News & Announcements

Organised Labour responded to the announcement of the fuel price increase by expressing outrage at the increase and labeling it as the “last kick of a dying regime.”

An influential labor leader urged Nigerians to not only oppose the increase but also to voice their displeasure at the upcoming elections. The leader talked on the condition of anonymity because organized labor needed to convene and make a final decision on the topic.

His words, “It is shocking that this government has decided to add to the suffering of Nigerians in the midst of unbearable hardship occasion by anti-people’s policies of the government.

“This increase is totally rejected and unacceptable to organized labour and the entire suffering Nigerian masses.  We see this increase as the last kick of a dying regime and Nigerians are not ready to die with the regime.  We cannot continue on this lane. The government cannot continue to use its failures to punish Nigerians.

“We have an understanding that we are not going to talk about any of the issues until the local refineries are functioning.  It is wicked, insensitive and the height of provocation.”

“We are not only going to resist the Nigerian masses, but the Nigerian workers and the ordinary Nigerians will also express their frustration at the polls. The increase has reinforced the belief that Nigerians must take our destinies into our hands.”

Ukrainian Interior Minister, Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy Yevhen Yenin and State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych died in a helicopter crash near the country’s capital, Kyiv on Wednesday.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the total number of deaths is 18 including the country’s government officials and three children.

This was made known by Ihor Klymenko, chief of Ukraine’s National Police as published in the local media.

An emergency services helicopter crashed in Brovary, an eastern suburb of the Ukrainian capital. Nine people who died were aboard the helicopter.

Monastyrskyi was the most senior Ukrainian official to die since the war with Russia began last February.

Kyiv Regional Governor Oleksii Kuleba said the three children killed were in the kindergarten facility.

It still remains unclear at this time if the crash was an accident or connected to the ongoing war with Russia. No fighting has been reported in the Kyiv area as of late.

Kuleba also disclosed that 29 people were injured in the crash, including 15 children.

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska was seen with teary eyes as she pinched her nose in emotion just before attending a World Economic Forum session in Davos, Switzerland.

Inspector-General of Police Usman Baba Alkali would remain in office till 2025, having been appointed in 2021. The IGP is guaranteed a four-year tenure, according to the amended Police Act 2020.

Mohammed Dangyadi, the Minister of Police Affairs, affirmed IGP Baba would stay on even though he would clock the mandatory retirement age of 60 years in March. 

At a briefing on Wednesday, Dangyadi said that “the IG is now supposed to have a kind of four-year period and Mr President has already given him a letter of appointment in that regard. So, the issue of IG going out during this election period does not arise.”

Section 7 (6) of the Police Act 2020 states, thus, “The person appointed into the office of the Inspector-General of Police shall hold office for four years.”

This clearly conflicts with the Public Service Rule mandating compulsory retirement of a public servant upon attaining 60 years or, alternatively, where such had spent 35 years in service.

The exception to the rule however is for teachers, who are to retire at 65 years as stated in Section 3 of the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers Act 2022.

Oluremi, the wife of Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has urged Nigerians to ‘drive out’ her husband if he’s elected president of Nigeria and fails to perform.

Senator Tinubu, currently representing Lagos Central senatorial district at the National Assembly, also asked Nigerians to not be focused on the religious leaning of whoever takes over the presidential seat.

“Let’s leave religion aside; I am a Christian. Have you ever thought that one day a Christian-Christian candidate would emerge? What would be the reference point?

“We have tried the Muslim-Christian ticket, let us try this one too and after four years if they don’t do well, you can drive them out,” she said on Tuesday in Owerri, Imo.

Asiwaju Tinubu, a former Lagos governor, is among eighteen candidates contesting the February 25 presidential election.
He would be contesting the seat with other top candidates including Atiku Abubakar (PDP), Peter Obi (LP), and Rabiu Kwankwaso (NNPP).

Speaking at the South-East women’s rally for Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign in Imo, Remi Tinubu said next month’s election should be about the capacity to perform with the fear of God, not religion.

“When you have a person who fears God, not a person who is a Christian or Catholic or Muslim, but a God-fearing person. When a man who fears God is in power, he will treat you right,” she added.

Assuring that women would form a large percentage of her husband’s administration, the wife of the APC presidential candidate urged women to continue to rally their support for Mr. Tinubu’s candidacy.

Mrs. Tinubu also stressed that the election was about a renewed hope of a country that is safe with investment in entrepreneurship and human capital.

“This is work time for Nigeria. We are not playing games. Women, we will remember you and I can assure you that Asiwaju for sure will remember you.

“So, the Tinubu/Shettima have a big package for our youth. We will sit down and work with every region on their needs,” she said.

At least three persons were injured on Thursday when a twin explosion rocked a rally of the All Progressives Congress at the Rumuwoji Playground in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

As reported by the media, two of those injured are women, all of whom were rushed to the hospital for medical attention.

Publicity Secretary of the APC, Darlington Nwauju, confirmed the incident, describing it as ‘unfortunate’, even as the Police spokesperson, Iringe-Koko, said she will get back to our correspondent.

The Church of England has said it will not allow priests to marry same-sex couples following five years of internal debate on the issue.

According to Christian Today, Bishops met on Tuesday to conclude recommendations, which will uphold the church’s teaching that Holy Matrimony exists between one man and one woman for life.

The church in a statement affirmed that same-sex couples cannot get married but will be provided with the opportunity to give thanks.

“Under the proposals, same-sex couples would still not be able to get married in a Church of England church,” the church said in a statement.

The same-sex couples can instead “come to church to give thanks for their civil marriage or civil partnership and receive God’s blessing,” it added.

In order to allow public employees in Lagos State to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards at their respective local governments’ or local councils’ development areas, the state government has announced a four-day work-free period for them.

The state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, graciously authorized the work-free day for the public employees, according to the head of service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, who confirmed the news in a circular sent on Wednesday.

He said that for different grade levels of employees in the public sector, the work-free day will start on Tuesday, January 24, and end on Friday, January 27, 2023.

Muri-Okunola stated, “Consequent upon the extension of the collection of Permanent Voters’ Cards by the Independent National Electoral Commission, it is hereby notified for the general information that all public servants who are yet to collect their Permanent Voters’ Cards from designated INEC Centers are encouraged to do so before Sunday, January 29, 2023, as it is a civic responsibility to vote.

“To this end, Mr. Governor has graciously approved a work-free day to enable public servants to collect their PVCs from their respective local government/local council development areas as presented in the table below.”

“The dates include Tuesday, January 24, 2023, for grade levels 01, 03, 07, and 15; Wednesday, January 25, 2023, for grade levels 02, 04, 08, and 13; Thursday, January 26, 2023, for grade levels 05, 09, 12, and 17; and Friday, January 27, 2023, for grade levels 06, 10, 14 and 16.”

On the selected days, Muri-Okunola urged accounting officers to excuse their officers in the appropriate grade levels.

“Consequently, accounting officers and all public servants are to ensure compliance whilst giving this circular the service-wide publicity it deserves,” he said.

The Nigerian lecturer, Marinus Chijioke Iwuchukwu, was found dead in his home in the United states on January 17, 2023, and his colleagues and friends are mourning his passing.

After an alleged “domestic disturbance” at around 10 am on Tuesday, January 17, 2023, the Allegheny County Police in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, received a call from a “yet to be identified person” asking them to check on Marinus Iwuchukwu and a woman identified as Charce Dunn’s welfare.

A SWAT team that entered the house afterwards discovered Iwuchukwu, and the wife dead.

Iwuchukwu,59 ,a scholar of Nigerian descent, worked as an associate professor of theology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, USA, before he passed away.

Iwuchukwu was born in Nigeria and brought up as a Catholic in Kano, a Northern Nigerian State where Islam is the dominant religion.

He attended primary and secondary schools in Northern Nigeria before being accepted to the University of Ibadan in the country’s southwest, where he earned a diploma in religious studies.

Iwuchukwu returned to Nigeria in 1999 after earning a bachelor’s degree from Urbanian University in Rome, Italy. He then changed careers by enrolling at the Media Service Centre in Kaduna in 1992.

He received his Post-Graduate Diploma in Education from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, four years later while already lecturing at the Federal College of Education in Kano.

Iwuchukwu pursued a Master’s degree in Religious Journalism at Marquette University in the United States, combining his media and religious training.

He began his full-time teaching career at the Faculty of Theology Department, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in August 2008, where he taught Judaism, Christianity and Islam , Building Bridges: Inclusive Religious Pluralism and Dialogue , among other subjects, in his quest to find answers to religious-related violence, help different religious adherers become more interactive and stop “all unnecessary conflicts.”

Iwuchukwu passed away as a result of homicide, Lieutenant Venerando Costa of the Allegheny County Police informed Neusroom on Wednesday, January 18, 2023.

Costa said in an email sent to Neusroom, ““Cause of (Iwuchukwu’s) death was mass bleeding from stab wounds to the arm and leg.”

His passing came four years after Victoria Popvrako, a 36-year-old mother of two, is suspected of murdering Gbolade Ejemai, a 30-year-old Nigerian medical student. After a violent dispute, Popvrako, who was dating Ejemai, allegedly conspired with his father to kill the man.

Gabriel Welsch, a spokesman for Duquesne Catholic University, responded to Iwuchukwu’s passing as follows:

“This is a tragedy for all involved and our thoughts and prayers are with Professor Iwuchukwu’s colleagues, students, friends, and loved ones.”

Ayoade Akinninbosun, one of the main suspects in the Offa bank robbery case, testified before the court on Wednesday about how the former Commander of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) squad, ACP Abba Kyari, offered him N10 million to implicate the former Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, in the armed robbery case. The trial of the Offa bank robbery case has been resumed at

The suspect further said that Kyari offered him a visa to any nation of his choice if he chose to accuse Saraki, but he declined the offer.

The police brought five suspects—Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Abraham, and two others—to court on charges of committing bank robbery conspiracies, killing nine police officers and other people, and illegally possessing firearms.

Approximately 10 people were presumed dead in the tragedy, and other Offa residents suffered significant injuries.

However, Mr. Mathias Emeribe (SAN) Akinninbosun claimed he was promised $1,000,000 to allege that Saraki asked them to carry out the brutal robbery operation during cross-examination by the defense attorney in court.

“He said I should admit and say Saraki was the one who asked us to go and rob. I told him I won’t do that. That I will rather die for what I didn’t do than lie against an innocent man.

“He asked me to think over his offer very well. At this point, he ordered officers Hassan and Mashood to return me to the cell. A separate one different from where others are and they should stop torturing me,” he said.

Akinninbosun claimed the he was not allowed to write any statement in Ilorin except his biodata until they were conveyed to Abuja in a tinted bus, where he was later kept in a place called an “abattoir”.

The suspect claimed that some herdsmen were slaughtered there in his company, and he also claimed that Saraki had shot him in the leg and brutally tortured him.

Saraki has no connection to the robbery case, according to Akinninbosun.

“We were like 15 to 20 taken to Abuja, I only know a few of them. We were put outside and served meals, but I couldn’t eat because my hands were paralyzed due to the torture I went through in their hands in Ilorin. They asked Kunle Ogunleye to feed me.

“They separated five of us, put us in the generator house and Officer Hassan Attila ordered they brought some men. They went to bring five Fulani men. They brought them and killed them all in my presence.

“I was told, that was not a film. He asked me to stretch my legs and shot my right leg. He shot the second leg but when I tried shifting the leg, it hit my tomb,” he said.

The defendant then proceeded to show the court the bullet wound on his legs.

According to Akinninbosun, one of the robbery suspects, Micheal Adikwu, was shot and killed in his presence, which horrified him and led him to agree to name Saraki in a prepared statement to the media.

Justice Alamat Salman, the presiding judge, instead decided to postpone the case until February 13, 2023.

The funeral service of a slain lawyer, Bolanle Raheem, was held at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Olive Tree Parish, Banana Island in Ikoyi, Lagos state, on Tuesday, January 17. 

Late Bolanle was shot dead by a police officer on Christmas day, December 25, 2022, in the Ajah area of the state.

Bolanle was pregnant when she was murdered by the Assistant Superintendent of Police.

Her funeral service was attended by her family members, friends, and other sympathizers. 

The ASP, Drambi Vandi, on Monday during his arraignment in the High Court sitting in the Tafawa Balewa Square, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bolanle.