News & Announcements

The Nigerian government’s interference in the political process during the country’s 2023 election cycle prompted the United States government to take action and place visa restrictions on a number of persons.

Anthony Blinken, the secretary of state, announced this in a statement on Monday that was posted on the US official website.

“Today, I am announcing that we have taken steps to impose visa restrictions on specific individuals in Nigeria for undermining the democratic process during Nigeria’s 2023 elections cycle.”

While noting that, “the United States is committed to supporting and advancing democracy in Nigeria and around the world,” Blinken added that the visa restrictions “are specific to certain individuals and are not directed at the Nigerian people or the government of Nigeria as a whole.

Blinken added, “Under Section 212(a)(3)C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, these individuals will be subject to restrictions on visas to the United States under a policy covering those believed to be responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy.”

However, as of the time of filing this report, no name of any individual has been published.

“These individuals have been involved in intimidation of voters through threats and physical violence, the manipulation of vote results, and other activity that undermines Nigeria’s democratic process.”

According to the US government, the decision to take action to impose visa limitations is a reflection of the US government’s ongoing support for Nigeria’s efforts to improve democracy and the rule of law.

A world cooking record was successfully broken by Nigerian chef Hilda Baci, and the Guinness Book of Records has recognized her valiant effort.

The acknowledgment was given in response to a question from one Alexander, who had asked why Baci’s achievement hadn’t been recognized by Guinness World Records, in the early hours of Monday, May 15, 2023.

Alexander wrote; “Why is Guinness World Records not showing or talking about Hilda’s cook-a-thon? Can’t see anything on their pages (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube).”

In response to the inquiry, the Guinness Book of Records wrote on their official Twitter handle; “We’re aware of this amazing record attempt, we need to review all the evidence first before officially confirming a record.”

Lata Tondon now holds the record for the world’s longest cooking marathon, having finished it in Rewa, India, in 2019 in 87 hours, 45 minutes, and 00 seconds.

Seun Kuti, the Afrobeat singer who was the subject of the incident that resulted in his arrest and imprisonment on Monday, apologized and gave the officer who was assaulted $12,000 so that he could have his car fixed on Saturday.

Akin Osiyemi’s apartment off Allen Avenue in Ikeja was where the officer had followed Seun Kuti after the musician damaged his car on the Third Mainland bridge, according to reliable individuals with knowledge of the incident who spoke to our correspondent on Monday.

A source said, “Seun Kuti was the one that bashed the officer’s vehicle, and the policeman followed him to call his attention to it, but the musician alighted from his car and slapped the policeman as seen in the trending video. However, the officer reported the incident at the Police Command in Ikeja.”

“The policeman was alone. After the altercation, he followed Seun Kuti to his home in Ikeja, and the musician apologised to the policeman and gave him ₦12,000 to repair his damaged vehicle.

“But the officer reported the incident at the Area F Police Command in Ikeja, and deposited the ₦12,000 at the counter while he gave a written statement concerning the incident,” another source said.

Following a visit to the FCID regarding the alleged assault, it was learned that Seun Kuti is currently being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department, also known as Panti, in Yaba, Lagos State.

A legal representative for Femi Falana, SAN’s law company, Falana & Falana Chambers, which represents the well-known human rights campaigner, was there with the performer.

In response to a question regarding Seun Kuti’s apology and financial tip, the Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated in a phone interview with our correspondent on Monday that Seun Kuti had on Saturday apologized to the assaulted policeman and given him the amount of $12,000 for vehicle repair.

Hundeyin said, “Although the investigation is still ongoing, but your correspondence is correct. Seun Kuti apologized to the officer on Saturday, and gave him ₦‎12,000 to repair his damaged vehicle, after the officer followed him to his house in Ikeja after the altercation.

“Fortunately, the policeman had earlier reported the incident at the Area F Police Command, and deposited the ₦‎12,000 with the Command, before the video of the assault went viral on social media.”

The Anambra State Police Command, along with representatives from the State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, has detained Mrs. Chinyere Ifesinachi, a 25-year-old mother of three, for abusing her eight-year-old housekeeper.

The small child, whose name has been provided as Idimmachukwu, reportedly suffered multiple major injuries as a result of Ifesinachi’s abuse. This incident took place in the state’s Idemili North local government district at Nkpor.

After the child the girl was carrying fell while struggling, the woman is accused of beating the girl.

In order to secure the girl’s safety while she is undergoing treatment in a hospital, the police have now rescued her and are holding her in their care.

The woman was detained as a result of a viral video and a public outcry from the locals who witnessed Idimmachikwu with numerous degrees of injuries across her body, according to state police PPRO Mr. Tochukwu Ikenga.

According to Ikenga, the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department SCID, for comprehensive investigation as directed by the state Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng.
Ikenga said: “The CP frowned at such inhuman treatment subjected to some housemaids by their guardians and assured that the command will continue to do everything within its power to protect the vulnerable from such treatment.”

According to the PPRO, the case will be brought before a judge after an inquiry, guaranteeing that justice will be done.

Seun Kuti, an Afrobeat musician who assaulted a police officer, reportedly sought the legal counsel of human rights attorney Femi Falana on Sunday.

Falana, who told our correspondent about the development, added that the artist had every justification to stand his ground.

He said, “I am his lawyer and he has briefed me. He certainly has evidence. This is not the first time he is dealing with the police.”

There were rumors that Kuti was not there when a police team sent to make the arrest arrived at his house.

However, attempts to get the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, to answer the phone to confirm the development from the police authorities failed.

In response, Falana said that the troubled singer would surrender on Monday.

He said, “He is going to report himself to the police tomorrow morning. There is no problem at all.”

However, attempts to get the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, to answer the phone to confirm the development from the police authorities failed.

In response, Falana said that the troubled singer would surrender on Monday.

He said, “He is going to report himself to the police tomorrow morning. There is no problem at all.”

Meanwhile, in a Saturday night Instagram post obtained by our correspondent, Ṣeun Kuti noted that the police officer in question had apologised over an alleged attempt to murder him and his family.

Kuti said, “He tried to kill me and my family. I have the proof but I no dey chase clout.
“He has apologised and I have agreed not to press charges. Make una mind una business make the poor guy no lose his job.”

However, following the IG’s order for his arrest, Mr Kuti in another Instagram post, said, “I welcome the investigation and will give my full cooperation! I also pray to the IG that whoever is wrong should be indicted.”

Olabode George, a former deputy national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, has outlined the factors that led him to congratulate Bola Tinubu on becoming president.

According to a Vanguard story, senior Lagos State residents organized the peace conference where George, a longtime political foe of Tinubu’s, spoke in an effort to mediate a settlement.

The elders requested his cooperation and assistance as the former governor of Lagos State takes office on May 29.

Remember that George had long been an opponent of the President-elect and had even vowed to leave the country if Tinubu were to win the election and be sworn in as leader of the nation.

Speaking at the meeting, George said, “They made a request which we are all looking at. They requested that someday we should also congratulate Asiwaju and we said yes, but that I belong to a political party. They are all in the courts now.

“Let us finish the court cases. Whichever way that goes, the issue of congratulating him or not will come to fruition.

“I have nothing personal and nothing happens without the almighty God. As a believer, that is my school of thought.”

He pressed, “Let me say there are no political differences between Tinubu and I. Justice Olorunnimbe is like a father, we respect our fathers in Lagos.

“When I got an invitation from Papa Olusi that he wanted to come and see me the first time, I told my friend who delivered the message that I should go and visit him and not the other way round. But Papa Olusi said he had to come and see and that it had to do with the situation in Lagos.

“This is the second time Papa Olusi is visiting. We had detailed discussions that bothered the unity of Lagos. I must say we re-established the fact that the culture of Lagos is to accept and accommodate other tribes.”

I have explained to Baba Olusi that there is no issue with working together after the PDP chieftain reacted negatively to working with Tinubu by saying a divided house will be a defeated house.

“The kind of platform we are trying to have is for a unity of purpose in Lagos State, irrespective of party affiliations.

“On the bottom line, you are a Lagosian though we can have different political affiliations.

He cleared that he had had no battle with Tinubu, adding, “We have no battle, nothing personal between him and I.”

“What had happened has gone, vengeance is not mine but the almighty God. We will have differences, we will disagree but we must not be disagreeable.

“This union and discussion we have had is a positive step towards a new Lagos,” he maintained.

The meeting, which went on until Saturday, was attended by Prince Tajudeen Olusi, the head of the party in Lagos State, the Senior Special Assistant to the President for the Sustainable Development Goals, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, and Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele and Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, both of whom served as deputy governors of Lagos State.

Other attendees were Chief Remi Akitoye, a former acting PDP secretary; Major General Tajudeen Olarenwaju, a former minister of communications; Chief Gbadebo Dallas; and Mrs. Onikepo Oshodi.

Herdsmen who recently invaded the Takalafia and Gwanja settlements in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State are said to have slaughtered no less than 38 locals there.

Rev. Daniel Danbeki, the local pastor-in-charge of the Evangelical Church Winning All, and 37 other people were brutally slain by the attackers during the attack, which lasted from 9 p.m. on Thursday to early on Friday.

But on Saturday, a mass funeral was held for the assault victims, among them women and children.

A government delegation was led by the state’s deputy governor, Emmanuel Akabe, to the mass burial, which was held in front of mourners and other community members.

Akabe denounced the senseless killings and damage of property worth millions of naira while speaking during the mass burial.

He expressed outrage over the deaths and gave the assurance that the state administration will look into the circumstances leading up to the attacks and prosecute those responsible, adding that the displaced residents of the region would receive relief supplies.

Prior to the mass burial, James Thomas, the Executive Chairman of the Karu LGA, visited the communities that had been assaulted. He strongly denounced the herdsmen’s attack.

Nevertheless, Thomas, who was represented by his deputy Lawal Karshi, pleaded for composure and promised to cooperate closely with the security services to apprehend the perpetrators of the act so that they may face the full force of the law.

A source told our correspondent that the dispute between the farmer and the herdsman, who brought his cows to graze on a groundnut and maize field, was the cause of the attack.

The farmer and the herdsman got into a violent fight when the cows entirely devoured the crops, which infuriated the farmer.

“As the farmer was talking to the herdsman to send his cows out of his (farmer’s) farm, a fierce disagreement ensued and the herdsman brought out his cutlass and started fighting the farmer; but the farmer overpowered him, snatched his cutlass and fought him back, and the herdsman died.

“This was what led to the killings of residents of this area by the herdsmen,” a source said.

As of the time of filing this report, the bodies of victims who managed to flee the onslaught in the Takalafia and Gwanja communities with bullet wounds were still being retrieved from the local bushes and transported to the mortuary of the Federal Medical Center in the state’s Keffi LGA.

As DSP Ramhan Nansel, the state’s police public relations officer, did not answer calls placed to his mobile lines, attempts to contact the Nasarawa State police headquarters to receive its comment to the incident were unsuccessful.

Veteran actor Saint Obi’s death has been confirmed by a number of sources after days of rumors concerning his location.

At the residence of one of his siblings, the actor apparently passed away last Sunday.

According to rumors, his brothers’ disagreements prevented the news from being publicly announced.

However, a number of Nollywood sources have confirmed that both AGN and AMP are keeping an eye on the situation in order to learn more and tell the public.

Saint Obi, who appeared in more than 100 films, enjoyed enormous popularity in the 1990s and the early 2000s.

Three youths have purportedly been detained by the Police Command in Lagos State for participating in cult-related activities.

SP Benjamin Hundeyin, a spokesman for the command, posted this on Saturday via his verified Twitter account, @benHundeyin.

They were detained on Saturday in the Ojo area of the state, according to Hundeyin, who declined to give the suspects’ names because they are juveniles.

“Police officers, attached to Iba Division arrested the teenagers,” he said.

According to him, dangerous weapons were recovered from the suspects.

“The teenagers were arrested with weapons on them,” he said.

The police spokesperson voiced concern over young people’s interest in cults.

In his post, he also made mention of the Anti-Cultism Act, which stipulated a 21-year prison sentence for convicted cult members and solicitations for illegal organizations.

Anyone discovered to have attended meetings of a cult organization or an unlawful society will also face penalties, said Hundeyin.

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has ordered the arrest of Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, over an alleged assault of a police officer in Lagos.

The IG has also mandated a prompt and thorough investigation into the immediate and underlying cause(s) of the alleged assault as well as the prosecution of the suspect in accordance with the findings.

In a social media post seen on Saturday night, the musician claimed that the police officer in issue had tried to kill him and his family.

Speaking on the incident the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adéjọbí said, “The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, has ordered the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command to arrest Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti, who was captured on video assaulting a police officer in uniform.

“The IG has equally ordered a speedy and full investigation into the remote and immediate cause(s) of the assault and prosecution of the suspect accordingly.

“IG Baba assures Nigerians that acts of contempt/disdain for symbols of authority will not be tolerated while offenders of such hideous crimes will be surely brought to book.”

Meanwhile, Seun Kuti highlighted that the police officer in question had expressed regret for allegedly trying to kill him and his family in a Saturday night Instagram post.

Kuti said, “He tried to kill me and my family. I have the proof but I no dey chase clout.

“He has apologised and I have agreed not to press charges. Make una mind una business make the poor guy no lose his job.”

However, following the IG’s order for his arrest, Mr Kuti in another Instagram post, said, “I welcome the investigation and will give my full cooperation! I also pray to the IG that whoever is wrong should be indicted.”