Author: David Akonuche

THE Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, has condemned the alleged killing of 13 Ebonyi indigenes in Anambra State, and called for calm and a swift investigation into the matter. According to a statement released by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Monday Uzor and obtained by Channels Television, Governor Nwifuru described the killing of the indigenes residing in Ogboji community, Orumba South Local Government Area of Anambra as shocking. They were allegedly killed during their monthly town union meeting held last Monday. Nwifuru said such an unprovoked attack on law-abiding citizens who were simply holding a community meeting was…

NO fewer than 1,686 people were killed in at least 909 incidents of gang violence across Nigeria between January 2020 and March 2025, with the South-South and Southwest regions emerging as the most affected zones. According to a report SBM Intelligence released on Tuesday, Rivers State topped the fatality chart with 215 deaths, followed by Lagos (197 deaths) and Edo (192 deaths), all strongholds of longstanding cult and gang rivalries. The report added that these clashes often involved groups such as Vikings, Icelanders, Eiye, Aiye, Black Axe, and Greenlanders. The report indicates that the South-South region alone recorded over 750…

A WITNESS in the trial of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has testified that about 200 security agents were killed in the South East due to the activities of the IPOB and its armed wing, the Eastern Security Network (ESN). The witness, whose identity was concealed, told a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, that one Uzoma Benjamin, aka Onye Army, spoke about how they allegedly received directives from Kanu to kill security agents. The witness, who was led in evidence by prosecuting lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), told the court they allegedly…

THE Minister of Works, David Umahi, has dismissed claims that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is prioritising the South in infrastructure allocation across the country. While addressing the media during a two-day inspection tour of federal road projects in Rivers and Bayelsa states, Umahi described the claims as “misleading,” saying the North currently holds 52 per cent of legacy projects compared to the South’s 48 per cent. “Projects like the Sokoto-Badagry Road, Calabar-Abuja Highway, and Akwanga-Jos Road are ongoing in the North. When you measure by mileage and cost, the distribution is balanced,” Umahi said. He accused those behind…

POLITICIAN and former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of being hypocritical and playing politics rather than working to better the lives of Nigerians. He made the comment during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday as Nigeria marks Democracy Day on June 12. According to him, ongoing political activities in the country in the last two years are pointers to the next general election. Obi, who at first paid homage to the late MKO Abiola, said the politicians paid the ultimate sacrifice for democracy, adding that the current state…

EMBATTLED former National Chairman of the Labour Party, Barrister Julius Abure, has issued a sharp rebuttal to former presidential candidate Peter Obi and Abia State Governor Alex Otti, accusing both men of deliberately fueling the internal crisis within the party. Abure, who has faced months of leadership tussles and factional disputes, responded to recent comments by Obi, in which the former Anambra State governor alleged that the APC-led Federal Government had infiltrated the Labour Party’s leadership to destabilize it. In a strongly worded statement signed by the National Secretary of the party, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, the Abure-led faction dismissed…

ALTHOUGH the current democratic dispensation is barely two years old, some politicians have already begun discussions and subtle campaigns for the 2027 elections, a move Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has strongly criticized. According to Otti, those talking about the 2027 elections in 2025 are “trying to play God” because there is no guarantee that anyone will see beyond tomorrow. Governor Otti said this on Sunday when he received in audience a former Governor of Abia State, and the Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu and Sen. Chris Adighije who once…

THE Anambra State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Labour Party’s Presidential candidate in the 2023 Presidential Election, Peter Obi, to return to the party. Obi was PDP’s vice presidential candidate in the 2019 general election, with former vice president Atiku Abubakar. In a communiqué signed by the PDP chairman in the state, Chidi Chidebe, the party advised Obi that joining a coalition ahead of the 2027 election would not yield success. The communiqué stated, “The committee extends an open invitation to all aggrieved and former members of the PDP in Anambra, particularly our revered former…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, on Wednesday, released the final list of candidates for the 2025 Anambra State governorship election. The electoral body also announced June 11 as the official commencement date for election campaigns, which must end at midnight on Thursday, November 6, 2025. According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, the list was compiled following the conclusion of candidate substitution processes and the verification of personal particulars submitted by political parties. INEC noted that 16 political parties met the submission deadline of May…

THE West Africa Broadcast and Media Academy (WABMA) will on Thursday, June 5, 2025, mark the hundredth edition of its fake news debunker series, WABMA Fake News Debunker, as the academy graduates 50 successful participants in its 2025 second quarter media and communication certification courses A statement by the Registrar of WABMA, Joseph Obari quoted the Rector of the Academy, Dr Ken Ike Okere as saying that in an era of worrying proliferation of fake news and a culture of poor verification, the fake news debunker series has come to be a reference point for news consumers in Nigeria and…

GUNMEN last Sunday evening killed a United States-based returnee, abducting his wife in Umuguma, Owerri West local government area, Imo State. A source said the deceased, an indigene of Ihiala, Anambra State, and a Nigerian-US soldier, accompanied by his wife and land sellers/agents, had arrived in his Toyota Highlander Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) at a site which he was said to have negotiated to buy, located near the Golden Estate / Abba Father Avenue, Umuguma, Owerri West, Imo State. On arrival at the site masked armed bandits, ambushed them, killing him and abducting his wife. Others escaped with injuries, while…

THE Nigeria Police Force said it has rescued 12 trafficked children in Abia State. The police arrested two individuals for operating an unregistered and illegal motherless babies’ home within their residential apartment located at Ikot Ekpene Road, Aba, in Abia. “Upon intervention, the operatives discovered twelve (12) children, ranging in age from six months to fourteen years, housed in the premises,” Force spokesman Muyiwa Adejobi said in a statement. “Preliminary investigations revealed that the children originated from various villages in the Arochukwu area. “The rescued minors have been safely handed over to the Abia State Ministry of Women Affairs for…

OPERATIVES of the Nigeria Immigration Service have arrested Levi Obieze, a native doctor popularly known as ‘E de play, e de show,’ who is wanted by the Enugu State Police Command over allegations of abduction, kidnapping, and ritual killings. The arrest took place at the Gbaji checkpoint along Badagry-Seme Road, Lagos State, where Obieze was caught attempting to flee the country on a motorcycle. The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) confirmed the arrest on Thursday through a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Akinsola Akinlabi. “Through credible intelligence, Obi Levi Obieze was apprehended by vigilant men of the Nigeria Immigration Service,…

SINCE a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, came third in the 2023 presidential election, many have touted that his surest path to the Presidential Villa is by being a running mate to a northern politician. The same forces are currently urging him to join a coalition designed to unseat President Bola Tinubu in 2027. The forces in the coalition are mainly made up of northern politicians who feel the Tinubu administration let their region down after helping him win the 2023 election against their own, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who came second. With President Tinubu running the…

PAT Utomi, a professor of political economics and founder of the Centre for Values in Leadership, has said that the concept of a shadow cabinet in Nigeria was not new, revealing that he created one as far back as 2008 and even discussed it with then President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Utomi had recently announced the Shadow Cabinet, a platform to promote “responsible democratic opposition,” a move that has generated negative reaction from the government, prompting the Department of State Security (DSS) to sue him. Speaking during a virtual event organised by the University of Lagos Mass Communication Class of 1988…

A PROFESSOR of Political Economy, Pat Utomi, on Friday said he is receiving support from some Nigerians who are planning to mobilise 500 lawyers to defend him against the Department of State Services. “It’s energising (that) some want to put together 500 lawyers to defend me against the DSS,” he said. The DSS had sued Utomi over his alleged plan to establish what he calls “a shadow government” in the country. According to the suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the DSS prayed the court to declare the move an attack on the Constitution. The professor of…

TRAGEDY struck in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State, as five siblings died from suspected food poisoning, leaving their mother hospitalised in critical condition. The incident, which occurred on Saturday, May 3, threw the family and the entire community into mourning, with relatives and neighbours seen consoling the bereaved during a visit by our correspondent on Wednesday. Pa Robinson Aghalu, a 79-year-old retired soldier and father of the deceased children, said the tragedy began shortly after the children ate a meal prepared by their mother. Aghalu said the children started experiencing stomach aches, vomiting, and other symptoms,…

THE Labour Party has announced the indefinite suspension of six prominent members, including Abia State Governor Alex Otti, Senators Darlington Nwokocha and Ireti Kingibe, over alleged anti-party activities. Others suspended are Victor Afam Ogene, Amobi Ogah, and Seyi Sowumi. The party’s National Executive Council said the decision followed the recommendations of a five-man Disciplinary Committee set up on May 2, 2025, to probe allegations of anti-party conduct. In a statement signed by the National Secretary, Umar Farouk Ibrahim, on Wednesday, the party said the suspension takes immediate effect and bars the affected members from participating in any Labour Party activities.…

THE trial of the embattled leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, resumed on Friday before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, with the cross-examination of principal witness, who said he did not find any instrument of terrorism on Kanu. The court had granted the request of the Federal Government for witnesses to testify behind the screens. While the prosecution counsel is Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), a former Attorney General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi, led the defence team. An operative of the Department of State Services, known simply as AAA, appeared as PW1. When…

THE National Judicial Council (NJC) has directed the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma, to reverse the appointment of the Acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Theophilus Nnamdi Nzeukwu, and appoint the most senior judge as the Acting Chief Judge of the state. The NJC, under the leadership of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, also directed that Justice Nzeukwu should be issued a query to show cause within seven days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for presenting himself to be sworn in as the CJ. Justice Nzeukwu was sworn in by Governor…