Author: Opalim Lifted

Pope Leo XIV has voted in the United States midterm elections, becoming the first known pope to participate in a political election while serving as head of the Catholic Church. The Vatican confirmed on Friday that the Chicago-born pontiff submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago, exercising his rights as a US citizen ahead of the November 3 elections. According to a statement from the Vatican, the Pope believes citizens have both a right and a responsibility to participate in democratic processes. The Holy See Press Office said Leo had voted whenever he was eligible during his time as a US…

Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC), has accused the Department of State Services (DSS) of providing support to suspected political thugs who attacked him and members of his team in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State. Sowore alleged that DSS operatives disclosed his team’s location to the attackers, enabling them to carry out the assault shortly after he concluded a radio interview in the state capital. The activist made the allegations in a series of posts on his official X account on Friday, October 30, 2026. In one of the posts, Sowore wrote: “We have been brutally attacked and…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has re-arraigned two defendants over an alleged N78.3 million theft involving a Lagos businessman, Christopher Onuigbo. The defendants, Blessing Onyinaya Chimaobi and Uzofor Benson Chinedu, were re-arraigned on Wednesday, October 29, 2026, before Justice Olubunmi Abike-Fadipe of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos. The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the EFCC brought the defendants before the court over alleged conspiracy, stealing and retention of proceeds of criminal conduct involving N78,347,100. According to the commission, the defendants were initially arraigned on February 7, 2024, on a three-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.…

The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, has suffered a $6.3 billion security breach, in what analysts have described as the biggest cryptocurrency theft in history. The attack, which has been linked with high confidence to North Korea by US blockchain intelligence firms, triggered a sell-off in cryptocurrency markets and renewed concerns about the security of digital assets. Binance said customers’ funds were safe and pledged to cover all losses. The exchange also suspended withdrawals while investigating the incident. According to Reuters, the attack unfolded late on Thursday, with most of the stolen assets transferred to hacker-controlled wallets within approximately 20…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has approved 41 out of 69 petitions challenging the omission of governorship candidates from its final list for the 2027 general election. The commission also approved 25 of the 61 petitions submitted over the omission of candidates from the final list for State Houses of Assembly elections. INEC Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday. Haruna said the petitions followed the publication of the final lists of governorship and State Houses of Assembly candidates on October 10, 2026. According to him, the complaints…

A businessman, Oluwatayo Solomon Fashogbon, has told the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, how he paid N6 million into the bank account of the wife of Danladi Umar, a former chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), on the latter’s instructions. Fashogbon said the payment was made on the instruction of the former tribunal chairman. Fashogbon, chief executive officer of Portal Realities Limited and JTF Global Links Limited, disclosed this while testifying on Thursday as the first prosecution witness (PW1) in Umar’s trial before Justice U. P. Kekemeke. Umar is facing a four-count charge filed…

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, has asked the presidency to release daily photographs and videos of President Bola Tinubu performing Umrah rites in Saudi Arabia. Tinubu is scheduled to depart Abuja on Thursday for Makkah to undertake the Islamic pilgrimage and is expected to return to Nigeria next week, according to Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president on information and strategy. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Onanuga said the visit would offer the president an opportunity for spiritual reflection and prayers for Nigeria’s peace, unity, stability and progress. In a statement issued on Wednesday by Phrank Shaibu, director of…

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has arraigned Adeniyi Adeyemi, director-general of the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), on 22 counts of alleged forgery and impersonation. Adeyemi was arraigned on Thursday before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court following the filing of fresh charges against him. The development comes after a Federal High Court in Abuja struck out an earlier eight-count charge on October 12. The earlier case was withdrawn after the Federal Government sought to discontinue the proceedings following a review by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF). Rotimi Oyedepo, Director of…

The European Union (EU) has blocked Austria’s proposed ban on social media use by children under 14, insisting that member states should wait for a common European law before introducing separate national restrictions. The decision, announced on Thursday, means Austria must put its proposed legislation on hold for 12 months while negotiations continue on a bloc-wide framework to regulate children’s access to social media. Under EU rules, member states must notify the European Commission of proposed national legislation to ensure it complies with existing bloc regulations. Austria had submitted plans to prohibit children below 14 from using social media platforms.…

The National Assembly has until December 2026 to complete the remaining legislative processes for the establishment of state police in Nigeria, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele has said. Bamidele disclosed this on Thursday while addressing participants of Senior Executive Course 48 at the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Plateau State. He said the approval of the constitutional amendment bill by at least 30 state Houses of Assembly had satisfied the required constitutional threshold for amending the 1999 Constitution. The development marks a major step towards decentralising Nigeria’s security architecture after more than 15 years of unsuccessful attempts…