EIGHT officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were killed on Friday night when gunmen suspected to be kidnappers ambushed them in Okpella, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. News Point Nigeria reports that the attackers also abducted a Chinese expatriate working with BUA Cement Company. The incident, which occurred around 10:00pm near the company’s entrance gate, has thrown the community into shock and raised concerns over worsening insecurity in the state. According to eyewitness accounts, the NSCDC operatives were escorting five Chinese expatriates back to base after a routine patrol when heavily armed men…
Author: Eileen Peters
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A FRESH political row has erupted in Edo State as the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the administration of Governor Monday Okpebholo clash over allegations of reckless spending, foreign trips, and neglect of governance. In a statement issued on Thursday made available to News Point Nigeria, the PDP’s Publicity Secretary, Chris Nehikhare, accused Governor Okpebholo and his deputy, Dennis Idahosa, of abandoning their responsibilities for “endless foreign junkets” while insecurity and economic hardship bite harder across the state. The PDP further alleged that the government was planning to spend ₦4.2 billion on 28 luxury SUVs, each estimated at ₦150…
THE Akwa Ibom State Police Command has announced a sweeping crackdown on criminal activity across the state, resulting in 63 arrests, the recovery of 19 firearms, over 100 rounds of ammunition, and the rescue of 22 human trafficking victims, according to Commissioner of Police Baba Mohammed Azare, fsi. News Point Nigeria reports that speaking during a press briefing at the State Police Headquarters in Ikot Akpan Abia on Wednesday, CP Azare outlined the command’s achievements between August 1 and September 2, 2025, stressing that the successes were made possible by “the commitment, diligence, and professionalism of officers, as well as…
GOVERNOR of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has appointed Dr. Wisdom Ebiye Sawyer as Head of the Civil Service of the state. This was disclosed by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, in a statement on Tuesday. The appointment of Sawyer, a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, followed the retirement of Barrister Biobelemoye Charles-Onyema, on August 31, 2025. The new HoS joined the Bayelsa civil service on June 8, 1998 as a Medical Officer. He was born on May 14, 1970 in Odi community, Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area of the state, and began his education at Town School,…
HUGH O’Doherty, adjunct professor of leadership and conflict at Harvard Kennedy School and former faculty member at the University of Maryland, has praised Dakuku Peterside’s latest book, Leading in a Storm, calling it an indispensable resource for leaders facing times of uncertainty and upheaval. Describing the book as more than a typical leadership volume, O’Doherty highlights its practical nature and timely relevance. “This is not just another leadership book; it is a practical guide filled with applicable lessons for anyone striving to lead effectively amid uncertainty, volatility, and complexity. Leading in a Storm illuminates the critical skills we must develop to…
THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has won 20 local governments in the just-concluded council polls in Rivers State. Whiley, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claimed only two local governments in the oil-rich state. APC also won the councillorship election in 20 LGAs, while the PDP claimed only three councils. This is the first time the APC would gain dominance in Rivers since the return of democracy in 1999. Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Dr. Michael Odey, announced the winners of the LG polls on Sunday at the Commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt. No other political…
OVER 10 people involved in a road accident on the Benin–Auchi highway on Saturday have been rescued through the intervention of the Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo. The governor, who was en route to Irrua in the Esan Central Local Government Area of the state with his entourage, encountered a heavy gridlock after the bypass and immediately alighted to assess the situation. One of the accident victims on the Benin-Auchi highway in Edo State on Saturday, August 30, 2025, being assisted by some rescuers. On arrival at the accident scene, he met several victims in critical condition, many bleeding profusely,…
THE Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has cast his ballot in the Rivers local government elections. Wike, the immediate governor of the state, voted around 11: 15 am in Rumepirikom, Ward 9, Unit 007, Obio/Akpo Local Government Area of the State, where he served as chairman for two terms. He was a local government chairman in 1999 before he rose to become a governor, serving in that position from 2015 to 2023. ‘I Don’t See Democracy,’ Electoral College Director Faults Conduct Of Rivers LG Polls After casting his ballot, the minister hailed the conduct of the…
RESIDENTS across the 23 local government areas of Rivers State will on Saturday file out to vote in fresh local government elections scheduled to be conducted in 6,866 polling units across 319 wards. News Point Nigeria reports that the polls are coming exactly six months and two days after the Supreme Court nullified the October 5, 2024, election conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for breaching provisions of the Electoral Act. Rivers, which is home to some of Nigeria’s largest oil and gas assets, is often regarded as the economic hub of the South-South, making the outcome…
THE Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has dismissed an application for an interim injunction seeking to halt the conduct of the August 30, 2025 local government elections in the state. Delivering ruling on Thursday, the presiding judge, Justice Stephen Jumbo, held that the application for motion ex parte filed by Port Harcourt-based lawyer, Williams Abayomi-Stanley, lacked merit. The suit had listed President Bola Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), and its Chairman as defendants. Justice Jumbo, while refusing the prayer to restrain RSIEC from conducting the polls, however, granted…
SAFARI Books Limited has announced October 2025 as the release date for “Leading In A Storm”, a thought-provoking and deeply relevant new work by renowned author, public intellectual and turnaround management expert, Dr. Dakuku Peterside. A statement from the publishers made available to News Point Nigeria disclosed that the book is scheduled for international and Nigerian release, with high-profile public presentations slated for Lagos, Abuja, London and Chicago. In an age defined by volatility and uncertainty, Leading in a Storm offers a compelling guide to navigating crisis with clarity, calm and conviction. Dr. Peterside, drawing on decades of high-level experience…
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,…