News
FG to investigate Sokoto airstrike, ensure justice, says Matawalle
The Federal Government has announced that it will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the airstrike that led to the deaths of 10 people in Gidan Bisa and Runtuwa villages in the Silame Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, made this assurance during a condolence visit to the state Governor, Ahmed Aliyu, in Sokoto, the state capital, on Friday.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the governor’s spokesman, Abubakar Bawa, quoted Matawalle as saying that justice would prevail and reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of all Nigerians, wherever they may be.
Matawalle expressed regret over the actions of terrorists, who he said were disrupting the peace of Nigerians. However, he assured that the Federal Government would confront them decisively.
He praised Governor Aliyu’s commitment to fighting banditry and other criminal activities in Sokoto State.
According to Matawalle, Aliyu is the only governor who has proactively requested a military base in his state and reassured him of the military’s support in making the state safer.
“We will continue to provide all the necessary equipment and resources to Sokoto State,” Matawalle assured.
“Mr President (Bola Tinubu) is deeply concerned about this unfortunate incident and asked me to come and convey his condolences,” he added.
The minister attributed the wrong bombing to erroneous information available to the military during the operation.
However, he clarified that security reports confirmed the area where the incident occurred was being dominated by the Lakurawa bandits.
In response, Governor Aliyu called on the military to improve its information gathering and surveillance to avoid hitting the wrong targets in the future.
He commended the military and other security agencies for their continued commitment to ensuring the state’s safety and thanked President Tinubu for his concern regarding the incident.
The governor also thanked Matawalle for his support in the fight against banditry.
He described the incident as something that was bound to happen and prayed to Almighty Allah to prevent its recurrence.
Aliyu expressed his sorrow over the events in the two villages and assured that a thorough investigation would be conducted to determine the full facts of the situation.
NAN
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will, on Thursday, send off Team Nigeria, ahead of the contingent’s departure to the United Kingdom for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.
The send-off event, which will take place at the Presidential Villa, is part of the President’s show of support for the Nigerian contingent before they depart the shores of the nation to begin the final phase of preparations before the Games.
President Tinubu is expected to charge the athletes and officials to compete with honour and resilience for which Nigerians are renowned.
Nigeria is looking to build on its impressive outing at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where the country emerged as the highest-ranked African nation on the medals table after winning 35 medals comprising 12 gold, 9 silver and 14 bronze.
Team Nigeria has been in camp in Abuja, where athletes have been undergoing intensive training in preparation for the Games. The contingent is scheduled to depart Nigeria on Friday for Aberdeen, Scotland, to undertake a three-week training camp before proceeding to Glasgow, the host city of the Games.
Nigeria will compete in 10 sports at the Commonwealth Games, with a contingent of 74 athletes expected to represent the country.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will take place from July 23 to August 2, bringing together athletes from across the Commonwealth to compete for honours in various sporting events.
President Tinubu has previously expressed confidence in Nigeria’s ability to excel on the international stage and has constantly assured athletes of the Federal Government’s support at all times.
News
Benue to establish 13 digital learning centres
Adagba said that the initiative aligns with Governor Hyacinth Alia’s digital transformation agenda for the education sector.
The Benue State Government has announced plans to establish 13 Digital Learning Centres (DLCs) in selected schools to improve access to technology-driven education.
The Executive Chairman of the Benue State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Grace Adagba, disclosed this during the Federal Ministry of Education–Universal Basic Education Commission (FME-UBEC) Roundtable on Digital Resources in Abuja, Tuesday.
Adagba said that the initiative aligns with Governor Hyacinth Alia’s digital transformation agenda for the education sector.
She highlighted the state’s ongoing digital education programmes and reaffirmed SUBEB’s commitment to adopting digital innovations introduced by the Federal Ministry of Education and UBEC.
News
Nigeria’s data centers worth $2bn
The Central Bank of Nigeria had in a circular dated June 15, 2026, directed all financial institutions and payment operators to store and manage payment transaction data generated within Nigeria on local servers, giving the industry until January 1, 2027 to achieve full compliance.
The Open Access Data Centre (OADC) has projected that the data center market in Nigeria is valued at $2 billion.
Nigeria’s data center ecosystem is largely concentrated in Lagos, especially in and around the Lekki-Victoria Island corridor. Major operators like Unitella Edge Cloud, Rack Centre, Equinix (MainOne).
MTN Nigeria operates the Tier III certified Sifiso Dabengwa Data Centre, located in Ikeja, Lagos, and Africa Data Centres provide Tier III colocation services, while Galaxy Backbone operates the country’s first Tier IV facility.
Speaking at a virtual interactive session with journalists, the OADC’s Chief Executive Officer, Ayotunde Coker, said local servers’ owners have the capacity to host banks and other financial institutions’ data locally.
“The infrastructure argument is over. The only thing left is execution”, Coker said.
The OADC CEO allayed the fear of inadequate infrastructure with the precision of someone who has spent a decade building the infrastructure at the centre of the debate.
The Central Bank of Nigeria had in a circular dated June 15, 2026, directed all financial institutions and payment operators to store and manage payment transaction data generated within Nigeria on local servers, giving the industry until January 1, 2027 to achieve full compliance.
The directive addressed to deposit money banks, microfinance banks, mobile money operators, switching and processing companies, payment terminal service providers, payment solution service providers, super agents, and other licensed payment operators has since triggered a wave of institutional anxiety, centred primarily on whether Nigeria’s data centre ecosystem can absorb the compliance load or not.
The CBN had warned that compliance will be closely monitored and that supervisory sanctions will be imposed on defaulting institutions.
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