19 WEDDING GUESTS DIE IN ROAD CRASH IN PLATEAU No fewer than 19 wedding guests died and 11 others were injured in a road accident in the Kwana Maciji area of Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State. The Chairman of the Pankshin Local Government Area Emergency Management Committee, John Dasar, confirmed the incident. Dasar said the guests, who came from …

UZODINMA HAPPY WITH REMOVAL OF OIL SUBSIDY, SAYS STATES NOW GET MORE MONEY Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has declared that state government are currently getting more funds under the President Bola Tinubu’s administration. Uzodinma said the fuel subsidy removal is responsible for the current development. Speaking during the inspection of some projects to celebrate the first year of …

POLICE DEMAND APOLOGY FROM AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL OVER PROTEST REPORT The Nigeria Police Force said it has written and demanded an immediate retraction and public apology regarding a publication titled “Bloody August: Nigeria Government’s Violent Crackdown on and Bad Governance Protests” written to Amnesty International. A Tuesday statement by the Force’s Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumiyiwa Adejobi said the letter was …

HOW YAHOO BOY BEHEADED ABUJA CORPS MEMBER, PACKED DISMEMBERED BODY IN BAG – POLICE Operatives of the Nasarawa State Police Command have arrested a suspected Yahoo boy, internet fraudster, identified as Ajayi for allegedly killing his girlfriend, Salome Enejo for rituals. The suspect was caught with a fresh human head in Agwan Sarki, Orozo, a boundary area between Nasarawa State …

ABDUCTED ANAMBRA REVEREND SISTERS REGAIN FREEDOM The two abducted reverend sisters, identified as Vincentia Nwankwo and Grace Okoli, have regained freedom after spending about six days with their captors. The reverend sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Christ, were kidnapped on Tuesday, along the Ufuma Road in Orumba North Local Government Area of the state, on their …

MARKETERS RAISE PETROL PRICES BY 4.75% AT DEPOTS The loading cost of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and other refined petroleum products at the depots increased on Monday. The PUNCH gathered that marketers raised petrol and diesel prices at depots by N43 or 4.74 per cent due to the rising crude oil prices. Recall that the cost of Brent, the global …

THE MANY SINS THAT COST FORMER LAGOS SPEAKER, OBASA HIS SEAT Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa had his eyes on the governorship seat of Lagos when his colleagues booted him out of office on Monday. Reports on Obasa’s interest in the coveted seat were discarded as mere rumour in some quarters, but the message became clearer after the Archbishop of Methodist Church …

ARTHUR NZERIBE: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN GOVERNMENTS IN NIGERIA AND GHANA When people talk or think of Senator Arthur Nzeribe, they often associate him with the infamous Association for Better Nigeria, which Mr. Nzeribe formed as a special-purpose vehicle to scuttle the June 12, 1993, Presidential election. For two years, they waited and lurked in the dark for the …

NASS QUERIES JAMB FOR SPENDING N1.85BN ON MEALS, INSECTICIDE, OTHERS The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance on Monday queried the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) over “excessive spendings” on meals, refreshments, mosquito killings and others in 2024. The committee also threatened to cut off the federal government’s allocation to the board in the 2025 budget. This was after …

NATIONAL UNION OF PENSIONERS LAUDS TINUBU OVER 20% INCREASE IN BASIC PENSIONS The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) has expressed its appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his steadfast dedication to enhancing the welfare of pensioners nationwide. In a statement issued by its National President, Comrade Godwin Abumisi, the union acknowledged the President’s efforts in implementing important measures aimed …

ENUGU GOVERNOR, PETER MBAH, APPROVES UPWARD REVIEW OF CUSTOMARY COURT JUDGES SALARIES Enugu state Governor, Dr. Peter Ndubusi Mbah, has approved the upward review of the salaries of the 459 customary court judges of the 153 customary courts across Enugu State effective January, 2025, in line with the N80,000 minimum wage as obtained in the state. The upward review applies …

HOW BOKO HARAM’S NEW STRATEGY PRODUCED 60,000 CHILD FIGHTERS – CDS More than 60,000 children are among over 120,000 Boko Haram members who have surrendered, Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa, has said. Speaking on Monday during an interview with Arise News, Musa explained that not all individuals associated with Boko Haram were willing participants, as many were conscripted …

LAWYER WHO LED PROSECUTION AGAINST TRUMP RESIGNS, FLEES US Jack Smith, the special counsel who led prosecution against United States President-elect Donald Trump, has resigned and fled the country ahead of Trump’s inauguration on January 20. According to statements of officials in the document submitted to the US District Judge Aileen Cannon, Smith had completed his work and submitted his …

BOKO HARAM KILLS 40 FARMERS IN BORNO, DOZENS MISSING Suspected Boko Haram terrorists have reportedly killed at least 40 farmers in Kukawa Local Government Area of Borno State. It was gathered that the attack which happened around 4:30pm on Sunday in a farming community, Kayakura village, in Doron Baga ward, also left dozens of farmers missing. This is coming barely …

FUBARA WINS AS COURT NULLIFIES RIVERS PDP CONGRESSES Justice Stephen Jumbo of the Rivers State High Court has dealt a significant blow to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by Nyesom Wike, nullifying the Ward, Local Government Area, and State party congresses held in 2024. This ruling is a major setback for the party, which has been embroiled in internal …