to infrastructure, health and human service

“They removed the PMS subsidy to fund the fake lifestyle they enjoy in government.

“They are using the government to subsidise their fake lifestyle.”

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday admitted an AK-47 rifle and several naira notes as exhibits in the ongoing trial of suspects linked to the June 13, 2025, attack on Yelwata village in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik admitted the rifle as Exhibit A after the first prosecution witness, Moses Paul, a senior officer of the Nigeria Police Force Intelligence Response Unit, identified the firearm in court.

The accompanying naira notes found in the rifle were admitted as Exhibits C1 to C5, while a ballistic report confirming the weapon’s status was admitted as Exhibit B.

The Federal Government had on February 2 arraigned nine men on 57 counts of terrorism over their alleged involvement in the attack, which reportedly claimed about 150 lives.

The defendants are Ardo Lawal Mohammed Dono, Ardo Muhammadu Saidu, Alhaji Haruna Abdullahi, Yakubu Adamu, Musa Mohammed, Abubakar Adamu, Shaibu Ibrahim, Sale Mohammed and Bako Jibrin. They all pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Continuing his evidence-in-chief under questioning by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, the witness told the court that police investigation traced the crisis to the enforcement of the Benue State anti-grazing law.

According to him, the third defendant, Abdullahi, complained that his cattle and children were killed and allegedly vowed to organise a revenge attack after refusing a police invitation to resolve the dispute.

The witness further testified that the second defendant, Saidu, claimed that more than 150 cows and two of his children were killed near Yelwata and that he subsequently bought an AK-47 rifle for N1m from a man identified as Musa.

He said the investigation revealed that several community leaders, including the defendants, later held meetings in Nasarawa State, where the first defendant, Dono, allegedly directed Fulani leaders, known as Ardos, to organise and fund a coordinated attack.

Paul said Saidu later convened another meeting at his palace, where participants debated possible targets before eventually settling on Yelwata, Daudu and Udeyi, with Yelwata becoming the primary target.

He added that Abdullahi allegedly contributed N300,000 towards the operation, while Musa Mohammed contributed N200,000.

According to the witness, Abdullahi allegedly led the attack, while Saidu confessed to participating alongside five of his children, who were armed with AK-47 rifles and are still at large. He told investigators that he personally killed eight people during the assault.

Paul told the court that during the investigation, police recovered one AK-47 rifle from Saidu.

While displaying the weapon in court, he said, “The rifle has some naira notes in between because it is their belief that if you put money in an AK-47, it will answer.”

After the rifle was tendered, two defence lawyers reserved their objections while others raised none. The court subsequently admitted the firearm and the naira notes into evidence.

The witness said the rifle was later subjected to ballistic examination, and a report confirming that the weapon was recently used and functional was obtained.

However, counsel to the first defendant, Ibrahim Angulu, objected to the admissibility of the ballistic report, arguing that the witness was not the maker of the document and that it required certification as a public document.

Counsel to the second defendant aligned with the objection, while other defence lawyers reserved theirs.

In response, Oyedepo argued that the report was the original document submitted to the witness’s office during the investigation and therefore required no additional certification. After hearing both sides, the court admitted the ballistic report as evidence.

The witness also testified that Musa Mohammed, a brother of the third defendant, attended one of the planning meetings and contributed financially to the attack.

He further alleged that the eighth defendant, Shaibu Ibrahim, attended the meeting but refused to provide information to the police despite warnings.

“If the seventh and eighth defendants had given that information to the police, the police would have actively investigated, apprehended and prosecuted offenders, and could have prevented the attack,” the witness told the court.

Following the testimony, the prosecution sought to tender several statements allegedly made by the defendants during the investigation.

However, defence lawyers objected, claiming the statements were obtained under duress and in the absence of legal representation.

Justice Abdulmalik consequently ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of the statements and adjourned proceedings to March 13.

Earlier, defence counsel had accused the police of intimidating the defendants in custody and attempting to force them to make additional statements.

Angulu told the court that the first defendant complained that police officers had visited him repeatedly in custody over the past eight months to pressure him about the case.

Responding, Oyedepo denied any attempt to intimidate the defendants, stating that investigations had already been concluded. He added that officers might have visited the correctional centre only to retrieve mobile phones allegedly taken there by the defendants.