Author: Alade Adisa

Five most wanted bandit leaders, who have long terrorised Batsari, Safana, and Jibia local government areas of Katsina State, have laid down their arms following intense military operations. The bandits handed over weapons to the military and released several hostages kidnapped during their reign of terror. They also vowed to embrace peace and end their involvement in criminal activities. The repentant scoundrels are named as; Abu Radda, Umar Black, Abdullahi Lankai, Jijjige, and Dabar Musa Dan Gandu, all operating from the Jibia axis. A counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, said the armed groups voluntarily disarmed.…

The internal crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took a new turn yesterday as the Abia State chapter of the party announced the suspension of Senator Adolphus Wabara, the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT), over alleged anti-party activities. The Abia PDP accused Wabara of making comments that suggested Governor Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP) had already secured a second term, despite being just five months into his first tenure. Citing provisions from the party’s constitution—Articles 57(1),(2),(3), 58(1)(b) & (f), and 59(1) (e) & (f)—the state chapter declared that Wabara was “debarred” from holding any party…

World football ruling body, the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) has suspended the football federations of Pakistan and Congo, further limiting the pool of nations eligible to compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. These suspensions add to the existing ban on Russia, bringing the total number of barred countries to three. The World Cup, the most prestigious tournament in international football, is held every four years and is set to return in the summer of 2026. This edition will be jointly hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Reigning champions Argentina, led by Lionel Scaloni, will aim…

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hamas it will end the ceasefire in Gaza and resume intense fighting if the Palestinian group “does not return our hostages by Saturday noon [10:00 GMT]”. Netanyahu said he had ordered Israeli forces to mass inside and around Gaza in response to Hamas’s announcement that it was postponing freeing more hostages until further notice. He did not specify whether he was demanding the release of all 76 remaining hostages, or just the three due to be freed this Saturday – but a minister said he meant “everyone.” Hamas responded by saying it remained…

Former spokesman of the Labour Party (LP) presidential campaign team in the 2023 general election, Kenneth Okonkwo has urged President Bola Tinubu, and the presidential candidates of LP and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Peter Obi, and Atiku Abubakar to step aside from contesting for the presidential seat in the 2027 election. The Nollywood actor-turned-politician stated this on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television. Okonkwo, who was an active member of the LP, in the lead-up to the 2023 general election, has, however, backtracked from his support for Obi, asking the LP chieftain, Atiku and Tinubu to step aside for…

The Senate on Tuesday vigorously grilled the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun regarding 3,907 assault rifles and pistols allegedly missing from the Nigeria Police Force armoury as of January 2020. Egbetokun, who was represented by the Assistant Inspector General of Police (Budget), Abdul Suleiman, appeared before the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) on Tuesday to address an audit query issued by the Auditor-General for the Federation (AuGF), failed to provide satisfactory answers about the missing weapons. The representative of the Auditor-General, Olu Samuel Godwin, cited findings from the 2019 audit report, revealing that a total of 178,459 firearms were…

Manchester City are fighting for Champions League survival and a place in the last 16 after Jude Bellingham’s injury-time winner settled a tense play-off first leg in Real Madrid’s favour. Pep Guardiola’s side rediscovered more of their true form early on at Etihad Stadium as Jack Grealish and Josko Gvardiol combined to set up Erling Haaland for a confident finish after 19 minutes. Grealish, who had made a fine start, then went off injured and after Haaland hit the bar shortly after the break, Real took control. Real let City off the hook by failing to take their chances until…

The Federal Government has called for the applications for the appointment of a new Accountant-General of the Federation and permanent secretaries to fill existing vacancies in Oyo State and the North-West geo-political zone. The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF), Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, announced this in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday through the Director of Information and Public Relations, Mrs. Eno Olotu. According to Walson-Jack, the selection process will involve a written examination conducted by a top Federal Government security agency. The examination questions will be set and marked by serving and retired permanent secretaries.…

Veteran journalist and legal analyst, Richard Akinnola has berated retired Brigadier-General Kunle Togun over what he described as “egregious, insidious, and fallacious allegations” against the late legal luminary, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN. The explosive reaction of Akinnola comes in the wake of an interview the retired general granted on the Edmund Obilo podcast, where he claimed that Fawehinmi hated the Ibrahim Babangida regime because of an alleged business favour from the Buhari government that was disrupted by the 1985 coup. Dismissing Togun’s claim as outright falsehood, the veteran journalist stressed that Fawehinmi was never a businessman and had no financial…

Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri has opened up on news making the rounds that he is responsible for TV star, Nengi Hampson’s pregnancy. On Monday, viral media speculations alleged that the Bayelsa governor had secretly fathered a child with 26-year-old Big Brother Naija star, Nengi. Upon the emergence of the rumour, Nengi, a prominent figure from BBN Season 5 (Lockdown), swiftly refuted the claims while confirming her pregnancy. The Bayelsa-born TV star made a series of X posts dismissing the claim that the governor is responsible for her pregnancy. She tweeted, “As much as I believe social media lies…