Author: Eileen Peters

SUSPECTED gunmen have kidnapped Loveday Akari, a Senior Special Assistant to the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), in Ayakoro Community, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The abduction, which occurred on March 7, 2025, Zagazola Makama, security analyst. According to reports, the assailants fled the scene in a boat, which was later found abandoned not far from the site of the incident. In response, security agencies have launched a coordinated operation to track down the kidnappers and ensure Akari’s safe return. Strategic checkpoints have been set up to restrict the movement of the perpetrators, while…

THE Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, has scheduled 9 August 2025 for fresh Local Government Council Elections in the state. RSIEC chairman, retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli, announced the date during a stakeholders’ meeting and the official unveiling of the 2025 Local Government Elections timetable and guidelines at the commission’s headquarters on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, on Wednesday. Addressing stakeholders, Justice Enebeli reaffirmed RSIEC’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, and impartial election, urging political parties to adhere to the rules. On Sunday, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, assured the people of the oil-rich state that his administration will…

THE Rivers State Government says it is yet to receive the resolutions of the State House of Assembly regarding the Supreme Court’s judgment delivered on February 28, 2025. On Monday, the Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led assembly had during its sitting issued Governor Siminalayi Fubara a 48-hour ultimatum to present the 2025 budget of the State before it. In a letter addressed to the Speaker of the House and signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Tammy Danagogo, the government clarified that as of close of work on March 4, neither the governor’s office, the deputy Governor, nor the…

THE Rivers State House of Assembly has given Governor Siminalayi Fubara 48 hours to present the 2025 budget to the lawmakers. They made this known during plenary in Port Harcourt on Monday with the motion moved by the deputy speaker Dumle Maol. “That pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court in Suit no.: SC/CV/1174/2024 for the stoppage of Statutory Federal allocations to the Rivers State Government and halting of spending from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Rivers State pending the passage of an Appropriation Bill, you are requested to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the House in line…

RIVERS State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has assured the people of the oil-rich state that his administration will implement the Supreme Court’s verdict after carefully reviewing its Certified True Copy (CTC). This followed the Friday judgment of the apex court, which declared the LG election conducted in the state on October 5, 2024, as invalid. In a state broadcast on Sunday, Fubara revealed that he has met with his legal team, who expect to obtain the CTC by Friday, March 7, 2025. He emphasised that his government is committed to upholding constitutional principles and will act in accordance with the law.…

THE local government election conducted on the 5th of October 2024 by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission has been declared invalid by the Supreme Court. In a judgment delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, the court declared the election invalid for grossly violating the Electoral Act. Reading the judgement, Justice Tukur said the action of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission is declared void for lack of substantial compliance to the Electoral Act and guidelines as the electoral body continued voter registration even after announcing an election date. The court held that processes leading to the conduct of a local…

SEVEN persons have been killed and six others injured in a communal clash in Edo State. The Edo State Police Command disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. According to the Command’s spokesman, Moses Yamu, police received a distress call on February 21 of an ongoing clash between Gbelemonti and Maidoti Communities of Ovia North-East Local Government Area of the state. He said upon receipt of the information, operatives of the Iguobazuwa Police Division, in collaboration with the Nigerian Army and the Vigilantes, were promptly deployed to the area. “The team evacuated some casualties to the hospital where seven (7)…

TWO flow stations reportedly belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL), located around the Cawthorne Channel area on Western Bonny Local Government Area in Rivers State, went up in flames on Wednesday. This newspaper gathered that an unknown number of crew members working on the flow stations before the explosion occurred were yet to be seen. The cause of the inferno is suspected to be failure to adhere to safety protocols and global best practices in managing oil and gas facilities lately in the Niger Delta region. This is coming a few weeks after a fire outbreak was…

THE Edo State House of Assembly has passed a bill amending the Kidnapping Prohibition Amendment Law of 2013 and addressing related matters during its second reading. The bill prescribes the death penalty for kidnappers and mandates the confiscation and demolition of properties used in the commission of kidnapping. It was approved following the review by the Committee of the Whole. The Majority Leader, Hon. Charity Aiguobarueghian, emphasised the necessity of the bill, noting that kidnapping has escalated into a significant issue. He urged his colleagues to support the passage of the executive bill, describing kidnapping as a heinous act that…

THE leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Edwin Clark, is dead. Clark, 97, died on Monday. The death of the former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South leader’s death was confirmed in a statement by a representative of the family, Prof. C. C. Clark, on Tuesday. According to a statement, Clark died on Monday night. It reads: “The Clark-Fuludu Bekederemo family of Kiagbodo Town, Delta State, wishes to announce the passing of Chief (Dr.) Sen. Edwin Kiagbodo Clark OFR, CON on Monday 17th February , 2025.’’ “Born in Kiagbodo, in the Ijaw area of what is now Delta…

NIGERIA’s former Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Ambassador Nne Furo Kurubo, has passed away at the age of 84. The announcement of her passing was made known to the public in a press statement. The distinguished diplomat and public servant breathed her last on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, in Lagos, according to the statement from her family. The late ambassador hailed from the esteemed families of Late Brigadier General George T. Kurubo of the Grand Bonny Kingdom in Rivers State and Late Eze Sir Daniel Okereke of Okpala, Ngor Okpala Autonomous Community in Imo State. Her passing has been met…

A 13-YEAR-OLD male pupil of St. Paul Primary School, Ikot Ibiok in the Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State has been arrested by the state police command for threatening fellow pupils with a locally made pistol in the school. Parading the suspect with his father, among other criminal suspects at the State Police headquarters, Ikot Akpan-Abia, Uyo, the Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, said the suspect was arrested following a distress call by the school authority, as he was seen threatening other pupils with it. She said the police arrested the suspect and his father and recovered…

EDO State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has suspended the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Samson Osagie. The Secretary to the State Government, Musa Ikhilor, announced the suspension in a statement on Thursday. He said the governor also approved the suspension of the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, Damian Lawani. The two top officials were suspended over allegations of “grave official and financial interactions,” the SSG noted. The suspension, which takes immediate effect, is pending the conclusion of an investigation into the allegations. “It is hereby announced for the information of the general public that Governor Monday Okpebholo has…

RIVERS-BASED politician Dakuku Peterside on Wednesday publicly declared his political tribe in the oil-rich South-South state, saying he does not belong to the camp of the former governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. Instead, Peterside, a former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said he aligns with Wike’s predecessor and estranged former godfather Rotimi Amaechi. “I am a friend to Rotimi Amaechi,” the former All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship hopeful said on Channels Television’s Politics Today programme on Wednesday monitored by News Point Nigeria. “I am not on the…

SUPPORTERS of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, believed to be loyalists of the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, and the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, late yesterday clashed at the Secretariat of the party in Port Harcourt. The development resulted in shootings around the PDP Secretariat on Port Harcourt-Aba Expressway, Friday. While some people believed that the gunshots were fired by security operatives, who have been keeping watch over the facility after the sacking of the Aaron Chukwuemeka’s executives of the party by the court, others said political thugs were behind the shooting. It was…

AS part of ongoing efforts to solidify strategic partnerships in the fight against crime, the Commissioner of Police, Akwa Ibom State Command, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, fsi, Thursday paid a courtesy visit to the President-General of the Akwa Ibom Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers and the Palace of His Eminence, Oku Ibom Ibibio, Ntenyin Dr. Solomon Etuk, JP, CFR. During the visit, CP Azare emphasized the critical role of traditional institutions in maintaining peace and security across communities. He appreciated His Eminence for the warm reception and reiterated the steadfast commitment of the Command to working closely with the traditional…

THE Akwa Ibom State Police Command, under the distinguished leadership of Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, fsi, on Friday, 24th January 2025, played host to the Director of the Center for Human Rights and Accountability Network (CHRAN), Otuekong Franklyn Isong, and his team at the Command Headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia. In his remarks, Otuekong Franklyn Isong commended CP Azare for his gallant leadership, which he accentuated, has been instrumental in maintaining peace, security, and the rule of law in Akwa Ibom State. He described the Commissioner as a professional par excellence whose proactive measures have further enhanced public…

AKWA Ibom State Police Command has successfully apprehended two suspects, Moses Godwill Ndiong and Abraham Udo, in connection with a recent burglary incident. According to a statement by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, on January 20, 2025, at approximately 0400 hours. The Operatives of the Command received credible information from a concerned citizen regarding a burglary at the residence of a man (name withheld) in Okpokpong, Eket LGA. Upon receiving this information, the Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare fsi, immediately dispatched a team to the scene. Upon interrogation, both suspects confessed to their involvement in…

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has said that the fire incident at its Buguma Wellhead 008, operated by its subsidiary, NNPC Eighteen Operating Ltd (NEOL), was directly caused by the activities of pipeline vandals attempting to compromise the Christmas Tree and steal crude oil. A statement by the firm’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye on Tuesday, described the incident as an “unfortunate act of sabotage”. Soneye said the sabotage had resulted in severe damage to the well’s back pressure valve, reflecting a disturbing pattern of repeated attacks on wellheads in the zone. The statement said, “Since March 2023, crude…

MISS Abasifreke Joseph, a Corps Member, kidnapped on Jan 9, along Enugu-Ezike Road, on her way to Kogi, says she faced torture and hunger in the hands of her captors. Joseph who was released on Jan 13, gave the narration in Abak on Sunday, when Mr Sam Pepple, the NYSC Coordinator in Akwa Ibom visited her. She said: ” I spent five days and five nights at the kidnappers’ den without water and food. The corps member said that she and other hostages were beaten, left without food and dispossessed of their mobile phones and other valuables “I was posted…