Author: Opalim Lifted

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoS), Esther Walson-Jack, has told the House of Representatives that the office space occupied by the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC) at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja was officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), not the council. She made the disclosure on Monday while appearing before the House ad hoc committee investigating the PFIPC controversy and the N1.3 billion allocated to the council in the 2026 Appropriation Act. The PFIPC has been at the centre of a growing controversy involving…

The trial of former Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido and his two sons, Aminu and Mustapha Lamido, was stalled on Monday at the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, following the absence of the lead defence counsel, Joe Agi, SAN. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the defendants on a 37-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering, kickbacks and fictitious contract awards amounting to N1.35 billion. According to the anti-graft agency, the alleged offences were committed while Lamido served as governor of Jigawa State between 2007 and 2015. At the commencement of proceedings, EFCC counsel Chile Okoroma,…

The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted bail to Bello Bodejo, president of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, in the alleged money laundering case against him. Ruling on Monday, Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, admitted Bodejo to bail in the sum of N2 billion, with two sureties in like sum. On July 9, Bodejo was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on charges bordering on alleged money laundering. He pleaded not guilty to all counts. According to the charge, the EFCC alleged that Bodejo, on January 21, 2022, accepted $200,000 in cash from Sa’idu Abubakar, a former…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Jimoh Yisawu, former Managing Director of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC), before a Federal High Court in Abuja on an eight-count charge of alleged money laundering. Yisawu pleaded not guilty to the charges when they were read before Justice Inyang Ekwo on Monday. After the defendant entered his plea, Ekele Iheanacho, counsel to the federal government, asked the court to fix a date for the commencement of trial. Wale Balogun, counsel to Yisawu, informed the court that he had filed a bail application on behalf of his client.…

Former England captain and manager Kevin Keegan has died at the age of 75, his former club, Newcastle United, announced on Monday. Keegan’s family and Newcastle revealed in January that the two-time European Footballer of the Year was undergoing cancer treatment, without disclosing details of his illness. In June, Keegan, who was nicknamed ‘King Kev’ and ‘Mighty Mouse’ and was one of the most influential figures of his generation in English football, revealed he had stage four cancer. “We are devastated to learn of the passing of Kevin Keegan, one of the most iconic, influential and deeply loved figures in…

A massive Spain wildfire near Madrid has forced about 700 residents to flee their homes after scorching around 13,000 hectares of land in Guadalajara province. According to AFP, around 300 firefighters, backed by 26 water-dropping aircraft, continued battling the blaze on Sunday after it erupted on Thursday during an intense heatwave. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said the government was closely monitoring the situation and praised emergency workers for “working tirelessly” to protect lives and bring the wildfire under control. Regional authorities described the blaze as “difficult” to contain because it is burning through the mountainous forests of the Sierra…

The House of Representatives Special Ad-hoc Committee on Constitution Review is set to meet on Monday to consider President Bola Tinubu’s State Police Bill, a major constitutional amendment aimed at creating state police services across Nigeria. The committee, chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, will deliberate on the Executive Bill, which contains 26 clauses and passed its second reading in the House on Tuesday, July 14, 2026. The proposed legislation seeks to establish a comprehensive legal framework for the creation of state police services while prescribing national minimum policing standards. It also outlines the transition process from the existing centralised…

Senegalese President Bassirou Faye has been elected Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Faye was elected on Sunday at the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, held in Lungi, Sierra Leone. He succeeds Sierra Leonean President Julius Bio. In another diplomatic win for the French-speaking West African country, Birame Diop, former Minister of the Armed Forces, was elected President of the ECOWAS Commission for the 2026–2030 term. It is the first time Senegal has been elected to lead the Commission since the bloc was established in 1975. Diop succeeds…

Spain deservedly won a desperately disappointing World Cup final as Ferran Torres’ extra-time strike finally broke the resistance of 10-man Argentina. The European champions had created the best opportunities against the defending world champions, who mainly resorted to spoiling tactics and had Enzo Fernandez sent off just before the game went into extra-time. Torres was the hero for Spain when he collected substitute Nico Williams’ header to beat Argentina keeper Emiliano Martinez with a powerful shot from close range after 106 minutes. The game failed to live up to expectations as it descended into a war of attrition – while…

The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has directed all large taxpayers to fully adopt the national e-invoicing and Electronic Fiscal System (EFS) on or before July 31, warning that those who fail to comply risk enforcement action. The directive follows an earlier public notice issued by the NRS on February 17, 2026, which outlined the implementation timetable for the mandatory adoption of the e-invoicing and Electronic Fiscal System, also known as the Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS). In a fresh public notice personally signed by the NRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji, large taxpayers were asked to complete their onboarding, system integration and testing,…