ABUJA DEMOLITION: SOLDIERS ATTACK WIKE’S MEN, CART AWAY VEHICLE ABUJA: Soldiers reportedly acting on the orders of an army general on Wednesday attacked development control officials who were in Sabon Lugbe, Abuja, to remove some illegal structures in the area. The officials were in the area to remove the fence of a building on Plot 416 said to belong to …

WE’RE INVESTIGATING IBADAN CARNIVAL STAMPEDE WHERE 32 CHILDREN DIED – POLICE The Oyo State Police Command says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the alleged death of 32 children during a stampede at a funfair in Ibadan, the state capital, on Wednesday. It was gathered from multiple eyewitness accounts that the stampede occurred when participants rushed to gain access to …

POLICE DETAIN PRINCIPAL OVER IBADAN CHILDREN CARNIVALS STAMPEDE Men of the Oyo State Police Command have detained the principal of Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan, Mr. Abdullahi Fasasi. Fasasi was invited by the police on Wednesday and has been detained since then. Our correspondent reports that the principal’s detention is in connection with the stampede that occurred at the school …

INVESTIGATION SHOWS SEVEN REASONS BVAS MAY NEVER WORK IN NIGERIA The growing concern in some quarters over the inability of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct free, fair and credible elections again gained gravitas last week in the wake of Ghana’s successful presidential elections. Without prejudice to the introduction of technology (card reader and co) by the Professor …

DANGOTE REDUCES PETROL PRICE TO N898 PER LITRE “Africa’s first privately-owned oil refinery, which previously lowered the price to N970 per litre on November 24, has now announced a new price of N899.50 per litre. This reduction is designed to ease transport costs during the festive period,” read the statement signed by the Group’s Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony …

WIKE REVOKES PLOTS BELONGING TO BUHARI, ONNOGHEN, ABBAS, AKUME, OTHERS Mr Wike also issued a two-week ultimatum to some prominent individuals to pay for their Rights of Occupancy or risk losing their plots. The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has ordered the revocation of 762 plots of land belonging to some prominent Nigerians and corporate organisations for …

NO TO RENAMING UNIABUJA AFTER GOWON – ABUJA INDIGENOUS STUDENTS The University of Abuja chapter of the Abuja Indigenous Student Association (AISA) has expressed its strongest opposition to the proposed change of name of the University of Abuja to Yakubu Gowon University. The minister of Information and National Orientation, Muhammad Idris, while addressing newsmen after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) …

WHO RAISES CONCERN OVER RISING DIABETES IN NIGERIA The recent alarm by the World Health Organisation, WHO, on the African leaders not to be complacent in the fight against diabetes, which it described as a silent killer in Africa, is seen as a wake up call for Nigerians, particularly those in the health sector. The WHO’s Regional Director for Africa, …

KEMI BADENOCH WAS RIGHT: NIGERIAN POLICE STOLE MY PHONE IN 2019, BY ELIAS OZIKPU British politician Kemi Badenoch recently became a subject of fierce attacks by officials of the Nigerian government for continuing her criticism of Nigeria’s crumbled and utterly corrupt system.Part of what riled officials of the Nigerian government was her disclosure during her interview with The Free Press, …

FG TO LAUNCH CONTACTLESS PASSPORT APPLICATION IN FOUR STATES NEXT MONTH – TUNJI Speaking on The Morning Show, an Arise Television programme on Wednesday, Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Internal Affairs, said the experimental phase of the project would be launched in Lagos, Abuja, Rivers, and Kano states. The minister said the contactless passport application service will be rolled out internationally to …

TINUBU RECONSTITUTES 12 RIVER BASIN AUTHORITIES, NAMES 72 APPOINTEES The executive management teams of 12 River Basin development authorities under the Federal Ministry of Water Resources have been reconstituted by President Bola Tinubu. Tinubu expressed optimism that the 72 appointees, six for each of the 12 management teams, would use their wealth of experience to bolster the efficiency of the …

BUHARI, FRIEND OF THE POOR, DIDN’T REMOVE FUEL SUBSIDY- FEMI ADESINA Femi Adesina, the former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has described him as a friend of the masses which underscored many of his policies and decisions while in government. Adesina said such considerations were responsible for his decision not to remove fuel subsidies as …

TINUBU WILL USE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO FIGHT TERRORISTS IN 2025 – SENATOR JIMOH IBRAHIM Ondo South Senator, Jimoh Ibrahim, says President Bola Tinubu is set to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the fight against insecurity in 2025. The lawmaker said Tinubu would make life tougher for the criminals in the coming year as the government would use apps to track …

DANGOTE REFINERY, NNPCL RESUME FIGHT OVER $1BN LOAN Dangote Group, owners of Dangote Refinery, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, have clashed over a $1 billion crude oil-backed loan. Recall that barely 24 hours ago, in a statement credited to NNPCL spokesperson Olufemi Soneye, the state-owned oil firm said it secured a $1 billion loan backed by crude …

NIGERIA’S NATIONAL BUREAU OF STATISTICS WEBSITE HACKED The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has raised an alarm that its official website has been hacked by unknown fraudsters. The Bureau, which made this known in a short statement issued on its X social media handle at 8.32pm on Wednesday, warned the general public to disregard any message or report posted on …