Author: The North Journals

Professor Chris Kwaja, a prominent peace and security scholar based in Jos, has been appointed to the Governing Council of The Progressive Institute Ltd/GTE, following approval by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda. The appointment, conveyed in a formal letter dated 12 February 2026 and signed by the Institute’s Director-General, Dr. Lanre Adebayo, names Chris Kwaja as a Member of the Governing Council, representing the North Central Zone. According to the letter, the decision was endorsed on behalf of the party’s National Working Committee (NWC). The Institute described the appointment as a recognition of…

By Acheli Obidah Fwa The Adamawa State Police Command has arrested three men, including a 28-year-old son accused of orchestrating the abduction of his own father in a desperate bid to raise money to marry a second wife. Police said the incident occurred on 30 January 2026 in Jera village, Malabu District of Fufore Local Government Area. The victim, identified as Alhaji Ahmadu, was allegedly kidnapped in a plot hatched by his biological son, Da’u Alhaji Ahmadu. The arrest followed what police described as a coordinated raid in the area as part of ongoing operations against kidnapping, gender-based violence and…

In the pantheon of Nigerian public intellectuals and policy strategists, few figures have the breadth of experience and moral authority of Professor Chris M.A. Kwaja, Ph.D., fspsp. A distinguished academic, peacebuilder, and policy architect, Kwaja’s journey from the scholarly world to the heart of Plateau State’s political arena is not merely a personal evolution ,  it is a clarion call for purposeful leadership at a time when Nigeria’s democratic project teeters between aspiration and anxiety. Barely days after formally joining the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Kwaja explained to The North Journals that his decision to leave academia “for now”…

By Fasila Alhassan The Islamic Education Unit (IEU) has called on the government to urgently recruit more Arabic language teachers into Ghana’s public school system, warning that the continued neglect of trained graduates is worsening an already critical shortage. The Ashanti Regional Manager of the IEU, Mohammed Yussif, made the appeal at a graduation ceremony held at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), where newly trained Arabic teachers completed a professional teacher education programme. “Our main challenge is that we currently lack Arabic teachers in the system. We are therefore pleading with the government to…

By Moses Amos Nigerian footballer Tochukwu Nnadi has completed a transfer to French Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille from Belgian club Zulte Waregem, the French club confirmed on Tuesday. The move follows an impressive spell in Belgium, where Nnadi’s performances attracted interest from clubs outside the Jupiler Pro League. Marseille, one of France’s most successful and widely supported teams, have now secured the services of the Nigerian as part of efforts to strengthen their squad ahead of the new season. Although details of the transfer were not immediately disclosed, the move marks a significant step in the player’s career,…

By Saheed Babajide Owonikoko and Kelvin Ashindorbe As registered voters hit record highs, turnout collapsed to historic lows, raising fears about the substance and future of Nigeria’s democracy Nigeria’s democracy is facing a quiet but profound crisis: voters are staying away from the polls in unprecedented numbers. Despite a steady rise in the number of registered voters since the country returned to civilian rule in 1999, participation in general elections has fallen sharply, reaching its lowest point in the 2023 polls. Only about 28.6 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots in the last presidential election, the worst turnout recorded…

The United Nations University Institute of Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) has awarded grants to six young agritech innovators from Ghana, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire under its Innovate for Clean Agricultural Technologies (INFoCAT) project. The grants were announced on January 27, 2026, during a policy roundtable attended by representatives of government ministries, academia, agriculture, renewable energy firms, development partners and the media. The INFoCAT project focuses on promoting clean energy-powered agricultural technologies while advancing youth and gender inclusion in the agricultural sector. The initiative targets smallholder farming communities in West Africa, where limited access to affordable and reliable clean energy…

The Centre for Peace and Security Studies (CPSS) at Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, has hosted a public lecture that challenged long-held assumptions about peacebuilding in Nigeria and other conflict-affected regions. The lecture, titled “Transitioning from Gown to Town: A Practitioner’s Perspective on Building Peace in Non-Permissive Contexts,” was delivered by Paul Nyulaku, a peacebuilding and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) practitioner and Founder of Triple Peace Africa . Mr Nyulaku argued that contemporary conflicts no longer follow the linear, post-war trajectory assumed by conventional peace theories. Instead, he said violence in many parts of Africa — particularly Nigeria —…

Based on an investigative research project by Aminu Adamu When crimes are committed in Nigeria, justice often begins and ends not in laboratories but in interrogation rooms. It is here that confessions substitute for evidence, suspects become culprits before trial, and the science meant to anchor justice remains largely absent. As violent crime spreads across the country, Nigeria’s policing system continues to operate within a forensic vacuum, one that has far-reaching consequences for human rights, accountability and public trust. This investigation, drawn from an in-depth research project by Aminu Adamu, interrogates why forensic science remains marginal within Nigeria’s criminal justice…

By Aminu Adamu On her first day in a British operating theatre, Nurse MJ did not expect the mop. She had trained as a Registered Nurse in Nigeria, worked in high-pressure surgical environments, mastered clinical judgment, patient safety protocols, and the unspoken choreography of theatre teamwork. She had assisted surgeons, coordinated with anaesthetic technicians, and trusted that when an operation ended, other professionals, cleaners, porters, technicians, would step in, each performing a clearly defined role. Then, in 2019, in a UK hospital she had long imagined as the gold standard of healthcare systems, the list finished its first case. As…