Author: Farouk Abbas

UNITED Airlines has said it is working with aviation authorities in Nigeria and the United States to ascertain the cause of its recent incident. Recalled that on Thursday, a United Airlines flight from Lagos, Nigeria to Washington D.C. returned to Lagos after a technical issue and an unexpected aircraft movement. The aircraft landed in Lagos and four passengers and two flight attendants were seen at a hospital for minor injuries and have been released. In a statement by the airline, it said, “We are working with aviation authorities in the U.S. and Nigeria to understand the cause.” The Boeing 787-8…

SUBSCRIBER groups have issued an ultimatum to the Nigerian Communications Commission, demanding the reversal of the 50 per cent tariff hike to 10 per cent by Wednesday, January 29, 2025. The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers and the Association of Telephone, Cable TV, and Internet Subscribers of Nigeria have also criticised the Nigerian Labour Congress for its planned protest, urging the union to focus on its core mandate of protecting workers’ welfare. While both advocacy groups recognise the financial burden posed by the tariff hike, particularly given the prevailing economic difficulties in the country, they oppose the NLC’s proposed protest…

THE Senate has alleged that some retired military generals might be responsible for illegal mining activities across Nigeria, which continue to undermine the country’s efforts to diversify its economy. The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Interior, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, made this allegation during the budget presentation by Senator Sampson Ekong, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development, to the Senate Committee on Appropriation. Oshiomhole expressed frustration over the Federal Government’s inaction, urging President Bola Tinubu’s administration to address the illegal mining crisis decisively. He compared the situation to the government’s robust measures against illegal oil bunkering in…

A UNITED Airlines flight, a Boeing 787-8 outbound from Lagos to Washington Dulles, on Thursday, declared an emergency mid-air, forcing the captain to make a compulsory return to Lagos. Having established a return track to Lagos, this newspaper gathered that the aircraft crew maintained the emergency transponder code 7700 (Emergency signal) with the control tower till it landed. The aircraft, initially bound for Washington Dulles International Airport with registered N27903, is an over 13-year-old widebody aircraft belonging to the US carrier United Airlines. It had 245 passengers, eighty flight attendants, and three pilots on board. Many of those on board…

A FEDERAL High Court (FHC) in Abuja yesterday gave an order proscribing the Lakurawa sect and other similar groups in any part of Nigeria, especially in the Northwest and Northcentral. In a ruling on the ex-parte originating summons filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the FHC Judge, Justice James Omotosho, also declared the group as a terror organisation. The judge declared: “It is hereby ordered as follows: •That an order is hereby made declaring the activities of the Lakurawa Sect and other similar groups in any part of Nigeria, especially…

A HIGH Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama heard on Thursday that the immediate past Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika approved the award of contracts to a company – Al Buraq Global Investment Limited – in which his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika and son-in-law, Jalal Sule Hamma have interests. News Point Nigeria reports that a former Director, Procurement at Ministry of Aviation, Musa Odiniyan said this while testifying on Thursday as the fifth prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of Sirika, Fatima, Jalal and Al Buraq Global on a six-count charge bordering on corrupt practices. In the…

THE House Committee on Public Accounts is beaming its searchlight on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Shell Petroleum over alleged money laundering, fraudulent deductions, and other financial crimes by their staffs. The committee, chaired by Mr Mike Etaba, dropped the hint during the hearing of a petition by Maiden Systems Ltd against Sterling Bank, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Shell Petroleum in Abuja. The lawmaker, who received the police report on the issue Wednesday, assured that justice would be duly served to all the parties concerned in the matter. Presenting the report before the committee, the representatives…

A BUREAU de Change (BDC) operator says it received over ₦22 billion from the Federal Ministry of Power, implicating the ministry in an alleged ₦33.8 billion fraud. This came to the fore during the trial of Saleh Mamman, former Minister of Power, at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The trial, presided over by James Omotosho (Justice) resumed on Wednesday, with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) presenting its eighth witness, Abdullahi Suleman, a BDC operator. The revelations were contained in a statement signed by Dele Odewale, Head of Media and Publicity at the EFCC. According to the statement,…

KADUNA State Governor, Uba Sani, has reinstated Jonathan Paragua Zamuna, the dethroned paramount chief of Piriga Chiefdom in Lere Local Government Area, in compliance with court orders. This newspaper reports that the National Industrial Court in Kaduna nullified Chief Zamuna’s removal and deposition on 14 June 2024. Speaking to a gathering of traditional rulers on Thursday, 5 July 2024, Governor Sani affirmed his commitment to implementing the court’s judgment, which set aside the dethronement. Sani’s predecessor, Nasir El-Rufai, had dethroned the monarch on 22 May 2023, just days before the end of his tenure. During the reinstatement ceremony at the…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has revealed that the efforts of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) have led to the prosecution and conviction of over 100 terrorist financiers in the last two years. Tinubu made this revelation yesterday in Abuja at the National Anti-Money Laundering, Combating Terrorism Financing and Counter-Proliferation Financing (AML/CFT/CPF) Compliance Summit, organised by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU). Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, Tinubu noted that through the AML/CFT strategy, the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and the National Drug Control Master…

MEMBERS of the Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Regional Development on Tuesday questioned the Minister of Regional Development, Abubakar Momoh, over alleged lopsidedness in the Ministry’s 2024 budget. The queries were raised when the Minister, accompanied by the Minister of State, Uba Maigari, appeared before the committee to defend the 2024 budget performance and present the 2025 proposal. Lawmakers pointed out that the Ministry’s budget disproportionately favored Edo State, with 70% of the 2024 projects allocated to the state, to the detriment of other states meant to benefit from its projects. The committee also criticized the Ministry’s…

THE Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Olatunji Disu, has lost his son, Tunde, in a motor accident. Details of the incident are sketchy as of the time of this report, but DailyTrust gathered that it happened on Monday, the same day Disu paid a condolence visit to CSP A.A. Sambo, Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ushafa Division, who also lost his son. During the visit, the CP conveyed heartfelt sympathies to CSP Sambo and his family, offering words of comfort and assurance of the Command’s unwavering support in this moment of grief. Speaking on behalf of the FCT…

THE Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said it will not allow an “unhealthy monopoly” in the oil and gas sector. It faulted the suit by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE (Dangote) seeking to void the import licenses issued by NMDPRA to some oil marketing companies. NMDPRA, in a counter-affidavit it filed against the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, justified its issuance of import licenses to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited. Praying the court to dismiss the…

THE Director-General, State Security Service, SSS, Adeola Ajayi, on Monday, said the service remains resolved to deploy geospatial intelligence solutions to address national security challenges. Mr Ajayi, represented by the Faculty Member, National Institute for Security Studies, Dr Patrick Eneji, said this at the training on Leadership Course in Data Mining and Geospatial Intelligence in Abuja. The course was organised by the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPSS, in collaboration with Peace Building Development Consult, PBDC, and hosted by the Defence Space Administration, DSA. Mr Ajayi said that the service under his leadership had maintained an operational growth…

THE National Bureau of Statistics has almost completed the process of Rebasing or Re – Benchmarking of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)and is set to launch the Report. GDP is the market value of all the goods and services produced within a country in a given period. According to a statement by the Director of Communication and Public Relations, NBS, Ichedi, Sunday Joel, made available to News Point Nigeria on Monday, GDP measures overall economic activity and signals the direction of economic growth. It is also a barometer for measuring the health of the economy.  Furthermore, GDP is an internationally…

JUSTICE Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja has adjourned a suit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE over a bid to stop issuance of oil import licenses to some oil marketing companies, to January 30th for hearing. The matter, which was scheduled for hearing, not proceed due to the delay by Dangote Refinery to serve its amended originating summons on the defendants. Dangote Refinery had sued NMDPRA and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) as 1st and 2nd defendants. Also joined as 3rd to 7th defendants respectively in the originating summons, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024 and dated Sept.…

THE Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike on Sunday night said debts owed by VIP property owners with regard to Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) is over N300 billion. Wike spoke at a media parley held at his official residence in Life Camp, Abuja. The minister also disclosed that his aggressive revenue drive has shot up the monthly earnings of FCT from about ₦9bn when he assumed office in August 2023 to an average of ₦25bn monthly. He said the nation’s capital generated over ₦40bn in December 2024. He attributed the growth in revenue to the collection of…

FORMER minister of petroleum resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has faulted the association of her name with the $52.88 million in respect of which Nigeria and the United States recently executed an Asset Return Agreement (ARA). Both Nigeria and the US had claimed the ARA signed in Abuja on January 10 by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) and the Ambassador of the United States, Richard M. Mills Jr. was for the repatriation of the approximately $52.88million arising from the forfeiture of the Galactica assets, linked to the former Petroleum Resources Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke and her associates. But,…

OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have reportedly thwarted attempt by 26-year-old Esther Onyinyechi Uzodinma, a 200-level student of nursing at the Noida International University, Uttar Pradesh, India, to swallow 76 wraps of cocaine hours before her return flight to the South Asian country through the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) Kano. Esther was scheduled to return to Delhi, India from MAKIA Kano on Qatar Airways flight 1432 on Friday 17th January 2025, but was arrested in her room at 11:30pm on Thursday 16th January at Royal Park Hotel Sabon Garin Kano, while awaiting the cocaine…

JUSTICE James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja has fixed January 31, 2025 for the trial of the former Acting Accountant General of the Federation, Anamekwe Nnabuoku for alleged multiple financial frauds to the tune of N1.96billion, a statement by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has said. Nnabuoku was on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, arraigned by the EFCC on an amended nine-count charge, bordering on criminal conspiracy, and money laundering after his co-defendant, Felix Nweke opted for a plea bargain. Prosecuting counsel, Martha Babatunde had during the proceedings, informed the court that the charges had been amended…