Author: Eileen Peters

AKWA Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has cautioned his political aides against misrepresenting their welfare packages, declaring that none of his Personal Assistants (PAs) earns less than ₦1 million monthly. News Point Nigeria reports that the Governor made the disclosure during a Town Square Meeting with the people of Ikono and Ini Federal Constituency at Ibiaku Ntok Okpo on Friday, where he elevated one of his aides, Blessed Essien, from PA on Protocol to Special Assistant on Public Works, in recognition of Essien’s selfless service to his community. Addressing the gathering, Governor Eno expressed displeasure over aides who downplay…

GOVERNOR Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has intensified his administration’s crackdown on cultism by sealing more properties linked to suspected cult leaders across the state. News Point Nigeria reports that the action, carried out under the ongoing security initiative tagged “Operation Flush Out Cultists and Kidnappers”, was executed on Thursday in collaboration with security agencies and coordinated by Idemudia Noah, head of the special task force. During the operation in Egbaen community, Egor Local Government Area, the team stormed a building where they discovered a white casket and several fetish items allegedly used for initiation rituals. The building, believed to…

THE Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, on Saturday said that Nigeria has recorded zero cases of piracy on its waterways in the last five years. Ogalla disclosed this while fielding questions from newsmen on the sidelines of the passing-out parade of the 2025 set of young sailors held at the Nigerian Navy School, Ikot Ntuen, Akwa Ibom State. The Chief of Naval Staff, who spoke through the Chief of Administration, Nigerian Navy School, Rear Admiral Gabriel Aligwe, said several kinds of operations in the waterways had made the Nigerian waterways very safe. ”Even though this occasion might…

A NIGERIAN domestic carrier Ibom Air has placed a travel restriction on Comfort Emmanson, for assaulting members of the airline’s Uyo–Lagos flight crew at the Lagos airport on Sunday. The airline, in a statement on Monday said the unruly passenger won’t be permitted to fly on any of its aircraft from now on. “The passenger was removed from the ramp and taken into custody by FAAN security and handed over to the Nigeria Police Force for further investigation,” Ibom Air said. Viral videos showed Emmanson lashing slaps on one of the airline’s flight attendant, even as security officials tried to…

IN a breakthrough against organized crime, the Rivers State Police Command has dismantled a sophisticated interstate car theft syndicate, arresting 12 suspects and recovering 22 stolen vehicles. The syndicate, which operated across at least eight states in Nigeria, was uncovered following the September 2024 carjacking of a Toyota Hiace bus at Trailer Park, Onne. The case was reported by the vehicle owner, Enoch Daniel, and triggered a months-long, intelligence-driven operation led by the Command’s C4i Strikeforce/Octopus team. The initial arrests of John Amadi (40) and Nna Goodluck (45), both ex-convicts from Rivers State, revealed critical information. The pair confessed to…

THE Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC), the umbrella body of all registered political parties in the country, has categorically rejected the proposed Local Government Area (LGA) and Councillorship elections scheduled to hold in Rivers State on August 30, 2025. In a formal letter addressed to the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), IPAC described the planned elections as “illegal, unconstitutional, and a direct affront to Nigeria’s constitutional democracy,” citing the subsisting state of emergency declared by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on March 18, 2025. According to the letter jointly signed by IPAC National Chairman, Dr. Yusuf…

A POLICE officer with the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Unit in Akwa Ibom State has been commended for rejecting a bribe of ₦800,000 offered in an attempt to derail a criminal investigation and secure the release of a robbery suspect. According to a press release issued on Friday made available to News Point Nigeria by the Akwa Ibom State Police Command, the officer, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Ebong Thompson, turned down the cash inducement brought to him on Wednesday, July 30, by one Emmanuel Mendie Peter, who was trying to secure the release of an alleged armed robber.…

EDO State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has suspended his Special Adviser on Oil and Gas, Felix Isere, for alleged unauthorised fundraising over an upcoming Oil and Gas summit in Edo. Following this development, Senator Okpebholo also directed that the oil and gas summit, earlier scheduled to kick off on August 7, be put on hold. The suspension was announced in a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Umar Ikhilor, on Tuesday. “In view of the foregoing, the proposed summit is hereby suspended, and Felix Isere has been ordered to refund all monies collected to the various donors.”…

THE Delta State Police Command has arrested a 27-year-old woman, Merit Alice, for orchestrating her own abduction in a desperate bid to cover up N3.6 million she spent on her bridal shower and wedding-related expenses. Alice, who confessed to the crime during interrogation, admitted to colluding with two accomplices to stage the fake kidnapping after her brother, whose name was withheld began pressuring her to account for the money he gave her to help him purchase a tricycle (Keke Napep). According to the spokesperson for the Delta State Police Command, SP Bright Edafe, the incident occurred on July 20, 2025,…

FORMER Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has said that coalition leaders will throw their weight behind whoever emerges as the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general elections. Amaechi, a two-term governor of Rivers State, stated this in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Wednesday. Briefing journalists, he explained that the opposition leaders were optimistic that the process leading to the emergence of the party’s flagbearer would be transparent, free, and fair. “The moment anybody emerges from the primary, all of us will support; that’s the agreement,” Amaechi said. “We insist on a free…

JUDITH Amaechi, the wife of former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, has described as absurd and baseless the claim by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, that she got ₦4bn monthly from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for women empowerment and training. Judith also faulted Wike’s claim that she has been indicted in a corruption probe involving the NDDC. She added that the allegation levelled against her by Wike was a “subtle blackmail to score cheap political goals”. Nyesom Wike and Rotimi Amaechi shared a similar political history as former governors of oil-rich Rivers State in…

A HUMAN rights lawyer, Funmi Adedoyin, has raised serious concerns over the prolonged trial and continued detention of 15 former domestic staff of Nigeria’s former First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, who have now spent over six years in custody without conclusion of their case. The defendants, who have been remanded at the Okaka Custodial Centre in Bayelsa State since 2019, are facing multiple charges including theft, armed robbery, burglary, conspiracy to murder, and unlawful possession of items allegedly stolen from the former First Lady’s residence. The charges include the theft of: Seven gold bangles and other pieces of jewellery, five…

EDO State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has issued a blunt warning to Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, stating that his security cannot be guaranteed if he visits the state without prior notice to the government. Speaking in Uromi, headquarters of Esan North-East Local Government Area, during a political reception for Hon. Marcus Onobun, who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor Okpebholo made it clear that he would no longer tolerate unsanctioned visits by opposition figures. “The man we say he no get shi shi, I am sending a…

IN what can be described as a case of justice delayed but not denied, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, on Thursday, flagged off the state’s jail delivery exercise with the release of 21 inmates from the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre among them, a man who had spent 18 years behind bars without trial. The freed inmate, Gospel Nwibari, was reportedly arrested in 2007 at the age of 14 and had remained in detention ever since, with no formal trial or access to legal representation. His story stood out during the launch of the exercise, which was…

TROOPS of the 6 Division, Nigerian Army, have dismantled multiple illegal refining sites and arrested 50 suspected oil thieves in the Niger Delta Region, with a major focus on Rivers State. The operations, carried out between June 30 and July 13, 2025, also led to the confiscation of over 25,000 litres of stolen petroleum products and the discovery of numerous illegal connection points designed to compromise pipelines. This was disclosed in a statement on Monday by the Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Lieutenant Colonel Danjuma Jonah. In Rivers State, troops sustained the clampdown on attempts…

AN Air Peace aircraft veered off the runway at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Rivers State, on Sunday after landing. Air Peace spokesman, Osifo-Whiskey Efe, confirmed this in a statement on Sunday but said all passengers disembarked safely. “Air Peace confirms that its Flight P47190, operating from Lagos to Port Harcourt this morning, had a runway excursion after landing safely at the Port Harcourt International Airport,” the statement read. “The aircraft veered slightly off the runway without any damage. All passengers disembarked safely and calmly, and no injuries were reported.” The airline reassured the public of its “unflinching commitment to…

FRESH from his legal victory at the Supreme Court, Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on Friday announced plans to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the administration of his predecessor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, alleging widespread misuse of public funds and over-reliance on costly consultants. Okpebholo made the announcement while addressing a jubilant crowd at the Government House in Benin City, where a victory parade was held in his honour. The celebration marked his return to the state following the Supreme Court’s judgment that upheld his victory in the September 21, 2024, governorship election. Accompanied by his deputy, Rt.…

THE Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor of Edo State, upholding the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abuja. A five-man panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba Lawal held that the appellants – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate in the September 2024 election, Asue Ighodalo –  could not establish their claims of election non-compliance, unlawful votes, and that Okpebholo was not duly elected. The appeal was dismissed for lacking merit. Thursday’s verdict came about 11 months after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared…

TRAGEDY struck at the Choba axis of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, over the weekend as a pregnant 300-level student of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT), identified as Cynthia Chukwundah, allegedly burnt her boyfriend, a 32-years-old Sunny Amadi, to death. Though the actual circumstances that led to the Cynthia’s action is uncertain, but some people in the neighborhood told this newspaper that it could be as a result of minor argument between the two lovers. It was gathered that the deceased is the father of the child Cynthia is carrying. Residents told Cynthia who had fled the scene immediately after…

THE Rivers State Police Command has declared two senior officials of the Ahoada-East Local Government Area wanted for their alleged involvement in the violent assault on the Administrator of the council, Goodluck Iheanachor. The suspects — Hector Ekeakita, who serves as Chief Security Officer, and Aloni Olodi, the Chief of Staff — are accused of criminal conspiracy, stealing, assault occasioning harm, and attempted murder. According to a statement released by the spokesperson of the Rivers Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, the incident occurred on June 20, 2025, at the council’s secretariat, where the administrator was reportedly beaten by a gang of…