Author: Festus Adeloye

Heavily armed police officers took over local government secretariats across Osun State on Tuesday. This followed the Court of Appeal ruling in Akure, which upheld appeals by the chairman elected under the All Progressives Congress in the October 15, 2022, local government elections. These chairmen and councillors had been removed by Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, in November 2022. However, the Appeal Court ruled in their favour. Following the judgment on Monday, there were disagreements over its interpretation. APC members claimed the ruling reinstated the sacked officials but the state government, through the Commissioner for Information…

The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, DIG Hashimu Argungu (retd.), has requested the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to investigate two senior officers of the Zone 7 Police Command over their alleged involvement in a civil land dispute, extortion and abuse of office. Argungu, in a letter to the IGP, urged the setting up of a competent committee to probe the officer in charge of the Legal Unit and the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Operations of the Zone. In a statement on Tuesday by the PSC’s spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, the PSC chairman accused the officers of violating…

Embattled former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai says he won’t opt for exile despite the many rumours that he might be arrested and tortured by the Bola Tinubu administration. El-Rufai, who has been embroiled in a battle of words with the Presidency and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said he won’t be intimidated by the current administration. The former governor, in a response to a post by an X user Imran Wakili on the alleged plot to arrest him, said he would return to Nigeria from Egypt before February 20, 2025. He said, “I have been hearing these same…

The Federal Government has commenced ministerial press briefings as part of efforts to promote transparency and accountability in governance. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced this during a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday. Idris stated that President Bola Tinubu had directed all ministers to appear periodically before the media to provide updates on their activities and policies. According to Idris, the briefings will serve as a platform for ministers to directly engage with Nigerians, highlight key developments in their respective ministries, and address public concerns. The minister noted that other ministers would also take turns…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Nigeria’s security agencies have reaffirmed their commitment to tackling vote buying and strengthening electoral security ahead of the 2025 and 2026 elections. At the first regular meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security in Abuja, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, described vote buying as a significant threat to Nigeria’s electoral process. He noted that while arrests had been made in previous elections, more efforts were needed, especially as party primaries approached. He also stressed that electoral corruption extended beyond election day, as delegates were often bribed during party primaries to manipulate…

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Policy, Daniel Bwala, on Tuesday said he criticised President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the past because he was in the opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party. Bwala made this disclosure while speaking on Arise TV’s The Morning Show. “I criticised Tinubu’e election and administration in the past because I was in the opposition. “The opposition’s work is to criticise the sitting government and hold them accountable. My views changed after I met the President, and he saw a need to appoint me,” he said. Recall that before his appointment, Bwala accused Tinubu of rigging…

The UN chief called on Hamas Tuesday to proceed with planned releases of Israeli hostages, after the Palestinian militants threatened to postpone further hostage-prisoner exchanges agreed under a fragile Gaza ceasefire. “We must avoid at all costs resumption of hostilities in Gaza that would lead to immense tragedy,” Antonio Guterres said on X, appealing “to Hamas to proceed with the planned liberation of hostages”. “Both sides must fully abide by their commitments in the ceasefire agreement and resume serious negotiations.” The ceasefire that went into effect on January 19 largely halted more than 15 months of fighting in the Gaza…

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Joe Ajaero, on Monday, stated that no governor has powers to ban labour unions, noting that union practice falls under the executive legislative list in the Constitution. This is just as he lamented that most governors are now living permanently in Abuja at the detriment of their states. Ajaero was reacting to the proscription of labour unions in state-owned tertiary institutions by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, at a town hall meeting with workers at the NLC Secretariat, Lokoja, the state capital. He said, “Let me say here, union practice falls…

A Magistrate Court sitting in the Ebute Metta area of Lagos State has ordered the remand of a carpenter at the Kirikiri Correctional Facility for allegedly defiling a nine-year-old girl in the Ipaja area of the state. Newsmen learnt from a statement by the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency on Sunday that the suspect was arrested following an escalation of the matter by a popular comedienne known as Princess. Princess had in a social media post alleged that a man raped a nine-year-old girl while urging her followers within the area to visit the scene to save the…

The UK government says it has launched an unprecedented crackdown on illegal working, with enforcement activity reaching record levels in January. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced the latest figures on Monday, coinciding with the second reading of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill in Parliament. According to the Home Office, “Immigration Enforcement teams conducted 823 workplace raids across the country, a 48 per cent increase from the previous year. “These efforts led to 609 arrests, marking a staggering 73 per cent rise compared to January 2023.” The surge in enforcement is part of a broader strategy to dismantle smuggling…