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Showing posts from January, 2025

AGF Explains Why IGP Egbetokun Remains in Office Amidst Illegality Claims by Sowore

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The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has stepped into the lingering controversy over the tenure of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, Mr Fagbemi clarified in a statement on Thursday that Mr Egbetokun’s continued stay in office is legal contrary to assertions that he should no longer remain in office having attained the retirement age of 60. The clarification came amid prosecution of rights activist Omoyele Sowore by the police for referring to Mr Egbetokun as an “illegal IGP”. The attorney-general, who was apparently responding to Mr Sowore’s claim, which was fast gaining traction since his prosecution began, admitted that Mr Egbetokun ought to have left office in September 2024 when he attained 60 years but for an amendment to the Police Act. Mr Fagbemi said the amendment secured a four-year tenure for the occupant of the IGP office. “The appointment of Egbetokun which took effect from 31st day of October 2023 would hav...

MY BAIL CONDITIONS FRIVOLOUS AND RIDICULOUS - SOWORE

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Omoyele Sowore, presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in 2023, says he will not accept President Bola Tinubu even if he volunteered to be his bail surety. Sowore is currently in police custody after he was invited for questioning over allegations of cyberstalking, negligent acts, and intimidation. The police invitation was about a viral video wherein Sowore confronted officers who had stopped his vehicle at a checkpoint in Lagos. He arrived at the force headquarters in Abuja on Monday, and on Wednesday, police arraigned Sowore over cybercrime allegations. However, he rejected the bail conditions set by the police, which required him to deposit his international passport and present a level 17 civil servant as a surety. The court adjourned ruling on his bail application to Thursday, January 25. ‘MY BAIL CONDITIONS FRIVOLOUS AND RIDICULOUS’ Addressing journalists in a video seen by TheCable, Sowore rejected the bail conditions and vowed not to participate in what he...

ENUGU TANKER EXPLOSION: REP NNAMCHI CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE COMPLETION OF UGWUOYEAMA EXPRESSWAY

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The recent tanker explosion that led to the death of 21 people so far has continued to spark reactions across board.  The Chairman of the House Committee on Nigeria-Republic of Ireland Parliamentary Friendship Association and member representing Enugu-East Isi-Uzo Federal Constituency, Prof. Sunday Paul Nnamchi, has joined forces with 15 lawmakers to call for immediate completion of the Ugwu Onyeama Section of Enugu-Onitsha Expressway. Prof. Nnamchi made this call in a closed-door meeting of the lawmakers from Enugu and Anambra States with the Minister for Works, Engr. David Umahi, on 29th of Jan 2025.  The group led by the member representing  Enugu West Senatorial Zone, Senator Osita Ngwu, on Wednesday, attributed the incessant accident on the road to what it describes as a 'dangerous delay of the project'.  He expressed sorrow over the road accident that took place over the weekend at Ugwuonyeama and which claimed over eighteen (20) lives and left many others in s...

Nigeria set to welcome deportees from US — FG

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  Chairman/CEO of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) has said that the Federal Government is ready to welcome deported Nigerians from the United States. The Director of Media and Corporate Affairs of the commission, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, in an interview with Vanguard on Tuesday evening, said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in charge of such development. Balogun further said FG had already constituted an inter-agency committee to handle the matter should Nigerians be expelled from the US. “The Federal Government has set up an inter-agency committee, comprising the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NiDCOM, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), should there be mass deportation of Nigerians from the US.” However, the NiDCOM spokesman stressed that its commission was not aware of Nigerians in America being processed for deportation. Reports indicate that over 3,690 ...

Trump says US will send some migrants to Guantanamo Bay

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  US President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of a migrant detention facility in Guantanamo Bay which he said would hold as many as 30,000 people. He said the facility at the US Navy base in Cuba, which would be separate from its high-security military prison, would house "the worst criminal illegal aliens threatening the American people". Guantanamo Bay has long been used to house immigrants, a practice that has been criticised by some human rights groups. Later on Wednesday, Trump's "border tsar" Tom Homan said the existing facility there would be expanded and run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He said the migrants could be transported there directly after being intercepted at sea by the US Coast Guard, and that the "highest" detention standards would be applied. It is unclear how much the facility will cost or when it would be completed. Cuba's government swiftly condemned the plan, accusing the US of torture and illega...

FATAL ACCIDENT CLAIMS ONE LIFE, INJURES THREE AT CONOIL INWARD SECRETARIAT, LAGOS

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The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has confirmed a grievous lone vehicular accident involving a Toyota Sienna (KTU 666 JP) at Conoil, inward Secretariat, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. This tragic occurrence, which transpired earlier Wednesday, resulted in the untimely demise of the driver, while three other occupants—two males and one female—suffered severe injuries. Responding with commendable swiftness, personnel of the Lagos State 0 Services (LASAMBUS) administered critical first aid before transporting the injured victims to the Lagos State Accident & Emergency Centre at Toll Gate for urgent medical intervention. Preliminary inquiries indicate that the deceased driver was under the influence of alcohol and lost control of the vehicle while traveling at an excessive speed. During rescue operations, LASTMA officials who swiftly responded as first responder recovered N48,200, phone and 15 sachets of alcoholic gin inside the Sienna car. Additionally, Federal...

Many feared dead as passenger jet collides with military helicopter

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A  passenger jet collided Wednesday with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River. There was no immediate word on casualties or the cause of the collision, but all takeoffs and landings from the airport near Washington were halted as helicopters from law enforcement agencies across the region flew over the scene in search of survivors. Inflatable rescue boats were launched into the Potomac River from a point near the airport along the George Washington Parkway, just north of the airport. President Donald Trump was briefed, his press secretary said, and Vice President JD Vance encouraged followers on the social media platform X to “say a prayer for everyone involved.”. The Federal Aviation Administration said the midair crash occurred around 9 p.m. EST when a regional jet that had departed from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a military Blackhawk helicopter while on ap...

FG slams 3-month suspension on Max Air after Kano incident

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The F ederal Government, through The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), has announced the suspension of operations by Max Air following Tuesday’s night incident involving the airline’s aircraft in Kano. A Max Air B734 aircraft with registration marks 5N-MBD, had experienced a tyre burst on landing at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano on Tuesday, 28th, January 2025 at about 2251 hours. This would be the third incident in the space of three months involving a Max Air plane. Though the 53 passengers on board were evacuated unhurt, the aircraft was temporarily shut before the runway was reopened by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) by 8:00 am on Wednesday. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has also initiated investigation into the occurrence. However, the regulatory authority, the NCAA, in a statement confirming the incident said it will provide the required support to the NSIB in this regard. Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection...

Defamation: Enugu Hospital MD, Three Doctors’ Appeal Against Nurse Dismissed; Contempt Looms

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The Court of Appeal Enugu Division has firmly dismissed the appeal lodged by Dr. Ngozi Unaogu, the acting Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu, alongside three consultant psychiatrists—Drs Ubochi Vincent, Justin Acho, and Ugwuonye Onyekachi, against senior nurse Afam Ndu. The case, with suit number CA/E/47/2022, contested the 2021 ruling of the Enugu State High Court concerning a defamation suit initiated by Mr Ndu. History of the Case The defamation lawsuit originated in 2017 when Nurses Buzor Maduka, Tina Okolo, Sunday Okoli, and Afam Ndu condemned job racketeering perpetrated by Mrs. Stella Achalla, the former secretary to Dr. Jojo Onwukwe, the then Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital. Mrs. Achalla was later convicted of the crime and sentenced to seven years in prison and refund of the N15 million she had unlawfully obtained from the job scam. However, the nurses who raised the alarm faced backlash from certain doctors who viewed th...