Author: David Akonuche

A DRAMATIC chain of events unfolded on Thursday at the Federal High Court, Abuja, as the trial of the detained leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, took an unexpected turn forcing a temporary halt in proceedings and ultimately prompting the trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, to rule that judgment would be delivered in the defendant’s absence. News Point Nigeria reports that the courtroom, packed with journalists, lawyers, security operatives and television crews from NTA, Channels TV, AIT, TVC and other broadcast stations, had been set for the long-awaited judgment in Kanu’s terrorism trial, which was…

THE detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has asked the Court of Appeal, Abuja, to stay further proceedings in his trial by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja. News Point Nigeria reports that according to the court documents filed, Kanu is praying the appeal court to stop Justice Omotosho from delivering judgment on his case on November 20, 2025, as scheduled, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal against the high court’s decision in the case. Kanu premised his application on the grounds that, in spite of the jurisdictional questions raised…

GOVERNOR Chukwuma Soludo has secured a second term in office until 2030 after he was declared the winner of the November 8 Anambra State governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) According to the results announced by INEC in the early hours of Sunday, Soludo won by a landslide in the 21 local government areas of the South-East state. News Point Nigeria reports that the State Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of the University of Benin, Omoregie Edoba, declared Soludo as the winner of the exercise after the collation of results from the local government areas of the…

THE All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate and incumbent governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has taken a commanding early lead in the Anambra State governorship election held on Saturday, amid reports of vote-buying, security breaches, and logistical concerns across several local government areas. News Point Nigeria reports that as of 1am Sunday morning, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had uploaded 99.14 per cent of polling unit results on its INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal, covering most of the 5,718 polling units spread across 21 local government areas. INEC confirmed that 2,802,790 voters were registered for the poll…

INTERNATIONAL observers and civil society organisations have lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the transparent, efficient, and peaceful conduct of the ongoing Anambra State Governorship Election, describing it as very orderly and credible polls. News Point Nigeria gathered that reports from accredited observer groups, monitored in the INEC Situation Room by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr Dayo Oketola, indicated smooth operations, improved voter turnout compared to 2021, and a calm atmosphere across polling units. Both local and international monitors commended INEC’s logistical coordination and effective deployment of technology under the leadership of its Chairman,…

ALL is now set for the Anambra State Governorship Election scheduled for Saturday (today), with 2,802,790 registered voters expected to head to the polls across the 21 local government areas of the state. News Point Nigeria reports that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) confirmed that accreditation and voting would commence simultaneously at 8:30am and end at 2:30pm across 5,718 polling units, while movement restriction will be enforced statewide from 6am to 6pm The South-East state, considered Nigeria’s major commercial and industrial hub, is witnessing strong political interest as 16 candidates secured clearance from INEC to contest the strategic election.…

JUSTICE James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed judgment for November 20 in the terrorism trial of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. News Point Nigeria reports that Justice Omotosho chose the date on Friday while ruling after Kanu failed to open his defence having exhausted the six days allocated to him by the court to conduct his defence. The judge said Kanu, having failed to utilise the opportunity granted him to conduct his defence, he cannot claim to have been denied the constitutionally guaranteed rights to fair hearing. Earlier,…

A FEDERAL High Court in Abuja has granted the last opportunity to the detained self acclaimed leader of the proscribed separatist group, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu to either enter a defence in his ongoing terrorism trial or be foreclosed. News Point Nigeria reports that Justice James Omotosho said on Wednesday that it was his duty as a judge in the case to accord the defendant sufficient opportunity to put in his defence. “We had adjourned till today for the defendant to put in his defence or be deemed closed. But, I am bound to give him another…

TWO persons have been reportedly killed in an attack carried out by suspected gunmen at Oriuzor community in Ezza-North Local Government of Ebonyi State. The spokesman for the Ebonyi State Police Command, Joshua Ukandu, confirmed the incident to News Point Nigeria on Tuesday. Ukandu, a Superintendent of Police, said that the incident occurred on Saturday night, November, 1, 2025, adding that the police are on the trail of the suspected gunmen. He said a barber identified as Ifeanyi Ogele, was shot dead in his shop while Obumneme Nweke, a commercial tricycle operator, popularly known as Keke rider was killed not…

THE uncertainty surrounding alleged coup plots in Nigeria has intensified, as two individuals arrested during a military raid on the Abuja residence of former Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, remain in detention more than a week after the operation. News Point Nigeria reports that the detainees, identified as Paga Sylva, the former Bayelsa State governor’s younger brother and Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs and his personal driver, were taken into custody on Saturday, October 25, 2025, when operatives stormed the ex-minister’s home in the nation’s capital. Sylva, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and current…

THE Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), on Sunday, suspended operations along the Warri–Itakpe rail corridor after a passenger train derailed on Saturday evening barely five days after the resumption of services. News Point Nigeria reports that the incident occurred around 7:30 pm at Kilometre 212+8m, Agbor, Delta State, involving two out of the seven coaches on the route. NRC Managing Director, Kayode Opeifa, confirmed that all passengers were safely evacuated with no reported casualties or injuries. “We are pleased to confirm that all passengers on board were safely evacuated to Agbor, and everyone has been fully accounted for,” Opeifa said. Preliminary…

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigeria Police Force to launch a thorough investigation into Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, over what it describes as a clear case of vote buying ahead of this Saturday’s governorship election in the state. News Point Nigeria reports that the party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Bashiru, made the demand in an interview with journalists, accusing Governor Soludo, who is also the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate of offering financial inducements to voters under the guise of incentivizing electoral performance. Soludo had stirred…

THE entire Enugu State caucus in the House of Representatives has formally defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress. News Point Nigeria reports that the defection was announced on Thursday by the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, who read the lawmakers’ letters of resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party during plenary. The event was witnessed by the Governor of Enugu State, Peter Mbah. The defectors said they decided to dump their former political platforms due to what they described as unresolved internal crises threatening the stability of the opposition parties. After the 2023 general election,…

NIGERIA have qualified for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) following a 3-1 aggregate win over neighbours Benin Republic. News Point Nigeria Sports reports that the  Super Falcons drew 1-1 with the Amazons of the Benin Republic in the second leg of the qualifier played on Tuesday in Abeokuta, Ogun State. But a 0-2 victory in the reverse fixture in Lome, Togo, courtesy of goals from Esther Okoronkwo and Chinwendu Ihezuo, was enough to secure Nigeria’s ticket for the tournament with a 3-1 aggregate win. Defender Ashleigh Plumptre headed in from a brilliant Okoronkwo corner to give Nigeria…

THE leader of the proscribed separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, has shelved his earlier plan to call witnesses in his defence in his ongoing trial for alleged terrorism offences. The court had adjourned the case until October 27 for Kanu to open his defence on October 24. The IPOB leader had written the court, indicating his intention to call witnesses and applied for a witness summons. He also begged the court for time to study his case file. At the resumed hearing, Kanu said he has gone through the case file and has realised that there…

THE Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU) has petitioned the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice over what it described as the “targeted demolition of properties belonging to Igbo traders and investors in Lagos State.” News Point Nigeria reports that addressing journalists in Umuahia, National President of ASITU, Chief Emeka Diwe, said the demolitions amounted to “economic cleansing,” warning that Nigeria was “dying slowly from the cancer of ethnic discrimination and selective justice.” He said the move to seek international intervention became necessary after several attempts to…

THE Senator representing Delta North, Ned Nwoko, says peace has continued to elude the South-East geopolitical zone due to the perceived marginalisation of the region by successive governments. The South-East has witnessed persistent unrest in recent years, following agitations by the separatist group, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which has been calling for the creation of an independent state of Biafra. News Point Nigeria reports that Senator Nwoko, who is leading the campaign for the creation of Anioma State out of the present Delta State to serve as the sixth state in the South-East, said the government only needs…

THE Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared that the ongoing investigation into alleged corruption involving former Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa remains active, dismissing speculations that the ex-governor is being shielded following his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC). News Point Nigeria reports that the anti-graft agency emphasised that no politically exposed person or public figure enjoys immunity from investigation or prosecution on account of party affiliation. Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, made this clarification at a press briefing held in Abuja to commemorate his second anniversary in office. Daily Trust had earlier reported that Okowa…

THE detained leader of the outlawed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), made a dramatic turn on Tuesday by agreeing to enter his own defence. News Point Nigeria reports that this development comes hours after Omoyele Sowore, the African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections, led protests in parts of Abuja demanding Kanu’s release. The detained IPOB leader had last Thursday filed a motion of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to continue with his trial. He filed the objection the same day a team of medical experts enpanelled by the court to determine his…

THE Magistrate Court sitting in Kuje, Abuja, has remanded Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the brother of the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, who has been held in custody for about five years by the federal government. News Point Nigeria reports that also, Kanu’s lawyer, Aloy Ejimakor, was also remanded in prison custody by the court. They were both arrested during the #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest on Monday, October, 20. They were arraigned alongside 11 others before the court on Tuesday. The suspects were arraigned over allegations of breach of public peace by the police. The #FreeNnamdiKanuNow protest…