Author: Vincent Osuwo

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has instructed Heads of Local Government Administration to immediately take charge of the 23 council areas of the state. This comes on the heels of the expiration of the three-year tenure of the elected local government chairmen, vice chairmen, and councillors on Monday, June 17, 2024. The directive was given by Fubara in a statewide broadcast on Tuesday morning. The broadcast was captured in a statement issued to newsmen on Tuesday by Fubara’s Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi. Fubara said, “I wish to acknowledge and commend the dedicated services of the outgoing elected local government…

President Bola Tinubu will depart Nigeria on Tuesday to attend the inauguration of President Cyril Ramaphosa in Pretoria, South Africa.  This was announced in a press release on Monday by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President, Media & Publicity. Tinubu, who is currently in Lagos State for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, will depart the state to attend the inauguration. The inauguration of President Ramaphosa follows his re-election as president for a second term. South Africa’s parliament re-elected Cyril Ramaphosa as the country’s president following a landmark coalition deal between the governing African National Congress (ANC) and opposition parties. The…

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Nasarawa State has thwarted an attempted attack on its state headquarters in Lafia by suspected bandits.  An undefined number of suspected shooters were claimed to have invaded the NSCDC offices in Lafia early Monday morning, shooting intermittently to scare the public. Jerry Victor, the NSCDC’s State Public Relations Officer, reported that an undefined number of gunmen suspected of being bandits raided the corps’ headquarters early Monday. According to NSCDC Public Relations Officer Jerry Victor, the gunmen who arrived in huge numbers with firearms and iron rods attempted to break down a…

The Kano State Police Command has condemned individuals booing Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II’s entourage as he returned to his palace following Eid prayers.  SP Abdullahi Kiyawa, the command’s spokesman, delivered this statement in Kano on Monday. He said that the incident occurred because the Emir took a different route as part of his religious commitment. He stated that he was booed by unidentified individuals near Festival Primary School and the Zage/Zango neighbourhoods. “Currently, the police command is monitoring the entire Sallah events to ensure law and order are maintained and adequate security measures are in place to tackle any form…

A Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Christian Ike, has been kidnapped by yet-to-be-identified gunmen. Rev. Fr. Ike was kidnapped last Sunday, June 16, at Amagu Junction, Ndiokpalaeke, near Ajalli in the Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra state. Although the cause for his kidnapping has yet to be determined, eyewitnesses in the neighbourhood say the priest was returning from St. Michael’s Catholic Church, where he and two others had attended an early morning Mass, when the kidnappers double-crossed the vehicle he was in. According to the source, “On getting to Amagu Junction, their vehicle was double-crossed by armed men operating…

No fewer than seven people were killed when an express passenger train and a commodities train collided on Monday in India’s West Bengal state, derailing three passenger cars, according to authorities.  Images on Indian networks showed the tangled wreckage of carriages twisted on their sides, with one thrown far into the air and dangerously poised on the other. Police said rescuers were searching the mangled trains for more bodies. “We have confirmation of seven deaths and 39 passengers admitted at a local hospital with various injuries,” local police officer Iftikar-Ul-Hassan told AFP. The accident is the latest to hit India’s…

The Presidency argued on Sunday that organised labour’s N250,000 minimum wage demand is unsustainable, saying that the Federal Government cannot divert all of its resources to satisfy such a request.  The warning comes two days after the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria expressed concerns about the N62,000 suggested by the federal government. The ALGON warned that if adopted, the wage might place pressure on council finances. On Tuesday, May 28, negotiations between the Federal Government and Organised Labour broke down after the government and the Organised Private Sector boosted their proposals to N62,000. However, labour groups denounced the idea…

A senior police officer was shot dead after he opened fire on a magistrate in a Nairobi courtroom, following a ruling against his wife. Monica Kivuti, the Makadara Principal Magistrate, was attacked by Chief Inspector Samson Kipchirchir Kipruto, who was in charge of a police station in Londiani, Western Kenya. This happened on Thursday, not long after she had revoked Kipruto’s wife’s bail because she had neglected to show up for court. Kipruto shot Magistrate Kivuti after becoming enraged with the verdict, hurting her. It was stated that court officers moved in right away, and during the ensuing altercation, Kipruto…

The Ogun State Police Command has apprehended Femi Onayemi, a teacher, for defiling a 13-year-old girl (name withheld) in the Obada-Oko area of the state. The suspect had earlier been hired by the girl’s parents to tutor her at their home in the community in 2023. According to reports, the victim’s parents were horrified when the suspect climbed their home’s fence to enter the 13-year-old’s room and carry out the horrible deed. Omolola Odutola, the state command’s spokeswoman, verified the incident and said Onayemi had been taken into custody. Omolola Odutola, the state command’s spokeswoman, verified the event and said…

Sandra “Sandy” Hemme, a 63-year-old woman from Missouri who was sentenced to life in prison for the 1980 murder of Patricia Jeschke, a library employee, in St. Joseph, Missouri, has regained her freedom. The conviction was overturned after Hemme spent 43 years in prison for a murder she did not commit. The foreign news outlet The Guardian reported on Sunday that Hemme was found guilty in 1985 based on her self-incriminating statements made to the police while she was a psychiatric patient. Nevertheless, a judge has now determined that there is “clear and convincing” evidence that Hemme was innocent of…