Kebbi State Commissioner for Information and Culture, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed, has dismissed reports alleging the emergence of a new insurgency group named “Sai Malam” in the state.
Speaking during a media delegation visit to the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Ali M. Ali, in Abuja, the commissioner described the rumors as calculated misinformation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Investigations by the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police revealed that the group is actually a network of young cybercriminals, locally known as Yan-Vocal, who manipulate digital systems to extort government officials and wealthy individuals.
Ahmed confirmed that security agencies have already made several arrests linking the suspects to the online extortion ring.
The commissioner also refuted a separate media report claiming that more than 130 children die daily in Kebbi State due to high infant mortality. He noted that the state has fewer than half a million children in that age bracket, meaning such a statistic would completely deplete the child population within a year.
Ahmed added that UNICEF officially contacted the state government to disassociate itself from the false data, which he blamed on opposition elements attempting to discredit Governor Nasir Idris’s administration.
“When that information was dished out, it alarmed virtually everybody. We were inundated in Kebbi State with calls across the country and beyond about the sincerity of that information.
“Fortunately for us, the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police launched painstaking investigations to unravel the truth.
“What they found out was that instead of a terror group, what we are talking about is a group of young people who are into cybercrimes, manipulating the computer and reaching out to government officials and people who they believe have money.
“Arrests have already been made. And these are the same people who call themselves Yan-Vocal. It is these “Yan Vocal” people that are now being referred to as Sai Malam,” he said.
In response, the Managing Director of NAN acknowledged hearing the disturbing mortality report on the radio and welcomed the state’s official rebuttal.
He warned that the rise of citizen journalism and artificial intelligence has made it easier for sensationalized fake news to thrive. Ali assured the delegation that NAN would use its network of roughly 600 field reporters to project the factual truth, advising the state’s media team to remain vigilant and proactive rather than defensive as the next election cycle approaches.
The visiting delegation included several top media aides to the governor, including Yahaya Sarki, Abdullahi Zuru, Ahmed Idris, Ibrahim Jombali, and Aliyu Bandado.