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Ministry cracks down on land racketeers, suspends culprits indefinitely

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The Kebbi Ministry of Lands and Housing has ordered that staff involved in illegal land grabbing and selling be queried and suspended indefinitely to allow for proper investigation into the matter.
The Commissioner for the ministry, Alhaji Muhammad Dangi-Juli, made this known at a news briefing in his office in Birnin Kebbi on Thursday.
He said that land grabbing and issuance of fake documents remained a serious challenge facing the ministry in the state.
“Unscrupulous persons of land grabbing syndicate are doing as they wish with government and public lands making plot carve-out, which they sell to unsuspecting interesting persons in the state.
“Such nasty behaviour will no longer be tolerated, whoever is caught in land grabbing and speculation will face the full wrath of the law.
“The ministry of lands is prepared to take whatever action it deems necessary to stop the trend and eliminate the issue of fake letters of grant.
“I have directed the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Alhaji Abubakar Ahmad-Muhammad, to issue a quarry to any staff of the ministry found involved in the illegal act and immediately suspend same from office,” he said.
Shading more light on the incident, Ahmad-Muhammad, said that land grabbers had grossly encroached on government and public lands making series of carve-out wich they sell to innocent people.
“At Aleiro Quarters layout in Birnin Kebbi where a plot of land can cost between N30 million and N40 million or more, two land speculators were arrested for illegal land grabbing and sale.
“We are committed to exposing members of such syndicate and prosecute them before a court of law to serve as deterrent to others
“We are also on the trail of those behind the printing of letters of grant purportedly from the ministry to resemble the genuine ones issued by the ministry.
“Two persons are now in our custody, while their accomplices will also be tracked down and arrested for persecution,” the permanent secretary assured.
One of the accused persons, Nafi’u Muhammad, informed newsmen that he was not among the syndicate, saying he was an estate agent.
“I am a buyer, I don’t sell lands, I bought the lands in question at the cost of N10 million from Nasiru Ibrahim, who claimed that the land was his father’s farmland,” he said.
The second suspect, who is also the principal suspect, Nasiru Ibrahim, alleged that all what he had been doing in land commercialisation was with the connivance of some staffers of the ministry.
“Even the letters of grant deemed to be fake were signed by a staff of the ministry called Augie,” he explained.
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Transfer: Real Madrid , Cucurella Reach Verbal Agreement 

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Chelsea reliable defender, Marc Cucurella may join Spanish giant, Real Madrid before the end of the current transfer window.if information from transfer journalist, Fabrizio Romano are anything to go by.

 

Romano In a latest transfer update, said Real Madrid has reached verbal agreement to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea.

“Verbal agreement in place between all parties, player too — he’s the left back wanted by Mourinho” the update read.

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Hakimi, Vinicius Barred From Speaking Spanish At World Cup

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FIFA has come under scrutiny after several high-profile players, including Achraf Hakimi and Vinicius Junior, were discouraged from speaking Spanish during media engagements at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

 

The issue first surfaced ahead of Morocco’s Group C clash with Brazil when a Spanish-speaking journalist attempted to question Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi in Spanish.

Despite Hakimi, who grew up in Madrid and speaks the language fluently, indicating he was comfortable answering in Spanish, event officials reportedly insisted that questions be asked in English.

Hakimi attempted to reassure organizers that language would not be a barrier, but officials maintained that no Spanish translator was available for the session. A compromise was eventually reached, with the reporter asking the question in Spanish while Hakimi responded in English.

The controversy intensified during Brazil’s media session when Vinicius Junior was also interrupted while responding to a question in Spanish.

The Real Madrid forward, who is more comfortable speaking Portuguese or Spanish than English, was reportedly asked by organizers to switch languages.

Rather than continue in Spanish, Vinicius opted to answer in Portuguese before turning his attention back to Brazil’s World Cup preparations.

The incidents sparked widespread debate among journalists and fans, many of whom questioned why Spanish—a language spoken by millions across North America—was effectively restricted at a tournament being hosted largely in the United States.

According to Spanish media outlet El País, FIFA only provides Spanish-language translation services at World Cup press conferences involving Spanish-speaking nations such as Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

For all other teams, questions and answers are expected to be conducted either in English or the official language of the participating country.

The policy has generated criticism online, with many supporters arguing that multilingual communication should be encouraged at a global event like the World Cup.

The backlash was particularly strong in Vinicius’ case, as the Brazilian forward appeared visibly uncomfortable being asked to communicate in English.

The controversy overshadowed what was otherwise a highly anticipated encounter between Brazil and Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

With the issue now drawing international attention, FIFA may face increasing calls to review its media language guidelines as the tournament progresses.

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It’s Illegal’…Falana’s Bombshell Indicts Govs, FG.

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Human rights advocate, Femi Falana, has warned federal and state governments against negotiating with and rewarding terrorists.

 

According to Falana, the practice is illegal.

He stated this while delivering the keynote address at the Amnesty International Second Annual General Meeting in Abuja on June 13, 2026.

Falana claimed it is public knowledge officials of the Federal Government and some State Governments have been holding meetings and negotiating with terrorists and bandits, which has led to thousands of ‘repentant’ criminals being forgiven and given cash gifts of undisclosed sums of money.

Asserting that the “satanic Boko Haram sect and similar bodies have been proscribed” under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, Falana insisted that “their members and allies shall be prosecuted and not pampered and forgiven by the Nigerian State.”

Highlighting the legal consequences, he quoted Section 22 of the Act, stating: “A person who knowingly—(a) arranges, manages, assists in arranging or managing, participates in a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, (b) collects, or provides logistics, equipment, information, articles or facilities for a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, or (c) attends a meeting, which in his knowledge is to support a proscribed entity or to further the objectives of a proscribed entity, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of at least 20 years.”

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