News & Announcements

The Department of State Services (DSS) has said the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has never been denied access to his lawyers, medical officers as well as his relatives.

This is coming after a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama ordered the DSS to allow Emefiele access to his lawyers and family.

Emefiele was arrested on June 10 after he was suspended by the President, Bola Tinubu, citing reforms in the financial sector as well as carrying out an investigation into his office.

However, a statement on Saturday by the spokesperson for the service, Peter Afunanya, indicated that the DSS had complied with its Standards and Operating Procedures in handling Emefiele’s matter.

The statement partly read, “It is instructive to state that the service had granted the family of Emefiele, medical officials, and appropriate persons access to him, right from the day he was taken in and long before the court order requesting so.

“The service implements Standards Operating Procedures on Suspect Handling and Investigation to the latter. It conducts its affairs transparently and professionally and respects the rule of law in compliance with democratic governance.”

Afunanya also said the service had uncovered plans by individuals and groups to embark on campaigns against the DSS and the Federal Government over the suspension and investigation of Emefiele.

The statement added,  “The DSS has identified persons and groups planning to stage campaigns of calumny against it and the government over the suspension and investigation of Mr Godwin Emefiele.

“Such groups intend to gather at different points in Abuja and Lagos in the coming week with placards depicting the service and government in a bad light as well as calling for the immediate release of Emefiele.

“The service is, therefore, aware of cheap propaganda aimed at de-motivating and distracting it from professionally executing the onerous responsibilities assigned to it.”

Afunanya added that the DSS was also aware of plans to infiltrate the service in order to use disloyal staff for “subversive aims” against its leadership.

He said, “It is mindful of orchestrations to infiltrate its fold for the purpose of using disloyal staff for subversive aims against its leadership.”
Afunanya warned those behind these activities to desist forthwith from their plans, adding, “The arrowheads are already under watch and will be apprehended when and if it becomes necessary.”

In a recent report, the World Bank identified Nigeria, India, and the Democratic Republic of Congo as the countries suffering from the highest levels of poverty and pollution.

The report, named ‘Detox Development: Repurposing Environmentally Harmful Subsidies,’ emphasized the potential benefits of reallocating funds currently spent on agriculture, fishing, and fossil fuel subsidies to address climate change.

The World Bank’s report reveals an alarming situation: around 716 million poor individuals, living on under $1.90 per day, reside in areas with harmful levels of air pollution.

In the report, it is noted that “Low- and middle-income countries account for 80 percent of people exposed to unsafe levels of PM (Particulate Matter). Moreover, 716 million poor people live in areas with unsafe levels of air pollution.”

The report further highlights that nearly half of the population as mentioned above lives in India, Nigeria, and Congo.

These three nations alone account for almost half (48.6 percent) of all poor people globally exposed to dangerous pollution.

The report explains, “India, with a population of more than 202 million, has the highest absolute number of exextremelyoor exposed to unsafe levels of particulate matter, corresponding to 14.7 percent of India’s overall population. Nigeria is a distant second, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo.”

In a statement released alongside the report, Senior Managing Director of the World Bank, Axel van Trotsenburg, argued for a reshuffling of financial priorities.

He asserted, “People say that there isn’t money for climate but there is, it’s just in the wrong places. If we could repurpose the trillions of dollars spent on wasteful subsidies and put these to better, greener uses, we could address many of the planet’s most pressing challenges together.”

The Rivers State Police reported that on Saturday, in Rumuodara in the Ohio/Akpor Local Government Area of the State, its personnel apprehended a woman they identified as Abigail for stabbing a 12-year-old child and leaving the knife in her body.

When the 30-year-old woman became irrational over a little matter, it was revealed that the girl, simply known as Oluebube, also resides in the compound.

The injured girl’s sister, Olucho, described the incident to reporters in Port Harcourt on Saturday. She claimed that the woman committed the deed because her sister accidentally slapped her with water in their hallway.

She said, “My sister was washing plates outside. The woman (Abigail) went and fetched water.

“Because our corridor is dark, the person inside can see somebody outside, but the person outside cannot see the person inside.

“The woman stood there with her water, but she did not tell my sister not to come with the pot to avoid running into her.

“So my sister, unknowingly, entered with the pot and ran into the woman, and both of them fell.

“The woman now started beating my sister. Other neighbours started begging the woman that it was a mistake, but the woman refused.”

Olucho said the woman had ordered her sister to sweep the spilled water, and the former continued fetching the water, and the latter agreed.

“So she went back to fetch another water, while my sister continued to wash the dishes and later took broom to sweep the water.

“But as my sister was about sweeping the water out, then went inside and came out with a knife.which she used to stab my sister.

“The head of the knife broke and the knife stayed in my sister’s body.’

She said the matter was immediately reported to the police, saying the woman entered her room and fled through the back door.

”But some neighbours caught her and handed her over to the police. My sister is in the hospital now, “she explained.

When contacted, Grace Iringe-koko, a spokeswoman for the state police command, verified the occurrence and stated that the injured girl’s body had been stripped of the knife by medical personnel.

She stated, ” The woman has been arrested and is in our custody. She will face the wrath of the law for her actions.

“But we thank God the doctors have removed the knife from the body of the girl and she is responding to treatmemt and investigation is ongoing.”

While this is happening, the Center for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability has demanded that the incident be thoroughly investigated.

If the suspect is determined to be guilty throughout the course of the inquiry, Prince Wiro, the organization’s national coordinator, encouraged the authorities to arraign him in court right away.

Zainab Bulkachuwa, the wife of senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, has denied that he had any influence over her choices while she was the president of the Court of Appeal.

When he admitted to using his position to secure favors for his colleagues from his wife during the 9th Senate’s final session, the senator who represented Bauchi North in the 9th Assembly stirred up debate on the Senate floor.

In his words:  “I look at faces in this chamber whom have come to me and sought for my help when my wife was the President of the Court of Appeal, and I’m sure…

“And I must thank particularly, my wife, whose freedom and independence I encroached upon while she was in office, and she has been very tolerant and accepted my encroachment, and extended her help to my colleagues…”

This admission instantly sparked a backlash from the public, especially the Nigerian Bar Association, who demanded an investigation and the former lawmaker’s prosecution.

Bulkachuwa said that his statements were misinterpreted in an interview with BBC Hausa, adding that the former Senate President had interrupted him as he was giving an explanation.

He said, “Well, I was not even allowed to finish, I just started with some words like thanking her, saying she was patient with me as she was a legal practitioner and I am a politician.

“I wanted to elaborate on the specific nature of the help she provided, as there exists a wide range of support that professionals in various fields, such as legal practitioners, doctors, or engineers, can offer in their respective roles.

“Note that this assistance does not involve any illegal or unethical activities.

“In my personal relationship with her, I have never imposed upon her professional autonomy or attempted to influence her judgment in handling cases or running her office. Such matters are not even discussed in our home,” Bulkachuwa defended.

Balogun Olawale, an employee of the Federal Medical Center in Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State, has been detained by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ibadan Zonal Command, along with 47 other people for their suspected involvement in internet fraud.

The suspects included Sodiq Iremide, Abiona Solomon, Moshood Sakiru Olamide, Olalekan Sodiq Olawale, Adebayo Ifeoluwa Timilehin, Joshua Gilbert, Adeleke Oluwafemi, Lawal Yusuff Abiodun, Olaleye Adedolapo Emmanuel, Opaleye Olanrewaju, Kazeem Oladimeji, Akinlosotu Ayodeji Ayomiposi.

Others included Orunsolu Sodiq Babatunde, Lamidi Micheal Akolade, Lateef Rahamon Olamilekan, Idowu Micheal Oluwasegun, Peter Adio Olakunle, Ahmod Kazeem Olayemi, Okewole Daniel Olayiwola, Ogundeyin Faruq Olamilekan, Edunjobi Toheeb Ayobami, Simon Dare Tosin, Ahmod Mustapha Olawale, Oladende Mubarak Olansile, Olanrewaju Kabiru Olamilekan, Olowookere Abeeb Lolade, Dolaoso Uthman Olamilekan, Kodagbese Emmanuel Aduragbemi, Simon John Seyi, Idemudia Lucky, Ahmod Waheed Olamide, Olowookere Soburu Ademola, Agboola Oladimeji Taofeek, Awoniyi Segun Gbenga, Babatunde Mathew Ayodele, Alaye John Saheed and Odediran Oluwole Ayomide.

Following information on their suspected fraudulent activities, they were apprehended on Wednesday in the Abeokuta neighborhood of Idi-Aba. Among the valuables recovered from them were seven exotic cars, many mobile phones, laptops, Apple watches, and various other items.

Additionally, two alleged “Yahoo boys” named Adeniji Adebayo and Ayoola Samson were detained by EFCC agents the same day in Ibadan, Oyo State’s Idi-Igba neighborhood, along with two automobiles and other valuables.

Additionally, Andrew Olasunkanmi, a suspect in cybercrime, was detained by the state police command of the Nigerian Police and turned over to the EFCC.

Andrew was detained at his home on suspicion of taking part in scams. He was found to be in possession of a Honda Civic and several cell phones.

The conflict in Sudan has displaced more than one million children, 270,000 of them in the Darfur region, the UN Children’s agency (UNICEF) has said, warning more were at “grave risk”.

Fighting has raged in Sudan since mid-April between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

As well as the more than one million displaced, at least 330 children have been killed and more than 1,900 wounded, UNICEF said in a statement on Thursday.

“Many more are at grave risk”.

The United Nations agency said an estimated 13 million children were in “dire need” of humanitarian assistance.

“Children are trapped in an unrelenting nightmare, bearing the heaviest burden of a violent crisis they had no hand in creating — caught in the crossfire, injured, abused, displaced, and subjected to disease and malnutrition,” said UNICEF Sudan representative Mandeep O’Brien.

It said the situation in Darfur, already scarred by a two-decade war that left hundreds of thousands dead and more than two million displaced, was especially concerning.

“The situation in West and Central Darfur, in particular, is characterized by active fighting, severe insecurity, and looting of humanitarian supplies and facilities,” UNICEF said.

Daglo’s RSF has its origins in the Janjaweed militias which former strongman Omar al-Bashir unleashed on ethnic minorities in the region in 2003, drawing charges of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Its paramilitaries have been accused of carrying out the Wednesday killing of West Darfur state governor Khamis Abdullah Abakar hours after he made remarks critical of the paramilitaries in a telephone interview with a Saudi TV channel. The RSF has denied any responsibility.

The United Nations said “compelling eyewitness accounts attribute this act to Arab militias and the RSF”, while the Darfur Lawyers Association condemned the act of “barbarism, brutality and cruelty”.

“All those responsible for this killing must be held to account including those who bear command responsibility,” Jeremy Laurence, spokesman for the UN rights office, told reporters in Geneva.

‘Ominous reminder’
The US State Department said the atrocities unfolding in West Darfur were “primarily” the work of the RSF and provided an “ominous reminder” of the region’s previous genocide.

“The United States condemns in the strongest terms the ongoing human rights violations and abuses and horrific violence in Sudan, especially reports of widespread sexual violence and killings based on ethnicity in West Darfur by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

“The atrocities occurring today in West Darfur and other areas are an ominous reminder of the horrific events that led the United States to determine in 2004 that genocide had been committed in Darfur.”

Miller said up to 1,100 civilians had been killed in the West Darfur state capital, El Geneina, alone.

“While the atrocities taking place in Darfur are primarily attributable to the RSF and affiliated militia, both sides have been responsible for abuses,” he added.

Now in its third month, the fighting has claimed more than 2,000 lives, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

The International Organization for Migration says the fighting has driven 2.2 million people from their homes, including 528,000 who have fled to neighbouring countries.

With mediation efforts at a standstill after repeated abortive ceasefires, the fighting has raged on unabated.

In Khartoum North, just across the Blue Nile from the capital, the regular army carried out air strikes drawing anti-aircraft fire from the RSF, witnesses said.

In South Kordofan, RSF fighters shelled a police station, while in the North Kordofan state capital El Obeid, there was fighting between troops and paramilitaries, witnesses said.

A barber, simply identified as Otubong, has died following an alleged marathon sex with his female partner in the Mile 2 area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Friday.

It was gathered that the man was seen on Thursday evening taking the lady into his room in the densely populated area.

It was also learned that the middle-aged man had taken some sex-enhancement drugs, including alcoholic liquor.

But on Friday morning, one of his neighbours who went to check on him found his door opened.

The neighbour said, “It was early this morning (Friday) that one of his neighbours went to his house to collect something and saw that the door was open.

“He said after knocking and calling his name without a response that he decided to go and see the man.

“So he shouted and immediately rushed out and informed other residents of what he saw. People now came, took him, and went to report the matter to the police.”

Meanwhile, a police source informed our correspondent that two black bullet drinks, two packs of tramadol, and another sex-enhancing drug were discovered in his room.

The incident attracted residents from nearby streets, who thronged out to confirm what they heard before the matter was reported to the Azikiwe Police in Port Harcourt.

The Rivers Police Command Spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, could not be reached for comments, as her mobile telephone rang out without a response.

Iringe-Koko, a superintendent of police, had neither returned the call nor replied to a text message sent to her as of the time of filing this report.

Turkish police have detained 96 illegal immigrants in Istanbul in a major operation, local media reported on Friday.

The police carried out raids across the country’s largest city, Istanbul, targeting addresses believed to be “illegal immigrant houses,” the report said.

They held the illegal immigrants whose countries of origin were not known.

But most of them came from Asia and the Middle East, according to the report.

Türkiye is a popular destination for illegal immigrants and a transit country for those who hope to reach European Union member states.

The illegal immigrants were sent to the city’s migration directorate for deportation procedures.

The houses used as “safe haven” for the immigrants were sealed off, it added.

Approximately 43,000 irregular migrants have been deported since the beginning of this year, indicating a 29 percent increase compared to the same period of last year, according to official data from Türkiye’s Ministry of Interior.

In Istanbul alone, nearly 6,000 illegal immigrants were held over the last month

Chief Olabode George, a former deputy national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, rejected reports that he was seeking a position under President Bola Tinubu, claiming he was too old for such a position.

However, he stressed that if approached or asked, he would only help his party nominate qualified individuals.

George, a fierce opponent of Tinubu, said in a phone call with our correspondent on Thursday that he patched things up with the President not for a job but rather for peace to reign and out of respect for those who got involved at Tinubu’s request.

He emphasized that when some top Lagos State natives and an APC team visited him to settle the long-running dispute and asked for his support for the Tinubu administration, stating that he could never have wanted anything more at his age.

He stated, “On this, people are only talking rubbish and they need to shut up. This man (Tinubu) is just starting and we said my party was still in court. They said we should let bygones be bygones. In the Bible, it is very clear that vengeance is only with God Almighty and you don’t continue fighting when everybody has persuaded you that it’s enough.

“All those saying I want an appointment don’t know what they are saying. What exactly do they want to happen to the young ones coming up? I said I have forgiven him. We had an issue and people settled it for us and I have forgotten about it.”

Asked whether or not he would accept an appointment from the government if offered, he stated, “I will give him people that have the knowledge from the party having been a manager of the party for years. If he says he wants me to help him get someone, there are millions of young people who still have all the energy to run around and not me.

“It is not for me, because I am not looking for a job. But if he calls me, we will discuss it before the party leaders, put heads together and nominate from our side somebody who is still young, agile, has the knowledge and can add value to this country.”

He said he could not congratulate or visit Tinubu at the villa while his party, the PDP, was still in court challenging the outcome of the presidential election. This, he said, would amount to betrayal of his party.

Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president, claimed on Friday that the terrorist organization’s founders told him that poverty and unemployment were what inspired Boko Haram members to commit crimes during the early stages of the North-East struggle.

However, he cautioned that if the nearly 20 million children who are not in school are not immediately addressed, they will serve as a breeding ground for future members of Boko Haram.

At an event in Lagos, he made these remarks at the book launch for “Pillars of Statecraft: Nation-Building in a Changing World,” written by his daughter, Dr. Kofo Obasanjo-Blackshire.

In response to a query from a member of the audience about why recent government measures had become more political than people-centered, he stated one of the main issues facing the nation was the search for scapegoats for its difficulties.

He stated further, “During the early days of Boko Haram, when the man who started the movement was said to have been killed, I said I wanted to meet with the members of the group to talk to them and know what they wanted.

“I met with their representatives and found out that they needed nothing but a better life for themselves. Can we blame them for wanting a better life for themselves?

“They said they believed in Sharia Law. I told them that Sharia was not a problem in Nigeria. It is part of our constitution.”

The former president claims that several of the rebel group’s members admitted to him that they had attended college but were jobless.

He added, “Do we blame them if after four years, they have no jobs? Are they not entitled to a livelihood? This boils down to one of the P’s of nation-building – politics – which talks about governance and leadership.

“If that (leadership) is not properly taken care of, every other thing will go haywire,” he said.

He also added that Nigerians must learn to face their own problems squarely rather than blaming others for it.

He said, “We must ask, ‘What do we do with our people? How do we raise and value them? How do we value them?’

“We have over 20 million out-of-school children. Google how many countries in the world have less than 20m. That doesn’t worry us? Are you thinking there will be no Boko Haram tomorrow?

“Those are the foundations of your Boko Haram tomorrow. That should be our concern. We should not say it is externally induced. Is poverty also externally induced? Poverty is the conscious, unconscious choice of our leaders. If we say no; it would be no. If we say yes; it would be yes.”

The elder statesman, Obasanjo, who participated in the panel discussion, emphasized what he called “The Five P’s of Nation-Building,” or population, prosperity, protection, politics, and partnerships.

In response to Kofo’s introduction of the sixth P, prayer and pleasing God, and the question of whether Nigeria had become failed, failing, or weak, he remarked, “I take the situation of our states at this time as work-in-progress. Before we complete the statehood process, we are powerless to take any action.

Obasanjo claimed that the West was aware of Nigeria’s flaws and that when leaders reveal those weaknesses, they take advantage of them. He cited an encounter he had with a previous World Bank President while serving as Nigeria’s military head of state.

He added, “There is a level of fragility in every state. No state is perfect, even America. I used to joke with my American friends that God gave them Trump to show that they are humans as well, and we are, more or less, the same.”

He continued by saying that in order for Nigeria’s democracy to function, the nation must learn how to manage its variety. He also said that all other types of administration, such as autocracy, plutocracy, gerontocracy, etc., do not last for very long.

Kofo, in her remark, noted that she had embarked on the course based on the advice of her father during a trip in 2017 after expressing a desire to serve others.

She stated, “As a young adult, I was incensed at the injustice and persistent corruption I observed in Nigeria. The disparity between the nation’s resources and the living standards of the average Nigerian brought me to my feet in outrage and frustration during conversations,” she said.