Author: Festus Adeloye

The Defence Headquarters has said troops on internal security operations across the country have killed 82 terrorists and arrested 198 criminals within one week. In a statement released on Friday, the Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj-Gen Markus Kangye, said the troops also rescued 93 kidnap victims in one week and recovered 86 high-calibre weapons and 2,040 weapons across the theatres of operation in the country. According to the DHQ spokesman, 41 terrorists, comprising 10 males, 12 females, and 19 children, surrendered to troops of Operation Hadin Kai in the North East. He said troops in the Niger Delta region…

The Federal Government has revealed plans to discontinue its visa-on-arrival policy, describing it as unsustainable and a potential security risk. The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this on Friday at the graduation ceremony of 100 officers of the Nigeria Immigration Service who underwent a five-day specialised training on the application of Advance Passenger Information/Passenger Name Record data in national security and law enforcement at the service headquarters, Abuja. Explaining the benefits of a data-driven visa system, Tunji-Ojo said, “We believe that it is better for us to make decisions based on objectivity rather than subjectivity. “Of course, that…

The Nigeria Customs Service, Western Marine Command, said it intercepted 53 sacks of cannabis sativa weighing 1,958kg with a duty-paid value of N398m in Lagos. The command’s Public Relations Officer, Lomba Benjamin, disclosed this in a statement on Friday. Speaking on the seizures, the Customs Area Controller in charge of the command, Paul Bamisaiye, said that the contrabands were intercepted at Ilase Sea Beach, about 200 nautical miles from the Lagos Anchorage. He said that the smugglers tried to run away but were overpowered by the officers, “they abandoned the boat and jumped into the sea.” “The boat was quickly…

President Bola Tinubu has approved the relocation of 29 correctional centres across the country as part of ongoing efforts to modernise the nation’s custodial facilities. The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, confirmed this development during the commissioning of 39 newly acquired vehicles and five bullet-resistant guard booths for the Nigerian Correctional Service in Abuja on Friday. Tunji-Ojo highlighted that many of the existing correctional facilities, such as those in Suleja and Ikoyi, were established in the 19th century and are outdated. “Suleja Correctional Centre was established in 1914, Ikoyi in 1956, and we even have facilities from the 19th…

The Osun State High Court in Ilesa has ordered the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission, (OSSIEC), to conduct elections for the vacant positions of local government chairmen and councillors in all the 30 local government areas and the area office in Osun State. This order was made on Friday, 21st of February, 2025, sequel to a suit brought before the court by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), one of the political parties participating in the election.

The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered the permanent forfeiture of $4.7 million, ₦830 million, and multiple properties linked to the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele. Justice Yellim Bogoro in a judgment delivered on Friday also ordered the final forfeiture of investments worth $900,000 traced to one of Emefiele’s close relatives, Anita Joy Omoile. The court also ordered the final forfeiture of another $4.4m worth of investment traced to Deep Blue Energy Services Ltd as well as another sum of N283m in Zenith Bank traced to Liman Investment Ltd area, €20,000, and £1,999.50,…

The Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Mr Tony Elumelu, has stressed the need for increased oil production to fund Nigeria’s economic diversification and development. Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the Nigeria Petroleum Industry Leadership Discourse, he emphasised the importance of oil revenues in driving industrialisation, energy security, and infrastructural growth. The meeting, convened by Heirs Energies, which is under the aegis of Heirs Holdings, was themed “Nigeria’s Oil Production Growth Roadmap: Acceleration Imperatives”. The gathering brought together key industry players, including representatives from OPEC, SEPLAT, Shell, Oando Energy, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory…

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo , on Thursday, advised former military president, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.), not to be unduly worried about critics of his autobiography and what he described as “put him down syndrome.” Obasanjo made this remark at the unveiling Babangida’s autobiography titled, “A Journey in Service,” and the launch of his presidential library on Thursday in Abuja. The former President, who was the event’s chairman, said when he wrote his own book, late Tunji Braithwaite, who he described as his chronic critic, condemned the book without reading it. He said with the autobiography, Babangida had succeeded in documenting…

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) has advised the Osun State Government not to proceed with its planned Local Government election scheduled for February 22. Fagbemi argued that “any such election, that may be held, will not only be invalid since the term of office of the elected officials just restored by the judgement of the Court of Appeal will still be running until October 2025, it will also amount to an egregious breach of the Constitution which Governor Adeleke has sworn to uphold.” The AGF, in a statement on Thursday night, appealed “to…

President Bola Tinubu, on Thursday in Abuja, said former Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, showed unusual courage and patriotism by admitting that the late M.K.O. Abiola won the June 12 presidential election in 1993. The President, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the launch of Babangida’s autobiography, “A Journey In Service,” and the fundraising for the IBB Presidential Library Project, saluted the former leader’s contribution to the country’s history and development. General Babangida confirmed for the first time in 32 years that Chief Abiola had won the historic June 12 election based on collated results. The annulment…