Author: Samuel Akpenpuun

The West African Examinations Council has withheld the results of 215,267 candidates from the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination. This figure represents 11.92 per cent of the 1,805,216 candidates who took the examination. The 2024 WASSCE commenced on Tuesday, 30th April 2024, and concluded on 24th June 2024. Speaking on Monday while announcing the release of the 2024 WASSCE results, the Head of the Nigeria Office, WAEC, Dr Amos Dangut, stated that the results were withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice. He explained that this figure was 4.37 per cent lower than the 16.29…

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has raised serious concerns about the deteriorating state of religious freedom in Nigeria. In a report released over the weekend, the commission criticised the Federal Government for its continued enforcement of blasphemy laws and its tolerance of violence perpetrated by extremist groups against religious communities. The 2024 Annual Report from USCIRF highlighted ongoing systematic restrictions on freedom of religion or belief across Nigeria. The report pointed out that several states were using blasphemy laws to prosecute members of various faith-based groups, including Christians, Muslims, and secular humanists. The commission emphasised that these…

The internet has been ablaze in the last few days with heated clashes between South Africans and Nigerians, sparked by the controversy surrounding the Miss South Africa 2024 pageant. The debate intensified after a finalist of Nigerian descent, Chidimma Adetshina, withdrew from the competition amid accusations against her mother involving fraud and identity theft. Adetshina, 23, who was born in Soweto to a Nigerian father and a South African mother of Mozambican descent, faced significant backlash on social media due to her Nigerian heritage. The controversy reached a boiling point when the South African Home Affairs Ministry launched an investigation,…

The Peoples Democratic Party and the ruling All Progressives Congress, on Sunday, traded words over the recent Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to local governments. While the opposition PDP described the apex court judgment as a potential source of trouble, the ruling APC called the opposition party an enemy of the people, who did not want the dividends of democracy to percolate to the grassroots. A month after the Supreme Court’s judgment, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, addressed a world press conference in Abuja on Sunday, stating that the matter was not yet settled. On July 11, the…

The death toll from a garbage landslide in the Ugandan capital Kampala has risen to 23, a city official said Monday. People and livestock were buried in mountains of waste at the landfill in the northern Kampala district of Kiteezi on Saturday after a collapse caused by heavy downpours. “The latest confirmed dead are 23,” Kampala city authority spokesman Daniel Nuweabine told AFP, adding that the search for survivors was still ongoing. “Working with other agencies, we are assessing the situation and helping all those in distress,” he added. The area’s resident commissioner Yasin Ndide had said on Sunday that…

American-born Nigerian champion Dubem Amene has announced his retirement from athletics at age 21 following the disqualification of the men’s 4x400m relay squad from Paris 2024 Olympics final. Amene was part of the Nigerian quartet of Ifeanyi Ojeli, Ezekiel Nathaniel, and Chidi Okezie to have qualified for the 4x400m final, having finished second in heat 2 with a Season’s Best of 2:59.81. Unfortunately, their joy was cut short as they were disqualified from competing in the final for an adjudged lane infringement by Ojeli, who ran the first leg, before handing over the baton to Nathaniel. Following the unfortunate news,…

Ndi Nne, a house pair in the BBNaija season 9 edition, has been evicted from the ongoing show. This came after the custodian, Streeze was assigned the power to evict one out of the four house pairs nominated for eviction. The house pairs nominated for eviction on the night were Flourish, Zinwe, Ndi Nne and Radicals. Ndi Nne became the second house pair to be evicted after Tami exited the house last week. The grand prize for this season is a spectacular ₦100 million, which includes a cash prize and an SUV, with additional sponsored prizes to be announced. The…

As part of efforts to curtail the activities of oil thieves and economic saboteurs in their illegal acts of bursting oil pipelines and siphoning crude oil and its products, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has announced the destruction of 13 illegal refining sites and ten overhead tanks. In a statement, the Director of Public Relations and Information of the Air Force, Air Vice Marshal Edward Gabkwet said operations conducted along the Imo River near Obuzor and Okoloma, several active illegal refining sites were discovered to be taking advantage of the difficult terrain to perpetrate their illegalities. The statement added that…

Former Governor of Oyo State, Rashidi Ladoja, will be honored with a beaded crown by the Olubadan of Ibadan land, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, on Monday, August 12. The ceremony will take place during the inaugural meeting of the Olubadan-in-Council at the new Palace in Oke Aremo, Ibadan, beginning at 12:00 noon. Ladoja, who holds the title of Otun Olubadan, confirmed the upcoming event and the presentation of the crown, which will officially recognise his status. The confirmation came following a letter he received on Friday evening. A source close to the Olubadan’s palace shared, “He received the letter on Friday…

Rwandan President Paul Kagame was sworn in on Sunday for a fourth term after sweeping to victory in elections last month with more than 99 per cent of the vote. Several dozen heads of state and other dignitaries from African nations joined the inauguration ceremony at a packed 45,000-seat stadium in Kigali, the nation’s capital, where crowds had started gathering in the early morning. Kagame took the oath of office before Chief Justice Faustin Ntezilyayo, pledging to “preserve peace and national sovereignty, consolidate national unity.” The outcome of the July 15 poll was never in doubt for the iron-fisted Kagame,…