News & Announcements

The 17th edition of The Experience, a Christian music concert, is scheduled for Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos Island today Friday, December 2, 2022.

The show will attract a good number of worshipers, as it has grown in popularity since its inception in 2006. Today, some of the biggest names in global Christian music will perform at the event. 

They include Don Moen, Nathaniel Bassey, Chandler Moore, Travis Green, Tope Alabi, Sinach, Mr. M & Revelation, The Lagos Metropolitan Gospel Choir, Mercy Chinwo, Eben, Moses Bliss, and Dunsi Oyekan.

According to the organizer, Pastor Adefarasin, Head Pastor, of House on The Rock, there will be a range of comedic performances alongside words of benevolence and intercessory prayers.

“One of the most highly anticipated events on our holiday calendar is The Experience Lagos. We are thrilled to be able to broadcast this year’s show live to our DStv and GOtv subscribers on the Holiday Channel, bringing the concert back for another year. Both believers and fans of gospel music will enjoy this event,” says Busola Tejumola, MultiChoice’s Head of Content and Channels for West Africa.

Aisha, the wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, has withdrawn the case against Aminu Muhammad, a student of Federal University Dutse (FUD).

Muhammad, who hails from Azare in Bauchi State, is a final-year student of the department of environmental management.

Aminu was arrested by the police over a tweet that appeared to mock Aisha.

The tweet, which was posted in Hausa in June 2022, reads: “Su mama anchi kudin talkawa ankoshi.”

Muhammad’s tweet, accompanied by a photo of Aisha, loosely translates as “Mama has eaten poor people’s money and is now full”.

Muhammad was arraigned on a one-count charge by the police before a federal capital territory (FCT) high court on November 30.

At the court session on Friday, Fidelis Ogbobe, prosecution counsel, told the court that the first lady decided to withdraw the case following the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians.

Citing section 108(2)(a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, Ogbobe also moved an application for the withdrawal of the case.

Delivering his ruling, Yusuf Halilu, the presiding judge, commended the first lady for taking the “bold step” to withdraw the case.

While issuing the defendant’s release warrant, the judge urged parents to endeavour to always be aware of their children’s activities.

Mehran Samak, an Iranian citizen, was shot and killed by Iranian security forces for allegedly celebrating the nation’s football team’s elimination from the World Cup in Qatar.

According to the UK Guardian, rights organizations have confirmed that Samak was killed by security personnel after blasting his car horn in Bandar Anzali, a city northwest of Tehran.

According to the story, the victim was Saeid Ezatolahi’s boyhood buddy. Ezatolahi represented Iran in the World Cup in Qatar and was a member of the team that fell to the United States on Tuesday.

Samak’s passing was confirmed by the Iran Human Rights group through a statement posted on Twitter on Thursday.

The group said “His name was Mehran Samak. He was shot in the head by state forces when he went out to celebrate the Islamic Republic’s loss at FIFA World Cup 2022 in Bandar Anzali last night like many across the country. He was just 27 years old.

Samak’s death was also reported by another rights group, the Centre for Human Rights in Iran.

The group shared a video of Samak’s funeral in a tweet along with the statement that Samak was “reportedly shot by security forces in Bandar Anzali, Gilan Province, 29 November as he was driving/honking to celebrate Iran’s defeat against the USA.”

The national team of Iran was eliminated from the World Cup after losing a hard-fought match to the US on Tuesday night by a score of 1-0.

After the national team, which many view as a tool of the clerical regime, lost, Iranians took to the streets to celebrate.

Some unidentified gunmen on Friday morning attacked a mosque in Ughelli, Delta state, South-South Nigeria, injuring about 11 worshippers.

According to reports, the attack happened at the Central Mosque, which is situated along Okoroda Street in Ughelli, at around 6:12 in the morning, as some Muslims were holding their Fajr (morning prayers).

The gunshots and subsequent shouts of panic from those inside the mosque shook several nearby homes.

A resident, simply identified as Larry, said “The attack happened this morning at about 6 am. We heard shootings at the mosque.

“Because of fear, many people in my compound were frightened, and we remained inside, only peeping through our windows.

“As the shooting lasted, we heard loud cries from some worshippers inside the mosque.

The motive of the attackers is not yet clear.

Bright Edafe, a spokesman for the Delta State police, confirmed the assault when contacted. Additionally, he declared that an inquiry had begun and gave the assurance that security guards would soon apprehend the perpetrators.

Following the Federal Government’s decision to redesign the Naira, exert more control over the amount of cash in circulation, and thwart the stockpiling of currency by criminals, FEAR of the unknown now governs traders and purchasers in many sections of the country.

However, some “money bags” and astute businessmen are allegedly snatching up available livestock and food items from major markets in the country’s northern borders with other countries and warehousing the stock with the pretense of selling the stock at higher prices once the new Nigerian currency hits the market as that lofty program goes into effect in the second week of December this year.

It was discovered that the actions of the money speculators had already contributed to a marked increase in the cost of food and animals at the marketplaces that an Arewa Voice correspondent surveyed. It was discovered during a visit to the Mamman Suka Market near the Sokoto border with a country in northern Africa that the development has seriously harmed rural residents, who are no longer able to afford to acquire their essentials and provide for their family. Since many families are struggling financially, this has led to increased suffering, hunger, and desperation.

A reporter for the Arewa Voice observed a significant buyout of cattle and other domestic animals from the border market in Sokoto by businesspeople who flooded the market in buses and big trucks and essentially bought everything they saw. A two-week-old lamb, which is typically sold for N4,000, was purchased off at N15,000 as a result of the cleaning up, while a goat of the same age, which was previously sold for N4,000, was sold for N14,000.

Similar to this, a can of vegetable oil was sold for up to N30,600 instead of its typical N22,000 price. The current rush to swap cash for valuables has dramatically raised prices and made it possible for merchants to return with the same things and collect more money in the newly formed currency. But the adverse consequences have been felt by the typical trader and buyer at the market, and many have expressed their displeasure at the level of difficulty caused by the speculators’ actions.

Malam Yahaya Illela, who spoke about the growing costs of goods in marketplaces across the state, charged that the Federal Government caused unnecessary suffering for the average Nigerian by delaying the necessary monetary policy reform till now. Rich urban men who held the old currency have taken over our marketplaces, buying anything they can get their hands on in order to increase their wealth at the expense of the local population.

“Imagine the situation in which we now find ourselves: we cannot even buy a staple like beans. One can hardly find enough beans to buy from our local markets because of speculators who mop up every available quantity with long, big trucks. Others go to the farm to buy anything the farmer harvests. This is worrisome, but we are handicapped. It is so bad that a Mudu (measure) of beans, which we bought for N800 three weeks ago, is now being sold for almost N2000.

“Everything is now beyond the reach of the common man, and we can no longer provide three square meals for our families due to the skyrocketing prices of foodstuffs in our markets and the fact that the ‘moneybags’ are becoming so desperate to spend whatever amount is in their hands before the expiration of the time frame for the return of the old Naira notes for the new ones being redesigned by the CBN,” Illela complained.

Similarly, 73-year-old housewife Rabi Basharu characterized the circumstances in the nearby marketplaces as intolerable and out of control.

She said: “I am here with N1200 to buy two Mudus of corn to prepare for my four young children, but they say it is now N800 per measure. It is difficult for me to buy at that amount because it will not be enough for my children; but there is nothing that I can do about this. It is simply worrisome.

“I feel like crying because I have no money on me and in the house. Maybe they want us to die before our time comes. May God touch this government to take steps that will be beneficial to us, the ordinary people in this country, and reduce our suffering.

“As old as I am, I spent hours voting in the 2015 general election, hoping that when the government came, they would address some of the fundamental challenges that we face, but we were wrong. Life has been made more challenging for the ordinary citizens of this country. In my village, bandits took away all our animals and killed some young people who tried to block them. My husband was also killed during the invasion by the daredevils, leaving me with the four underage children. Feeding them is my major problem; sometimes I have to meet our village head for assistance,” Rabi added.

In response, Alhaji Muazu Bello Magajin Rafi, the chairman of the Sokoto State Chambers of Commerce, Mines, and Agriculture, branded the proposed currency redesign as an afterthought and claimed that it was too late for the policy to save the average man from currency speculators. According to him, if not handled properly, the redesign might make things worse for the average person while giving speculators more reasons to smile at their banks.

Folasade Badejo, 40, was allegedly murdered by her husband Oluranti Badejo at their home in Orimerunmu, Mowe, in the Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

According to reports, fashion designer Folasade and her husband got into a fight on Wednesday over paying the school tuition for their three children.

The 51-year-old Oluranti allegedly hit Folasade’s head against the apartment wall during the altercation, which turned physical.

She was alleged to have fallen.

Jumoke, their eight-year-old daughter, allegedly claimed that her father left her mother, who was writhing in agony, on the floor.

The victim reportedly passed away. After then, the suspect is accused of using a hot iron to burn her corpse.

Lekan Yusuf, Folasade’s younger brother, told our correspondent on Thursday that one of the couple’s neighbors had called him about the incident.

“On getting to their house on Wednesday morning, I saw my sister’s body was burnt with an electric iron and blood was still oozing out of her nostrils and ears”, He stated.

“The two of them always quarrelled just like any other couple and when I lived with them for three months, no day passed that he did not beat her, especially over money matters.

“On several occasions, even when I was living with them at Ajegunle, Oluranti beat my sister whenever he returned home from work, even when she was asleep.”

Ayoade Busola, the victim’s older sister, claimed that a call from a relative in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, informed her about the occurrence.

She said, “Immediately, my husband and I took a bike and rushed to their house only to see my sister’s lifeless body on the ground near the freezer with different parts of her body burnt with a pressing iron.

“I asked Oluranti what happened and he told me that when he came back from work on Tuesday night, she complained to him that the electricity connection to their apartment was faulty.

“He said after eating and retiring to bed, his daughter came to wake him up to see her mother, only for him to see her lifeless near the freezer as she had been electrocuted.

“When I looked at my sister’s hands, they were not burnt but other parts of her body were bruised, burnt and blood was still rushing out from her nostrils and ears.

“We later reported the case at the Mowe Police Station and when the officers came and looked at the body, they arrested him” ,she added.

The suspect has been allegedly transferred to the Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Eleweran.

Following the alleged unequal distribution of a N500 billion development money among the six geopolitical zones, the Senate threatened to issue an arrest warrant for Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

On November 30, the Senate’s Adhoc committee on the matter threatened to issue an arrest warrant for Olukayode Pitan, the managing director of Bank of Industry (BoI), as well as the leaders of some financial institutions, according to reports.

Emefiele, Pitan, and the others implicated, according to the red chamber’s committee, disregarded its invitation.

Furthermore, the committee issued arrest warrants for Aliyu Abdulhamid, managing director of the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), and Olawale Fasanya, director-general of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), for allegedly missing a session of the investigation.

Investigating charges that the aforementioned institutions colluded to underpay some zones in the distribution of cash intended for small and medium-sized businesses across the nation is one of the committee’s tasks.

The committee’s chairman, Senator Sani Musa (APC Niger East), revealed that just two of the five invited government agencies showed up on Wednesday.

Musa pointed out that CBN, BOI, and NIRSAL declined the offer without providing any official notification or justification for doing so.

He said:

“Out of these five, only two came while the remaining three which are the CBN, BOI, and NIRSAL, were conspicuously absent without any letter from them explaining why.

“Assignment before this committee is a very important one, requiring cooperation and compliance from all those linked to issues at hand.

“MD of DBN and his counterpart from the Bank of Agriculture are here for required clarifications and explanations, making it mandatory for the CBN Governor, MD of BOI, and DG of NISRAL to appear unfailingly in subsequent sessions or risk being coerced through the issuance of a warrant of arrest.”

Cash worth N15.5 million was being transferred from Daudawa village in Katsina State’s Faskari Local Government Area to terrorist organizations in Zamfara State when it was intercepted by forces operating under Operation Hadarin Daji.

Major General Musa Danmadami, the director of defence media operations, made the announcement yesterday. He claimed the massive sum of cash was discovered during a stop-and-search operation on November 17, 2022, during which five bandit collaborators were also apprehended.

According to Danmadami, “troops conducted joint raid operations with other security agencies at Guzape, Apo, and Area 1 District in Abuja Municipal Area Council as part of a mission to purge the Federal Capital Territory of criminal groups.

“Over 200 motorcycles were recovered and destroyed while 21 suspected offenders were detained during the operation.

The DMO reported that during Octopus Grip, Operation Delta Safe personnel found and destroyed 81 illicit refining stations, 254 storage tanks, 173 cooking ovens, 118 dugout pits, and 36 wooden boats as part of their offensive against economic sabotage and oil theft.

Former officials have been given a two-day deadline to return any government property they are in possession of by Osun Governor Ademola Adeleke.

Adeleke issued a statement through his spokeswoman, Olawale Rasheed, warning of dire consequences for non-compliance.

“The full weight of the law shall be visited on any former official that refuses to comply with the directive,” quoted Adeleke.

The declaration denounced the high-level theft of government property by the previous administration.

“Several official vehicles are missing; official records indicate that two-third of former state officials left with lots of official cars.

“Most Ministries, Departments and Agencies have been stripped of operational assets like vehicles, computers and even residential fittings.

“Residences of some top officials were equally pillaged even to lamp fittings.

“We have an embarrassing situation here; any former official, who refuses to comply with the directive, will face the full weight of the law,” the statement said.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered the remand of five alleged drug barons, arrested in Ikorodu, Lagos, by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), till January 17, 2023, when their bail application will be decided.

Justice Peter Lifu ordered their remand to the Lagos center of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) Ikoyi on Tuesday after arraignment.

The defendants include Soji Jubril Oke; Wasiu Akinade; Emmanuel Arinze Chukwu; Oguntolure Sunday and a Jamaican, Kelvin Christopher Smith.

They all pleaded not guilty to six counts charge of conspiracy, unlawful importation of 2,139.55 kilograms of Cocaine, engaging in the organization, management, and financing of a Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO), and unlawful possession of the same drug.

Counsel to NDLEA Umar Hussain said that the defendants were arrested with the drugs between the month of July and September 18 and 19, 2022 at Number 6, Olukonla Crescent, Solebo Estate, Ikorodu, Lagos.

The prosecutor told the court that the offences committed by all the defendants are contrary to Sections 14 (b): 20 (1)(g); 11 and 19 of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency Act CAP N30 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 (As amended) and punishable under sections 20 (2)(b) of the same Act.

All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following their not-guilty plea, the prosecutor asked the court for a trial date.The prosecutor equally urged the court to remand them in prison custody till the determination of the charges against them.

But their counsel, Chief Benson Ndakara and Chief Liliana Omotunde asked the court to grant their clients bail in the most liberal terms.

Chief Ndakara particularly told the court that two of his clients, Soji Jubril Oke and Wasiu Akinade are having serious health issues.

Upon hearing the counsel’s arguments on the bail application, Justice Lifu, ordered the remand of all the defendants in the Ikoyi facility of the NCOS, till January 17, 2023, when the ruling will be delivered on the bail application.

The judge also ordered the head of the Correctional center to furnish the court with the health reports of the sick defendants within two weeks.