The Director General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, on Tuesday led the agency’s rescue team to the scene of a train derailment along the Abuja–Kaduna rail corridor near the Idda sub-station.

A statement issued by the Head of NEMA’s Press Unit, Manzo Ezekiel, confirmed that the incident occurred shortly after 11 a.m. on August 26, 2025. While no fatalities were recorded, seven passengers sustained varying degrees of injury. They received first aid on-site before being transferred to hospital for further treatment.

The rescue operation, coordinated by NEMA, drew swift support from multiple agencies including the Nigerian military, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Immigration Service, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). Their rapid intervention ensured the smooth conduct of the emergency response.

Officials of the Ministry of Transportation, led by the Acting Permanent Secretary, were also at the scene. The ministry has launched an investigation to ascertain the cause of the derailment.

The South West Youth Alliance has dismissed as false and malicious the recent claims by African Action Congress (AAC) Presidential candidate, Mr. Omoyele Sowore, alleging that the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun, sought private meetings with him.

In a statement signed by its Director of Publicity, Adenike Ajanlekoko, the group described Sowore’s assertions as “baseless fabrications aimed at misleading the public and dragging the office of the IGP into needless controversy.”

The Alliance stressed that IGP Egbetokun never sought, requested, or pursued any private engagement with Sowore, adding that the Nigeria Police Force remains focused on pressing national security matters rather than indulging in political distractions.

“There is absolutely no cause for IGP Egbetokun to meet with a crook and serial blackmailer like Omoyele Sowore, whose notoriety is tied to forgery, misrepresentation, and the reckless theft and publication of official Nigeria Police signals,” the statement read.

The group further cautioned Sowore against attempting to blackmail credible public officers in his pursuit of political relevance, noting that “resorting to lies, forgeries, and falsehood against respected leaders will never earn him credibility among Nigerians.”

On governance, the Alliance emphasized that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is running a democratic government and not a “regime” as often mischaracterized by Sowore.

It reassured Nigerians that the administration remains firm, focused, and committed to delivering on its promises without compromising its integrity throughout its tenure.

The Nigeria Police Force has recorded major breakthroughs in its renewed offensive against violent crimes, rescuing five kidnap victims, neutralizing five suspected kidnappers, and recovering a cache of arms and ammunition in separate operations in Kebbi and Abia States.

According to a press release signed by Force Public Relations, DCP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in Kebbi State, operatives rescued three victims abducted from Sangara Village, Shanga LGA, after a fierce gun battle with kidnappers at Shanga Hills. The victims, Muhammad Nasamu Namata (25), Gide Namata (20), and Hamidu Alhaji Namani (35) were freed unhurt as the criminals fled with gunshot wounds.

In a related operation in Danko/Wasagu LGA, police on patrol in Ribah District engaged armed bandits and rescued two kidnapped herders, Tukur Bello (26) and Isyaka Abubakar (25), who were abducted while grazing cattle in Zamfara State on August 9. Both victims have since been reunited with their families.

Meanwhile, in Abia State, operatives acting on intelligence stormed a kidnappers’ hideout in Umuiku Obete Village, Ukwa West LGA. The gang, notorious for terrorizing commuters along Umuozo and Uratta roads, engaged the police in a gun duel but were overpowered, leaving five suspects neutralized. A sweep of the hideout led to the recovery of six AK-47 rifles, 335 rounds of ammunition, 14 magazines, a double-barrel gun, handsets, cutlasses, operational jackets, charms, and other items.

Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, commended the officers for their gallantry and urged them to sustain the momentum in the nationwide onslaught against kidnappers and other criminal elements. He reassured Nigerians of the Force’s commitment to safeguarding lives and property across the country.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has intensified its 2025 flood preparedness strategy with a full-scale simulation exercise in Rivers State, designed to raise community awareness and strengthen coordinated response mechanisms.

The exercise, held in Mbiama, Ahoada West Local Government Area, was supported by the Rivers State Government and featured active participation from multiple stakeholders, including the Nigerian Army, Navy, Air Force, first responders, and local volunteers.

Speaking at the event, NEMA’s Director General, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, described the exercise as a proactive step toward safeguarding lives, livelihoods, and national assets. Represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Forecasting, Dr. Onimode Abdullahi Bandele, she stressed that preparedness is the strongest defense against disasters.

“Flooding remains one of the most recurrent and devastating natural disasters in Nigeria. Beyond the loss of lives and property, it disrupts oil production and undermines the economy. The essence of this simulation exercise is not only to test our plans and protocols but also to identify gaps and strengthen our multi-agency collaboration towards building resilient communities,” she said.

In his remarks, Rivers State Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd.), represented by Secretary to the State Government, Professor Ibibia Lucky Worika, commended NEMA’s initiative and disclosed that the state government has begun the process of establishing a State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to institutionalize disaster preparedness and response.

He urged residents to remain vigilant and responsive to early warning alerts while calling on traditional rulers, faith leaders, civil society groups, and the media to serve as grassroots messengers of disaster awareness and mobilization.

Coordinating the exercise, NEMA’s Director of Search and Rescue, Air Commodore Kenneth Oyong, said the operation—code-named Exercise Iji Gbaje-Ugbo—was targeted at flood-prone communities across four local government areas of Rivers State to ensure direct engagement and practical demonstration of emergency protocols.

Responding on behalf of the communities, Chairman of Ahoada West LGA, Mr. Promise Jacob, expressed gratitude to NEMA and the Rivers State Government for bringing the sensitization programme to their doorstep, pledging residents’ cooperation in flood mitigation efforts.

The simulation featured real-time demonstrations of rescue operations, evacuation drills, and inter-agency coordination, underscoring NEMA’s commitment to building resilient communities ahead of the peak flood season.

….says it is prepared to take Government Renewed Hope to the next level

The Police Service Commission today, Monday, 25th August 2025, received a Presidential delegation led by Hadiza Bala Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy and Coordination and Head, Central Results Delivery Coordination Unit.

According to a press release on Monday, August 25th 2025, signed by the PSC Head, Press and Public Relations, Ikechukwu Ani, Ms. Usman led a strong delegation on an engagement Meeting with the leadership of the Commission to identify areas of support required for effective service delivery by the Commission.

Chairman of the Commission, DIG Hashimu Argungu (rtd) who led the Commission’s team, told the visitors that the Commission is presently faced with the twin problems of inadequate funding and unending and surreptitious attempt to hijack its mandate.

The Chairman noted that the Commission is grossly underfunded and incapable of effectively and efficiently executing its constitutional mandate of Police recruitment, promotion and discipline, adding that this anomaly is also worsened by a struggle by different and divergent interests to hijack its mandate and dilute its efficiency and effectiveness.

DIG Argungu said the Commission is committed to leverage on it’s established Policy of accountability and Transparency, to herald a Police Force ready and prepared for the 21st Century policing.

He mentioned inadequacy of staff returns from the Nigeria Police Force, institutional conflicts, limited nationwide presence, inadequate funding and public trust deficit as some of the areas of support the Commission requires from the visiting team.

According to him, “one of the key problems the Police Service Commission is facing is unnecessary interference into its Constitutional and statutory mandate” adding that the Central Result Delivery Coordination Unit should assist the Commission fence off these interlopers and ensure that the Commission is allowed to do its work.

The PSC Chairman complained on the envelope budgetary system which ” creates a ceiling in the budgeting process thereby limiting funding to the core Functions of the Commission.

DIG Argungu recommended “an independent budgeting system for the Commission that gives it the ability to submit its budget directly to the Presidency noting that ” the PSC act of 2001 Section 15(1) mandates the Commission to submit its estimate of expenditure and income during the next succeeding year, not later than 30th September in each year to the President. “

Responding, the leader of the visiting delegation, Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman pledged to work to ensure that the Commission is allowed to execute its constitutional mandate. “We will look at your mandate and will ensure you are allowed to do your work. We will de-bottleneck the problems and we will have a PSC that stands alone and not an attachment of any Ministry.

She said the objective of the working visit “is to strengthen the collaboration between the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Ministry of Police Affairs and clarify the role of PSC in the achievement of the Presidential Area on Strenghtening National Security for peace and Prosperity”.

The PSC team at the Meeting included Justice Paul Adamu Galumje, JSC retired, Honourable Commissioner representing the Judiciary, DIG Taiwo Lakanu rtd fdc, Honourable Commissioner representing the Police and Chief Onyemuchi Nnamani, Secretary to the Commission.

The South West Youth Alliance has dismissed recent claims linking the existence of the Police Officers’ Wives Association (POWA) to the tenure of the current Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun.

In a statement signed by Adenike Ajanlekoko, the group stressed that POWA had been established long before Egbetokun assumed office, describing attempts to tie its creation and collection of annual dues to his administration as “misleading and mischievous.”

According to the Alliance, the association has for years championed the welfare of police officers’ families through economic empowerment programmes for widows, community development projects, and advocacy for education and healthcare access.

The group further clarified that dues collected by POWA are strictly channelled towards the welfare of police families and managed in a transparent manner consistent with the association’s objectives.

The statement also cautioned media organisations, particularly Sahara Reporters, against what it described as repeated attempts to drag the IGP’s name into “sensational and misleading narratives,” saying such actions risk undermining public confidence in credible institutions.

The South West Youth Alliance reaffirmed its support for POWA and initiatives that safeguard the integrity of the Nigeria Police Force while advancing the welfare of its officers and their families.