Nation
THE STATES
Borno
A man claiming to be a member of Boko Haram has main
tained that the Federal Government must release its members detained in numerous facilities nationwide before the terrorist group releases the 219 Chibok schoolgirls it has held in captivity for almost three months.
This came as the National Council of State (NCS), at the end of its meeting Tuesday, assured the Nigerian public that schoolgirls will be rescued very soon but failed to give detail as to how this would be achieved.
The Federal Government had given the same assurance Monday when the Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, said the girls would soon be freed.
Speaking on the BBC World Service, the man whose voice was disguised in order to conceal his identity, said he was a teacher or scholar in the sect and joined the group in 2004.
He said that the girls were in “a state of amnesty”, healthy and eating well, adding that the Christians who refused to convert to Islam were not forced to do so as it is anti-Islamic.
The Boko Haram member maintained that the girls were taken for a specific reason and reiterated the condition for their release, adding that the girls would be released once the Federal Government met the terrorist group’s demands for a prisoner exchange deal.
Ekiti
The Peoples Democratic Party, Ekiti State, has threat
ened to sue the Ekiti State House of Assembly for contempt if it took further steps on the bill seeking creation of the new 18 Local Council Development Authorities.
The party which gave the warning in a letter by its Legal Adviser, Mr. Kolapo Kolade, to the Speaker, Adewale Omirin, in Ado Ekiti last Wednesday.recalled that the party had gone to court to challenge the bid to create the LCDAs by the Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
Kolade warned that it will be contemptuous for the Assembly to pass the bill when there was a pending suit in Court.
Citing Cap 8, Section 54(5) of the standing order of the Assembly, the party quoted that “No matter, pending in Court of Law shall be entertained by the House in order not to prejudice the decision of the court in respect of the matter.”Similarly, it is in law that when an application for injunction is pending in Court, none of the parties should take step regarding the issue raised therein.
“We therefore wish that you will be advised accordingly as we are aware that the issue of the creation of LCDAs which is the subject matter of the suit under reference is said to have passed the First Reading in the House on 7th July, 2014 despite the pendency of the suit and the fact that you have adequate notice of same.
FCT
The National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Col. Sambo
Dasuki, said recently that Nigeria respects the sovereignty of its neighbours and has no “territorial ambition’’ over the disputed Bakassi Peninsula with Cameroon.
Dasuki said in Abuja at the opening of the Nigeria/Cameroon Trans-Border Security Committee holding from July 8-11. that the security meeting held in Paris on May 17 and London on June 4, under the auspices of the leadership of both countries underscored the need for the meeting
He said that the forum would provide a unique opportunity for border security agencies of the two countries to meet and discuss issues that hitherto has been difficult.
On his part, the Head of Cameroon Delegation, Mr Rene Sadi, the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, said that the meeting would assist both countries to urgently take measures to wipe out criminality from the borders.
Kano
The Kano State Government said it had recruited 998
new teachers for public secondary schools in the state.
Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso made this known recently when he distributed appointment letters to newly recruited teachers employed into the state civil service.
Kwankwaso said that the introduction of free education necessitated the recruitment of the teachers to boost the manpower in the teaching profession in the state and further appealed to the new employees to be good ambassadors of the state wherever they found themselves.
“The recruitment also became necessary so as to provide qualified staff with a view to improving teaching and learning in schools. Our administration is vigorously pursuing mass literacy campaign to stamp out illiteracy from the state”, he said.
Kogi
A Lokoja Chief Magistrate Court has ordered that three
men be kept in custody over their alleged involvement in the kidnap of children of the Kogi State House of Assembly speaker. The Chief Magistrate, Mr. Levi Animoku, gave the order in his ruling after the accused- Abdulwahab Bajeh, Sule Ganiyu and Yunusa Abdulmalik- were arraigned in Lokoja.
They were charged with criminal conspiracy and kidnapping, contrary to section 97 of the Penal Code Law and sections 3(a) and 7(a) of Kogi State Kidnapping, Thuggery and other Related Offences (Prohibition) Law 2010.
It will be recalled that seven year Ogirima Lawal and her three-year-old younger brother Hafiz Lawal, both children of the speaker, Alhaji Momoh-Jimoh Lawal, were on April 15 kidnapped by four unidentified gunmen from their family house in Okengwe, Okene Local Government were released on June 6, after horrifying 53 days in the kidnappers’ custody.
Kwara
An Ilorin High Court in Kwara State yesterday, con
victed four criminals to death by hanging for armed robbery and criminal conspiracy.
The condemned convicts; Ibrahim Olayiwola, AbdulWaheed Aliyu, Tunde Kareem and Omotayo Isah, who broke down shortly after the judgement was handed down by Justice S.T Umar, were charged for robbing petroleum attendants of Rockfield Petroleum Filling Station, Odota, Ilorin in February 2011 contrary to the provisions of Section 97 of the Penal Code and Section 1 (2) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special provisions) Act, CAP R11 Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004.
Lagos
The Lagos State Government on Thursday said that it
would channel its available resources to combat overcrowded classrooms in public schools in the state.
Mrs Gbolahan Daodu, Executive Secretary, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.
Daodu said that the state government was working toward having not more than 50 pupils in a classroom, as required by standards.
She stressed that the influx of people to the state everyday poses a serious challenge to the policy.
“We will try and accommodate all pupils but the influx of people into the state is a challenge.
“Lagos is a small state with limited land space, yet millions of people come in on a daily basis and they expect the government to cater for them.
“We are striving to meet the need of all of them.
“Our attempt is to ensure that we do not have more than 50 pupils at the maximum, in each class,” she said.
Daodu said that state government would provide access to education for pupils, irrespective of the challenges confronting schools in the state.
Osun
The prime suspect in the bomb that exploded inside a
Peugeot 505 saloon car at the Ministry of Water Resources, Abere,Osun State, on June 15, 2007, Richard Abayomi Adesanmi, said he was lodged at the State Government House, Osogbo, instead of prison custody .
Adesanmi was ordered to be remanded in prison custody by Magistrate (now Justice) Jide Falola on March 10, 2008 alongside some chieftains of defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, who were accused of complicity in the bomb blast. When the case came up for further hearing yesterday before Justice Adeyinka Aderibigbe, Adesanmi confessed that he was not taken to prison as ordered by the court.
Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the state, Mr. Wale Afolabi, while cross examining the suspect, confronted Adesanmi with the fact that he was lodged at Government House instead of the prison, and the suspect admitted.
Taraba
No fewer than 50,000 persons, mainly women, children
and the aged, have been displaced from their homes in various parts of Taraba following the recent crisis in the area, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), has said.
NEMA’s Operations Officer in Gombe State office, Zainab Umar, said this yesterday in Bali, Taraba State, while distributing relief materials at one of the camps occupied by victims of the recent communal conflict.
She explained that NEMA had donated 20 trucks of relief materials and had commenced distribution of assorted materials comprising food, non-food items and medical supplies to the displaced persons.
“No fewer than 9,000 displaced persons have taken refuge in some places of worship and residences in Bali, headquarters of Bali council area and its environs,” she said.
L-R: Governors Willie Obiano of Anambra State, Sullivan Chime of Enugu State, Martins Elechi of Ebonyi State and Theodore Orji of Abia State, during their meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, recently.
The President General of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide and the Mgboh XIII of the Mgboh Royal Family of Emohua Kingdom in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Eze (Barrister) Godspower Onuekwa, penultimate Friday celebrated his 80th birthday with pomp, pageantry and fanfare.
The celebration, which commenced with a symposium organised in his honour at Rivers State University on Thursday, August 21,2025, got to a resounding climax on Friday at Suntai Event Centre in Port Harcourt, where people from all walks of life, including business associates, friends, well-wishers, relatives, community folks, traditional rulers, and admirers, gathered to pay glowing tributes to the celebrant.
Before then, a well attended thanksgiving service was held that same Friday at Emmanuel Anglican Church, Okoro-Nu-Odo, to honour him and return gratitude to God Almighty for the fruitful and eventful life and accomplishments of the Emohua leader and icon.
The service which was officiated by Rt Rev Wisdom Budu Ihunwo, Bishop of Niger Delta North had other renowned and respected clerics like Most Rev(Dr) Blessing Enyindah, Dean, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion); Rt Rev(Dr) Emmanuel Oko-Jaja, Bishop, Diocese of Niger Delta; Rt Rev Innocent Ordu, Bishop, Diocese of Evo; and Ven Solomon Eze Nelson, Archdeacon, Okoro-Nu-Odo; among others lined up as officiating ministers.
The service lived up to its billing, as it featured powerful and soul-lifting praise and worship; point-blank prayers; and beautiful renditions, which electrified the entire atmosphere, essentially packaged to thank God for the life of the celebrant.
However, the crowning moment actually came when the who is who, the crème de la crème of the society, thronged the terraces and fabulously decorated expansive hall of Suntai Event Centre, to celebrate Eze Onuekwa, amid accolades, aplomb and panache, wining and dining, and clinking of glasses with him and all.
The chairman of the colourful ceremony, Chief Evans Woherem, who was represented by Eze(Prof) Christian Akani of the prestigious Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, praised the celebrant for his youthfulness in spite of clocking 80 years, generosity, humility, humaneness and selfless services to the Ikwerre ethnic nationality, the Niger Delta and Nigeria, and called on all and sundry to emulate his good legacies and simple disposition towards life and existence.
Goodwill messages also poured in in torrents to underscore and salute the doggedness, resilience, astuteness and uniqueness of the endearing life of the celebrant, with Prof Emenike Wami, the Ochia Ohna Ikwerre(XIV), taking the lead.
Prof Priye Iyalla, the wife of late renowned writer, novelist and playwright, Dr Elechi Amadi, held the audience spellbound as she masterfully reeled out the profile of the celebrant, amid intermittent applause from the crowd.
The Tiv Community from Benue State, resident in Rivers State, were not left out, as they honoured and decorated Eze Onuekwa in their complete traditional regalia.
Cultural displays from Baptist Church, Rumuowhor; ADNA Wogbuji Dancing Group, Egbeda; Tiv Dancing Group; and Promoter Eze and Rumu-Mgboh Emohua Wrestling Group, equally added colour and grace to the occasion, with the celebrant and his wife, Dame Ann Onuekwa, joining them to wriggle their waists and bodies in ecstasy.
In his response, the highly elated celebrant, Eze Onuekwa thanked all those gathered to celebrate with him, saying, celebrations would never cease in their homes, and attributed everything he represents in life, including his modest accomplishments to God.
Eze Onuekwa, while addressing newsmen, harped on the need for hard work among the youths and members of Ogbakor Ikwerre Cultural Organisation Worldwide, as a way of sustaining and giving meaning to the motto of the organisation, which he noted is anchored on peace, unity and progress.
He specially thanked God for sustaining his life, and for making everything possible for him and his family, saying, he was joyous that he has today become an octogenarian and elder statesman in Rivers State.
His son and medical practitioner, Dr Samuel Chizia Onuekwa expressed delight that people from far and near had come together to celebrate the father, whom he described as a role model and great inspirator.
He said it was a good thing that the children were celebrating their father when he is alive, stressing that the last time Eze Onuekwa was celebrated in such magnitude was 20 years ago, during his 60th birthday celebration, and prayed God to grant him many more years in good health.
Among dignitaries who graced the event were Senator Andrew Uchendu; Chief Sampson Agbaru; Prof Emenike Wami; Dr Peter Didia; Eze(Prof) Samuel Ugo Onyeka; and a host of others. Justice Iche Ndu(rtd); and C O Kattey were among personalities that attended the thanksgiving service, while the Vice Chancellor of Rivers State University, Prof Isaac Zeb-Obipi led the academics who graced the symposium, alongside Eze G A O Omodu.
As the 100 Ogoni youths trained by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in Creative Arts close out their training on Tuesday at the Theatre Arts Department, University of Port Harcourt, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, has urged the beneficiaries to use the skills acquired to ensure that the Ogoni stories are told and heard in the right way.
The trainees, who had completed a four- month training in script writing, film production and make-up are beneficiaries of the HYPREP sustainable livelihood programme, aimed at providing high demand skills to Ogoni youths in the lucrative creative arts and entertainment industry.
Zabbey described the Creative Arts training as well as other programmes and interventions as HYPREP’s strategic sustained effort to create alternative sources of livelihood.
”Targeted capacity building for Ogoni youths and women remains a central strategy in HYPREP’s livelihood restoration and improvement efforts. Our goal is to reach every part of the Ogoni community and ensure that no group or talent pool is left behind. This training is a deliberate step to empower young people who aspire to make their mark in the creative and entertainment industry”, he said.
While commending the trainees for producing four short films within the training period, one of which was premiered at the ceremony-Dirty Festival, the Project Coordinator noted that the training would serve as a springboard into the industry, and enable them earn a living, become entrepreneurs, and open new doors of opportunities for themselves and their communities. The three other movies are Open Pain, Bomu and Green War.
He enjoined them to utilise their skills and platforms to promote civic responsibility, peace, and environmental sustainability, urging them to ensure that Ogoni is heard in the right way, speak for HYPREP and highlight the progress being made in implementing the recommendations of the UNEP Report.
Other speakers at the event, including the Director of Technical Services of HYPREP, Prof. Damian-Paul Aguiyi; Dr Ovunda Ihunwo, Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt; Chief Douglas Experience, the Project Coordinator of Halibiz Consult Limited; and Mrs Josephine Nzidee, Head, Sustainable Livelihood of HYPREP, all applauded HYPREP for the training, and charged the trainees to maximise the opportunity.
The trainees were later presented certificates of participation.
Visibly elated Ms Lebee Tornwe, one of the beneficiaries, thanked HYPREP and the Project Coordinator for offering the trainees the rare opportunity to acquire skills in the creative arts and entertainment industry, and expressed delight that Dr Ihunwo and Halibiz Consult Limited gave their all in grooming them.
With the wrapping up of the Creative Arts training(100), HYPREP has trained 230 Ogoni youths in high demand skill sets ,viz; seafaring(100); and aviation (30). The Project will this year, commence training in other skill areas, including Mechatronic, Aviation, Full-Stack Development, Commercial Diving, Underwater Welding and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Still in the offing is the training for Ogoni Persons Living with Disabilities in five skill sets- fish farming; basic computer skills; photography; fashion and design; and shoemaking in line with their Needs Assessment and HYPREP’s policy of inclusivity.
The National Youth Council of Ogoni People (NYCOP) had called on stakeholders to work collaboratively towards the development and empowerment of Ogoni youths.
NYCOP made the call in a communique issue over the weekend after an emergency Congress in Port Harcourt and signed by its President, Comrade Raymond Nwibani Marcus.
In the communique, NYCOP endorsed President Bola Tinubu’s appointments of the Governing Council and Board of Trustees (BOT) members of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), particularly Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah as Chairman of HYPREP’s BOT.
It respectfully appealed to the President to consider appointing a representative from the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) under the leadership of Engr. Olu Andah Wai-Ogosu, being the pioneering social vehicle for Ogoni advocacy since the inception of the Ogoni struggle, adding that it would significantly contribute to the decision-making process.
The body commended the overall management of HYPREP and urges the President to continue funding the HYPREP project.
NYCOP furthermore recommended considering the conversion of HYPREP from a project to a full-fledged agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The communique also stated that NYCOP thanked President Tinubu for establishing the Federal University of Environmental Technology, and for appointing key staff, forming a dialogue committee, and initiating infrastructural projects like the Eleme axis of the East-West Road and the Bonny-Bodo Road, significantly enhancing regional connectivity and economic prospects.
In solidarity with the Renewed Hope Agenda, the endorsed President Tinubu’s second-term bid, saying it believes his leadership embodies the aspirations of the Ogoni people and Nigerians at large.
“After thorough consideration of the Disciplinary Committee’s report, NYCOP resolves:
” To indefinitely suspend Comrade Nade Nade Burale from his position as Secretary General due to misconduct.
“To declare Comrade Saviour Imeabe persona non grata on Ogoni youth issues, given his actions’ potential to instigate crisis in Ogoni and beyond” the communique stated.
NYCOP in his resolution issued a 7-day ultimatum to former HYPREP BOT Chairman Mike Nwialeghi to explain the $100 million HYPREP fund investment, warning of potential litigation.
NYCOP reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding Ogoni youth interests and preventing personal aggrandizement.
According to the communique the resolutions demonstrate NYCOP’s efforts to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth.
“We will no longer tolerate any individual or group using the name or issues of Ogoni youth for personal aggrandizement.
” Our mandate is clear: to promote the collective welfare and advancement of Ogoni youth” the communique said.
NYCOP passes a vote of confidence in Hon. Emmanuel Nwika Deeyah, acknowledging his impeccable credentials and credibility to lead the BOT of HYPREP effectively.
Kiadum Edookor