Author: TheScrutinyNG

The United Kingdom has taken over the presidency of the United Nations Security Council from Switzerland, taking on an ambitious agenda for the month of November. Ambassador Barbara Woodward, the UK’s permanent representative to the UN, highlighted the world’s heightened state of conflict, “the most since World War II.” The UK presidency will prioritise the crises in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan, focusing on ceasefires, humanitarian aid, and support for Palestinian refugees through the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Ambassador Woodward called for immediate ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon and affirmed the UK’s support for a two-state solution…

Britain’s Conservative Party on Saturday elected Kemi Badenoch as its new leader as it tries to rebound from a crushing election defeat that ended 14 years in power. The first Black woman to lead a major British political party, Badenoch (pronounced BADE-enock) defeated rival lawmaker Robert Jenrick in a vote of almost 100,000 members of the right-of-center Conservatives. She got 53,806 votes in the online and postal ballot of party members, to Jenrick’s 41,388. Badenoch replaces former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who in July led the Conservatives to their worst election result since 1832. The Conservatives lost more than 200…

Former Delta State Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama (SAN) is dead. Born on June 5, 1947, the late Utuama was 77. Utuama served as deputy governor from 2007 to 2015 during the two-term tenure of Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan. He was also the Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice during the tenure of Chief James Ibori. In his tribute, Ibori described the late Utuama as a humble, loyal aide who executed his duties with utmost professionalism during his lifetime. He wrote “Professor Amos Agbe Utuama, my humble, loyal, and esteemed Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. You were my steadfast legal…

The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has expressed sadness over the sudden death of the Chairman of Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of the State, Hon. Oladotun Olakanle. Governor Sanwo-Olu, in a condolence message issued on Saturday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Gboyega Akosile, said Olakanle’s death is a colossal loss to Onigbongbo LCDA, the All Progressives Congress, APC and Lagos State as a whole. Olakanle, popularly called Tant’olorun, died on Saturday after a brief illness at the age of 54. The Governor sympathised with the immediate family of the departed, his friends and…

Kenya will reintroduce some of the tax hikes that sparked widespread protests earlier this year, the government announced on Friday, with a new deputy president, Abraham Kithure Kindiki, officially sworn in after weeks of political upheaval. President William Ruto initially withdrew a finance bill in June following deadly clashes with protesters and accusations against police for excessive force, leading to over 60 fatalities. Now, with an $80 billion debt burden, the government is bringing forward three new tax bills, including VAT increases and taxes on digital services like ride-hailing and food delivery—sectors where freelancers, now subject to income tax, have…

Justice E.U Akpan of the Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan, Oyo State, has convicted and sentenced two currency racketeers to six months imprisonment each. The convicts were jailed upon being arraigned by the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC,  on one-count charge bordering on naira abuse. They pleaded guilty to the charge. The one lone-count charge reads: “That you Suleiman Kolawole Nurudeen and Yekeen Kazeem Ayoade on or about the 20th day of February, 2024 in Ibadan within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court did sell the sum of N50,000.00 (Five Hundred Thousand Naira)…

The United Nations Children’s Fund has disclosed that no fewer than 3.8 million children will be vaccinated against measles across four northern states. The Health Officer at UNICEF’s Bauchi Field Office, Patrick Akor, announced this at a press conference in Bauchi on Friday, stating that the vaccination exercise would commence on Saturday and would last for seven days. He highlighted that the four northern states where the integrated measles campaign will take place are Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, and Plateau. According to him, “For the measles campaign, we have a target of 3.8 million children aged nine to 59 months across…

A 73-year-old woman who falsely claimed her late father-in-law’s pension for more than 28 years has been jailed for two years. Margaret Bergin, with an address at Fairfield House in Mountrath in County Laois, fraudulently claimed the state pension of John Bergin, who died in 1993 aged 82, to the value of €271,046 (£226,978). Suspicions were raised in 2022 when an amateur gerontologist – someone who studies aging – carried out research in relation to a man who he believed was 110 years of age. He contacted Áras an Uachtaráin (the residence of the President of Ireland) to enquire about…

The Rivers State Government has denied reports that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has shut down the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited operations in the state. The rebuttal is contained in a statement signed by the state Commissioner for Information, Joe Johnson. Reports circulated on the Internet had claimed that Governor Fubara shut down the company after a court stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria from releasing federal allocation to the state. A YouTube blog reported that Mr Fubara had declared “no allocation to Rivers State no oil for Nigeria,” in response to the Abuja Federal High Court order. In its reaction,…

Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of African Action Congress (AAC) on the last election, has criticized the Nigerian justice system, saying it is worse than the former apartheid regime in South Africa. Sowore was reacting to the criminal trial of minors who participated in the #EndBadGovernance protest which rocked the country recently and their bail condition to the tune of N10 million each. Regrettably reaction to the harsh condition, the publisher of SaharaReporters said through his X handle; “The Nigerian justice system is worse than that of apartheid South Africa, even at this time. “Justice Egwuatu of the Federal High…