Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso

Troops of the Nigerian Army have neutralized a notorious bandit, “Al’jan,” in the Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State. Al’jan’s death has brought relief to the residents of the area. The deceased had long been terrorizing communities in the local government area. Originally from Niger Republic, “Al’jan,” whose real name remains undisclosed, settled in Tsafe LGA after working as a motorcycle taxi operator. Zagazola Makama, a Lake Chad Basin counterterrorism and insurgency expert, explained that working as a taxi operator connected Al’jan with Fulani herders, leading him down a path of criminality. The publication stated: “Over time, he forged…

A Federal High Court in Lagos has jailed four drug kingpins whose 2,139.55 kilograms of cocaine at an Ikorodu residential estate, was seized by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 2022. The convicts were Soji Jubril Oke, 71; Wasiu Akinade, 55; Emmanuel Arinze Chukwu, 67; and Kelvin Christopher Smith, 44, a Jamaican. The drug kingpins, who were nabbed by NDLEA operatives in various locations across Lagos were charged with six counts under charge number FHC/L/607C/2022 in October and December 2022. In a statement on Thursday, the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, said that they were jailed by Justice Yellim…

Predators beware! The world’s deadliest rat carries enough toxin to kill an elephant Did you know there’s a rat poisonous enough to kill an elephant? Lophiomys imhausi, also known as the crested rat, the maned rat, and the African crested rat, is a deadly rarity says Aoife Glass. The crested rat is the only known poisonous rodent, and the only known mammal to sequester plant toxins for use as a defence mechanism. One bite is enough to kill. What does the crested rat look like?Adult crested rats grow to between 360mm and 530mm head to tail. The small head is…

The Federal Government has outlined plans to set up annexes of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in five geopolitical zones of the country. Towards this end, the government has made a budgetary provision of N3,680,000,000 towards the actualisation of the project. NCAT is the foremost aviation training institution in Nigeria established in 1964 and it is a Regional Training Centre (RTC) designated by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Since its establishment, the college only has an annex in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital and the hub of aviation in Nigeria. Sources said the plan to decentralise the…

Operatives of the Katsina State Police Command on Wednesday engaged armed bandits in a fierce gunfight on the Katsina-Magama Jibia road, rescuing 10 victims in the process. The incident occurred on the evening of Wednesday, December 24, 2024, when the bandits, armed with dangerous weapons, attacked a commercial vehicle, firing at its occupants and attempting to abduct them. In a statement, the Command’s spokesperson, ASP Abubakar Sadiq, revealed that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Jibia promptly led a team of operatives to the scene upon receiving a distress call. The officers engaged the assailants in a gun duel, successfully…

The widow of the late former governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, Betty, has dissociated herself from the memorial lecture being planned by the state government in honour of her husband. The state government had scheduled the lecture, which is part of a series of activities to commemorate the first anniversary of Akeredolu’s death on December 27, 2023, for Friday in Akure, the state capital. Renowned lawyer, Femi Falani (SAN), was to deliver the lecture, with Bashorun Seinde Arogbofa serving as the chairman of the Akeredolu Leadership Lecture Series, as announced by the state government.However, taking to her X account…

Unidentified gunmen have abducted the representative of Onitsha North Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Justice Azuka. The Labour Party lawmaker was kidnapped along Ugwunapampa Road in Inland Town, Onitsha as he was returning home on Tuesday night. The lawmaker, who recently reclaimed his mandate after a court nullified the election of Douglas Egbuna of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was forcefully taken to an unknown location, and no contact has been made with his family by the kidnappers. A close associate, who spoke on condition of anonymity, expressed deep concern about the lawmaker’s safety and current whereabouts.…

Groups of protesters approached the penitentiary, triggering unrest inside and prompting inmates to knock down a wall and flee More than 1,500 prisoners escaped from a Maputo prison on Wednesday, taking advantage of the third day of unrest triggered by the controversial confirmation of the long-ruling Frelimo party as the winner of recent elections. A total of 1,534 detainees escaped the high-security prison located about 15km (nine miles) from the capital, national police chief, Bernardino Rafael said at a press conference. Among those attempting to escape, 33 were killed and 15 wounded in clashes with prison staff, he added. A…

….Zelensky calls Putin ‘inhumane’ Russia launched an “inhumane” attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Christmas Day, with explosions reported across the country, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said. It is the thirteenth time this year Russia has carried out a major attack on Ukraine’s power grid, according to DTEK, the country’s largest energy provider, leaving it in a precarious position while the war grinds into a third winter. At least one person died in the attacks in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, while six others were injured in Kharkiv – less than 20 miles from the Russian border – Ukraine’s national police…

One of Colombia’s infamous drug lords and a key operator of the Medellin cartel has been deported back to the South American country, after serving 25 years of a 30-year prison sentence in the United States. A short while later, Fabio Ochoa was again a free man. Ochoa arrived in Bogota’s El Dorado airport on a deportation flight on Monday, wearing a gray sweatshirt and carrying his personal belongings in a plastic bag. After stepping out of the plane, the former cartel boss was met by immigration officials in bullet proof vests. There were no police on site to detain…