Author: Vincent Osuwo

The Governor Siminalayi Fubara-led Rivers State Government filed an appeal on Wednesday against the Federal High Court of Abuja’s decision to restrain the Central Bank of Nigeria from further distributing allocations from the federation account to the state.  This happened as Fubara celebrated one of the state House of Assembly’s failed attempts to impeach him, led by Martin Amaewhule and loyal to the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike. The state’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, told reporters that the decision had been appealed and expressed confidence that the Appeal Court would overturn it. He said the hints to the…

Ganiyat Popoola, a female doctor who was kidnapped on December 27, 2023, has been released after ten months in captivity. Popoola, a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre in Kaduna State, was abducted together with her husband, Nurudeen Popoola, a squadron leader, and her nephew, Folaranmi Abdul-Mugniy, who lives with them. Following lengthy discussions with the captors, the husband was released on March 8, 2024, but the doctor and Abdul-Mugniy were not. However, in a telephone conversation with the Daily Trust on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, Tope Osundara, President of the Nigerian Association of Resident…

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced a partial restoration of power to seven states in the northern region of the country affected by the vandalisation of the Shiroro-Kaduna transmission line. The states are Lafia, Makurdi, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, and Gombe. Electricity was restored to the region at 4:56 p.m. following the repair of the 330 kV Ugwuaji-Apir transmission line 1. On Wednesday, the TCN made the news in a statement signed by Ndidi Mbah, its General Manager of Public Affairs. This comes after a nine-day blackout in the entire region. On October 22, TCN reported a power…

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara disclosed on Wednesday that he realised he was being ambushed by the peace pact he signed with the faction of the state House of Assembly that planned to remove him from office.  Fubara made the revelation at a non-denominational Thanksgiving in Port Harcourt on Wednesday to commemorate a year since he survived an impeachment plan by 27 lawmakers loyal to the Federal Capital Territory’s Minister, Nyesom Wike, on October 30, 2023. Fubara stated that the peace accord’s founder (President Bola Tinubu) was not the one who ambushed him, but rather people he felt were earnest…

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar decried on Wednesday that Nigerian courts are playing an increasingly ignoble role in fuelling political crises across the country.  Atiku’s worries were expressed in a press statement released by his media adviser, Paul Ibe. The Peoples Democratic Party’s 2023 presidential candidate was reacting to a Federal High Court ruling in Abuja on Wednesday that barred the Federal Government from providing additional monthly allocations to Rivers State. Atiku’s statement came in response to a suit filed by the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly with the case number FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24. Court bars CBN…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) responded on Wednesday to claims made by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) about the treatment of electoral crimes in the 2023 general elections.  On Sunday, SERAP said that INEC had failed to prosecute many electoral offenders, including governors and deputy governors, and had not sought independent counsel in other situations of election malpractice, like vote-buying. In a press statement signed by National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, INEC countered these claims, clarifying that governors and deputy governors are protected from prosecution by constitutional immunity and that the…

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday called on Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja to enter a plea of not guilty on behalf of the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, even in his absence. During the resumed hearing, EFCC Counsel Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) informed Justice Nwite that he had two applications to present to the court. He explained that the first step was to formally ask for a plea for Bello, followed by the presentation of two witnesses who were already in court. He said, “My first application is to…

Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen has confirmed he will not be joining Chelsea during the January transfer window, stating his commitment to remain with Turkish giants Galatasaray until the end of his loan spell. The 25-year-old striker, who was extensively linked with a move to Stamford Bridge during the summer transfer window, made his intentions clear after scoring his fourth goal for Galatasaray in a 2-1 win over Besiktas in Monday’s Turkish Super Lig Istanbul Derby. “Yes, I am here,” Osimhen said when questioned about his plans for the second half of the season, as reported by Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu.…

The Metropolitan Police Service of the United Kingdom has terminated Shola Balogun, a Nigerian-British officer from Bromley Police Station, for biting a colleague (name withheld) at a birthday party in Bexleyheath, Kent.  This was revealed during a hearing held from October 21 to 23, 2024, and presided over by a high-ranking official, Christopher McKay, with IPM Amanda Harvey and Assessor-Detective Superintendent Kirsty Mead as panel members. The hearing notice document sighted by our correspondent revealed that Balogun, a police constable, had attended another police officer’s 40th birthday party at Goals Sports Bar with approximately 70 other people in attendance, emphasising…

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further releasing monthly financial allocations to the Rivers State Government. The court ruled that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s presentation of the 2024 budget to a four-member Rivers House of Assembly violated constitutional provisions. She called Fubara’s receipt and disbursement of monthly appropriations since January of this year a constitutional somersault and aberration that cannot be tolerated. Justice Abdulmalik further ruled that Fubara’s actions in executing an illegal budget constituted gross violations of the 1999 Constitution, which he promised to safeguard.…