Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

Eastern and southern African regional blocs have appointed former leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya and Nigeria to oversee their peace process for the Democratic Republic of Congo where fighting has intensified in the east of the country. The East African Community (EAC) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) have come together in recent weeks in an attempt to bring peace to eastern DRC, where the Rwanda-backed M23 armed group has seized large swathes of territory, triggering a humanitarian crisis. The two blocs agreed in a summit on February 8 to merge two separate peace processes — based in Luanda and Nairobi…

The Magistrate Court sitting in Sabo, Yaba area of Lagos on Tuesday freed Abdulazeez Fashola, popularly known as Naira Marley, in relation to the case of the demise of Aloba Oladimeji lleriOluwa also known as Mohbad. Magistrate Ejiro Kubenje, who read and implemented the legal advise of the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) Lagos, said that he had no case to answer. The court also freed music promoter, Samson Balogun Eletu, also known as Sam Larry, Owodunni Ibrahim also known as Primeboy and Mohbad’s former Manager, Opere Babatunde. The DPP, however, said it shall be prosecuting the auxiliary nurse who…

The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, has directed all electricity distribution companies to publish the refunds they have made to customers who purchased meters under the Meter Asset Providers scheme. The NERC announced this on its social media handles on Monday. On Monday, the commission held the first Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry Stakeholders meeting in 2025. The MAP framework provides for the provision and maintenance of end-use meters as a service by third-party investors based on which customers benefitting from such meters pay metering service charges. NERC regulation states that “where a customer elects to make upfront…

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has confirmed that President Bola Tinubu will chair the party’s National Caucus meeting today at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The National Secretary of the APC, Senator Ajibola Basiru, assured that the meeting will proceed as planned, dismissing concerns about a possible postponement. “No, nobody is postponing anything. The National Caucus and the NEC meetings will still be held Tuesday and Wednesday as scheduled,” Basiru stated. Last year, the National Caucus and National Executive Committee (NEC) meetings were initially scheduled for September 11 and 12 in Abuja but were later called off without explanation. Although…

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has demanded the withdrawal of Justice Rahman Oshodi  of the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja from his ongoing trial over alleged $4.5bn and N2.8bn fraud. Emefiele’s legal team, led by Olalekan Ojo (SAN), accused the judge of bias and urged him to recuse himself from further proceedings. The request was made during Monday’s hearing at the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos. Justice Oshodi adjourned the matter till February 26, 2025, to rule on whether he will withdraw from the case. Emefiele is facing 19 counts bordering on…

Lucky Aiyedatiwa has been inaugurated as the Governor of Ondo State, commencing his first full four-year term following the death of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu in December 2023. The swearing-in ceremony took place on Monday at the Ondo State Sports Complex in Akure, the state capital, two months after Aiyedatiwa won the governorship election under the banner of the All Progressives Congress. Aiyedatiwa took his oath of office as the seventh Ondo State governor just after his running mate Olayide Adelami. The governor thereafter rode in an open van around the complex, waving to cheers from supporters. Road to Govt House…

A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani Kayode on Monday says nobody should twist twist the words of former Head of State, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) regarding the 1966 military coup. In a post on his Facebook page, Fani-Kayode said there was nowhere in IBB’s autobiography where he claimed that the 1966 was not an Igbo coup. He wrote: “It was heinously callous for Nzeogwu to have murdered Sir Ahmadu Bello and his wife, Hafsatu, because not only were they eminently adored by many but also because they were said not to have put up a fight. From that moment…

The National Industrial Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the reinstatement of the sacked Clerk of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Barr Olalekan Onafeko. The order follows an ex parte application to the Court made by Onafeko through his counsel, Yusuf Nurudeen, in a case he filed against Lagos State Government, Lagos State Civil Service Commission, Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission, The Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Attorney-General of Lagos State and Mr. Ottun Babatunde. Onafeko was the Clerk of the House until January 13, 2025 when Hon. Mudashiru Obasa was removed as Speaker, with the…

Brad Sigmon, a 67-year old South Carolina death row inmate has chosen to be executed by a firing squad, which would make him only the fourth inmate in the U.S. to die by this execution method. Sigmon who is scheduled to be killed on March 7, informed state officials on Friday that he wishes to die by firing squad rather than by lethal injection or the electric chair, citing, in part, the prolonged suffering the three inmates previously executed in the state had faced when they were killed by lethal injection. Sigmon was the first South Carolina inmate to choose…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has handed over a total sum of $132,362.43, N78,566,324.81 to American, Spanish and Swiss victims of local fraudsters. The Commission described the move as a gesture of its commitment to tackling economic and financial crimes and offering restitution to victims of fraudulent practices. According to a statement by the EFCC, the handover was performed by its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede,  on Friday at the EFCC’s corporate headquarters in Jabi, Abuja. It added that the delighted Olukoyede observed that, “The event is a demonstration of the commitment of the federal government of Nigeria and that…