In a move to promote transparency and address public concerns, the House of Representatives has released certified true copies (CTCs) of the four tax reform Acts signed into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The release includes endorsement and assent pages, aimed at countering allegations of unauthorized alterations and misleading versions circulating publicly.

Speaker Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, in collaboration with Senate President Godswill Akpabio, directed the immediate publication of the authentic documents. This follows reports of discrepancies flagged by a House member, prompting internal verification and public disclosure to restore confidence in the legislative process.

The controversy emerged after inconsistencies were identified between the laws passed by the National Assembly and versions in circulation. Speaker Abbas emphasized the institution’s commitment to procedural integrity, stating: “The National Assembly is an institution built on records, procedure, and institutional memory. Every Bill, every amendment, and every Act follows a traceable constitutional and parliamentary pathway.

“The released Acts are:- Nigeria Tax Act, 2025- Nigeria Tax Administration Act, 2025- Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Act, 2025- Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Act, 2025.

These laws form the foundation of Nigeria’s tax modernization efforts, seeking to streamline administration, boost compliance, eliminate redundancies, and enhance federal coordination.

The House urged the public, institutions, and stakeholders to rely solely on National Assembly-certified versions, dismissing unauthorized copies as invalid. Hard copies are now being distributed to lawmakers and made available publicly, with alignment processes underway at the Federal Government Printing Press.

An ad-hoc committee, chaired by Rt. Hon. Muktar Aliyu Betara, continues investigating the circulation of unauthorized versions to prevent future occurrences.

The House reaffirmed its dedication to transparency, rule of law, and accountable governance under Speaker Abbas’ leadership.

Port Harcourt: Men of the Rivers State police command on Saturday recovered and handover to the Arise News team in Port Harcourt Sonny a Canada Zed 280 camera that was forcefully seized from them by political thugs during a live interview session with former Rivers State Commissioner for Employment Generation and Empowerment, Dr Leloonu Nwibubasa on Friday.

The assailants had stormed and invaded Londa hotel located in the Orazi axis of Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State when Dr Nwibubasa was speaking about the current political situation in the state.

Their annoyance being that Dr Nwibubasa was not only discussing the ongoing political situation in Rivers State but allegedly criticising the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who is from the Whimpey/Orazi area of Port Harcourt where the hotel is located.

The armed political thugs broke into the room around 9:15 p.m, looking for both the former Commissioner and members of the Arise news team.

They were chanting in their local Ikwerre language, forcing doors open and seizing people’s phones as Workers in the hotel scampered to safety for fear of being attacked.

When the assailants got to the spot the interview was holding,they threatened the former commissioner and the Arise news crew to discontinue the interview forcing it to abruptly stop the process.

Thereafter, the crew was forced to make a distress call to their colleagues who immediately alerted the police before dashing to the hotel.

Ironically, the Arise News TV crew had earlier Friday covered an event by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike in Omoku in Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni local government area.

Expectely, Dr Nwibubasa has condemned the attack, saying the development is not healthy in a democracy.

•Shariff Umar/ Operation HADIN KAI photo

Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK) has made a major breakthrough in its sustained counter-terrorism operations with the identification of Shariff Umar as the principal coordinator of suicide bombing activities responsible for recent attacks and attempted attacks within the North East.

This development followed intelligence-led cordon-and-search operations conducted at the Kalmari area of Maiduguri on 31 December 2025, during which 14 suspects linked to suicide bombing activities were arrested.

Subsequent detailed identification and investigative processes established the structure, roles, and operational linkages of the terror cell.

During the investigation, a suspected suicide bomber currently in custody, Ibrahim Muhammad, unequivocally identified Shariff Umar (also known as “Yusuf”) as the ringleader and coordinator of the terror network.

According to consistent and corroborated statements, Shariff Umar was responsible for recruiting, preparing, directing, and dispatching suicide bombers to assigned targets, as well as coordinating logistics and delivery of Improvised Explosive Device (IED) components.

Investigations further revealed that Shariff Umar directly coordinated the suicide bombing attack at the Gamboru Market Mosque on 24 December 2025, during which his accomplice, Adamu (now deceased), detonated a suicide vest.

He was also identified as the coordinator of the foiled suicide bombing attempt in Damaturu, personally handing over IED components to the suicide bomber in Maiduguri.

Additional links within the network were established, including the involvement of Shariff Umar’s wife, Yagana Modu, and the confirmation by his stepdaughter, Amina, who admitted to previously seeing the suspect bomber within their residence.

These findings significantly strengthened the investigative trail and exposed the domestic and community-based concealment methods employed by terrorist facilitators.

All suspects remain firmly in custody and are undergoing intensive, multi-layered investigations aimed at fully dismantling the network, identifying additional collaborators, and recovering any remaining explosives or logistical assets.

OPHK underscores that this success once again highlights the critical importance of effective collaboration between security forces and the civil populace.

Terrorist networks often survive by hiding within communities, exploiting silence, fear, or misplaced loyalty.

Timely information from law-abiding citizens remains one of the most powerful tools in preventing attacks and saving innocent lives.

Members of the public are therefore strongly urged to remain vigilant and report suspicious persons, movements, or activities to security agencies.

Cooperation and trust between the military and local communities are essential to completely rooting out terrorism and restoring lasting peace across the region.