Author: Soffiyyah Olamide

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Gunmen numbering eight on the night of Friday, 19 April, 2024 at Ajadeh Event Centre on Sagamu Road in the Iperu area of Ogun State shot dead Yinka  Olomojobi, a professor of law at Babcock University, Ilishan Remo in the state . Two other persons were abducted by the gunmen Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, Omolola Odutola, who confirmed the incident, said the assailants shot the scholar on the chest for resisting the abduction. “A report from the Iperu Division indicates that a kidnapping and murder incident occurred on the 19th of April, 2024, at about 9:20 p.m.,”…

By Abimbola Ogunnnaike The crisis rocking Rivers State is not yet over as the Martin Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday, 22 April, 2024 passed the Rivers State Local Government (Amendment) Bill into law, overriding the assent of Governor Siminialayi Fubara. According to the parliament, two-thirds majority of House members voted to override the governor and pass the Bill into law. Recall that on the 13th of March, the House passed the Local Government (Amendment) Bill and forwarded same to Fubara for assent but the governor declined assent to the bill. In a related development, the House also…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Appeal Committee set up for the All Progressives Congress, (APC), governorship primary in Ondo State has confirmed that it has received three petitions from aspirants who participated in the exercise. The Chairman of the five-member Appeal Committee, Mohammed Abubakar, made this disclosure at a briefing with newsmen in Akure, the state capital. Abubakar, former Governor of Bauchi State, said the petitions were received from Olugbenga Edema, Jimi Odimayo and Adewale Akinterinwa. He explained that the three aggrieved aspirants complained that the primary did not hold in their various wards and the process was marred by irregularities. “So…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, has kicked against creation mof state police, insisting that Nigeria is not “mature” for state police. Egbetokun said this at a national dialogue on state police organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja, on Monday, 22 April, 2024. The theme of the dialogue is ‘Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria”. The IGP, who was represented by Ben Okolo, an Assistant Inspector-General of Police, said the leadership of the force has resolved that country is yet to be ripe for that. According to him, since the force has made a stand,…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Anambra State capital, Awka, seems to under the siege of cultists and bloodletting as at least 15 residents have been murdered in cold blood within the last two weeks, including some victims who cannot be identified as cultists, promoting the belief that what is happening could be targeted assassinations. It was gathered that the major cause seems to be a struggle for the control of revenue windows, especially collection of taxes from bus drivers and commercial tricyclists. Findings reveal that at least 15 persons have been gunned down in just two weeks in the city. The bloodletting,…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike A data from Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, a security risk management and intelligence company based in Abuja, has shown that at least 2,583 people were killed and 2,164 kidnapped in the first quarter of this year. The data, which recorded the number of killings and abductions across the country from January to March, showed that 80 percent of the killings and 94 percent of the abductions occurred in the North. This report, however, conflicts with the position espoused by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, who said that the casualty figures were going down. The…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Troops of Operation Lake Sanity III, under Operation Hadin Kai, have reportedly discovery an Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist bread production factory hidden within their den in Maisani, Timbuktu Triangle, Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State. According to intelligence sources quoted by security analyst and counter-insurgency expert, Zagazola Makama, on Monday,22 April, 2024, the Combined troops of 199 Special Forces Battalion, in conjunction with Hybrid Forces and Civilian JTF (Joint Task Force), stumbled upon the bread factory during an exploitation mission into the terrorists’ hideout on Sunday. “The sources said that the factory was…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday, 22 April, 2024 did not sit to hear the appeal lodged by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), against the order of a Kogi High Court which restrained the anti-graft agency from arresting the immediate-past governor, Yahaya Bello. Recall that Kogi court, in a ruling on April 17, barred the EFCC from arresting, detaining and prosecuting Bello. The judge, I.A Jamil, gave the order in a two-hour judgment delivered in suit no HCL/68/M/2020 in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, on Wednesday. The judgment coincided with the invasion of…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Federal High Court in Lagos presided over by Justice Ayokunle Faji, on Monday, 22 April, 2024 has discharged and acquitted the former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Patrick Akpobolokemi, from an alleged N8.5 billion fraud case. Justice Faji cleared Akpobolokemi and an employee of NIMASA, Josphine Otuaga, of the 22-count charge of conspiracy, conversion, and stealing (by fraudulent conversion) brought against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The judge, while delivering a ruling on a no-case submission filed by the defendants, held that the EFCC failed to establish…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission, PCCAC, has claimed that it that it traced about N51.3 billion allegedly misappropriated by former governor Abdullahi Ganduje, current national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Chairman of the PCCAC, Muhuyi Magaji, disclosed this during an interview on Arise TV. The Kano State government, led by Governor Abba Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, has filed charges against Ganduje over alleged misappropriation, dollar bribery and other offenses. Magaji said the N51.3 billion traced to Ganduje were channelled to different local government accounts. “They then met with local…

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun said that over 1,500 people have so far benefitted from the ongoing surgeries under the Free Surgery Intervention Programme of his administration. The governor, who disclosed this while monitoring the sale of discounted rice to civil servants at the State Secretariat, Oke-Mosan Abeokuta, on Monday, said that thousands of pregnant women, the aged and the vulnerable have also benefited from the free healthcare services rendered by the state government. He said that his government will continue to be proactive in addressing the welfare and wellbeing of the people of the state. He said: “To…

Special Adviser on Media to Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, Hon. Kayode Akinmade has said that the damage on the newly constructed road at Ojumele-Ajegunle in Makun-Sagamu, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State is the result of human error and not project deficiency. Akinmade, in a press statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Monday, explained that the collector drainage for the storm water in the area was silted up due to indiscriminate refuse disposal, causing the water to overflow during the downpour on Sunday. He added that in the same vein, a…

President Bola Tinubu will on Monday, 22 April, 2024, open the African Counter-Terrorism Summit in Abuja. Nigeria, with the support of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), is organizing a high-level African counter-terrorism summit under the theme, ‘Strengthening Regional Cooperation and Institution Building to Address the Evolving Threat of Terrorism’, in Abuja, from April 22 to April 23. The objective of the summit is to enhance multilateral counter-terrorism cooperation and reshape the international community’s collective response to terrorism in Africa, while emphasizing the importance of African-led and African-owned solutions. The summit will provide a platform to review the nature…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Former Nigerian Customs Sole Administrator, Omlago Ango, has found himself in the public domain for bad as he allegedly damaged the Abuja home of his estranged wife in an attempt to forcibly take over the property. It was gathered that the incident took place on the afternoon of Monday 15 April, 2024 when Ango arrived at the residence located in the upscale district of Abuja, accompanied by a group of individuals.Eyewitnesses recounted a scene of chaos and confrontation as Ango and his companions forcefully gained entry into the property, disregarding objections from the estranged wife and causing…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange has projected that Nigeria will generate $4 billion annually from trading about 50 million barrels on Nigeria’s Commodities exchange. The Chief Executive of LCFE, Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, disclosed this recently during a meeting with the Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission(NSEC) in Abuja. Akeredolu –Ale explained that the consideration is that 10 to 20 per cent of Nigeria’s crude oil production should be provisioned for trading on the floor of the Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange. “This will allow Nigerians to take direct benefits and further aid the growth of the capital market by…

By Abimbola Ogunnaike The All Progressives Congress (APC) has declared the Ondo State governorship Primary Election inconclusive. Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State, who chaired the committee that organised the election, announced this in a statement. Ododo said polls will be conducted in all 13 wards of Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state by 12 noon on Sunday, 21 April, 2024. “Having received reports of the primary election from the 203 wards in the 18 local governments of Ondo State, the primary election committee has decided that election will be conducted in all the 13 Wards of Okitipupa local…

The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, is billed to declare open a two-day workshop on ‘’21st Century Policing: Capacity Building Techniques and Brand Management for Security Image Makers,’’ which begins on Wednesday 24 April, 2024 in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory. The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, will give the keynote address while Chief Wale Olaoye, Chief Executive Officer of Halogen Security Services, is the Special Guest of Honour. The workshop is packaged by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), the training arm of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Offences Commission (ICPC), in collaboration with Fountain…

Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris has commended the team representing Nigeria at the global robotics competition in Dallas, Texas, later this month. He spoke when the team paid him a courtesy call on Friday, 19 April, 2024. The Minister was delighted to receive the team members aged 15 and below and students of Glisten Academy, Abuja; they were accompanied by their coaches. The Minister said the government is willing to promote Nigerians who make the country proud. “By carrying the Nigerian flag, you are representing Nigeria; we urge you to make your mark in that competition and…

The immediate Past Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) of the Lagos State University (LASU), Nigeria, Professor Elias Olukorede WAHAB has likened cultural imperialism to ethnocide. The Professor of Sociology stated this position while speaking as the Guest Speaker at the 62nd International Conference of Lewis and Clark University in Portland Oregon USA with a presentation titled: “Globalization, Commodification Marketization and Cultural Imperialism: Issues and Dimensions”. He examined the treatise that globalisation is a major “soft power” in the reign of cultural imperialism constructing thesis on the premise of the assumptions and presuppositions of classical social theory. He affirmed that globalisation has…