News & Announcements

Chimaroke Nnamani, a senator for the Enugu East Senatorial District and former governor of Enugu State, has filed a lawsuit against the Peoples Democratic Party over the disciplinary measures that were taken against him for allegedly engaging in anti-party activity.

According to reports, Nnamani filed the lawsuit on February 7, 2023, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, just a few days before he was expelled out of the party.

According to reports, Nnamani’s original suspension from the PDP came about as a result of his declaration of support for Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate.

The former governor of Enugu State claimed that he backed the APC candidate because he could not back a northerner for president following Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year administration (retd.).

Nnamani and a few other important party figures were dismissed by the PDP for anti-party conduct on February 10, 2023.

The Independent National Electoral Commission, the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, and Samuel Anyanwu on behalf of the PDP National Working Committee members are mentioned as defendants in Nnamani’s lawsuit on the top page of the court document our reporter acquired on Tuesday.

Nnamani sought the court to decide in the lawsuit whether it was appropriate for the party to discipline him without giving him a fair hearing.

The senator has continued to endorse Tinubu of the competing APC after being censured by his party.

Nnamani praised Tinubu in a statement on Tuesday for greatly enhancing the health sector in Lagos State while he served as governor from 1999 to 2007.

He said, “It is to Tinubu’s credit that HIV/AIDS prevalence in Lagos State decreased from 6.7 per cent to 3.5per cent between 1999 and 2007 while more than 2,000 women received prevention of mother to child transmission in 10 PMTCT centres set up to prevent the disease.”

Nnamani claimed that Tinubu was the ideal candidate to govern Nigeria at this moment because of his performance in Lagos.

The Director of New Media of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC-PCC), Mr Femi Fani-Kayode, has said that he regretted raising the alarm over the fear of an impending coup d’ etat in the country.

Speaking to reporters in Abuja after he was grilled by the Department of State Security (DSS) for five hours on Monday, he admitted that he should have been circumspect before going public on the issue.

He added: “Sometimes when in the war front because we are in a war presently on the political front, while experiencing such war there is the fog of war where we say either the right things or the wrong things. Nobody is infallible. 

“But the truth is when it comes to the issue of national security, we have to be careful.”

Acknowledging that the coup alarm raised shock waves across the polity, he explained that his action aimed to draw security agencies’ attention to be on top of the situation if there was any iota of truth on the matter.

Despite a Supreme Court judgment prohibiting the apex bank from carrying out the old notes’ February 10 expiration date, the Central Bank of Nigeria has argued that the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes are no longer lawful money.

On Monday, Haladu Idris Andaza, the branch controller for CBN in Bauchi, revealed this information to the media.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state categorically that CBN is ready and is open to receive all of those old notes based on certain conditions and criteria. Customers are free to come to the bank and deposit which they cannot do at the commercial banks anymore because the currency has ceased to be a legal tender since the 10th of this month,” Mr Andaza said.

He added that people and organizations with outdated banknotes can deposit them at any of the 36 apex bank branches located throughout the nation.

“The management of the CBN decided that those customers will have a sigh of relief by coming to the offices of the CBN in all the 36 states in the federation including FCT to deposit their money. The customer has to go to the CBN portal and fill a form in the portal, there will be a form there concerning this currency redesign and exchange,” Mr Andaza said.

There was no need to postpone the February 10, 2023 deadline, according to Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

When he visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday to discuss the bank’s monetary and currency reform policies, he made this statement.

He said, “The situation is substantially calming down since the commencement of over-the-counter payments to complement ATM disbursements and the use of super-agents.

“There is, therefore, no need to consider any shift from the deadline of February 10.”

The Federal Government was previously prohibited by the Supreme Court from enforcing the February 10 deadline for the currency swap.

An interim injunction prohibiting the Federal Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and commercial banks from enforcing the Friday terminal date for the old naira notes was granted by a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, chaired by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous decision.

The CBN governor emphasized that the deadline didn’t need to be pushed back, though.

Additionally, he stated that Point of Sale representatives who charge more than N200 for the CBN cash swap program will be detained and imprisoned when discovered.

The CBN governor added that rather than raising prices for clients, PoS operators might approach the CBN to receive compensation for any additional expenses spent in obtaining the new notes.

Chukwu Ndubuisi, a teacher at the Mind Builders Nursery and Primary School in Omole Phase 11, Ikeja, was found guilty of raping a six-year-old girl within the school and was given a life sentence by a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on Monday.

Ndubuisi’s sentenced by Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya, who stated that the prosecution had established the defendant’s guilt of defiling others.

The offense was committed in June 2016 by the convicted.

Ndubuisi, a part-time art instructor at the school, was charged with forceful penetration and was arraigned on October 4, 2016, at an Ogudu Magistrate’s Court in Lagos. He entered a not guilty plea to the charge.

When Ndubusi was charged, Justice Olufunke Sule-Amzat, a magistrate at the time, granted him bail in the amount of N100,000 with two credible sureties who had to be blood relatives and provide proof of gainful employment.

Following the release of the legal opinion from the Directorate of Public Prosecution, Justice Ogunsanya was later given the case.

The defendant called nine witnesses, while the prosecution called thirteen during the trial.

Justice Ogunsanya, who delivered the ruling, referenced a number of sources and concluded that the prosecution had established its case against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.

The judge held,” The fact, circumstances, and quality of evidence against the defendant was compelling. The first time the victim told her mother of her experience was when she (the mother) was discussing the case of a seven-year-old girl that was defiled and killed which went viral.

“The account of the victim and that of her mother was uncontroverted, corroborated each other, and they gave a good account of the sexual assault.”

Ogunsanya testified that the first time the defendant violated her occurred in the female restroom and that the defendant typically had the victim’s friend call her.

According to the judge, the second time the defendant violated the victim was in the school’s art room.

She said, “The victim told the court that sometimes, her teacher (defendant) asked her to remove her uniform and put his ‘bumbum’ into her ‘bum bum’.

“At another time, he called her into the art room, he put her on the table, parted her panties, and put his thing into my thing. She said the victim told the court that when the defendant is finished, he would clean up the victim with water.”

The defendant had frequent access to the youngster, according to the court, and repeatedly violated her.

Justice Ogunsanya threw out the testimony of two medical physicians who testified for the prosecution because it was contradictory and noted that they had not been called as expert witnesses.

She also rejected the defense witnesses’ claim that the incident was not captured on the school’s CCTV system.

The test results from the Mirabel Center, which revealed that the victim had torn hymen and crimson vulva and that there was evidence of forceful penetration, were upheld by Ogunsanya.

As a result, the judge found the defendant guilty of all charges.

Olagunju, the defendant’s attorney, begged with the court to exercise mercy while still upholding justice, stating that the defendant had never been the subject of allegations of improper behavior and had never been involved in a case at a police station before to this one.

However, Kareem Jubril, the state’s attorney, maintained that the law under which the defendant was charged lacked any discretionary powers.

He requested that the court impose the mandatory punishment required by the law.

The defendant was subsequently given a life sentence by Justice Ogunsanya.

She said, “The defendant (Ndubuisi) is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for the defilement of a child.”

Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, the Sultan of Sokoto and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, bemoaned the protracted controversy over the redesign of the naira on Monday, saying it has led to hunger and resentment in Nigeria.

He claimed that in order to stop a revolt, President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) should address the issue.

The Sultan claimed that the naira problem had made living for residents intolerable.

He said that the CBN’s monetary policy was contributing to rising tension and that immediate action was needed to quell it at a two-day symposium on livestock reforms and conflict mitigation that the Kano State administration organized in Abuja.

The Sultan’s words were, “Let’s keep politics aside. The issues of development, especially for the common man, (should be prioritized). These people that God Almighty gave leadership over, one day, God forbid, will rise (against us).

“After all the English by Professors (at the conference), how do we get these developments down to the common man who is a farmer, the common Fulani man who doesn’t know anything about development? He only cares about cattle.

“The people are hungry – is there money? People are angry and hungry. Let’s see how we can douse the tension.

Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has lavished praise on Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, stating that the guidance he had from him over the past 30 years was crucial to the development of his political career.

This was revealed by Gbajabiamila at the postponed “Meet the Mentor” luncheon hosted by the Progressive Sisters Network in Abuja’s International Conference Center in honor of the former governor of Lagos State.

The PSN National Coordinator, Rinsola Abiola, also acknowledged that the APC presidential candidate deserved praise for appointing Justice Ibilola Sotuminu (retired), the first female chief judge in Lagos, and for encouraging his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to break records by becoming the first woman to serve three terms in the Nigerian Senate. The Speaker’s tribute came shortly after Rinsola Abiola’s admission.

Senator Kashim Shettima, Senator Tinubu’s running mate, APC National Women Leader Dr. Betta Edu, Deputy Spokesperson for the APC Presidential Campaign Council Hannatu Musawa, and other PCC members were among the significant political figures present at the occasion.

Gbajabiamila asserted that he was fortunate to be among notable individuals who benefited from the philosophy and political sagacity of the national head of the APC while stating that nobody could succeed in life on their own.

“We are here to talk about a man whose entire life is a testament to the incredible impact that individuals can make on the lives of others when they devote themselves to building ladders of opportunity for others to reach the highest heights their talents can take them. And most importantly, we are here to hear from the people who, at the critical moments of their ascent, benefitted from the support, guidance, and leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I am one of such persons.

“Nobody makes it in this life alone; we need each other. We depend on relationship networks, our family, our friends, and even sometimes the kindness of strangers to achieve the best desires of our hearts. In those moments, nothing beats having a guiding hand from someone who has been down the same road and can provide you with a roadmap.

“For nearly three decades now, I have had the opportunity and privilege of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s guiding hand to help me in my public service. I have learned lessons from him that have helped me be a better legislator and public servant. Today, we are seeing the devastating hardship that inevitably results when policymakers fail to consider the life and circumstances of the ordinary citizen,” he stated.

The Speaker stated that the caliber of policy development and implementation would depend on the individuals one surrounded themselves with while serving in public office.

He said that Tinubu assembled a cabinet of men and women from many states and regions who represented various religious and cultural affiliations while serving as the governor of Lagos State.

He said, “That cabinet had men like Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Ben Akabueze, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Senator Femi Lanlehin, Sunday Dare, and Arthur Worrey, amongst others. All these individuals who have gone on to have accomplished careers in the public and private sectors by virtue of their own abilities are Lagosians by their contributions to the growth and prosperity of the state. But none of them is from Lagos. I learned from Asiwaju that what matters is the quality of the person, not where they come from, their gender or religion.

“You will never succeed in building such a team if you focus on asking questions about which God a person prays to, which language one speaks, and which church they attend. These questions don’t speak to the quality of a human being. More often than not, they reflect the prejudices and limited vision of the person asking the question.

“Asiwaju taught us that the promise of democracy is not perfection. The promise of democracy is accommodation and dedication to service in the best interest of the collective. And we learned from Asiwaju that the private ambitions of any one individual must never take preeminence over the shared interests of the community, the party, or the country.”

The planned Port Harcourt campaign event for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, was canceled, according to the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council, on Monday.

During a Monday press conference in Port Harcourt, Senator Lee Maeba, the chairman of the PDP PCC in Rivers State, provided the justification.

Maeba recalled that over the previous three months, there had been a number of attacks in the state against PDP members and Atiku supporters.

Additionally, he asserted that the Rivers State Government had closed the businesses of important party figures who had backed the presidential candidate’s campaign.

He said, “On December 14, 2022, one Rhino Owhohaire, the Youth Director, Atiku/Okowa Campaign Council, was shot in his village of Alu in the Ikwerre Local Government Area, and the incident was reported to the police high command, but nothing happened.

“Even when a suspect was arrested, the government of Rivers State, as an interested accomplice, went and took him on bail.

“On February 5, 2023, 31 members of the Atiku Support Group were arrested at their meeting venue at the GRA, Port Harcourt, arraigned and remanded at the correctional centre in Port Harcourt on trumped-up charges of unlawful assembly, conspiracy, and cultism.

“On February 9, 2023, Abiye Sekibo was informed that the venue earmarked for the PDP presidential campaign rally was on fire at Rainbow Town in Port Harcourt.

“He (Sekibo) was attacked when he went to verify the accuracy of the information. The attack was carried out by the police attached to the Government House in Port Harcourt.

“Fortunately, he escaped unhurt by the divine providence of God, but his vehicle was fatally damaged by a rain of bullets.”

Amesiamaka Stadium for its presidential event, but Governor Nyesom Wike “cancelled the approval on the spurious grounds that we sought to organize a joint rally with the APC in Rivers State on the approved date of February 11, 2023, to stir problems,” the governor claimed.

Maeba added, “The governor, using Government House police and other hoodlums, has unleashed unrelenting violence, making the peaceful use of the facility impossible, among other things.

“In light of the above submission, we, the state Campaign Council, in total constructive engagement with the National Presidential Campaign Council, the candidate, and the party, believe that no loss of human life can be tolerated or accepted before, during, or after the rally and have agreed with our principals on the need to shelve and/or cancel the rally to avoid any deaths.”

Uche Aigbe, the senior pastor of House on the Rock’s Abuja Chapter, has been detained, according to the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, for addressing the audience while brandishing an AK-47 gun.

The command also announced the arrest of Inspector Musa Audu and the church’s Chief Security Officer for giving Aigbe his weapons.

In a statement released on Monday, Josephine Adeh, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, acknowledged the development.

Adeh said, “The FCT Police Command on the heels of intelligence arrested one pastor, Uche Aigbe, of House on the Rock cathedral, Abuja, and two others.

“The pastor, whose message and demonstrations were tagged inciting by various media and social media users, was arrested in the early hours of Monday, February 13, 2023, alongside the church’s Chief Security Officer and one Inspector Musa Audu, who was on duty on the said day and had unprofessionally released his rifle to the said pastor without permission or recourse to police authority.

“While the discrete investigation has commenced, members of the public are urged to shun actions or utterances that are in breach of extant laws as the law is trite and all violators will be adequately sanctioned.”

Meanwhile, the church, in a statement made available to, said Aigbe had always shown exemplary leadership since he became the pastor of the church in 1999.

The church clarified that the pastor was attempting to demonstrate the point with his actions while stating that it did not advocate violence and that the rifle was unloaded.

The church stated that it would assist the police in their investigation into the incident.

The statement further read, “Without hesitation, pastor Uche has acknowledged the gravity of his actions and apologised unreservedly for them.

“As a church, House on the Rock rejects all forms of violence and we stand in the good news gospel of Jesus Christ which embraces peace and goodwill for all mankind.

“We are cooperating fully with the authorities as they carry out their investigations into the incident, and we will continue to engage internally to ensure this break in protocol does not happen again.”

The Motailatu Church of God, Oke-Idahun Parish, at Imafon Community in Akure North Local Government Area of the state, has been attacked and its property destroyed by hoodlums.

According to reports, the church, which belongs to the Cherubim and Seraphim denomination, was attacked on Friday.

The thugs are alleged to have burned some objects they found inside the church after it was destroyed.

Rev. David Akinadewo-Adekahunsi, the church’s Resident Minister, stated the footprints of the criminals were found when he arrived at the church’s grounds in the evening of that terrible day.

He said, “What first caught my attention was the damaged lectern placed on the altar and some broken bottles that littered the church auditorium.

“Many of the plastic chairs belonging to the church and offering trays were set ablaze inside the church. This is malicious damage and we don’t know who could have done this to the church of God.”

Akinadewo-Adekahunsi added that the intruders also damaged the church’s prayer area in addition to destroying hymnals and other objects held in a chamber in the unfinished church structure.

“They damaged the window nets, but they could not gain access to the prayer room due to the burglary proof. But they damaged the tithe box,” the clergyman stated.

He claimed that the incident had been reported to the Oda Police Division in Akure and that he had received assurances that those responsible for the attack would be caught.

When reached, Mrs. Funmilayo Odunlami, the state police public relations officer, verified the occurrence but stated she hadn’t yet received all the information.

“I will get back as soon as the DPO sends me the full details,” the PPRO said.