Author: David Akonuche

FORMER Super Eagles defender Taribo West has lashed out at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Lagos State Football Association (LSFA) for allegedly abandoning the family of late Nigerian goalkeeper Peter Rufai, describing the neglect as shameful and unacceptable. News Point Nigeria Sport reports that speaking during Rufai’s service of songs in Lagos on Thursday, West expressed frustration at what he called the authorities’ recurring failure to properly honour national heroes, both in life and in death. “Could you imagine that the family would be crying to solicit within our groups, just to ask for money? “It is madness,”…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared a prison inmate, Bright Ngene of the Labour Party (LP), winner of the Enugu South 1 State Constituency rerun election held on Saturday, August 16, 2025. News Point Nigeria reports that Ngene, a legal practitioner by profession, is currently serving a jail term at the Enugu Custodial Centre, but that did not stop him from securing victory in the hotly contested legislative rerun. The declaration of Ngene brings to an end months of political tension, court battles, and repeated attempts to conduct the rerun, which was ordered by the Election Petition Appeal…

OPERATIVES of the Ebonyi State Police Command have rescued two kidnapped students from captivity in Ikwo Local Government Area of the state, following an intelligence-led operation. News Point Nigeria reports that the Commissioner of Police, CP Anthonia Uche-Anya, disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the Command’s headquarters in Abakaliki. According to her, the students were found inside an uncompleted building where they were being held hostage by suspected kidnappers. She confirmed that the victims were rescued unhurt, while three suspects were apprehended and are currently in police custody as investigations continue. CP Uche-Anya used the briefing to highlight…

THE Imo State Government has announced a ban on graduation parties for nursery, kindergarten, and Junior Secondary School (JSS 3) students, citing concerns over the financial pressure such events place on parents and guardians. The directive was issued by the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Bernard Ikegwuoha, in a memo dated August 15, 2025, with reference number MOEPS/COMMR/2025/VOL. 1/155, and circulated to parents, guardians, school proprietors, and education stakeholders across the state. According to the commissioner, only Primary 6 and Senior Secondary School (SSS 3) students are permitted to hold graduation ceremonies in line with the 6-3-3-4 education policy, which stipulates…

AMNESTY International says it possesses concrete evidence including names and addresses of individuals allegedly killed extrajudicially by the Nigerian military in the South-East geopolitical zone of the country. “We have our evidence and we are very glad to present those evidence. We are always in touch with families of victims and believe there is a need to do a soul-searching. “Let us sit down, look at those cases, find out who did what and when, and make sure that the full weight of the law comes in to ensure justice for the victims,” said the Country Director for Amnesty International…

NO fewer than eight persons have been killed in a flood disaster in Kpoghirikpo, an ancient kingdom of Itim community in Afikpo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. The incident, which occurred following heavy rainfall, affected over 800 farmlands and 3,000 households, creating a major displacement crisis within the community. A mother and her four children died in the devastating flood. Residents said the flood disaster resulted in the loss of a mother and her four children, as a search and rescue team from the community was able to rescue four other children alive. Meanwhile, four bodies have been recovered…

ARMED hoodlums wielding cutlasses have attacked a truck driver, Dallami Yunusa, at Ogi Junction in Okigwe Local Government Area of Imo State, inflicting serious injuries before setting his vehicle on fire. Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) Heavy Truck Unit in Okigwe, Dahiru Musa Raza, confirmed the incident to Daily Trust on Sunday. The attack happened on Tuesday, barely two months after two truck drivers were killed and a vehicle loaded with garri was burnt in a similar incident at the same location. Raza said Yunusa’s truck developed a mechanical fault, prompting him to go into…

ANAMBRA State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has strongly criticised political figures who make campaign promises to serve for only one term in elected office, saying such statements are not only misleading but suggest the need for mental health evaluation. Speaking on Friday during a mega endorsement rally for his second term bid in Anambra South Senatorial Zone, Governor Soludo described the idea of offering to serve just one term as irrational and an insult to the intelligence of the electorate. Without directly naming anyone, Soludo’s comments appeared to be a thinly veiled response to former Anambra State Governor and…

IN a significant legal victory for road users across Nigeria, the Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri, Imo State, has declared that the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has no legal authority to confiscate a driver’s licence, vehicle, or any related document without due legal process. News Point Nigeria reports that the appellate court also affirmed the violation of fundamental rights of a Nigerian motorist, Dr. Emmanuel Ugochukwu Shebbs, by FRSC officials during an encounter in 2020, awarding him ₦10 million in damages for the unlawful seizure and harassment. The court delivered its ruling in Appeal No: CA/OW/199/2022 between FRSC,…

THE African Democratic Congress (ADC) is facing an internal crisis barely two years before the 2027 general election, as key political actors within the coalition party are reportedly threatening to withdraw over former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s insistence on clinching the presidential ticket. News Point Nigeria gathered from reliable sources that top stakeholders including former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai and Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential flagbearer in 2023 are becoming increasingly uneasy with what they perceive as Atiku’s “personalised agenda” within the coalition. While Atiku has not formally declared his candidacy, his strategic positioning within the ADC and…

YUSUF Datti Baba-Ahmed, who ran alongside Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election under the Labour Party (LP), has publicly acknowledged Julius Abure as the party’s National Chairman, a move that distances him from Obi’s current faction. News Point Nigeria report that appearing on a national television programme on Wednesday, Baba-Ahmed cited the Supreme Court ruling and the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) recognition of Abure as the basis for his stance. His comments followed his attendance at the Abure-led LP National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Monday. Although he previously participated in the factional NEC meeting held…

PRESSURE is mounting in Akwa Ibom State as public sector workers, including university lecturers, teachers, and civil servants, have embarked on a strike to protest the nonpayment of their salaries for the months of May and June. News Point Nigeria reports that the backlash comes just one month after Governor Umo Eno defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a widely publicised event in Uyo. His political switch was justified at the time as a strategic move to “unite the state” and “secure federal support” for key developmental projects, such as the long-delayed…

THE Labour Party has disclosed plans to expel its former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his involvement in an opposition coalition to unseat President Bola Tinubu. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, during a live appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday monitored by News Point Nigeria, said Obi’s continued engagement with the coalition while still identifying as a Labour Party member was “unconstitutional” and “unacceptable.” “Let me make it very clear: we are convening a NEC [National Executive Council] meeting where he [Obi] will be expelled. It is unconstitutional for you to belong to two political…

OPPOSITION arrowhead Peter Obi says he will contest for the office of the President in 2027, dismissing rumours that he will be running mate for Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). “I’m going to contest for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and I believe I am qualified for it,” Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, said on Sunday Politics programme monitored by News Point Nigeria. When asked whether he was considering becoming the running mate to Atiku, in the 2027 election, Obi said, “This is not in play; nobody has ever discussed that. People…

A HIGH Court of Kenya sitting in Nairobi, the East African country, has declared the detention and transfer of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, from Kenya to Nigeria in June 2021 as unlawful and illegal. The court also awarded compensatory damages of 10 million Kenyan shillings against the Kenyan Government for gross violations of Kanu’s fundamental rights. Delivering judgment, the presiding judge, Justice E. Mwita, faulted both the Nigerian and Kenyan governments for a rendition of Kanu in gross violations of his rights as guaranteed by the constitutions of the respective countries. Justice Nwita…

THE Anambra State Police Command has confirmed the killing of two persons and the abduction of two others during a cult-related shooting in Oko, in the Orumba North Local Government Area of the state. The town is home to the Federal Polytechnic, Oko. In a statement on Friday, the Public Relations Officer of the Command, Tochukwu Ikenga, said that two other persons, including a female, were rescued from the scene of the shooting and are currently receiving treatment in a hospital. The statement added that a joint security force has taken over the scene and police operatives are already acting…

THE Anambra State Police Command has confirmed the death of a police inspector, Okolie Amechi, who was accidentally shot by his 10-year-old son. It said that the incident occurred on Sunday evening. It explained that the son, who was unaware of the state of the AK 47 assigned to Amechi, pulled the trigger and struck his father in the back. The Command also said the the inspector’s second child was struck in the hand due to the accidental discharge. “The Anambra State Police Command expressed sadness over the unfortunate incident that resulted in the death of Police Inspector Okolie Amechi…

THE Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has warned that Nigeria will keep facing failed leadership if citizens continue to vote along tribal lines rather than based on competence and capacity. Obi maintained that where competence, capacity, character and compassion are non-existent, there is no magic one can do to improve the leadership of any nation. The former Anambra State governor, who said this in a post on his official X handle on Monday, noted that Nigerians have seen what leadership without these qualities has done to the country. “Leadership of a nation is such that it’s either succeeding…

RESIDENTS of Owerri, the Imo State capital city, on Friday, stayed indoors in compliance with a sit-at-home order by the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to honour fallen Biafra heroes. From Douglas Road, Wethedral Street, Government House, IMSU Junction, up to Orlu Road, everywhere was empty despite the heavy presence of security operatives to safeguard lives and properties. IPOB had fixed May 30 every year as Remembrance Day for fallen Biafra heroes and directed no business or any activity should take place on that day. In compliance, workers, traders, students, and transporters stayed indoors. A drive across Tetlow, Wethedral,…

NO fewer than six children between the ages of one to six have reportedly died of an outbreak of a strange disease in Mbutu Community in Aboh Mbaise Council Area of Imo State. The Executive Chairman of the Council, Barr. Henry Alaribe, who made the disclosure in a press statement signed by his spokesman, Dike Godspower on Tuesday, said that there are new recorded cases, though not yet confirmed. Alaribe said that to forestall further spread of the disease and ensure the safety of other children, all schools in the area have been temporarily closed, while the May 27 Children’s…