Rival factions of bandit kingpins and Lakurawa militants are locked in a violent battle for supremacy in Zamfara State, vying for control of key territories and strategic routes. Sources report that the escalating clashes have created widespread fear and insecurity, forcing residents to flee the affected areas. “This fight is about territorial dominance. There is an urgent need for intervention to prevent further loss of innocent lives,” a local security officer said. The ongoing conflict has heightened concerns among security analysts, who warn of severe implications for the state if the violence continues unchecked. Authorities are yet to announce measures…
Author: Ifeanyi Nwagboso
The Biden administration is taking steps to extend protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants under the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, according to reports by The New York Times. The move is seen as a preemptive effort to counter former President Donald Trump’s plan for large-scale deportations if re-elected. Trump, who has vowed to execute the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, has appointed key officials, including Rodney S. Scott and Caleb Vitello, to spearhead his immigration overhaul. TPS currently provides temporary residency and work permits to over one million immigrants from 17 countries facing conflict or natural disasters.…
The Minister of State for Defense, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, has revealed that President Bola Tinubu has directed the Nigerian military to end banditry by 2025. Matawalle disclosed this on Saturday while addressing All Progressives Congress (APC) members at his Gusau residence, assuring that the military is committed to meeting the President’s mandate. He announced that the Federal Government has finalized plans to deploy additional troops and military equipment to address insecurity in the North-West. “The Federal Government and military chiefs are deeply concerned about informants aiding bandits, which remains a major obstacle in the fight against banditry,” Matawalle said. He…
President Bola Tinubu on Saturday canceled all official events in Lagos State, where he is spending the Christmas holidays, following stampedes in Abuja and Anambra State that claimed multiple lives. Reports indicate that about 10 people died, and several others were injured during a stampede at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Maitama, Abuja. In Anambra, at least 20 residents of Okija lost their lives during a rice distribution event. In a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu expressed his condolences to the victims’ families and urged state authorities to enforce strict crowd control measures.…
The Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has nullified the Local Government and State Congresses conducted by the Tony Okocha-led faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state. The court ruled that the congresses, which led to the inauguration of new executives on December 14 by APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje, were held in violation of an existing court order. The suit challenging the congresses was filed by aggrieved party members who claimed they were unlawfully excluded from the process despite fulfilling financial requirements. The court’s decision invalidates the outcomes of the congresses and raises questions about…
A Chief Magistrate Court in Osogbo has ordered the remand of three suspects, including a mother and her two sons, at the Ilesa Correctional Centre for allegedly stealing cocoa beans worth ₦4.5 million. The suspects, identified as Ayanda Olubunmi, 45, and her sons, Joshua Iyanda, 24, and Prosper Iyanda, 21, were arraigned on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, on charges of conspiracy and theft. According to the prosecution, the trio unlawfully removed cocoa beans from the residence of one Akeem Obidiran in Temidire Village, Oriade Local Government Area of Osun State. The stolen goods were reportedly recovered by the Osun Amotekun…
The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police Force, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has clarified that directing curses at individuals online constitutes cyberbullying, which is a criminal offense under Nigerian law. Adejobi made this statement in response to ongoing debates about online behavior, emphasizing that such acts cannot be excused as freedom of expression or constructive criticism. “Raining direct curses on someone online is cyberbullying, not an expression of freedom or criticism. And cyberbullying, which is even different from defamation, is a criminal offense and punishable. Be guided,” he stated. The comment comes amid discussions surrounding a defamation case involving Nigerian singer…
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is too focused on his mandate to concern himself with “politicians of your nature,” his media aide, Lere Olayinka, has said. Olayinka made the statement on Friday while responding to allegations by the Action Peoples Party (APP) and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), which claimed that Wike and security agencies were plotting to arrest Hon. Ugochinyere Michael Ikeagwuonu, a lawmaker representing Ideato Federal Constituency. Reacting to the allegations, Olayinka dismissed CUPP as an “unknown and illegal entity” and criticized its continued existence. He said the coalition was established…
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has alleged a plot by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and security agencies to arrest Hon. Ugochinyere Michael Ikeagwuonu, the lawmaker representing Ideato Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. The CUPP raised the alarm in a statement issued on Thursday following a press conference in Abuja. Peter Ameh, Secretary-General of CUPP, and Comrade Mark Adebayo, the coalition’s co-spokesman, described the alleged plot as a significant threat to Nigeria’s democracy. They claimed it was a “clandestine scheme to defame, tarnish, and suppress one of Nigeria’s most vocal and incorruptible…
The New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has expressed strong opposition to the continued harassment and attempts to arrest Mallam Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa, the Director-General of Media and Publicity for the Kano State Government. In a statement released on Wednesday in Kano, the NNPP National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, accused the Nigeria Police of acting on directives from Abuja to apprehend Dawakin-Tofa despite a court injunction restraining such actions. Johnson alleged that the arrest attempts are linked to a petition reportedly filed by former Kano State Governor and National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Ganduje, or individuals…
The Kaduna State Police Command has arrested a suspected notorious bandit and three car snatchers in separate operations. In a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mansir Hassan, the police disclosed that a suspected bandit, Aliyu Umar, was apprehended on December 16, 2024, in Zaria. Umar, 22, was found in possession of eight AK-47 magazines and 50 rounds of live ammunition. “On December 16, 2024, at about 1800 hours, operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, led by SP Sani Ibrahim, acting on credible intelligence, successfully intercepted and arrested Aliyu Umar in Zaria,” the statement read. During preliminary investigations, Umar…
Troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) successfully repelled an attack by Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) fighters on their base in Darak, Cameroon. According to a counterinsurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, the attack occurred around 1 a.m. on Wednesday. The report revealed that MNJTF troops launched a swift counteroffensive, killing at least six ISWAP fighters and injuring four others. However, five MNJTF personnel sustained injuries during the operation. The publication also quoted intelligence sources highlighting a leadership change within ISWAP. “Abu Usman has been named the new Fiye (leader) of Marte, replacing…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State has criticized the suspension of local government chairmen across the 18 councils of the state by the Edo State House of Assembly, describing the action as unconstitutional. In a statement issued on Tuesday in Benin, the Edo State PDP Chairman, Anthony Aziegbemi, labeled the suspension as null and void, citing a disregard for the recent ruling of the Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Daniel Okungbowa. According to Aziegbemi, the suspension violates the Supreme Court’s ruling affirming the autonomy and independence of local governments, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal…
A former member of the House of Representatives, Paschal Obi, who represented Ideato North and South Federal Constituency, has defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Obi was officially welcomed back to the APC by the party’s expanded state executives, led by Chairman Macdonald Ebere, after formalizing his membership at the ward and local government levels. Explaining his decision, Obi attributed his return to the APC to the “massive infrastructural development efforts” of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma. He also commended the state leadership of the party under Ebere, describing it as exemplary and instrumental…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reinstated Sly Ezeokenwa as the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), in compliance with a recent Supreme Court ruling. The decision was made during INEC’s meeting on Tuesday, following the Supreme Court’s judgement affirming Ezeokenwa as the authentic leader of the party. In November, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Stephen Adah, ruled unanimously that Edozie Njoku had no legal basis to parade himself as APGA’s National Chairman. The court affirmed Ezeokenwa as the rightful chairman of the party. A statement issued by INEC’s National Commissioner…
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, has declared that the era of bank robberies in Lagos State is a thing of the past. Speaking at the 18th Annual Town Hall Meeting on Security organized by the Lagos State Security Trust Fund on Thursday, Egbetokun disclosed that only one bank robbery has been successful in the state since 2007. “There was a time that armed robbery and bank robbery were common in Lagos, but I can recall that since 2007 till date, only one bank robbery succeeded in Lagos, and that was as far back as 2014. So, the…
In a move to strengthen the healthcare system and reduce infant mortality, the Ogun State Government has trained 50 ad-hoc nurses and midwives on neonatal resuscitation techniques. The Executive Secretary of the Ogun State Primary Health Care Development Board, Dr. Elijah Ogunsola, disclosed this during a two-day training programme tagged “Helping Babies Breathe” on Thursday in Abeokuta. The training was organized by the Ogun State Primary Health Care Development Board in collaboration with pediatricians from Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital and Babcock University Teaching Hospital. The participants were drawn from all 20 local government areas of the state. Dr. Ogunsola…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kaduna State has inaugurated a 17-member Reconciliation Committee tasked with uniting the party and resolving internal grievances. Speaking during the inauguration on Wednesday, the state PDP Chairman, Edward Percy Masha, charged the committee to reconcile all aggrieved members across the state. He emphasized the importance of the assignment, giving the committee a two-month timeframe to complete its work. “The committee was constituted to reconcile all aggrieved members of the party offended in one way or another in the course of political activities,” Masha stated. He directed the committee to visit all 23 local government…
The 18 suspended local government chairmen in Edo State have rejected their suspension by the State House of Assembly, describing the action as unconstitutional and a violation of court orders. The chairmen, under the aegis of the Edo State chapter of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), addressed a press briefing on Wednesday in Benin City, where they insisted that neither the governor nor the House of Assembly has the authority to suspend or remove them from office. The Edo State House of Assembly had, on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, suspended the council chairmen for two months over…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has requested the dismissal of the petition filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the 2024 Edo Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, challenging the victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo. At the tribunal sitting in Benin on Wednesday, APC’s counsel, Ferdinand Orbih, SAN, described the PDP’s petition as incompetent and lacking merit. Orbih argued that the petition was not filed in compliance with extant laws, thereby rendering the tribunal without jurisdiction to entertain the matter. Citing further grounds, Orbih referred to a motion paper dated November 30, supported by a seven-paragraph affidavit, seeking the dismissal of…