From Aliyu Askira, Kano

The Kano Police Command has rolled out new security measures as Muslims in the state commence the Ramadan fast.

In a press release issued on Wednesday and signed by CSP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, the Command stated that it had put in place robust security arrangements across Kano to ensure safety throughout the holy month.

Under the leadership of Commissioner of Police Ibrahim Adamu Bakori, the statement noted that the measures are in line with the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun.

The police advised residents to remain security-conscious, particularly during Tarawih prayers and other religious gatherings.

“In view of the increased influx of visitors, the Command advises the public to avoid carrying unnecessary items to Tarawih prayers, be vigilant and report suspicious activities to security agencies.

Obey traffic rules and regulations, ensure underage children are not operating vehicles or motorcycles, accompany children with adults throughout the fasting period, and avoid prohibited activities such as horse riding, unlawful gatherings, and use of fireworks,” the statement read.

The Command also warned against thuggery and related crimes during Ramadan.

“The Command warns that thuggery activities will not be tolerated during Ramadan. Perpetrators will face decisive action under the law,” it added.

It urged residents to cooperate with security agencies and report suspicious movements through the emergency number.

From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

The Director of communications, Catholic diocese of Enugu Rev. Fr. Anthony Aneke, in his 2026 Ash Wednesday homily write up emphasized that lenten season is a period that God gives new hope, new beginnings, new possibilities to christians.

A period of another second chance.

In his homily, he pointed that it is a journey of repentance marked by intense prayer, fasting, almsgiving and other forms of charitable works.

“It is a special moment to grow in faith, hope and charity. In fact, it is a special moment God is giving you to have a fresh encounter with him. Don’t miss it. He is a God of new hopes, new beginnings and new possibilities. In fact, God has many second chances. The Lenten period is another second chance for you.

According to him, The Lenten period begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. When we exclude Sundays, that makes a total of forty days. The number forty is very symbolic. The earliest reference we have to a forty day preparation for Easter is in the canons of the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325). One of the most expressions of its meaning however appears in the work of St. John Cassian in the fifth century.”

He describes Lent as “the tithes of the year”, because it is roughly a tenth of the days in a year. We give those days to the Lord as a special offering; and in doing so; we imitate his own fast, as he intended us to do. Cassian also notes the Old Testament models of Israel in the wilderness, of Moses and Elijah, who also underwent forty days fast.

The placing of ashes on our foreheads with the words, “dust you are and unto dust you shall return” or “repent and believe the gospel” is very remarkable. What does Ash mean for you on Ash Wednesday?

The bible tradition first speaks of ashes as a symbol of Mourning and repentance. We see this in the biblical stories of David, of Job, Esther, of Jonah and the Ninevites, of the prophets like Jeremiah. In each of these episodes, individuals acknowledge their nothingness before God and express their sorrows to God because of their sins and ask for forgiveness, making promises of repentance.

Again, ashes symbolizes our frailty and hence our mortality. This is the fact that we are not as strong as we think we are. We are not as powerful as we think we are. We are finite. We are limited. And such, we will certainly die one day.

Finally, Ashes symbolize our final destiny – Gen: 2:8. We come from Dust and we are going back to dust.

Do we really and wholly come from dust? No. Remember, God breathed into dust and man came to be. We are all breaths of an Immortal God. And that’s how we reflect his image and likeness. If this is true, then ashes represent just the vehicle of our material existence. It does not tell the full story of our nature. But it does point to a powerful God who by the very fact of his breath, we are immortal.

So the paradox is, ashes tell us about our nothingness and at the same time our somethingness. Ashes tell about our mortality and also about our immortality. But most importantly, Ashes tell about the all-powerful God who can turn “nothing” into something and something into nothing. It is this God who can turn these ashes again into a glorious resurrected body. That God is all final end. Our Immortality can end either in his grace or in disgrace. Only those who have identified with his grace will end his grace at the end. Ashes speaks of the hope of our immortality in his grace. Lent is a period of extravagant grace my dear brothers and sisters. Don’t miss it.

May the ashes on your forehead today incite your hope of genuine repentance and faith in his mercy. May these ashes remind you of your nothingness before God and your ‘somethingness’ with Him. May the ashes always remind you of the vanity of your mortality also and also the profundity of your immortality with Him”.

Wrapping up his first international trip as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday he would like to visit Algeria in 2026 as part of a voyage to Africa, which could be his next overseas destination.

“I hope to make a trip to Africa, which could be my next trip,” the US pope said during a press conference aboard the papal plane during his return from a six-day visit to Turkey and Lebanon.

“Personally, I hope to go to Algeria to visit the places from the life of Saint Augustine,” he said, in reference to the fifth-century saint from the North African country.

Leo, who was elected in May, belongs to the Augustinian order, which was founded in the 13th century and has nearly 3,000 members in around 50 countries.

Such a visit would allow the head of the Catholic Church to “continue the discourse of dialogue and bridge-building between the Christian and the Muslim worlds”, he said.

 “The figure of Saint Augustine plays an important role as a bridge because in Algeria he is highly respected as a son of the nation,” the 70-year-old pontiff said.

A trip to Africa could also include visits to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, a Vatican source told AFP.

Leo, leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, also said he would “very much” like to visit “Latin America, Argentina, Uruguay”, as well as Peru, where he spent more than 20 years working as a missionary.