Author: Dave Oludare Oso

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri, has credited the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister and former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike with playing a pivotal role in his appointment to the federal cabinet.Lokpobiri spoke at an event organized in honour of Wike by the Ijaw Peoples Congress (IPC) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, where he emphasized the importance of political alliances and support networks in achieving key governmental positions.He said, “It is important to tell you my brothers and sisters that me standing before you today as the minister of state for petroleum resources was also…

Yet another high-profile personality has jumped into the raging controversy about people behind the heightened spate of banditry in the northwestern part of the country with a former governorship candidate of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) in the 2019 governorship election in Zamfara State, Dr Sani Abdullahi Shinkafi alleging that top politicians are sponsoring the crime in the region. He claimed that some unscrupulous politicians have been using banditry against their opponents for selfish political motives. Lately, insecurity, with numerous reported attacks and kidnappings has been on an alarming spate in the region.In a statement issued on Saturday, Shinkafi…

Man in the eye of the storm and social media sensation, Idris Okuneye, widely known as Bobrisky has dragged Martins Vincent Otse, AKA, VeryDarkMan to court, slamming a ₦1 billion lawsuit against him for alleged defamation through an audio clip.Disclosing the development on his Instagram account on Sunday, Bobrisky claims that VeryDarkMan released an AI-generated audio recording that falsely implicated him (Bobrisky) in illicit relationships with high-profile figures, including politicians and law enforcement officials.The cross-dresser’s lawyers, in the suit, alleged that VeryDarkMan used their client’s name and influence for personal gain, making unsubstantiated claims about his relationships with politicians and…

Troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force, Operation Hadin Kai have thwarted an attempted attack by terrorists affiliated with the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) along the Magumeri – Maiduguri axis in Borno.According to Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osaba, Chief Military Information Officer of the MNJTF in N’djamena, Chad, who disclosed this in a statement in Maiduguri on Sunday, the troops recovered caches of ammunition from the insurgents during a tactical operation in the area.Osaba said the troops had executed a tactical ambush, neutralizing the threat before the terrorists could harm innocent civilians.The officer explained that the troops had…

The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) deployed in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State has announced that a self-confessed Boko Haram terrorist, Bochu Abacha has surrendered to its troops. Bochu was said to have confessed to having surrendered because of the intensity of the operation of the MNJTF and declining interest. The Information Officer of the MNJTF, Lieutenant Colonel Olaniyi Osoba, in a statement on Saturday, noted that the terrorist has confessed to being a notorious Boko Haram terrorist who has participated in several Boko Haram/ISWAP operations along the Mongunu–Baga axis of the state. The statement read, “In a…

At least 17 people were reportedly killed in a mass shooting in a remote South African town on Friday.A BBC report, quoting the police, stated that 12 women and one man were killed in one location, while three women and one man were felled in a second location, with the 18th victim in critical condition in the hospital.The report also noted that the yet-to-be-identified gunmen targeted two homesteads in the town of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape.The police said a manhunt for the perpetrators is underway but are yet to determine the motive or make any arrests.The police minister, Senzo…

In continuation of the money laundering trial of a former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, a Bureau de Change operator based in Abuja, Jamilu Abdullahi, has narrated how the former governor severally paid his children’s school fees in dollars. Abdullahi, who is the third prosecution witness in the trial of Ali Bello, the current Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor, Usman Ododo, and nephew of Yahaya Bello was testifying before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja. His testimony was part of the financial transactions between him and the Kogi State government during Bello’s administration.…

Just a few days to the nation’s 64th independence anniversary, organizers of the #FearlessOctober1 protest have insisted that the military, police, and the Department of State Services (DSS) would not stop them from going ahead with the planned demonstration.Disclosing this to newsmen on Saturday, the National Coordinator of the Take It Back Movement, Juwon Sanyaolu, and the Director of Mobilization of the group, Damilare Adenola, said they have written to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to request security during the demonstration, noting that protest is a fundamental right they would not submit to any state agent. They also…

Agitation for a return to the regional system of government has generated a heated debate among Nigerian Senators from the southern and northern regions, with the lawmakers expressing sharply contrasting positions. This development came to the fore at a two-day retreat on the amendments to the 1999 Constitution, organized by the Senate Committee on Constitution Review in collaboration with the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) in Kano on Saturday.While senators from southern Nigeria described it as a welcome development that would improve the economy, tackle insecurity, and accelerate infrastructural development, their counterparts from the northern region vehemently opposed the…

A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abubakar Umar, has said that he gave a former governor of Benue, Gabriel Suswam the sum of $15.8 million cash (N3.1 billion) at his Abuja residence in 2014. The former governor and his finance commissioner, Omadachi Okolobia were accused of diverting N3.1 billion from the state coffers.They were arraigned before Ahmed Mohammed, a federal high court judge in 2015. They were re-arraigned on an 11-count charge bordering on money laundering in 2020.During Friday’s proceedings, Umar, a bureau de change operator, told the court how he received money from Suswam through…