Author: Opalim Lifted

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South-East), Mrs. Chioma Wesley, says President Bola Tinubu will not make any pronouncement on the ongoing trial of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. Wesley spoke to State House correspondents on Monday after she and three other regional aides briefed the President at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. “Nnamdi Kanu’s case is in court, and the President cannot make any pronouncement on it,” she said. “He abides by the rule of law. So, for now, we wait for the court to make that decision.”…

President Bola Tinubu has dispatched a high-level delegation to London to discuss the case of Ike Ekweremadu, the former deputy senate president who has been imprisoned in the United Kingdom since March 2023. The delegation includes Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, and Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general and minister of justice. According to Alkasim Abdulkadir, spokesperson for Tuggar, the team arrived in London on Monday and met with officials from the UK Ministry of Justice. Abdulkadir said that the presidential delegation is consulting with British authorities to explore the possibility of Ekweremadu serving the remainder of his prison term in Nigeria.…

Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has likened former US President Donald Trump to Uganda’s late dictator, Idi Amin, while warning that Trump’s remarks on the alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria could inflame the country’s fragile religious tensions. Trump had recently directed the US Department of Defence to prepare for “possible action” in Nigeria, accusing the government of failing to stop the “killing of Christians.” Rejecting the claim, the Nigerian government insisted that insecurity affects all religious groups equally. In an interview with Democracy Now, Soyinka said Trump’s sweeping statements distorted the reality of Nigeria’s security crisis and risked deepening divisions…

Julius Bokoru, special assistant on media and public affairs to Timipre Sylva, former minister of state for petroleum resources, says his principal is the target of a politically motivated campaign. On Monday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared Sylva wanted over an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257. In a statement signed by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, the commission said the money was part of funds invested by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited. The agency urged anyone with useful information on Sylva’s whereabouts to contact…

Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate, has reacted to comments made by United States President Donald Trump over alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria. Trump had asked the US Department of Defence to prepare for “possible action” in Nigeria while warning the Nigerian government to act swiftly to end the “killing of Christians” in the country. The federal government has, however, rejected Trump’s allegations, insisting that the country’s insecurity affects all religious groups. Speaking during an interview with Democracy Now, Soyinka said Trump’s sweeping statements distort the true picture of the conflict and risk deepening religious hostilities. He said the situation…

Residents of the Faruruwa community in Shanono Local Government Area of Kano State are gripped with fear following a late-night attack by motorcycle-riding bandits. During the incident, five nursing mothers were abducted, while about 50 cows and other livestock were stolen. The Chairman of the Faruruwa community, Yahya Bagobiri, disclosed this to journalists in Kano, expressing deep concern over the persistent violence despite the presence of heavily armed military and other security operatives in the area. According to Bagobiri, the attackers stormed Yan Kwada village around 9 p.m., raiding several homes and abducting the women, reportedly leaving their babies behind.…

The Donald Trump administration has reinstated a sweeping global visa policy that could make it harder for many foreign nationals, including Nigerians to obtain US visas, as Washington revives its controversial “public charge” rule targeting those deemed likely to depend on public benefits. A newly issued State Department cable, obtained by Fox News Digital, directed American embassies and consulates worldwide to enforce the policy immediately. The directive, which officials say restores a Trump-era standard relaxed under President Joe Biden, instructs US consular officers to deny visas to anyone considered likely to rely on government assistance in the United States. Under…

A witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has told a federal high court in Abuja that withdrawals made by the Kogi state government during the regime of Yahaya Bello, the former governor, did not violate any banking regulation. Mshelia Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, appeared as the fourth prosecution witness in the ongoing money laundering trial of Bello. Bello is facing a 19-count charge of alleged money laundering amounting to N80.2 billion. During cross-examination on Monday before Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, Bata said Bello’s name did not appear as a beneficiary in the state…

A prolonged standoff between Republicans and Democrats over government spending and healthcare subsidies has pushed the US government shutdown into its 40th day. This marks the longest shutdown in the nation’s history, surpassing the previous record of 38 days, which began at the end of 2018 and ended in January 2019 — during Donald Trump’s first presidency. A US government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass budget bills or stopgap resolutions to fund federal operations and agencies for the new fiscal year. The current shutdown began on October 1, the start of the US federal fiscal year. The spending…

US President Donald Trump has granted full pardons to Rudy Giuliani, his former personal lawyer, and Mark Meadows, his former chief of staff, for their roles in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. According to Ed Martin, the government’s pardon attorney, the proclamation was posted online on Sunday night. The proclamation also includes conservative lawyers Sidney Powell and John Eastman. It states that the pardon is “full, complete, and unconditional,” but clarifies that it does not apply to Trump himself. None of the individuals named had been charged with federal offences, which are the only category covered by presidential…