The Jigawa State High Court No. 11, sitting in Ringim, has sentenced a 50-year-old man, Abubakar Biniya, to 10 years’ imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl.

Justice Muhammad El-Usman handed down the judgment yesterday,after finding Biniya, of Galadanchi Quarters, Ringim Local Government Area, guilty of the offence.

According to a statement issued by the Director of Information and Protocol of the Jigawa State High Court, Abbas Rufa’i Wangara, the convict committed the offence in January 2024 at Galadanchi Quarters, Ringim.

The prosecution, led by the Ministry of Justice, called six witnesses and tendered five exhibits, including a medical report, in support of the case.

Biniya testified in his defence but did not call any other witness.

The court, while sentencing him, considered his plea for leniency and the fact that he was a first-time offender.

In addition to the 10-year custodial sentence, the court ordered the convict to pay N500,000 in compensation to the victim.

The court also ordered that his name be published in the Jigawa State Sexual Offenders Register maintained by the Ministry of Justice.

It further directed that the convict be publicly shamed through radio announcements, pursuant to Section 3(2), (4) and (5) of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law No. 02 of 2021.

The court gave the parties three months within which to appeal the judgment.

The Federal Government has ruled out a return to the petrol subsidy regime, insisting that the reforms of President Bola Tinubu were necessary to save Nigeria from imminent collapse.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation SGF, Senator George Akume, made the declaration on Wednesday in Abuja at the 66th Independence Anniversary Lecture.

Akume’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yomi Odunuga, in a statement said the SGF categorically declared that; “We will not return to the ruinous petroleum subsidy regime of the past”.

He said the administration took hard decisions from the day it assumed office.

“This administration took office in 2023 and immediately took bold decisions needed to save the nation from imminent collapse. Such decisions include the removal of the petrol subsidy, unification of the foreign-exchange market, tax and other fiscal reforms, etc. These were difficult decisions, but necessary to rebuild stability and we have started enjoying the results,” he said.

Citing the World Bank, Akume said Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, up from 3.9 per cent a year earlier.

“The task before us now is to ensure that growth translates into jobs and higher incomes for all Nigerians,” he said.

The SGF said the shift to gas was cutting fuel costs. He disclosed that over 120,000 vehicles have been converted to Compressed Natural Gas CNG, with more than 400 conversion centres and 90 fuelling stations nationwide.

“This shift is cutting fuel costs for motorists and commuters. CNG buses now carry millions of passengers at fares far below those of petrol buses,” he said.

On power, Akume said the government has tackled the sector’s problems “by clearing legacy debts, increasing investment, and improving transmission and billing.”

According to him, the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway, the Abuja-Kano highway, the East-West Road, rail modernisation and port reforms would dramatically improve trade routes and the economy.

He added that the government is expanding mortgage finance to boost housing and jobs.

On agriculture, Akume said the World Bank has approved a $500 million credit for the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth (AGROW) project.

“This initiative will raise smallholder productivity, strengthen value chains, and improve food and nutrition security,” he said.

The Borno State Police Command has attributed the arrest and prosecution of five youths who wore T-shirts with #TinubuMustGo inscription to alleged drug possession.

Police Public Relations Officer in Borno, ASP Nahum Kenneth Daso, said this while reacting to the backlash which trailed the arrest.

Critics had taken to conventional and social media platforms to describe the arrest as an arbitrary clampdown on free speech.

However, in a press statement issued on Wednesday, the Command’s Spokesman dismissed the political narrative, maintaining that the suspects were apprehended over alleged thuggery, inciting public disturbance, and the possession of illicit substances.

According to the police, the five suspects, identified as Baba Aji Gremami, Mustapha Abba Yemen, Abacha Mohammed Ali, Adam Umar Gubio, and Abdulhamid Mohammed, were arrested on September 25, 2026, at approximately 6:00 p.m.

Daso stated that the arrest was made by officers on a routine township patrol around the West-end roundabout “after the suspects engaged in conduct deemed capable of causing a public breach of peace”.

He listed the items recovered from the suspects during the operation as 15 wraps of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, 100 tablets suspected to be D5, one shisha pot, a pair of scissors, and the two T-shirts bearing the “Tinubu Must Go” inscription.

The police spokesperson said preliminary investigations were conducted, statements were obtained, and the suspects were subsequently charged to court.

“The command wishes to categorically state that the Nigeria Police Force is a professional, non-partisan institution and does not discriminate against persons on the basis of political affiliation or viewpoint,” ASP Daso stated.

“The command remains committed to the protection of fundamental human rights, the rule of law, due process, accountability, and transparency in the discharge of its responsibilities.”

The police added that bringing the matter before a court of law was necessary to allow the judicial process to take its natural course.

The Command urged members of the public to rely on verified information rather than unconfirmed narratives, allowing the court to determine the outcome based strictly on facts and evidence.

Based on the Police First Information Report (FIR), they were charged with criminal conspiracy, inciting disturbance, disturbance of public peace, and thuggery—offences the prosecution argued run contrary to Sections 60, 78, 79, and 392 of the Borno State Penal Code.

However, their legal counsel subsequently moved a bail application. The presiding judge adjourned the matter to October 6, 2026, for a ruling on bail, while the substantive trial was slated for October 26, 2026.

With the case now before a court of law, legal and public attention would be shift to the judiciary to resolve the conflicting accounts surrounding the incident.