News & Announcements

Ali Al Balawi, an 83-year-old Saudi man with 126 children and grandchildren, has remarried for the 11th time in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia’s northwestern province.

Al Balawi, who has 18 sons, 20 daughters, and 88 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, celebrated his 11th marriage with a wedding reception attended by family and friends.

With the addition of the new bride, Al Balawi now has four wives.

He says he is healthy and has never suffered from any illness. “So, there is nothing that can prevent him from remarrying,” he said.

“I have the financial, mental and physical capacity to maintain four wives,” Al Balawi said.

The Nigerian Army has denied claims that soldiers destroyed a police station in the Ogijo neighborhood on Wednesday in retaliation for a fellow soldier’s passing.

Some locals claimed that soldiers broke into the station as retaliation for the death of their colleague, who they claimed was slain by a police officer who set fire to several properties, including cars and a police station.

However, a statement released on Thursday and signed by Lieutenant Colonel Olabisi Ayeni, Acting Deputy Director Army Public Relations 81 Division Nigerian Army, said that an enraged mob had attacked military members.

He claimed that the mob saw the event that resulted in the soldier’s death and used it as justification to attack the station.

“Murder of a soldier: Angry crowd storms police station,” read the statement’s headline.

“Angry mob at Ogijo Community, a border town between Ogun and Lagos states attacked a Police Station following the death of a soldier who was stabbed to death by a policeman.

“The mob who witnessed the unfortunate incident took advantage of this and attacked Police Station in the community.

He described what happened, saying the dead soldier was attempting to verify the identity of a police officer who was standing by their car in an inappropriate outfit.

The event turned into a brawl, according to Ayeni, which led to the death of a soldier.

In order to ensure his safety, he claimed that the police officer had been detained by the military and would soon be turned over to the Nigerian Police Force for prosecution.

Ayeni said, “The victim confronted the suspect who was not properly dressed and standing very close to the Patrol Vehicle of Operation MESA to confirm his identity.

“This led to an argument and subsequently, the unfortunate incident.

“The soldier was immediately rushed to Lagos State Polytechnic Hospital, Odogunyan, for medical attention, but he was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

“The remains of the soldier have been moved to 174 Battalion Medical Centre in Ikorodu.

“The suspect has also since been arrested and kept in military custody for his safety and subsequent hand over to Nigeria Police for prosecution.”

To prevent the breakdown of law and order, he continued, troops had been stationed close to every police station in Ikorodu.

However, according to Ayeni, the situation had been under control and the neighborhood had back to normal.

Soldiers seeking retribution for the murder of a police officer who killed one of their colleagues on Tuesday assaulted the Ogijo neighborhood in Ogun State, confusing locals and business owners in the process.

According to reports, the policemen fatally stabbed the soldier, and as payback, they set fire to other pieces of property, including cars, a police station, and other buildings.

Sam, a local who only gave his first name, explained over the phone to one of our journalists that problems began after a police officer allegedly murdered a soldier.

He claimed that the deceased soldier’s comrades organized an assault on the Ogijo police station.

An eyewitness, Rofiat Alhameed, commented on the situation in a post on Twitter, claiming that the turmoil left many commuters stuck because there were no vehicles to take them to their destinations. She said that she had hiked from Odogunyan to the Ogijo neighborhood.

Using her social media handle, @Fee_arh, she wrote, “I had to trek from Odogunyan to Ogijo today running from one place to another trying to avoid soldiers beating passersby and those driving between Odogunyan to Ogijo after a soldier was allegedly killed by area boys while some claimed a MOPOL stabbed the soldier in Ikorodu.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, explained in a tweet that the event had place in Ogun State, in contrast to claims that it took place in Lagos State.

He stated in the tweet, “There are stories making the rounds that riots have broken out in Odonguyan, Ikorodu. We wish to clarify that the unrest is at Ogijo, Ogun State, though very close to Ikorodu, Lagos. Our officers are on the alert and would not allow any breakdown of law and order within Lagos State.”

The PPRO for Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, was unable to be reached as of the time this report was submitted.

On Tuesday, a Lagos state high court in Tafawa Balewa Square issued an order requiring convicted billionaire kidnap kingpin Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike, also known as Evans, to return the €233,000 ransom he coercively demanded from Chief Donatus Dunu, one of his abducted victims.

In addition, Justice Olukayode Ogunjobi mandated that the kidnapper who was found guilty pay the claimant N50m in general damages.

Pharmacist Dunu was kidnapped on February 14, 2017, and held captive until he was able to flee. His captors had demanded a ransom from his family.

Later, Dunu—the CEO of Maydon Pharmaceutical Company—filed a civil lawsuit, asking the court to order Evans to reimburse him for the €233,000 he had paid as ransom.

In addition, he sought N50m in general damages.

Evans said in his defense, however, that the criminal charge marked 1D/5970C/2017 brought against him and others was the main factor supporting the claimant’s case.

Evans testified in his criminal trial that a witness named Okagwu claimed he dropped the €233,000 ransom on the ground before running away.

Although he had been found guilty, he claimed that the case had been appealed.

However, Justice Ogunjobi concluded that Evans’ evidence was contradictory.

Justice Ogunjobi held, “Aside adducing conflicting pieces of evidence on oath, I have watched the demeanour of the defendant in the witness box when giving evidence and came to the conclusion that the defendant is not a witness of truth. I do not believe his evidence. I accept the unchallenged and uncontroverted evidence of the claimant and his witnesses. The evidence support the reliefs sought by the claimant.

“Consequently, the claimant is entitled to be paid or repaid and or recover from the defendant, the sum of   €233,000 ransom coercively paid by the claimant to defendant when the defendant kidnapped the claimant in the year 2017 and held the claimant hostage for months.”

Usman Baba, the Inspector-General of Police, announced on Thursday that the organization will send 310,973 of its employees to the more than 8,000 wards around the country to help with the conduct of the elections on February 11 and March 25.

At the 66th State House Ministerial Briefing, which was held at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja and was organized by the Presidential Communications Team, Baba made this announcement.

The police head claims that among other places, the personnel will come from regular police officers and females, mobile police, special forces, intelligence response team, and anti terrorism unit.

But he added that 93,495 more people from the National Security and Civil Defense Corps, the Nigeria Correctional Service, the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will support the Force’s activities.

Baba also disclosed the deployment of at least 74 armored personnel carriers, 37 water cannons, 1,240 patrol cars, 50 ambulances, and 300 motorcyclists across the country.

This also applies to canine support and surveillance helicopters, among other things.

In response to the passing of a student named Precious Agindi, the University of Calabar has suspended four medical center staff members.

Agindi was a third-year student at the university studying library and information science.

It was reported that Agindi died on January 28 at the institution’s medical centre.

Prof. Florence Obi, the vice chancellor of the institution, gave a press conference on Tuesday after obtaining the autopsy results.

According to her, the staff members’ suspension was due to their lack of “emotional commitment” to the deceased.

The student was rushed to the hospital in a very critical condition, and less than an hour later, she passed away, according to Obi, whose autopsy provided a thorough account of her cause of death.

“For emphasis, let me categorically state that the death of Precious Agindi had nothing to do with the rumoured ruptured appendicitis as her appendix was found at autopsy to be healthy, not inflamed and intact.

“This regrettable incident sparked very strong emotions, students’ demonstrations on that fateful day and a lot of misinformation and outright falsehood peddled by ill-informed and mischievous people, both within and outside the campus,” she said.

She pointed out that the university kept a stiff upper lip and vigorously investigated how the patient was treated at the facility by assembling a panel of inquiry and holding a coroner’s inquest to ascertain the cause of death.

“Yesterday, in the presence of the representatives of the family, the Benue and Tiv Community in the university, SUG officials, members of the Panel of Inquiry, and management received the autopsy and the panel of inquiry reports,” she added.

While the doctors and skilled medical consultants on the panel of inquiry, according to Obi, cleared the on-duty nurses of any professional malpractice, they did note some signs of a lack of emotional commitment on their part as medical professionals.

The vice chancellor (VC) stated that the issue of devotion to work at the university was a pillar that the institution gave significant value to in all of its parts, including the medical center.

She added, “Management has, therefore, decided to place all the staff members on duty on a three-month suspension for lack of empathy and psychological support and especially for demanding money for card against the medical centre’s policy of attending to patients in critical condition first.

“The above investigation has revealed that the patient was brought to the medical centre critically ill and her eventual death shortly after arrival was not as a result of professional negligence by staff members of the medical centre.

“Also, there is an established clinical condition as the cause of death which in deferment to the family and in respect to the dead we do not wish to reveal.

“Yet all sorts of lies have been told both online and offline to batter the image of the university and instigate unrest among the students.”

The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was partially blocked by angry protesters on Wednesday, leaving motorists stuck in Oyo State.

On the highway, several youths were seen playing football, and some protesters set up barriers while begging passing drivers for money.

The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway’s Ibadan terminus was also impassable due to multiple vehicles stopped along the side of the route.

Some of the motorists who spoke expressed worries over the situation.

The hearing in the lawsuit seeking to outlaw the usage of the old naira was postponed by the Supreme Court, which was sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, until Wednesday, February 22, 2023.

The three states sued the federal government, requesting a restraining order to prevent the full implementation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s currency redesign program.

In a recent development, nine states have asked to join the original lawsuit brought by the governments of Kogi, Kaduna, and Zamfara.

The new number of plaintiffs now stands at ten. The states are Katsina, Lagos, Cross River, Ogun, Ekiti, Ondo, and Sokoto.

Edo and Bayelsa, on the other hand, have asked to be added as respondents.

The seven-man panel led by Justice John Okoro ordered them to amend their processes to be heard as one.

Meanwhile, pending hearing, the old order to suspend the ban of the now older 200, 500 and 1000 naira notes subsist.

According to reports, a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court’s seven-member panel on last Wednesday issued a temporary injunction preventing the Federal Government from carrying out the CBN’s deadline of February 10 for exchanging the old naira notes for new ones.

The decision was made in response to a request ex-parte filed on behalf of the three northern states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara, who had launched a lawsuit on February 3rd to stop the CBN’s policy from taking effect.

On February 8, 2022, it was announced that the Federal High Court in Abuja had barred the CBN, commercial banks, and President Major General Muhammadu Buahri (retired) from interfering with, suspending, or extending the deadline of February 10 for the expiration of the old naira notes.

In light of the ongoing Supreme Court lawsuit, the Presidency was quoted as saying before to Wednesday’s hearing that neither the government nor the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken a position on the continued use of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes as legal tender.

Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President for Media and Publicity, stated that following the outcome of the suit on Wednesday, the FG would announce its position on the new naira policy.

He said “Following series of enquiries, we wish to state that it is not true that the FG or the CBN has taken a pre-emptive action on the legality of currency as a legal tender in view of the pendency of the case before the Supreme Court.

“We wish to state that it is not true that the Federal Government or the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN have taken a preemptive action on the legality of currency as a legal tender in view of the pendency of the case before the Supreme Court.

“The position of the government and the CBN will be made known upon the determination of the suit coming up tomorrow.”

On Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja extended the injunction preventing the PDP from suspending or removing Nyesom Wike, the governor of the state of Rivers, who was punished by the party for anti-party conduct.

The court extended the temporary injunction it issued on February 2 prohibiting the PDP and its leadership from taking action against the governor in the form of suspension or expulsion.

The PDP, its National Working Committee, National Executive Council, Chairman Iyiocha Ayu, National Secretary Samuel Anyanwu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission are the respondents in the lawsuit.

According to the United Nations, $5.6 billion is required to deliver humanitarian relief in Ukraine and to the millions of people who have fled the war-torn nation.

The UN assessed that over a year after Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 21.8 million Ukrainians now required humanitarian aid.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement, “The war continues to cause death, destruction and displacement daily, and on a staggering scale.”

“We must do all we can to reach the hardest-to-reach communities, including those close to the front line,” he said.

“The suffering of the Ukrainian people is far from over – they continue to need international support.”

The need is so vast that aid organizations are unable to assist everyone, but the UN claimed that the $5.6 billion asked will enable them to assist the 15.3 million people who are in the greatest need this year.

It stated that more than four million Ukrainian refugees hosted throughout eastern Europe need help totaling $1.7 billion.

The majority of it would go to Moldova, the primary transit nation for Ukrainians traveling farther into Europe, and Poland, which is already housing more than 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees.

Approximately 86 percent of all refugees are women and children, according to the UN.

“Europe has proven capable of bold, collective action to help refugees,” UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in the statement.

“We must not, however, take this response, or the hospitality of host communities, for granted,” he said.

“Continued international support and solidarity is needed until refugees are able to return to their homes in safety and dignity, which must also remain a priority.”

Humanitarian organizations in Ukraine have been working to help people since the war started, and by 2022, approximately 16 million people will have received aid and protection services, including in regions that are not under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian government.

Inside Ukraine, “the war has profoundly affected access to livelihoods and disrupted market stability particularly in southern and eastern oblasts, further aggravating humanitarian suffering,” the appeal said.

It warned that “a majority of Ukrainians have reportedly reduced food consumption and spent savings,” pointing to soaring unemployment, skyrocketing inflation and inadequate social assistance.

While food and other necessities were still generally accessible in the majority of the regions governed by the Ukrainian government, it was noted that many people found it impossible to afford them without cash, vouchers, or other forms of support for their livelihoods.

And they “are much more difficult to obtain in areas experiencing constant bombardment,” it said, highlighting the “systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure throughout the war.”