ASharia Court in Kano State on Wednesday ordered a 29-year-old man, Abduljabar Nura, to be remanded in a corrections centre for stabbing his neighbour over an electricity bill.

The police charged Mr Nura, who lives in Fagge Quarters in Kano, with causing grievous hurt.

When the charge was read to the defendant, he pleaded guilty to the offence.

The judge, Umar Lawal-Abubakar, ordered that the defendant should be remanded in the Goron Dutse Correctional Centre in Kano until April 15 for sentencing.

The prosecution counsel, Zahradeen Abubakar, told the court that Haruna Kasim, the complainant, reported the matter at the Fagge police station on February 28.

He alleged that the defendant and Mr Kasim had an altercation over an electricity bill.

The police said that the defendant stabbed the complainant with a pair of scissors on his back.

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), on Wednesday, said that the number of prisoners on death row had risen from 3,590 in September 2024 to 3,688 in March 2025.

This represents a 2.73 per cent increase or addition of 98 prisoners within six months.

The Acting Controller-General of NCoS, Mr Sylvester Nwakuche, gave the figure when he appeared for screening before the Senate Committee on Interior, chaired by Sen. Adams Oshiomhole.

The NCoS also sought strategic collaboration with the Nigeria Police, Department of State Services (DSS); Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) to speed up the wheel of justice in the country.

Nwakuche said that the major challenge facing the correctional service in the country was that of inmates currently awaiting trials.

“That is our major headache we are trying to address on a daily basis,” he said.

The acting comptroller-general pledged to collaborate with other security agencies more strategically to ensure that the issues of awaiting trials inmates were permanently resolved to decongest the country’s prisons .

“This is very important for any establishment to forge ahead. An establishment like correctional centres cannot do anything without collaboration.

“We are the recipient of the products of all the prosecuting agencies,” the acting comptroller-general said.

In his remarks, Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, said the committee would submit its report based on the performance of the Acting Controller-General of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS). (NAN)

A political support group affiliated with Zamfara APC Unity Forum(ZAUF)has praised former Zamfara State governor and current Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammad Matawalle, for distributing over 500 million naira in cash aid to residents during the holy month of Ramadan.

According to the Forum, more than 5,000 individuals benefitted from the initiative, each receiving no less than 100,000 naira .

It said Matawalle has also spent over 200 million naira on providing rice to feeding centres across 14 local government areas in Zamfara State.

Defence state minister has also given over 300 million naira to party officials and stakeholders, including commissioners, special advisers, and many politicians.

The group stated that the beneficiaries were carefully selected by a team led by Ibrahim Maigandi (Danmalikin Gidan Goga), Matawalle’s special adviser on political matters.

“This team comprises party leaders, technocrats, academics, and youth leaders who ensured a fair distribution of the funds across Zamfara’s local government areas,” said Ismael Jibrin, the chairman of the support group in Gusau.

The group also criticised Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, accusing him of failing to provide relief for struggling residents.

“Despite not being in office as governor anymore, Matawalle continues to listen to the cries of the people and ensure that Zamfara citizens do not go to bed hungry,” Jibrin said.

“This is what we call true leadership, not mere media appearances like Governor Dauda.”

Matawalle’s Ramadan disbursement follows a similar intervention last December, when he reportedly distributed more than 1 billion naira to party loyalists, community leaders, and residents. That event, according to the Zamfara APC Unity forum, brought the state “to a standstill in awe of his generosity.”

Matawalle, who served as governor from 2019 to 2023 before losing to Lawal in last year’s election, remains a key political figure in Zamfara. His supporters describe him as a “beacon of hope” for the state’s residents in difficult times.