Author: Vincent Osuwo

Russia announced on Friday that it was considering banning popular messaging service WhatsApp, accusing it of failing to prevent and repress crime, as Moscow encourages Russians to use state-backed digital platforms. Russia barred users from making calls on the platform in August as part of a larger assault on Western-owned social media, which critics say is intended to force Russians to use indigenous platforms. According to a statement issued by Russian communications agency Roskomnadzor, WhatsApp is being used to “organize and carry out terrorist acts in the country, to recruit perpetrators, and for fraud and other crimes against our citizens.”…

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has explained why he returned to Nigeria on an Ivorian aircraft during the recent political instability in Guinea-Bissau, stating that President Bola Tinubu had also planned to dispatch a jet before Côte d’Ivoire obtained an earlier landing permit. Jonathan, who was in the country as chairman of the West African Elders Forum Election Observation Mission, spoke with Symfoni in an interview broadcast on YouTube on Friday, his first public statement since gunfire erupted around major government buildings in Bissau, sparking speculation of a coup. He claimed he felt impelled to speak “to thank Nigerians for the…

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes second-placed Chelsea “fully deserve” to be regarded Premier League title challengers as he prepares his team for Sunday’s encounter at Stamford Bridge. After 12 games of the season, Arteta’s men are six points ahead of the Blues in second position. They are in a good mood after a 4-1 victory over archrivals Tottenham, followed by a 3-1 Champions League defeat of German powerhouse Bayern Munich. Chelsea’s tails are also up after three consecutive league victories, including a 3-0 success over Barcelona on Tuesday. Despite their excellent form, Enzo Maresca’s young Chelsea team is still regarded…

A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has convicted and sentenced Damian Okoligwe, a 400-level undergraduate at the University of Port Harcourt, to death by hanging for the murder of his girlfriend, Justina Otuene. On October 20, 2023, Okoligwe, a UNIPORT Petrochemical Engineering student, murdered Otuene, a 300-level Biochemistry student, at his apartment in Mgbuoba, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area. He also dismembered her body, placed it in a wheelbarrow, and was about to dispose of the remnants when he was apprehended. On Friday, the trial judge, Justice Chinwe Nsirim-Nwosu, ruled that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt the…

Datti Baba-Ahmed, a former vice-presidential candidate for the Labour Party, declared on Friday that former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi had not quit the party. Speaking to press following the party’s National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, which was attended by Independent National Electoral Commission officials, Baba-Ahmed denied allegations that Obi had abandoned the LP. “To the best of our knowledge, our brother, His Excellency Peter Obi, remains a member of the Labour Party. Nothing has changed. “If he were here now, I would have moved my seat to the left for him,” he remarked. Baba-Ahmed argued that the party…

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has launched enforcement operations against 1,095 revoked property titles in the capital’s Asokoro, Maitama, Garki, and Wuse districts. Mr. Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Public Communications and Social Media, made the announcement in Abuja on Friday. Olayinka stated that the titles were revoked due to nonpayment of ground rent, the Certificate of Ground Rent, the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) bill, penalty/violation cost, and the land use fee. He stated that the enforcement followed the expiration of the 14-day grace period on Tuesday. According to him, the owners…

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Friday struck out an appeal filed by the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, challenging alleged violations of his fundamental rights by the Federal Government. The Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) were named as respondents in the case. A three-member panel of the appellate court dismissed the case on the grounds that it had become an academic exercise, as Kanu had already been convicted and punished by the Federal High Court of Abuja. In its…

Former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN) has confirmed receiving an invitation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, assuring Nigerians that he is willing to appear before the anti-graft agency. Malami announced this in a post on his personal Facebook page on Friday, declaring himself as a law-abiding citizen dedicated to accountability and openness in government. “This is to confirm that I have been invited by the EFCC. As a law-abiding and patriotic citizen, I hereby reaffirm my commitment to honor the invitation,” he wrote. He explained that his choice to publicly announce the…

The death toll from Hong Kong’s biggest fire in decades increased to 128 on Friday, with many still missing, as authorities reported that fire alarms in the residential estate towers had malfunctioned. Families searched hospitals and victim identification stations for their loved ones, with over 200 people still missing and 89 bodies unidentified. Flames raced swiftly across the Wang Fuk Court housing estate in the Tai Po district on Wednesday afternoon, engulfing seven of the eight high-rises and transforming the densely packed complex into an inferno. The fire was “largely extinguished” by Friday morning after blazing for more than 40…

The former governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido, has demanded the immediate dissolution of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Ibadan convention that produced Kabiru Tanimu Turaki as the National Chairman. Lamido made the announcement at his Kano office in front of hundreds of his political supporters, including former local government chairmen, commissioners, and other political appointees who worked under his administration in Jigawa State. The PDP bigwig argued that the tenures of the party’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagun, and National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, have not expired and so remain valid till December 8, 2025. He did, however, advocate for the…