Author: Vincent Osuwo

The Supreme Court, on Friday, nullified the National Lottery Act 2005 passed into law by the National Assembly. In a unanimous decision, a seven-member Supreme Court panel ruled that the National Lottery Act of 2005 should be repealed in all states save the Federal Capital Territory, where the National Assembly has the authority to enact legislation. The Supreme Court, in the main judgement delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris, ruled that the National Assembly lacked the authority to legislate on lottery and gambling games. The court further noted that such rights belong solely to the state Houses of Assembly, which have…

The Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has detailed how eight youths allegedly gang-raped and recorded a 14-year-old girl in the Ijebu-Mushin region of the state.  The account was contained in a statement signed by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Dyke Ogbonnaya, on Thursday. Ogbonnaya described how the suspects, including 17-year-old Mathew Omotayo and seven others, took the victim to a secluded room and had canal knowledge of her without her consent. He also stated that the suspects had recorded the scene of the crime and had repeatedly used it as blackmail to prevent the…

The Enugu State Police Command has arrested Ikechukwu Okoye, 33, and his 39-year-old girlfriend, Juliet Ogbodo, for allegedly kidnapping and murdering Mrs. Mary Nwatu, a 70-year-old woman.  The suspects, both from Onuorie-Obuno in Akpugo Community, Nkanu West Local Government Area of the state, allegedly murdered the deceased and buried her in a shallow grave before demanding N6 million from her children. They were detained after receiving N20,000 from the family, purportedly to facilitate a phone call with the victim. In a statement issued Thursday night, the command’s spokesperson, DSP Daniel Ndukwe, stated that the arrest was carried out by the…

Kanji and Jebba power plants recorded about N30.5bn as losses caused by national grid collapse between 2022 and 2024. The sum incurred as external losses was caused by the constant failure of the national grid. Remember that the national grid underwent its latest disruption last Thursday, marking the 11th failure in 2024, hurting both commercial operations and livelihoods. Consumers, Nigeria’s Transmission Company, and other stakeholders have bemoaned the impact of the collapse on economic activity. The federal government has blamed the national grid’s periodic collapses on the destruction of power infrastructure such as transmission towers and transformers, as well as…

The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are at odds over charges of party secretariat destruction.  Chris Nehikhare, the state publicity secretary of the Edo PDP Caretaker Committee, claimed that APC thugs attacked the party secretariat, smashing and taking away property worth millions of naira. He claimed that the thugs also destroyed doors, windows, and office equipment, and that various electronics, computers, and other costly objects were carried away by the thugs who stormed the premises with the intention of attacking anyone discovered within. Nehikhare decried the incident, calling it a…

The Ogun State Police Command announced on Thursday that nine different drugs and pharmaceuticals were discovered in the hotel room of 51-year-old Sunday Abidoye, who died on Wednesday at the Creestar Hotel in GRA, Sagamu.  SP Omolola Odutola, the command’s spokesperson, confirmed Abidoye’s death in a statement issued Thursday. Odutola added that the hotel’s Chief Security Officer, one Mr. Oluwole, reported the incident involving the finding of the deceased customer to the police five days after arriving from the United States of America. Police: Nigerian man dies in hotel after returning from America She stated that upon receiving the report,…

The National Assembly has amended the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Act to require life imprisonment for drug offenders and traffickers.  This decision came after the Senate and House of Representatives adopted a harmonised report on the NDLEA Act amendments. Senator Tahir Monguno, Chairman of the Senate Conference Committee, presented the report and noted that the amendment attempts to apply stiffer sanctions to dissuade illegal drug activity. The amendment specifically states, “Any person who unlawfully engages in the storage, custody, movement, carriage, or concealment of dangerous drugs or controlled substances and, while doing so, is armed with an offensive…

The Nigerian Defence Headquarters in Abuja has announced that Simon Ekpa, the self-proclaimed prime minister of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), will be extradited to face charges in the country.  In a brief press statement made available to Chronicle NG following Ekpa’s arrest, the Director of Defence Information, Brig Gen Tukur Gusau, stated that the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Chris Musa, was pleased with the trial. Gusau wrote: “CDS is happy with his arrest in Finland, with the hope this will be a step towards his extradition to Nigeria so that he will face justice.” Simon Ekpa arrested…

No fewer than 38 persons, including women and children, were slain when gunmen opened fire on a convoy of 200 passenger vehicles travelling through a remote part of Pakistan.  The trucks were attacked by the gunmen as they went through Pakistan’s tribal district of Kurram, near the Afghan border, according to the area’s deputy police commissioner. The gunmen initially targeted the convoy’s police escort, according to a statement from the regional spokeswoman. Police were protecting the caravan after months of sectarian violence in the area, which has killed scores this year. Gunmen kill 20 miners in Pakistan The chief secretary…

The authorities of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, UNIZIK, Awka, Anambra State, have reinstated Prof. Joseph Ikechebelu as the institution’s acting vice chancellor, effective immediately.  On Thursday, Njelita Louis, the university’s Director of Information and Public Relations/Protocol Officer, issued a press statement confirming this. Louis noted that the decision followed the invalidation of Prof. Bernard Odoh’s appointment as the seventh substantive Vice-Chancellor, which was considered unconstitutional. Bernard Odoh, UNIZIK VC dares Tinubu, says ‘I can’t be removed through press statement’ He stated that Prof. Ikechebelu has been asked to take over full administrative responsibilities for the university immediately. Mr. Victor Modebelu has…