The Federal Government has reiterated its decision to ban students under the age of 18 years from sitting for the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE)Disclosing this on Thursday in Abuja at a briefing by government officials on the preparations for next week’s celebration of the nation’s Independence anniversary on October 1, Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman accused parents of unnecessarily hurrying their children and wards.Earlier in July, the Minister had announced that that starting from 2025, candidates below 18 would not be allowed to sit for the SSCE, a move that had created ripples across the country, prompting a backlash…
Author: Agency Reporter
The dare-devil robbers, who, on April 5, 2018, attacked banks and police stations in Offa, Kwara State, killing scores of people, including police officers, have been sentenced to death.Justice Haleemah Salman of Kwara State High Court in Ilorin sentenced the armed robbers to death by hanging on Thursday.The names of the convicts are Niyi Ogundiran, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, Salahudeen Azeez and Ayoade Akinnibosun.Also, the court sentenced each of them to three years in jail for being in possession of illegal firearms. Delivering her three-hour verdict, Justice Salman said the prosecution proved the offences against the defendants beyond doubt.She said:…
The Federal Government has started the implementation of the new minimum wage regime.The government began payment of the N70,000 new minimum wage on Thursday, several months after it began negotiations with labour unions in the country.According to a Punch report, payment of the new salary and its consequential adjustments to 1.2 million civil servants on the payroll of the Federal Government across all levels has considerably shot up the annual national new wage bill to N4.019 trillion.The over 1.2 million civil servants will be paid the newly approved minimum wage in September.The Accountant-General of the Federation, Dr Oluwatoyin Madein, in…
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said that the erstwhile governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and current emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi was not sacked from the apex bank in 2014 but was suspended.Jonathan also said $49.8 billion did not go missing during his administration, insisting that there was no way such an amount of money would be stolen from Nigeria without immediate impact and repercussion.Jonathan was Nigeria’s president from 2010 to 2015.Sanusi had claimed that the sum could not be accounted for, in a letter dated September 25, 2013.The former President spoke in Abuja during the launch…
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to defy global ceasefire calls, including from its staunch ally, the United States, over 600 people have been killed in Lebanon since Monday as Israel continues its bombardment. Lebanon’s health ministry reported that an Israeli airstrike hit the outskirts of Beirut on Thursday, killing two people and injuring 15, including a critically wounded woman.The attack brought the total death toll from overnight strikes to 28. Reuters also stated that the strike killed Mohammad Surur, a senior commander of Hezbollah’s air force unit, according to security sources.Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV broadcast images of smoke rising from…
In a bid to forestall any breakdown of law and order, the Nigeria Police Force has directed all its formations to deploy covert operatives to all nooks and crannies of the country to ensure that there is no protest during Nigeria’s 64th Independence Anniversary celebrations on October 1.A Police Wireless Message, obtained on Thursday evening, from the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, through the Nigerian Police Department of Operations to all AIG Zone 1 to 17, Commands and units confirmed this.The signal with Ref: DTO: 261604/09/2024, 0900/DOPS/FHQ/ABJ/VOL.T9/395 X SECURITY GENERAL X RE: CB mandated that all necessary measures should be…
The Defence Headquarters has said that relevant military agencies are diligently investigating allegations of banditry sponsorship in the country’s northeastern region.Disclosing this at a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday, the DHQ’s Director of Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Edward Buba affirmed that relevant agencies tasked with such responsibilities were diligently investigating the matter.This came against the backdrop of accusations and counter-accusations between Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State and his predecessor and incumbent the Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Matawalle over sponsorship of banditry in the state.An unpleasant drama had played out earlier when the Defence Minister challenged…
In a continuing saga, social media influencer, Martins Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, has disclosed that he possesses more damning evidence to support his exposé regarding Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky and the voice note in which the crossdresser claimed to have served his sentence in a private apartment.VeryDarkMan also explained that he had no intention of defaming human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, as being insinuated online.The social media influencer said in an Instagram post, said, “Now, let me tell you something even more interesting. I have another voice note to post, which I…
In what was described a sweeping indictment, the mayor of New York City in the United States, Eric Adams, has been charged with five counts related to improper campaign contributions.According to ABC News reports, a sweeping indictment unsealed on Thursday morning detailed that “Eric Adams, the defendant, sought and accepted illegal campaign contributions in the form of ‘nominee’ or ‘straw’ contributions, meaning that the true contributors conveyed their money through nominal donors, who falsely certified they were contributing their own money.”It alleged that “as a result of those false certifications, Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign received more than $10,000,000 in public…
A 28-year-old Nigerian, Ms. Favour Ugwu, has been arrested and jailed for eight years in prison by the court in Ghana on account of human trafficking.At least eight young Nigerian girls have been rescued from human traffickers in Ghana.This was disclosed in a statement signed by Gabriel Odu, Media, Public Relations and Protocols Unit, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) on Wednesday.According to the statement, the rescued girls, who were said to be aged between 15 and 22, from various states across Nigeria, were lured to Ghana under false promises of employment but were forced into sexual exploitation.It added that…
