Katsina records 11 months without new polio case after mass immunization campaign
via Punch Nigeria3 min read
Katsina State has achieved 11 consecutive months without a new polio case, following a mass immunization campaign that reached over 2.9 million children. This milestone was announced by Heartland Alliance LTD/GTE HALG during World Immunisation Week 2026. Dr. Bartholomew Ochonye, Chief Executive Officer of HALG, stated that while this progress is significant, the fight against polio remains fragile. The campaign, which began in April 2025, involved over 4,000 field teams conducting house-to-house enumeration across 2,356 hard-to-reach settlements, covering more than 836,000 households and vaccinating over 1.6 million children in its first phase. HALG also led a statewide micro-planning exercise across all 34 local government areas to improve vaccination accuracy. Despite these gains, the campaign revealed that over 50,000 children identified had never received a single vaccine dose before the intervention. Major obstacles persist, including insecurity preventing access to some settlements, vaccine hesitancy, cold chain limitations, and weak health infrastructure. Dr. Ochonye emphasized the need for sustained funding for last-mile immunization systems, including enumeration, community engagement, and monitoring, to ensure that all children, especially those in hard-to-reach areas, are consistently reached. Nigeria was declared free of wild poliovirus in 2020, but outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus continue to pose a threat, particularly in northern states with
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Punch Nigeria.
Must ReadFifty elders from Magamin Diddi village in Zamfara State were abducted by bandits during a peace meeting. The elders, from the Magami/Faru Ward of Maradun Local Government Area, were reportedly taken captive on Sunday after being delegated to meet with the bandits in the forest for dialogue. A local resident, Musa Sani, stated that the community sought reconciliation to allow residents to return to their farms, but the bandits instead kidnapped the elders. The Chairman of Maradun Local Government Area, Bello Dosara, confirmed the incident on Monday, noting that the community did not inform authorities about the reconciliation effort. Dosara expressed concern, emphasizing that both local and state governments oppose reconciliation with bandits, citing Governor Dauda Lawal's stance. He also mentioned that bandits had recently blocked roads to the community market due to the killing of their members by security operatives. Dosara questioned the community's decision to meet with the bandits, who he suggested were seeking retaliation. He confirmed that 11 of the abducted elders have since been released, while 39 remain in captivity.
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The Kebbi State Police Command has arrested seven suspected bandits as part of ongoing investigations into criminal activities in the Bagudo Local Government Area, including the recent killing of three Federal Road Safety Corps personnel. The arrests, made on June 5, resulted from intelligence-led operations targeting criminal networks in the Soda Forest axis and surrounding border communities. Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bashir Usman, stated that Mobile Police operatives intercepted three suspects, Muhammadu Bande, Aliyu Abubakar, and Muhammadu Aliyu, on a motorcycle from the Soda Forest area, allegedly on a mission to procure food supplies for criminal elements. In a separate operation, four other suspects, Haruna Abubakar, Abubakar Lawali, Anme Shehu, and Yahaya Shehu, were arrested along the Bakin Ruwa–Ka’oje axis. All suspects are in custody, and investigations are continuing to determine their full involvement in criminal activities, particularly the attack on FRSC personnel. The Commissioner of Police in Kebbi State, CP Umar M. Hadejia, described the arrests as a significant breakthrough in combating banditry and violent crime, commending the operatives and public for their support. He reaffirmed the command's commitment to intelligence-driven operations to restore peace and urged residents to remain vigilant.