Author: Festus Adeloye

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has successfully secured a total of 95 years in prison for four convicted drug kingpins—Ogbuji Christian Ifeanyi, Iloduba Augustine Chinonye, Shuaibu Nuhu Isa (a.k.a Don), and Zidon Zurga—for trafficking cocaine and skunk worth over N4.6 billion. The Federal High Courts in Lagos and Yola, Adamawa State handed down the sentences following separate convictions. NDLEA operatives arrested Ogbuji Christian Ifeanyi at Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos, on September 18, 2024, during an inward clearance of Ethiopian Airlines passengers arriving from Addis Ababa. He was caught importing 817 wraps of cocaine, weighing 19.40…

Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has expressed concern over claims by truck drivers that their members were being attacked in various parts of the South-East. The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, had earlier in the week expressed concern over the alleged attacks on drivers of trucks conveying goods from the North to the South-East by suspected members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. According to ACF, the killing of the drivers and the destruction of their vehicles constituted a serious threat to national security that could lead to the breakdown of law and order and anarchy.…

Following the expiration of the 48-hour ultimatum issued to the chairman and commissioners of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) to appear before it, the Rivers House of Assembly has given them another 72 hours to do so.  The lawmakers reached the resolution during plenary in Port Harcourt on Friday. The move followed a request brought by one of the lawmakers Enemi George. This was deliberated with the House voting to extend the ultimatum to Monday, 10th March to enable Justice Enebeli, who is the RSIEC chief, and other officials, to appear before them. The House had proposed to…

Chairman of the disbanded Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) says former Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai has every reason to feel embittered over his non-clearance as a ministerial nominee by the Senate  in 2023. He however said only President Bola Tinubu can explain why El-Rufai was dropped from the list. Speaking last week during an interview on Arise TV, El-Rufai had said President Bola Tinubu who pleaded with him to come and work with him to sanitise the electricity sector, simply “changed his mind on the nomination” but used the non-clearance by the senate as…

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday quizzed the immediate-past Minister for Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, for her alleged roles in the misappropriation, violation of procurement process and diversion of public funds of ₦138.4m in the course of disbursing the 2023 budgeted funds for the Ministry. According to authoritative sources, the ex-minister arrived at the Commission’s headquarters around 11am on Thursday and faced interrogators on her alleged involvement in the fraud. The sources claimed that investigations by the EFCC showed that funds donated for the funding of P- Bat Cares for Women Initiative were diverted…

A renowned Nigerian novelist and writer, Mabel Segun, has passed away at the age of 95. The demise of the tennis champion, broadcaster, and diplomat was announced by her family in a statement late Thursday. According to the statement, Segun, a retired administrator, died in the early hours of Thursday. The statement added that her funeral arrangements will be announced later by the family. “It is with gratitude to God for a life well spent in the pursuit of excellence in Literature, Broadcasting and Sports that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother and great grandmother, Mabel Dorothy…

The Special Adviser and a Consultant to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Communications and Strategy, Ken Okolugbo, has blamed the tension between his principal and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan in the Senate on pent-up anger. Okolugbo claimed that the seat arrangement controversy which pitted the Senator representing Kogi Central against the Senate President was made worse by Natasha’s bottled-up anger for her removal as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content. “The fact of the matter was that her seat was removed and there was already bottled-up anger because she was removed from the local content committee,” Okolugbo…

Human rights activist, Comrade Adeniyi Alimi Sulaiman, widely known as “Revolutionary Alfa,” has passed away in a motor vehicle accident along the Abeokuta-Sagamu road in Ogun State.  He was 53 years old at the time of his death. Sulaiman was reportedly travelling to Ibadan on Tuesday, when the vehicle he was in, was involved in a fatal crash. At the time of his passing, he served as the Executive Chairman of the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) and as the Chairman of the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS). A devoted follower of…

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, has approved the appointment of a new Principal Staff Officer (PSO). He is Deputy Commissioner of Police, (DCP) Ahmed Lateef. IGP said DCP Lateef brings to the position a wealth of experience and a proven track record of leadership in various capacities within the Nigeria Police Force. According to a statement on Thursday by the Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi: “Prior to his current posting, DCP Ahmed served as the Police Operations and FPU Coordinator for the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). “He was the Personal Assistant to the…

Justice Ayokunle Faji of the Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the final forfeiture of $1.4million linked to the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to the federal government. The judge initially granted a final forfeiture order on June 24, 2024, but set it aside on June 27, 2024, after it was challenged by the respondents. The court subsequently directed the respondents to file a suit to show why the money should not be forfeited to the federal government and for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to re-argue the application. The respondents…