Blast Naija Media

Prof Simon Ortuanya has emerged the  new Vice Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN. Ortuanya is the first indigenous Vice Chancellor of UNN after over 60 years of its existence. The professor of law is a former Secretary to the Enugu State Government, as well as Director General of South-East Governors' Forum. His emergence came with a lot of dramatic twists which has ended today. Prof. Ortuanya, from Igbo Etiti LGA, he is  a highly respected scholar, lawyer and administrator. He studied at UNN, University of Lagos and earned his PhD in Law from Loyola University in the U.S. He has served as a university lecturer for decades, Commissioner for Education in Enugu State (May 29, 2007 to May 29, 2015) under former  Governor Sullivan I. Chime and most recently as the Secretary to the Enugu State Government under former Governor Ifeanyi Lawrence Ugwuanyi. He also served as the DG of Southeast Governors Forum. Interestingly, UNN has been fully operational for alm...

Muhammed Babangida, son of former military President, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd), has reacted to reports that he has rejected his appointment as Chairman of the Bank of Agriculture (BOA), dismissing reports claiming that he declined the role as “false and malicious.” In a press statement released on Monday, Babangida expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for the confidence placed in him, affirming his full acceptance of the appointment. “We wish to clarify that Muhammed gratefully accepts the appointment as Chairman of the Bank of Agriculture, as announced by the federal government, and extends his sincere appreciation to President Tinubu for the trust and confidence bestowed upon him,” the statement read. The clarification came in the wake of viral online claims alleging that Babangida had rejected the appointment, citing personal and professional reasons. But he firmly denied those reports, describing them as a calculated attempt to mislead the public and discredit the Tinub...

...Freezes Bands B, C, D and E Tariffs The Enugu State Electricityv Regulatory Commission (EERC), has issued a new tariff to MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited, the utility that succeeded Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, (EEDC), for electricity distribution in the state, reviewing electricity cost for Band A from N209/ kWh (per kiloWatt) to N160 kWh, effective from August 1, 2025. This was contained in the Commission's Order No. EERC/2025/003 entitled “Tariff Order for MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited 2025, issued by the Commission at the weekend. It said its decision was cost reflective, insisting that tariff must reflect power generation subsidy by the federal government for the benefit of electricity  consumers. EERC predicated its action on the Enugu State Electricity Law 2023, which empowers the Commission to regulate the activities of operators in power generation, transmission, and distribution in and exclusively for the state. This Law signed by Gov...

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, has called on Nigerians in the diaspora to help curb the growing trend of medical tourism by investing in Nigeria’s health sector. She also urged Nigerians abroad not to regard the United States and Europe as their permanent homes but to channel their skills, resources, and experiences back to their roots to help foster development, Japada. A statement on Thursday by the minister’s Special Assistant on Communication and New Media, Magnus Eze, said she made the appeal at the 16th Annual Mbaise USA Convention in Minnesota, where she officially flagged off the construction of the Medville Medical City in Uvuru, Mbaise, Imo State—a project spearheaded by the Nigerian diaspora community. “Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu challenged Nigerians in the diaspora to end the current spate of medical tourism by their compatriots. She also implored them not to see the United States of America and Europe as their ‘permanent homes,’ but t...

Civil society groups under the Action Group on Free Civic Space have raised alarm over what they describe as a disturbing clampdown on human rights and civic participation in Ebonyi State. Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos today, the groups condemned the continued detention and prosecution of Comrade Emmanuel Acha, a human rights defender and Chair of the Enugu State Civil Society Network.  Okechukwu Nwanyima who represented the group said Acha was arrested in April 2025 and transferred to Abakaliki, allegedly in retaliation for a lawsuit he filed challenging government handling of the Effium-Ezza land conflict in Ebonyi State. The groups say Acha is facing politically motivated charges, including arms possession and murder, despite no credible evidence or court warrant. They also allege he was assaulted in custody, denied medical care, and is being tried before a judge from a rival community in the conflict—raising concerns about judicial bias. They are calling on Governor Fra...

An Enugu State High Court, presided over by Justice C. O. Ajah has awarded the sum of One Hundred Million Naira (N100 million) in damages to Dr. Ejike Arum over a defamatory online publication. Dr. Arum, through his counsel Ifeanyi Okumah, Esq., of Sterling Attorneys, filed a lawsuit against Daily Times Nigeria Plc and Folio Communications Limited, alleging that the defendants falsely portrayed him in an online article as a pedophile, rapist, and a dangerous criminal. Dr. Arum sought for the sum of N1b (one billion naira) damages, injunction restraining further publication of the libelous material, and a front-page public apology in two national dailies, including Daily Times. According to Dr. Arum, the defamatory content gravely damaged his reputation, stripped him of his self-esteem, and caused him immense emotional distress. In response, the defendants first challenged the jurisdiction of the Enugu State High Court, arguing that they neither resided in nor conducted business within ...

Torrential rains in Pakistan's Punjab province have killed at least 63 people and injured 290 in the 24 hours since downpours started on Wednesday morning. Most of the victims were crushed by collapsing buildings, while the rest either drowned or were electrocuted, according to the National Disaster Management Authority. Authorities in the city of Rawalpindi, next to the capital Islamabad, declared Thursday a public holiday to keep people at home, while those living near a swelling river which runs through the city have been asked to evacuate. The latest deaths take the nationwide toll to nearly 180 since the monsoon started in late June. More than half of them were children. The floods have closed several expressways throughout Punjab and either cancelled or delayed dozens of flights. On Thursday, the province's Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said an emergency had been declared in a number of areas. "Government institutions are working with utmost effort," she wrote in ...

A fire that tore through a shopping centre in the Iraqi city of Kut has left at least 60 dead, officials said.  The blaze at the mall, which had reportedly opened five days ago, broke out on Wednesday night and has since been brought under control. Social media videos showed firefighters rescuing people from the mall's roof, but state media reported that many are still missing.  "A tragedy and a calamity has befallen us," regional governor Mohammed al-Miyahi said, adding that legal action would be brought against the shopping centre's owner. The governor has also declared three days of mourning. Videos on INA's news channel show flames ripping through several floors of the Corniche Hypermarket in the city's centre, as firefighters try to douse them. Other clips circulating on social media appear to show a small number of people on the roof during the fire, as well as the burned out insides of the centre. A number of people were rescued from the building by fir...

Aba Power, Nigeria’s 12th electricity distribution company (DisCo), has attributed the success of its ongoing free meter campaign to the cooperation of its customers. In an interview with journalists today, the Aba Power Managing Director, Ugo Opiegbe, said without the “enthusiastic cooperation of our teeming customers, we would not have recorded the roaring success that has seen us provide free smart meters more than any Disco in Nigeria’s history since the resumption of the free meter rollout a month ago”. Opiegbe revealed that the customers have been separating their meters and getting them ready for separate meter installation before the arrival of teams installing the prepaid meters, as the utility has been urging the consumers to do. “Once they get a qualified electrician to separate their wires in buildings and premises where there is more than one customer”, he remarked, “we will provide the required meters without any form of payment”. The meters are being installed from feede...

A High Court of Kenya, sitting in Nairobi, has declared the abduction and detention of Nnamdi Kanu from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 unlawful and illegal. The court also awarded compensatory damages of 10 million Kenyan shillings against the Kenyan Government for gross violations of Kanu’s fundamental human rights. The presiding judge, Justice E.C. Mwita, in his judgement, faulted both the Nigerian and Kenyan governments for the rendition of Kanu in gross violations of his rights as guaranteed by the constitutions. Justice Mwita said, “Having considered the pleadings and arguments by parties, the decisions relied on the constitution and the law, I come to the following conclusions; “First, the government of Kenya violated the constitution and Mr. Nnamdi Kanu’s rights and fundamental freedoms. Having entered Kenya lawfully, he was subject to the protection offered by the Constitution of Kenya 2010, and the government of Kenya had an obligation to uphold and protect his rights and funda...

  A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, on Thursday, June 26, 2025, narrated before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, how a staggering ₦1,096,830,000 (One Billion, Ninety-Six Million, Eight Hundred and Thirty Thousand Naira) was withdrawn in just three days from the Kogi State Government House’s  Administration Account. The witness, Mashelia Arhyel Dada, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, Maitama Branch, testified as Prosecution Witness Four (PW4) under subpoena. He gave a detailed account of massive cash withdrawals allegedly carried out between 2016 and 2023, using multiple bank instruments and channels. Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, Dada said the records he presented were among seven sets of documents submitted in compliance with a subpoena addressed to the bank’s Managing Director. The subpoena was admitted as Exhibit 20, while related documents ...