Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has marked his 60th birthday with a series of humanitarian services to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and inmates across the country.
Abbas, who clocked 60 on Wednesday, 1 October 2025, had called for low-key celebrations by members of the House, aides, friends and political associates, urging them to focus instead on humanitarian causes.
To commemorate his Diamond Jubilee, the Speaker sponsored educational opportunities for prison inmates, secured the release of others by paying their bail, and donated food items to IDPs.
At the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja, Abbas paid registration fees for 100 inmates to sit the 2025 National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) and National Examinations Council (NECO) tests. While 57 were registered for NABTEB, 43 will sit the NECO examination.
Represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff (Legislative), Dr Chamberlain Dunku, Abbas said his support was aimed at giving second chances and restoring dignity to those behind bars.
“Identifying with the Nigerian Correctional Service in the area of quality transformation of inmates through education is a cause very close to my heart,” he said. “The registration of inmates for the 2025 NABTEB and NECO is not merely an academic exercise — it is a statement of faith in human dignity and redemption.”
Moved by an inmate’s story, Dr Dunku personally donated N1 million to Chikwendu Hart, a doctoral student at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), who has published seven books while awaiting trial for 13 years.
In Zaria, the Speaker also spent over N3 million on bail bonds to secure the release of nine inmates from the Zaria Medium Correctional Centre.
The beneficiaries include Ibrahim Dan’asabe (N240,000), Kabir Ibrahim (N180,000), Ibrahim Ahmed (N60,000), Haruna Musa (N350,000), Aliyu Tukur (N390,000), Prince Wadilor Wodu (N326,000), Mustapha Abubakar (N410,000), Sagir Sani (N685,000) and Shehu Abubakar (N440,000).
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At the Kabusa IDP Camp in Abuja, Abbas donated more than 1,000 bags of rice to displaced persons. His wife, Hajia Fatima Abbas-Tajudeen, complemented the gesture with a cash donation of N2 million, while aides and colleagues, including Dr Dunku, Alhaji Ilyasu Balarabe and Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Chike Okafor, contributed a combined N3 million.
Medical personnel from Nizamiye Hospital Abuja also provided free healthcare services to IDPs as part of the outreach.
Speaking through Dr Dunku, the Speaker stressed that the event was about “extending compassion, solidarity, and hope to fellow Nigerians who, through no fault of theirs, have found themselves displaced.”
He added: “This is a testament to the fact that leadership is not only about legislation and policies, but also about love, empathy, and service to humanity.”
Abbas commended the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), partners and other stakeholders for their support, assuring the IDPs that government remains committed to their welfare through education, healthcare, food security, and empowerment initiatives.
