News & Announcements

Arinze Obiwenite has been detained for allegedly defiling his 12-year-old daughter.

Obiwente was detained during a raid at his residence in Abacha community, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State after receiving a tip from a whistleblower. He was also accused of utilizing demonic methods to conduct a “healing” ministry.

The 12-year-old girl and her siblings were reportedly rescued during a raid on the accused’s home under the direction of the state commissioner for women and social welfare, Mrs. Ify Obinabo.

It was learned that the suspect had kept his children imprisoned in the room for five years and was allegedly having sex with the 12-year-old while fingering the smaller children.

These were revealed to journalists in a statement on Saturday by the commissioner’s media assistant, Miss Chidinma Ikeanyionwu.

She claims that before beginning the trip, the commissioner first made a courtesy call to the Igwe Nwabunwanne Odiegwu, Traditional Ruler of the Abacha community, to inform him of the commissioner’s intentions.

She said, “It was during the visit to the monarch that it was revealed that the suspect had been parading himself as a Christian who gives solutions to people seeking for answers without knowing that he has other motives up his sleeves.

“The traditional ruler explained that the community got to know of the suspect’s escapades when he accused some young boys in the community of raping the daughter.

“The suspect was summoned to the palace on several occasions but failed to honour the royal invitation which made the youths of the community troop out en masse to his residence and on getting to his house, they discovered that he locked up his children including the 12-year-old.

“When questioned, the daughter revealed that the father locked them up in the room for five years and that he always had carnal knowledge of her while he fingers the younger ones.

“Upon interrogation, the suspect stated that he is married to 11 wives, but does not live with any of them at the moment.”

The community’s traditional leader, Chief Paul Omofia, spoke about the situation and revealed that after learning of the man’s illegal activities, the youths had planned to take the law into their own hands by having him burned alive. However, the monarch intervened and stopped them.

Omofia added that the occurrence took place a short time after their Ofala holiday, during which they pleaded with the local deities to reveal any evildoers in the neighborhood.

The commissioner promised to uphold justice and to provide the kids with a supportive environment where they could develop and receive the treatment they needed after assessing the kids.

The suspect, when questioned, was reported to have categorically denied all charges brought against him but begged the monarch to pardon him and assist in settling the matter amicably—a request the monarch openly rejected.

Some items allegedly found at the suspect’s home included a long list of paper on which he jotted down the names of people he had killed and planned to kill, a hollow grave in his backyard where, according to the suspect, he stays when necessary to perform incantations, and some herbal remedies that he claimed were also diabolical.

Additionally, he was made to break the oath that had been made to his three wives and him during the course of their weddings.

The suspect was detained by the police, who then took him to the state criminal investigating division in Awka, according to the statement.

He was charged on March 23 and arraigned before the Children, Sexual, and Gender Based Violence Magistrate court in Awka. He was then remanded in custody and taken to the Correctional Center Amawbia, while the daughter was taken to an unidentified hospital for a checkup and potential treatment.

For the March 18 gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission has finished uploading the Borno State results.

Of the anticipated 149,263 election results, the Commission has only posted 138,124 thus far.

93% of the final 2023 governorship election results are represented by the results that have been submitted.

It was reported that during the presidential election, INEC received criticism from opposition parties and some Nigerians for delaying the upload of results to its Result Viewing portal.

A few days before the March 18 elections, INEC announced that the technological problems had been resolved and promised that election results would be transferred instantly, notwithstanding the Commission’s explanation that technical difficulties hindered result transmission, which many critics refused to accept.

When checked on Saturday , it was discovered that 28 states had submitted their election results. 5 015 (99%) of the results from Ogun State were submitted. Plateau: 4,984 (99%); Zamfara: 3,297 (93%); Yobe: 2,712 (96%); Taraba: 2,957 (82%); Sokoto: 3,805 (95%); Rivers: 6,300 (91%); Oyo: 6,387 (99%); Niger: 4,621 (93%); Nasarawa: 3,242 (99%); Lagos: 13,304 (99%); Kwara: 2,883 (99%); Kebbi: 3,674 (98%);Katsina, 6,588, (99%); Kano, 10,009, (89%); Kaduna, 7,578, (95%); Jigawa, 4,519, (99%); Gombe, 2,971, (99%); Enugu, 4,110, (99%); Ebonyi, 2,876, (97%); Delta, 5,858, (99%); Cross-River, 3,256, (99%); Borno, 5,071, (100%); Benue, 4,727, (93%); Bauchi, 5,110, (94%); Akwa-Ibom, 4,309, (99%); Adamawa, 3,967, (96%); and Abia, 3,994, (98%).

Rev. Musa Mairimi, the pastor of Ecwa Church, Buda Two, Kasuwa Magani in Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, was reportedly shot and killed by terrorists.

The event was reported on Saturday by Rev. Joseph Hayab, the Kaduna State Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

He claimed that on Thursday, after killing two members of the clergy, the attackers broke into the neighborhood and kidnapped his wife, while more than 100 other hostages who had been taken from various parts of the state had been freed.

According to reports, over 100 persons were kidnapped and held by terrorists for more than six months, particularly in the Local Government Areas of Kauru, Jaba, Kachia, Kagarko, and Kajuru, he stated.

He revealed that three clergymen had been kidnapped shortly after the presidential election and that one of them, who is still in the terrorists’ hands, was being held for N50 million in ransom.

“But the negotiation that started from N50 million has now come down to N5 million. That’s the kind of situation that we have found ourselves in Kaduna State.

“Who will you cry to and who will you run to, after all, since the carnage of kidnapping started in Kaduna, no concrete arrests have been made,” Hayab stressed.

In his remarks on the recently held governorship and state House of Assembly elections in Kaduna State, he claimed that the state’s ecstatic celebration over a single rumor that a certain party had won demonstrated how upset the populace is with the current administration.

“Whoever emerges as the new leader in the state understands the mind of the people, their anger and is willing to do something different, it won’t take long before there would be a new sigh of relieve,” Hayab concluded.

The Federal Government has honored forward-thinking civil workers who made significant contributions to the creation of technology that will facilitate operating procedures in the civil service.

The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation established the 2022 Innovation Challenge with assistance from Galaxy Backbone Limited.

Iluromi Emmanuel, a teacher at the Federal Science College, Orozo, Abuja, won the 2022 Innovation Challenge and received N3 million in prize money for his system that tracks fuel consumption in automobiles.

Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, announced that the 2022 Innovation Challenge winner received N3 million, the first runner-up received N1.75 million, and the second runner-up received N1 million on Thursday in Abuja during the award event.

Yemi-Esan urged other civil servants to embrace the chance to be inventive as they get ready for the following edition rather than trying to undermine one another.

The ultimate prize winner mentioned in his thank-you speech that his technology can monitor fuel level while driving and send the results through SMS. “If your driver needs to buy fuel for any reason, all you have to do is ping the app once before he goes and once more when he returns to track his fuel consumption.”

Senator Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor of Kano State and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, urged other government agencies to focus on rewarding exceptional personnel since it will motivate them to do better in his succinct remarks.

In order to attract party members ahead of the primary election set for April, Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello has urged candidates running for governor on the platform of the All Progressives Congress in the state to concentrate on their advantages.

He issued a warning against polarizing tendencies that would endanger the party’s interests and threaten the peace and harmony that the ruling party had been recognized for in the state under his leadership.

This was said by Governor Bello in a statement that was released early on Saturday and was signed by Kingsley Fanwo, the state’s commissioner for information and communications.

He was referring specifically to the apparent back-and-forth on the alleged suspension of Hon. Murtala Yakubu, a state representative to the APC National Working Committee.

He wished all of the candidates for governor a successful screening process and reaffirmed that the party would ensure a level playing field for the best candidate to emerge in the primary election. He also expressed confidence that the APC would win the governorship election in November by a significant margin.

The statement read, “The attention of the Executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, has been drawn to a series of publications on the suspension or not of a member of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Hon. Murtala Yakubu.

“The governor, as the leader of our great party in the state, warns against bickering that can undermine the peace and unity that the APC has been known for under his leadership. He has therefore directed all aspirants in the forthcoming governorship primary in the state to focus on their strengths in wooing party members and refrain from divisive tendencies in the interest of the party.

“Our party will ensure a fair playing ground for the best candidate to emerge in the primary election and together we shall win the governorship election with a wide margin in November.”

Friday night, the Court of Appeal in Abuja rejected an appeal by the Peoples Democratic Party that sought to have Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and Kashim Shettima, who was Tinubu’s running mate, disqualified from the election on February 25.

The PDP failed to prove that it had locus standi to bring the action, according to a unanimous ruling from a three-member panel led by Justice James Abundaga.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the PDP asked the appellate court to overturn the January 13 judgment rendered by Justice Inyang Ekwo of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which dismissed its suit on the grounds that the PDP lacked locus standi to have instituted the suit. The appeal was filed under the case number CA/ABJ/CV/108/2023.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, the APC, Tinubu, and Shettima were respondents in the appeal, with the PDP serving as the appellant.

The Tinubu/Shettima ticket for the 2023 presidential election was contested by the PDP in the lawsuit that was filed on July 28, 2022.

It claimed that Shettima received two nominations and that this violated Sections 29(1), 33, 35, and 84(1)(2) of the Electoral Act of 2022 (as amended) by nominating her as the running mate.

It stated that Shettima had neither resigned or withdrew his nomination as a candidate for the Borno Central Senatorial election at the time he was nominated as a vice presidential candidate.

Shettima’s candidacy as a vice presidential candidate and as a senatorial contender for Borno Central, according to the party, was illegal.

It also asked the court to issue an order directing INEC to strike their names from the list of candidates it had nominated or supported and who were qualified to run for office.

The defendants requested that the case be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction in their preliminary objection to the court.

They said that the plaintiff lacked locus standi to bring the lawsuit, which always contested the APC’s choice of candidates for the election and decision, both of which fell under the purview of the party’s internal matters and were therefore outside the purview of the court’s jurisdiction.

In the lead opinion, Justice Abundaga characterised the PDP as a busy entity that dabbled in APC internal affairs. Justice Abundaga concurred with the arguments made by respondents’ attorneys, notably Thomas Ojo of Lateef Fagbemi and Co.

The trial court’s determination that the PDP had failed to prove its locus standi was correct, according to Justice Abundaga.

He then went on to support the FHC’s decision by stating, “The appellant, having failed to disclose its locus standi, this appeal fails and is hereby dismissed.”

The judge also fined J. O. Olotu, the appellant’s attorney, N5 million in costs.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has reinstated Ademola Adeleke as the governor of Osun State.

Delivering judgment in the appeal filed by Adeleke on Friday, a three-member panel of justices held that the election tribunal erred when it ruled that the 1st and 2nd respondents (Gboyega Oyetola and the All Progressives Congress) proved their allegation of over-voting.

According to the panel of judges which issued its verdict on Friday, Adeleke is the duly elected governor of the state.

The Osun governorship election tribunal, in January, held that Oyetola was able to prove that there was over-voting in some of the polling units.

Consequently, the majority judgment of the tribunal ordered INEC to withdraw the certificate of return issued to Adeleke and issue a fresh one to Oyetola as the duly elected governor of Osun.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, Adeleke appealed the judgment at the court of appeal.

Criticisms have followed the introduction of bill two members of Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset, that will make it a criminal offense to persuade anyone to convert to another religion.

The unrelenting criticisms have continued to pour in, especially from Christians, both in Israel and around the world, over the proposed law which would outlaw telling people about Jesus in Israel and jail terms for anyone who does.

Israeli lawmakers, Moshe Gafni and Yaakov Asher, who are the authors of the proposed legislation, are ultra-Orthodox members of the United Torah Judaism Party. They submitted the bill in January 2023 as the Israeli judicial reform continues.

The 2023 Israeli judicial reform is a proposed series of changes to Israel’s judicial system and the country’s balance of power in a bid to curb the courts’ influence over lawmaking and public policy, granting the government more control.

If approved, the punishment for having conversations about Jesus with Israelis, whether in person or online, would be one-year imprisonment with an adult, but two years with someone under 18.

The proposed law states, “(Anyone) who persuades a person, directly, digitally, by direct mail, or online, to convert his religion, his sentence is one-year imprisonment, and if the person was a minor, his sentence is two years imprisonment.”

According to Premier News, a Christian news platform, the Senior spokesman and Vice President of the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, David Parsons, said it was not the first time Gafni had proposed such a ban.

“He’s made a habit every year, every time he gets re-elected in the Knesset to introduce a bill like this. And it never goes anywhere,” Parsons was quoted as saying, adding that “although the bill is concerning, it’s unlikely to go anywhere.”

Criticisms of the proposed bill have continued to pour in from Christians and Christian groups both in Israel and around the world.

Responding in a tweet on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, declared in Hebrew and in English that no bill that harms Christianity would be passed into law at the Knesset, allaying fears.

He wrote, “We will not advance any law against the Christian community,” CBN News quoted Netanyahu as saying.

According to history, Jesus was born and raised in Israel, hence, it is considered Christianity’s place of birth.

Christian pilgrims have also continued to visit the country to connect with their religion as it helps them visualize and reimagine the events read in the Bible.

A Federal High Court in Lagos sentenced drug traffickers, Okechukwu Umeh, Lanre Adebayo, Adigun Adeshina, and Emmanuel Omijeh, to nineteen years (19yrs) imprisonment.

The traffickers were arraigned on three counts bordering on drug trafficking by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.

Justice Akintayo Aluko who gave the verdict, also ordered the forfeiture of the bus used in conveying 532.8Kg of the Loud variant of cannabis on the day of their arrest and the N3m bribe they offered operatives of NDLEA.

Justice Aluko sentenced each of them to five years on count one, and seven years each on counts two and three.

While the judge ruled that the sentences should run concurrently, he also gave the four convicts the option of paying N20m in place of the jail terms.

“This is in addition to granting the application by the NDLEA for the final forfeiture of a white colour Ford bus with number plate PHC 315 ZT, used in conveying 532. 8kg of the Loud variant of cannabis on the day of their arrest, Sunday, January 22, 2023, along Lagos- Ibadan Expressway.

“The court also granted the final forfeiture of N3m offered as a bribe by the convicts to NDLEA officers.

The drugs concealed with ‘take away’ food packs in 19 big cartons were seized in the white Ford bus heading to Port Harcourt, Rivers State along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway at 2.35am on Sunday, January 22.

Founder Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention and Deliverance Ministry, Chukwuemeka Ohanaemere, aka Prophet Odumeje has said that he’s completed his work on earth and will die soon.

The popular Anambra-based pastor stated this during service in the church where he told his congregation that it was time for him to go.

Odumeje fondly called Indaboski said he had a heart-to-heart talk with his first son, David, and informed him that his last days in the world are near.

He told the boy to prepare to be the man of the house who will take care of his siblings and mother when he (Odumeje) is gone.

The cleric explained that the purpose for which he came to the world has been fulfilled.

“I have called my little son, King David, and I told him that very soon, I, your father will leave. You must take care of your brothers and your mother.

“I came to this world for a purpose, and that purpose has been fulfilled. I have finished my earthly ministry, and I will leave soon,” he said.

Odumeje, who is 40 years old, became a viral sensation as a result of his weird pattern of conducting deliverance, where he carries members seeking miracles in a manner akin to the WWE wrestlers and smashes them on the floor.

He has fought several battles and challenged many native doctors to open contests on their ability to perform miracles. The man of God recently said that he went to have a battle with the devil in the underworld and came back with a championship belt.