GUNMEN have abducted a catholic priest and six others along the Eke-Egede-Affa Road in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State. The Diocesan Chancellor and Secretary, Rev. Fr. Wilfred Chidi Agubuchie, said the priest, Fr. Okide, was abducted on Sunday at about 5:00 pm while heading to his parish, St. Mary Amofia-Agu in Affa. A witness, who wanted anonymity, said the kidnappers had left the children of the other victims inside their car crying helplessly before police operatives arrived at the scene to evacuate them. Since the incident, the kidnappers have reportedly contacted relatives of the victims. They are demanding…
Author: James Nwakere
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ON Monday, September 4, 2023, Concerned Youths of Rivers State APC took to the streets, protesting over what “we have observed with total dismay, shock and a deep sense of abandonment at the continued neglect of members of the APC in Rivers State; most especially we, the younger generation.” In an open letter handed to journalists, they expressed regrets over the appointment of non-party members by President Bola Tinubu, saying it amounted to rewarding people who had used everything within their reach to fight APC’s growth in Rivers State. The open letter, signed by the concerned youth party members from…
THE Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Uche Nnaji and his party challenging the return of Peter Mbah of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the March 2023 governorship election in Enugu State. Delivering Judgement, Justice Tijani Abubakar held that the legal team of the APC and Nnaji filed invalid brief of argument and failed to convince the court with cogent reason why the appellants’ incompetent brief should be allowed. Justice Abubakar further held that since their brief was found to be invalid, the invalidity also affected…
THE Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has rejected the judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Court on the February 25, 2023 poll, describing it as against justice. Obi, who spoke on Thursday in Onitsha, acknowledged the Tribunal’s adherence to statutory time frame and expressed respect for the court’s views and rulings but disagreed with the judgment’s rationale and final conclusions. He announced his intention, in his capacity as a presidential candidate and on behalf of the Labour Party, to immediately challenge the judgment through the appellate process, as permitted by the Constitution of the Federal Republic…
THE Labour Party (LP) has rejected the judgments of the Presidential Election Petitions Court in the party’s petitions challenging the electoral victory of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 25, 2023 poll. In a statement after the verdict of the Tribunal on Wednesday, LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said justice was not served in the petitions of the party against the APC and Tinubu. He also said the Labour Party will make its next move known upon consultation with its lawyers after receiving the Certified True Copy of the judgments. The party said…
A THREE-STOREY building with a penthouse still under construction has collapsed in Egbu Umuenem, Otolo Nnewi community, Nnewi North Local Government Area of Anambra State. It was gathered that the building collapsed at about 1am on Sunday while the workers were getting ready to start plastering work on the structure. Three persons, a father and two of his children, who were said to be among those to carry out work on the structure were instantly killed in the incident, while others sustained varying degrees of injuries. Eyewitnesses said some other people who were also trapped in the rubbles were later…
ABIA State Governor, Alex Otti, has issued a directive to terminate the employment of all civil servants employed between December 2022 to date. The directive was contained in a memo from the Office of the Head of Service, sighted by News Point Nigeria, dated Thursday, 31st August 2023 and signed by the Head of Service, Lady Joy Maduka. According to the memo, the action was necessary in order to identify and remove fictitious employees, making the state public service more efficient. It also assured that the affected employees would receive their rightful terminal benefits in accordance with the State Civil…
THE Anambra State Government has swooped down on Arrows of God Community Children’s Home in the Oyi Local Government Area of the state and closed it permanently following claims of unlawful adoption and child trafficking. The State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, announced the closure of the orphanage after a documentary report by a journalist, Fisayo Soyombo, of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism. Obinabo, in the company of security personnel, stormed the orphanage and sealed it off on Wednesday. It was gathered that the owner and the staff members of the orphanage had fled and are still…
A FORMER Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, was on Tuesday indicted by the committee set up by the Imo State Government for the recovery of land belonging to the Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Owerri. The committee said Okorocha used brute force to dispose the college of its land. In the report signed by the chairman, Prof Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe, and the secretary, B F Anyanwu, and submitted to Governor Hope Uzodimma, the committee recommended the recovery of the Shell Camp land from Okorocha and his associates within six months and hand the same over to the institution.…
IMO State Governor Hope Uzodimma has commended the Super Falcons on their performance at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, promising land and gifts of $10,000 each to those from Imo. The beneficiaries are Chiamaka Nnadozie, Desire Oparanozie, Osinachi Ohale, and Tochukwu Oluehi. The governor encouraged the players of Imo extraction when he received them at the Government House in Owerri, encouraging them to continue to make Nigeria and Africa proud on the global stage. In appreciation of their exploits, the governor promised to give them a piece of land in one of the choice…
THE Abia State Governor Alex Otti has directed the ban on the operation of commercial motorcyclists better known as okada within the Umuahia and Aba metropolis. According to Governor Otti’s Chief Press Secretary Kazie Uko, this directive takes effect immediately. “The Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti, OFR, has directed the immediate ban on the operation of commercial motorcyclists, otherwise known as Okada, within Umuahia, the State capital, and Aba Metropolis,” the statement read. “Effective Monday, August 14, 2023, any motorcycle seen on the streets of Umuahia and Aba townships being used for such purpose will be impounded by…
AHEAD of the November 11 governorship election, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State has unveiled his running mate Chinyere Ekomaru, and maintained the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the best bet for the state. Governor Uzodimma disclosed this during Ekomaru’s unveiling in Owerri on Saturday. “I have enumerated a few of our achievements today just to let Imo people know that the APC government remains the best bet to the attainment of improved life and economic development we all yearn for,” he said. According to him, his administration has kept faith with the Imo people, fulfilled all campaign promises and…
FIVE soldiers and two policemen sustained various degrees of injuries from the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) detonated Improvised Explosive Device (IED) during clearance operations in Anambra and Imo States. The director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, in a statement, said the troops of 82 Division Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies successfully raided hideouts and training camps belonging to IPOB/ESN in Orsomoghu Forest spanning Anambra and Imo States and arrested five IPOB fighters. He said the troops on Monday carried out the operation following information of violent activities of the group enforcing the illegal…
THE Imo State Police Command has arrested two suspected members of an armed robbery syndicate who attacked a gold shop, resulting in a gun battle with law enforcement that ended with one other suspect dead. The Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Barde, represented by the Police Public Relations Officer, Henry Okoye, disclosed this on Saturday during a parade of suspected criminals and exhibits in Owerri, the state capital, a statement said. Okoye noted that the jewellery carted away from the gold store was allegedly worth about N500 million. The items recovered from the suspects included two pump action guns, four…
A DISTRESSING turn of events unfolded in the city of Aba on Tuesday, when an armed gang attacked the convoy of the Commissioner for Trade, Commerce, and Industry amidst his official tour. News Point Nigeria reports that, the attack, which occurred around 4pm, tragically led to the death of two police officers and resulted in a government vehicle being set ablaze. The Commissioner’s convoy was en route to the Ekoha shopping plaza for a familiarization tour when the assailants opened fire. In the ensuing chaos, a police constable attached to the convoy was fatally shot. Unfortunately, a police inspector who…
THE Enugu State Government on Monday sealed shops in major markets across the state that refused to do business in observance of the sit-at-home order of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). This comes after last week’s warning by Governor Peter Mbah that businesses in the state should open for business or risk being sealed. According to the Secretary to the State Government, Chidiebere Onyia, who led the team from the Enugu State Capital Territory Development Authority, the operation was aimed at demonstrating seriousness on the part of the government. He added that it was to support those that showed…
AS part of measures put in place to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, the Imo State Government has increased minimum wage of workers in the state to N40,000. Addressing a strategic stakeholders meeting in Owerri, the Imo State capital, on Saturday, Governor Hope Uzodimma also disclosed that his government will make available N5bn soft loan for farmers to enhance their productivity. The governor further reeled out some other measures that will ameliorate the sufferings of Imo people in all sectors. The governor said, “I have watched with keen interest how our people…
GUNMEN have kidnapped popular Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Joseph Azubuike and three other persons in Ebonyi State. News Point Nigeria gathered that the cleric was abducted on Monday in Isu, Onicha Local Government Area of Ebonyi State close to his residence in the area. Although the police authorities are yet to react to the incident, the Catholic Diocese of Abakaliki confirmed the abduction in a statement on Tuesday. The Chancellor of the diocese, Fr. Matthew Uzoma Opoke, said Azubuike was whisked away by the gunmen while returning from pastoral duties. In a statement titled, “Call for prayers,” the diocesan chancellor…
THE committee of inquiry set up by the Anambra State Government to look into the examination fraud involving Mmesoma Ejikeme has confirmed that she manipulated her Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination result, giving herself a score of 362 as against an actual score of 249. The Committee in its eight-page report said that the student of Anglican Girls Secondary School in Nnewi admitted that she manipulated the fake result herself, using her phone. Mmesoma gained the attention of Nigerians recently following the controversy relating to her UTME result. Following the release of the UTME results by the Joint Admission and Matriculation…
SEVEN members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Imo State have resigned from the party’s State Working Committee. News Point Nigeria reports that the aggrieved party members including the state Deputy Chairman, Martin Ejiogu, accused the PDP governorship candidate, Senator Sam Anyanwu of high-handedness, threat to life, intimidation and lack of focus. Addressing a press conference on Sunday in Owerri the state capital, the former members of the state working committee, said since Anyanwu became the National Secretary of the Party, he has never relented in deploying the powers of his office to fight members of the state Working Committee.…