Author: Eileen Peters

THE Ogun State Police Command has confirmed the abduction of a senior nursing officer at the Babcock University Teaching Hospital, Ilishan Remo, Ikenne Local government area in Ogun State, Elizabeth Uruakpa by suspected kidnappers. The police public relations officer Omolola Odutola confirmed the incident during a chat with News Point Nigeria correspondent in Abeokuta the state capital. ”A distress call was received from Ilishan near the new market at about 1710hrs that one Elizabeth Uruakpa was abducted by young armed men who blocked her Honda CRV with their unregistered Red Toyota Camry, and zoomed off with her,” she said. She…

TWO American tourists, Liza Gatsby, and Peter Jenkins, have recounted what led them to spend over 36 years in Nigeria instead of the 10-day transit visas that were approved for them in 1988. The two tourists made the revelation in an interview with a content creator, David Nkwa, monitored by our correspondent on Wednesday. According to them, they never planned to stay in Nigeria beyond their approved days of visitation until they saw the need to save drill monkeys in the country because they were impressed by the dominance of interesting opportunities in areas of Science and Wildlife Conservation, the…

RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has advised police officers in the state against abandoning their professional responsibilities to take advantage of the political crisis in the state to pursue vested political interests The governor urged them to know that the enmity they fuel and eventually create will hurt them in the long run. He gave the advise at the inauguration and official handover of 100 operational vehicles acquired by his administration to the Rivers State Police Command at the Sharks Football Stadium in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. He maintained that police officers are engaged and trained as professionals to protect…

AT least 10 maritime travellers are feared to have been abducted by sea pirates along the Bonny – Port Harcourt waterway. Though details are still sketchy, Channels Television gathered that the incident which occurred in the early hours of Monday morning is believed to involve 10 persons travelling between Bonny and Port Harcourt. Confirming the incident via telephone, the district Chairman, MARITIME Workers Union of Nigeria Rivers State district, Israel Pepple said “It’s not a rumour, it is real. “10 persons have been kidnapped this morning coming from Bonny to Port Harcourt. We’ve reported to the security agencies”. When contacted,…

THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has vowed to cause political crisis in the state of any governor who tries to interfere in the affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State. Wike said this at the PDP secretariat in Port Harcourt on Saturday during the party’s state congress. “Let me assure all of you, not while we live will anybody take away the structure of PDP from us. But let me tell people, I hear some governors who say they will take over the structure and give back to somebody, I pity those governors…

THE Akwa Ibom State Police Command on Wednesday neutralised a dreaded Kidnap Kingpin/ Sea Pirate whose stock in trade was to kidnap, kill, maim and cause havoc in the state. The Kingpin, Ubong Archibong alias condiment, a gang leader of the bling marine strike force terrorising Uruan/Oron Water Ways, was responsible for the kidnapping of a High Court Judge, Joy Unwana and the killing of her Police orderly Inspector, ThankGod Edet, the gruesome murder of the CEO Emem and Sons Nig. Ltd, and the kidnapping of his sales rep. The suspect was also responsible for the kidnap of Pharmacist Joemel…

WAHEED Ayilara, Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State, is dead. This newspaper reports that, Ayilara, who took over the State Command of Nigeria Police Force in February, died while undergoing surgery at a popular hospital in Lagos State. “We are very sad to inform you that our friend, brother and family, the Commissioner of Police for Akwa Ibom State, Waheed Ayilara is dead,” the newspaper quoted a family member to have said. The deceased was said to have had prostate cancer surgery on Wednesday before he died hours later. Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, was…

NO fewer than 72 illegal crude oil refining sites were uncovered in the past week, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited disclosed in a video report. The 72 illegal refineries were reportedly discovered and destroyed in Rivers, Delta and Abia states. On August 18, a vessel was said to have been arrested by men of Operation Delta Safe with 12 suspects on board in the Southern Ijaw area of Bayelsa State. “The tugboat was caught loaded with stolen Shell Petroleum Development Company flow lines, which shows that not only did the thieves break the pipelines in order to connect their…

THE current Mpox outbreak in Nigeria has spread to 30 local government areas in 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with 40 confirmed cases so far. A report from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) also showed that there are so far a total of 802 suspected cases in 33 states of the Federation. This situation report was released a few days before the United States government donated 10,000 doses of Mpox vaccines to Nigeria. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Africa Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ACDC) had declared Mpox a Public…

THE Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has overturned the judgement of a Federal High Court which ordered the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to allow the participation of 381 ad-hoc delegates in its February 22 primary election in Edo State. The primary election produced Asue Ighodalo as the candidate of the party in the September 21, 2024 governorship election in the state. A three-man panel of the appellate court set aside the judgement of Justice Inyang Ekwo delivered on the 4th of July, 2024, on the grounds that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit of the aggrieved…

THE Supreme Court has affirmed the re-election of Senator Duoye Diri as the Governor of Bayelsa State after dismissing the appeal of Timipre Sylva, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the November 11, 2023 off-cycle election. A five-member panel of the Apex Court headed by Justice Lawal Garba, on Friday affirmed the Court of Appeal decision of July 15 which deemed Sylva’s appeal as an abuse of Court process for filing two notices of appeal. Citing a section of the 1999 Constitution, the Apex Court panel held that the APC Governorship candidate has only one right to appeal…

THE Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has congratulated Edo Queens for securing a place in the finals of the CAF Champions League WAFU Group B Qualifier, after defeating Inter FC 2-1 in their semi-final match. The final match will determine who will represent the zone at this year’s CAF Women’s Champions League Finals in November. Edo Queens, who are the Nigerian Women’s Premier League (NWPL) champions, are participating in the fourth edition of the CAF Women’s Champions League WAFU-B Inter–Clubs play-off. “I congratulate Edo Queens for their victory today in Ivory Coast against FC Inter. Our girls dominated the game…

THE Energy Consortium – IIT Madras at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras was delighted to host Daere A.  Akobo and a leadership delegation with representatives from PANA Holdings , PE Energy Ltd , AKD Digital Solutions, as well as our Dr. Arunkumar Ranganathan and team on behalf of our founding member, Infosys. Our discussions covered the impactful work being conducted by the Energy Consortium in active collaboration with its founding member companies and government partners in accelerating net zero, as well as the recent formation of a Chapter to be based out of our IIT Madras Zanzibar Campus. We share…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission, on Tuesday, said 2,629,025 voters will take part in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State. INEC’s Supervising National Commissioner for Edo, Delta and Cross River States, Prof. Rhoda Gumus, stated this at the commission’s office in Benin at the presentation of voter registers to the chairmen and representatives of the 16 participating political parties. Gumus said: “In line with the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC must present the voter registers to the chairmen of the political parties, not later than 30 days to the election. We are trying to obey the law, and carrying…

THE police authorities in Rivers State have released details and networks of the suspect arrested in a recently bombing attempt in Port Harcourt. On June 25, a substance believed to be dynamite went off near the Presidential Hotel axis of the Aba expressway causing panic in the area. Two months later, the State Police Command said the suspect was a member of a cult group – Vikings Confraternity. Disclosing this in a statement on Sunday, the Police Public Relations Officer, Grace Iringe-Koko, said the suspected bomber underwent three major surgeries and has made a significant recovery. She said the suspect…

DIRECTOR General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Yushau Ahmed, has said that one of the “graduates” fraudulently mobilised for the scheme by University of Calabar, Cross Rivers State, is a bread seller who did not attend the institution. This is coming on the back of 101 certificates that were recently voided by the scheme, making it 178. The NYSC Director General, Brigadier General YD Ahmed disclosed this on Saturday in Abuja. He also said they would face legal prosecution. According to him, another 19 among them who initially registered online for mobilisation have been prevented from service, while…

THE Coalition of Rivers State Leaders has called on President Bola Tinubu, to wade into the never-ending political brawl between the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The coalition said the president’s intervention was necessary to protect the state. They accused the federal government of neglecting the situation, which they said was escalating tensions in the state. Also, they warned that the continued standoff could lead to severe conflict if not addressed. Led by Chief Sunnie Chukumele, the group condemned what they termed “the ongoing efforts by Wike’s allies to destabilise the government,” including…

NATIONAL oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, said it has uncovered and confiscated products from 63 illegal refineries in the past week. A documentary by the company on Wednesday, said in the past week, 19 illegal pipeline connections and 63 illegal refineries were uncovered in the Niger Delta. The company announced the development amidst fresh concerns over the delay in the commencement of operations by the Port Harcourt Refinery as earlier announced. The Port Harcourt Refining Company, a refinery under the management of the company in Rivers State, had again failed to commence operations after about six postponements.…

SOME parts of Rivers and Bayelsa states will experience months of blackout after vandals destroyed thirteen Transmission Company of Nigeria’s towers along the Ahoada-Yenagoa 132kV Double Circuits. Ndidi Mbah, General Manager of Public Affairs, TCN, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday. The TCN urged the governments of Rivers and Bayelsa states to assist it in addressing the ongoing vandalism of its installations, which has become increasingly alarming and overwhelming. This comes after vandals had earlier destroyed the same Ahoada-Yenagoa transmission line. “Additionally, a new contract was recently awarded for the reinforcement of towers 19-31 on the Ahoada-Yenagoa line, where…

SUSPECTED fraudsters have hacked the WhatsApp number of Umo Eno, the governor of Akwa Ibom state, leaking some of his classified correspondence to his contacts and asking other contacts for money. Eno, a pastor who founded the All Nations Christian Ministry International, was elected last year. News Point Nigeria reports that many of Eno’s phone contacts received messages from his WhatsApp number on Tuesday asking them to transfer a specified amount of money to an account and promising reimbursement later and others got screenshots of classified corrspondences. The governor’s chief press secretary, Ekerete Udoh released a statement confirming that the…