News & Announcements

It was reliably gathered that barely 10 days after King Charles III was crowned in London, his daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, is receiving an award in New York City.

The award does not seem to have settled well with certain individuals who are concerned about the monarchy, describing it as an insult given that the Duchess of Sussex stayed off the King’s coronation.

According to the information, Meghan Markle will be honored at Tuesday’s 2023 Women of Vision Awards, which celebrates “feminist change makers” and “powerhouse grassroots leaders.”

The Duchess of Sussex will receive her award from Gloria Steinem, who co-founded the Ms. Foundation, which runs the awards.

As the mother of two is being celebrated, several royal experts have taken issue with the award’s timing. 

On April 12, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the former American actress wouldn’t attend the king’s coronation in London. 

Instead, the 41-year-old remained at her California home with her two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. 

Her husband, Prince Harry, who has publicly sparred with his family, arrived to the ceremony alone. 

The 38-year-old bolted back to California with his Dior suit still on.

Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” said that the timing couldn’t have been more wrong, considering that the Duchess was noticeably absent from “the single most important moment in Charles’ life and a singular moment in world history.”

“What a slap in the face to the man who walked her down the aisle when her own father didn’t show up at her wedding, and to the country she adopted, for better or worse, as her own,” said Andersen.

“You know, charity begins at home,” he shared.

“Much of the time Harry looks like a fish out of the water, and you don’t have to be an expert to see he’s still hurting. 

“If she is truly a sensitive and caring person, she would make it her top priority to help mend her husband’s relationship with his brother Prince William and the king. Marrying into the royal family, accepting a title, and then bailing to take advantage of your new global superstar status seems, well, tacky.”
               

Charles Soludo, the governor of Anambra State, has vowed to arrest those responsible for the murder of certain US Consulate employees in Nigeria.

In a statement released by his press secretary, Christine Aburume, the governor made the comments and expressed his condolences to the families of those who had been killed and kidnapped on Tuesday.

In a statement released on his behalf by his chief press secretary, Christian Aburime, Soludo expressed his sadness over the fatalities.

“On behalf of the government and great people of Anambra State, the Governor, Prof Charles Chukwuma Soludo, CFR, expresses deep condolences to the bereaved families and organisations, particularly the US Embassy, over the death of their staff and policemen who were attacked by gunmen along Atani-Osamala Road, Ogbaru Local Government Area on Tuesday, 16th May 2023 while they were on a mission in Anambra State.

“We strongly condemn the heinous and unprovoked attack. Over the last one year, we have worked very hard with our gallant security forces to massively degrade criminality and restore law and order. We can proudly assert that Anambra is currently one of the safest states in Nigeria.

“Only two weeks ago, the dreaded and notorious criminal gang leader operating mostly in a neighboring state was gunned down with four of his team members when they made incursion into Anambra and recovered huge deadly weapons. The criminals are largely on the run or feeling the heat of our zero tolerance to criminality.

“This incident in a remote riverine community in Ogbaru local government is a reminder that patches of these criminal gangs can still unleash senseless and murderous acts.

“Whatever the identity or motive of the attackers, Anambra State government will actively work with the security agencies to smoke out the criminals and bring them to justice. We call on anyone with information on the identity or whereabouts of the criminals to offer same on our secured security phone numbers or to any of the security agencies and such informant will be handsomely rewarded. Investigations are underway.

“We assure our residents and visitors of our continued commitment to law and order. If anything, this incident has emboldened our drive.

“As the investigation continues, it is important to highlight an important preliminary takeaway from the facts so far. It is evident from reports by the various security agencies in the state that the visiting team made their own security arrangements and totally bypassed the existing security architecture in the state and the state government was not aware of the “humanitarian mission” of the visiting team.

“In a place like parts of Ogbaru where security forces have been fighting the criminals and oil bunkerers, the sight of few policemen can indeed attract vengeance from the criminal gangs. Correcting such lapses and ensuring better coordination will help prevent such avoidable incidents in the future. Together, we will prevail over those who seek to disrupt the peace and stability of our society.”

Following an incident in Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State, four people thought to be representatives of the US Embassy in Nigeria were feared dead.

Although their purpose for traveling to Anambra State’s riverine region was unknown, it was learned that their convoy had come under fire from as-yet-unidentified militants.

The incidence has been confirmed by the state’s police public relations officer, Mr. Tochukwu Ikenga.

Ikenga said; “Following the information of the shooting incident within Ogbaru community, the Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng, has deployed a police team led by the deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations to arrest the situation.

“Details of the incident are still sketchy, I will get back to you as soon as I can, please.”

The event has also been confirmed by the US Embassy in Nigeria, which also stated that its staff was working with Nigerian security services to identify the cause of the incident.

An official of US Mission Nigeria said; “We confirm there was an incident on May 16 in Anambra State. U.S. Mission Nigeria personnel are working with Nigerian security services to investigate.

“The security of our personnel is always paramount, and we take extensive precautions when organising trips to the field. We have no further comment at this time.”

The National Association of Resident Doctors members began a five-day warning strike on Wednesday, and the Federal Government said talks with interested parties are still underway.

The Federal Ministry of Health’s Director of Public Health, Dr. Morenike Alex-Okoh, responded to questioning from reporters in Abuja on Wednesday by saying that the strike concerned the government.

“The situation with the doctors’ strike is of concern to the government and the negotiations have been ongoing.

“We will continue under the circumstances, so, I cannot give you any conclusive response now.

“However, government, the leadership of the ministry and relevant stakeholders are meeting to resolve the situation as quickly as possible,’’ she said.

NARD gave the FG notice on Tuesday that, should it fail to address the issues raised before May 29th, it could not guarantee continued industrial harmony.

NARD’s letter entitled: “Notice of Strike Action’’ was signed jointly by its National President, Dr Innocent Orji and Secretary-General, Dr Chikezie Kelechi.

They claimed that NARD had given the FG a two-week deadline to address the issues outlined in the deadline before May 13 (the deadline’s expiration date).

The letter read in part, “Regrettably, the issues have remained unresolved despite several attempts by NARD to get the government to resolve them.

“Rising from her Extra-Ordinary Meeting on Monday, May 15, NARD’s National Executive Council resolved to embark on a five-day warning strike beginning on May 17.’’

The Consolidated Medical Salary Structure must be immediately increased by 200 percent of the existing gross physician salary, according to the doctors.

The NARD is also calling for the urgent withdrawal of a bill that would require recent medical and dental graduates to undergo five years of mandatory military service in Nigeria prior to receiving full licenses to practice.

Additionally, it calls for the Medical Residency Training Act to be immediately domesticated and for state governments to evaluate the Hazard Allowance.

The Lagos State Police Command has charged a woman named Olufunmilayo Brioluwa with assaulting a police officer in the state’s Ogombo region.

Following the arraignment, Brioluwa was remanded to the Kirikiri Correctional Facility, according to SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the state police public relations officer, who verified the development in a tweet.

The tweet read, “Somewhere in Ogombo yesterday, she (Brioluwa) assaulted a police officer. She was arraigned today and has been remanded to the Kirikiri correctional facility till June 6 when the case comes up again in court.”

A photo of Brioluwa firmly grasping the policeman’s uniform is included with the post.

The post also had an authentic copy of the court document attached.

Obiageli Ezekwesili, a former minister of education, called with President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) on Wednesday to “swiftly” transfer authority to her.

This was stated by Ezekwesili in a tweet that was posted under her @obyezeks Twitter handle.

She referred to Buhari in her tweet as a “ineffectual Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces.”

Her tweet was in response to the President’s supporters’ indignation over his failure to protect the nation and its people.

The former minister continued by saying she appreciated the support of Buhari’s followers.

“Let’s ask the ineffectual Commander-in-Chief of the Nigeria Armed Forces @MBuhari to swiftly hand over power to me so I can satisfy his supporters cry on his ignoble failure to secure the country, citizens and residents of Nigeria. I welcome their vote of confidence in me. “I welcome their vote of confidence in me,” she tweeted.

She added in another tweet, “Once I analytically surmised that demanding action on any governance issue from @MBuhari was equivalent to expecting the impossible, I stopped. We have a so-called Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces, who sorely degenerated the state of our country’s security. Ignoble legacy.”

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 election, claimed on Wednesday that the APC would have been more successful in advancing Nigeria if it had chosen Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as its candidate.

While greeting some attendees at Dele Momodu’s 63rd birthday celebration in London, Obi stated this.

The former governor of Anambra State claimed in the 52-second video that it had once challenged the APC leadership, telling them that if they wanted Nigeria to function as a progressive nation, they should have simply given Osinbajo the party’s presidential nomination.

He said, “I am desperate to see Nigeria working, I can’t hide it. I even confronted them if you want it, why didn’t you bring Osinbajo so that we can have people who want to work for the country?

“Nigeria needs a healthy person and someone like him working 24 hours. Let’s have the place working for everyone,” he added.

Apata Odunayo and Ogbuji Tochukwu, two of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s employees, have been detained after they were allegedly involved in a fight that claimed the life of Abel Isah, a cadet with the anti-graft commission’s Sokoto Zonal Command.

According to reports, the suspects were brought before the Chief Magistrates’ Court, Gwiwa in Sokoto on charges of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide.

The anti-graft agency further highlighted that the suspects had been turned over to the Nigeria Police Force by the commission and suspended.

Wilson Uwujaren, the EFCC’s spokesperson, made this announcement on Tuesday at a press conference held at the organization’s Abuja headquarters.

Isah was allegedly killed by his senior colleagues Odunayo and Tochukwu after he refused to approve incomplete exhibits that had been taken from a fraud suspect and given to him.

Isah passed away on May 7, 2023, at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital in Sokoto, where he was getting treatment for his wounds, according to Uwujaren, who spoke at the press conference.

He said, “They had disagreed over procedures for the custody of items belonging to a suspect in detention, leading to a fight, a conduct which the commission frowns at.

“The two officers with whom he disagreed have been suspended by the commission and handed over to the Nigeria police for further investigation and possible prosecution.

“The latest information is that a two-count holding charge bordering on criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide has been filed against them at a Chief Magistrates’ Court, Gwiwa in Sokoto.

Both offenses, according to Uwujaren, were in violation of Sections 60 and 191 of the 2019 Sokoto State Penal Code.

The EFCC spokesman stated that in addition to the police probe, the suspects will also be subject to additional disciplinary actions in accordance with the commission’s employee policies.

He cited Abdulrasheed Bawa, the head of the commission, as expressing sympathy to the grieving family.

Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, and Kashim Shettima, the vice president-elect, have pleaded with the Presidential Election Petition Court to deny Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party’s request for a live broadcast of the proceedings.

They contended that the petitioners’ requests for relief were not ones the court could approve.

“With much respect to the petitioners, the motion is an abuse of the processes of this honourable court,” the respondents stated.

In addition to dismissing the application as frivolous, they argued that the court should not be used as a stage, stadium, or theater for entertainment of the general public.

They questioned why a petitioner would submit an application in order to divert the court’s attention and squander its limited time through their team of attorneys, led by Chief Wole Olanipekun.

They claimed in the counter affidavit that the application related to judicial policymaking, which is outside the purview of the PEPC in its current configuration.

“The application also touches on the powers and jurisdiction invested in the President of the Court of Appeal by the Constitution, over which this honourable court as presently constituted cannot entertain.

“The application touches on the administrative functions, which are exclusively reserved for the President of the Court of Appeal.

“The application is aimed at dissipating the precious judicial time of this honourable court.

“The said application does not have any bearing with the petition filed by the petitioners before this honourable court.

“It is in the interest of justice for this honourable court to dismiss the said application filed by the petitioners,” they said.

The respondents criticized the applicants’ mention to the fact that virtual proceedings were permitted during the COVID-19 pandemic in an appended written address.

They claimed that Atiku and his party neglected to alert the court to the practice directives issued by the relevant courts for the procedure.

“Another angle to this very curious application is the invitation it extends to the court to make an order that it cannot supervise.

“The position of the law remains, and we do submit that the court, like nature, does not make an order in vain, or an order which is incapable of enforcement,” the respondents stated.

“The word ‘public’ as applied under Section 36(3) of the Constitution has been defined in a plethora of judicial authorities to mean a place where members of the public have unhindered access, and the court itself, sitting behind open doors, not in the camera.

“Even in situations where a class action is presented, the particular people constituting the class being represented by the plaintiffs or petitioners are always defined in the originating process.

“Here, in this application, the public at whose behest this application has been presented is not defined, not known, not discernable.

“Beyond all these, it is our submission that the court of law must and should always remain what it is, what it should be and what it is expected to be: a serene, disciplined, hallowed, tranquil, honourable and decorous institution and place.

“It is not a rostrum or a soapbox. It is not also a stadium or theatre. It is not an arena for ‘public’ entertainment.

“With much respect to the petitioners, the motion is an abuse of the processes of this honourable court.”

On Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja prohibited journalists from covering the drug-related trial of suspended Deputy Commissioner of Police, Abba Kyari.

Along with four other people, the former Head of the Nigerian Police Force’s Intelligence Response Team is being prosecuted.

ACP Sunday Ubia, ASP Bawa James, Inspector Simon Agirigba, and Inspector John Nuhu are his co-defendants.

They were accused of selling in cocaine worth 17.55 kilograms and illegally tampering with 21.25 kilograms of cocaine that they had taken from two drug dealers.

Justice Emeka Nwite ordered everyone present to leave the courtroom prior to the start of the hearings on Tuesday when the case was restarted. This included reporters, other litigants’ attorneys, and other people who were in attendance.

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency’s chief prosecutor, Sunday Joseph, asked the court to hide the identity of his upcoming group of witnesses who would testify at the trial, and Justice Nwite granted his request.

They could wait, the judge said, assuring them that their cases would be heard later. We won’t spend the entire day discussing this issue.

The judges approved Joseph’s request, and the attorneys and other participants in the case departed.

In response to questions from reporters about why he filed the application, Joseph stated that it was done so to protect the witnesses, who are wise officials, and that “there is a doctrine of state privilege in the interest of national security.”

Although the prosecution has previously called witnesses, he said that the present group of witnesses needed to be protected since their names could not be made public.

“And  you don’t know who is who; so, it is for the witness’ protection. We are now going into the nitty-gritty of the matter and there have been allegations that we are just witch-hunting them,” he said.