Author: Abimbola Ogunnaike

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court has held the Federal Republic of Nigeria accountable for the unlawful detention and mistreatment of Nigerian student Glory Okolie. The Court in a ruling on Thursday awarded ₦10 Million in compensation and issued directives to safeguard human rights. The case arose from the detention of Glory Okolie on 13 June 2021, by Nigerian police authorities without judicial authorization. According to the Applicants, Okolie, along with One Love Foundation and Incorporated Trustees of Behind Bars Human Rights Foundation, she was denied access to legal counsel, subjected to forced labor, and physically abused…

The Director General and Chief Executive Officer (DG/CEO) of the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA), Dr. Yemisi Asagbra debunked some allegations level against the agency by some non governmental organisations (NGOs) concerning negligence and compromise. Speaking during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday, Asagbra said: “The negative statements circulating are misleading and lack credible scientific backing. The agency asks these organisations to present verifiable scientific evidence for their claims and we relies on sound scientific research and internationally recognized protocols to make informed decisions. It is part of the Cartagena Protocol with over 180 parties, our mandate is to…

The arrest of Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa in Finland has been confirmed by the federal government. A statement on Friday, 22 November, 2024, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Nigerian-Finnish citizen and prominent leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was arrested by Finnish authorities on Thursday. According to the statement, Ekpa wascharged with inciting terrorism and promoting violence.  The Finnish District Court ofPäijät-Häme ruled to detain him on probable cause for publicly inciting crimes with terrorist intent. The Finnish authorities alleged that Mr. Ekpa used social media platforms to spread separatist propaganda, incite violence…

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum has approved the allocation of N465 million and a designated space for establishing a National Orthopedic Hospital in the state. Designated for the project is Azare, headquarters of Hawul local government area in southern Borno. The hospital is aimed at addressing the pressing need for specialised orthopaedic care in the northeast region when established. Zulum stated this on Thursday evening when he received members of the accreditation team from the Federal Ministry of Health led by the Director of Hospital Services in the ministry, Dr Jimoh Saludeen. Zulum explained that the state government would…

Justice F. Giwa Ogunbanjo of Federal High Court, Abuja on Thursday, November 21, 2024, expressed displeasure upon discovery that a defendant, Nicholas Mutu has been jetting out of the country with an undeclared passport and without the express permission of the court in violation of his bail conditions. Mutu, who served as Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), between August 2014 and August 2016 is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on 13-count charges of money laundering to the tune of N320 million. Justice Ogunbanjo during proceedings noted that the defendant’s overseas travel without the court’s permission was intolerable and that such contempt of her court would not be overlooked. “There is no justification for the defendant to flout the order of this honorable court. The order is that the…

The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday, 21 November, 2024, urged the graduating class to continue to seek new knowledge, embrace the challenges ahead, and strive for excellence in every endeavour. The President who was represented by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Suwaiba Ahmad made this statement at the 36th convocation ceremony of Yaba College of Technology held at Dr. Philip Adegbite Sport Complex in the Institution. President Tinubu told the graduates that as they move forward into the next chapter of their lives, learning is a lifelong journey, therefore, they…

Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) has charged the Nigerian elites to key into the whole-of-society strategy by the NDLEA to curb the scourge of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking in the country. Marwa gave the charge in his keynote speech at the Island Club Business Forum in Lagos on Tuesday. He said: “This is not a challenge for government alone. All of us are stakeholders on this issue and it is an assignment for all Nigerians. The standard whole-of-society approach to the drug issue is such that everyone…

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Ibrahim Gusau has added another feather to his cap as he was on Friday, 22 November, 2024 elected as the 1st Vice President of the West African Football Union (WAFU) B zone. The election took place in Niamey, Niger Republic. President of Ghana Football Association, Kurt Edwin-Simeon Okraku, was elected President of the zone, while Oumarou Sawadogo, President of the Burkinabe Football Federation, was elected as the 2nd Vice President. The WAFU B zone is made up of seven countries – Nigeria, Togo, Benin Republic, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic and Cote d’Ivoire.…

The committee set up by Governor Monday Okpebholo for the recovery of assets from the administration of his predecessor, Godwin Obaseki, has declared over 200 vehicles belonging to the Edo State Government missing. The chairman of the committee, Kelly Okungbowa who made this disclosure to newshounds on Friday, 22 November,2024 in Benin City, said three vehicles have been recovered in a private residence. Okungbowa listed the three vehicles as one Hilux van and two Toyota Hiace buses. He also disclosed that in one of the Toyota Hiace buses, the committee recovered some palliatives that were meant to have been shared…

Tears flow like river in Nnewi, Anambra State on Friday, 22 November, 2024 as the remains of the late senator representing Anambra South, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, was buried in his compound. Ubah’s remains first arrived his country home in Umuanuka, Otolo Nnewi in Nnewi North Local Government Area of the state, before being moved to St Peter Clever Parish Umuanuka for a funeral mass. As his body arrived his compound in Nnewi, scores of indigent people, perceived to be his dependents, who gathered at the gate of his palatial home broke into wailing. Ubah died in the United Kingdom in…

In less than 10 hours after the release of his new album titled ‘Morayo,’ famous Nigerian Afrobeats singer, Wizkid has broken records as all the songs in the album are in the top 17 positions on Apple Music, thegazellenews.com reports. The album also shattered Nigeria’s streaming records, with one of its singles amassing 1.57 million streams on Spotify on its opening day. The album, which was released on Friday, 22 November, 2024, is a tribute to his late mother, Juliana Morayo Balogun, who died in August 2023. Afrobeats singer, Wizkid has broken records as all the songs from his new…

Nollywood actress, Wumi Toriola has surpassed Toyin Abraham’s box office record. This is coming a few days after Wumi Toriola emerged as the 2024 box office champion. Thegazellenews.com recalls that the actress was awarded the box office champion by the Federal Government through the National Film and Video Censors Board, NFVCB. Toriola broke Abraham’s record with her latest movie ‘Queen Lateefah’, which has become one of the highest-grossing Nigerian film of all time. Toyin Abraham Since its release in September, the film has grossed N350 million in just two months, surpassing Abraham’s ‘Malaika’, which earned N302 million. The new achievement has placed…

The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, has disclosed that between 2023 and 2024, the Commission received 2,038 petitions, secured 31 convictions, and recovered assets/ cash worth N105.82 billion. Dr. Aliyu made this known Wednesday, 20 November, 2024, while hosting members of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption, led by its Chairman, Honorable Prince Kayode Moshood Akiolu, who were on an oversight visit to the Commission. The Chairman stated that “the Commission received 1,187 petitions in 2023. From January to October 2024, the Commission received 851 petitions. In…

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has said that his administration will award a contract for the construction of Alagbole-Akute and Akute-Oke-Aro-Ijoko roads in Ifo Local Government Area in the next two weeks. Governor Abiodun, who disclosed this at the commissioning of the Ojodu Abiodun-Denro-Ishasi-Akute Road on Friday, said construction would start from Akute to Oke Aro. He said: “Within the next few weeks, a maximum of three weeks, in my determination to ensure that this local government wears a new look, I will be awarding the Alagbole-Akute road. I will also be awarding the Akute-Ijoko-Oke-Aro road. “That Akute-Ijoko-Oke-Aro road…

President Bola Tinubu has stated that his administration’s renewed focus in driving international and local investments into livestock sector of the agricultural value-chain will end the crisis of farmer-herder clashes, eradicate hunger and poverty in Nigeria as well as promote economic prosperity. President Tinubu said this Thursday, 21 November, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil at the signing of a Letter of Intent between the Nigerian Government and the JBS S.A, one of the top three largest meat processing companies globally. “What we are doing right now is that we are solving a problem that afflicted humanity in that…

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake has charged Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of mining companies to lead the way in establishing mining development banks to guarantee the needed long-term credit for sustainable development of the mining sector. Speaking at the CEO Roundtable on the sidelines of the 2024 Nigeria Mining Week, Alake encouraged the CEOs to spearhead the mining bank with the aim of making it private-sector driven to wean it off government interference and ensure its longevity and effectiveness. He assured the CEOs that the federal government is actively dismantling bottlenecks to enhance the ease of…

The death toll from two sectarian attacks in northwest Pakistan’s Kurram district has risen to 43, officials confirmed on Friday, as authorities imposed a curfew and suspended mobile services in the tense region. Gunmen targeted two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims traveling under police escort in the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghanistan border, an area with a history of sectarian violence. A senior administration official, Javed Ullah Mehsud, confirmed the updated death toll, noting that the victims included seven women and three children, just as he also added that 16 people were injured, 11 of whom are in critical…

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Bode George has advised the former vice president, Atiku Abubakar to stop any plan of contesting in 2027. George stated that Atiku, who was the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 general election has been contesting since 1993. While addressing newsmen in Ikoyi, on Thursday, 21 November, 2024, he urged Atiku to end his 31-year-long bid to be President and assume the position of an elder for posterity sake. In a viral video on social media, he further noted that Atiku would be 81 years old by 2027. “My advice to Atiku is…

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt presided over by Justice G.V. Obomanu, has issued an ex parts order restraining the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, from conducting any elective congresses for the Rivers State APC without including the claimants/applicants. This restriction applies to local government and state executive committees or any congresses whatsoever, pending the determination of the substantive suit. Justice Obomanu, also issued an interim injunction, specifically barring the defendants from proceeding with the scheduled congresses on November 23 and 30, 2024, or any other date. The injunction prevents any further steps…

The Supreme Court has nullified the National Lottery Act 2005 enacted by the National Assembly. The judgment followed the suit filed in 2008 by Lagos and some other states. Ruling on the matter, the Apex Court in a unanimous judgement consisting of seven members on Friday, 22 November, 2024 held that the National Assembly lacked the powers to legislate on issues relating to lottery and games of chance. The lead judgment was delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris. The court ruled that such powers only reside with the state Houses of Assembly, which possess exclusive jurisdiction over lottery and games of…