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Shock -and some relief -enveloped Anambra State on Thursday, February 6, when the fate of missing member of Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Justice Azuka, finally came to light. His decomposing body was recovered on Wednesday night, February 5. The body was recovered by a combined security team at the Second Niger Bridge,Onitsha, the Anambra commercial nerve centre. The lawmaker, who represented Onitsha 1 North constituency, had been declared missing since Tuesday, December 24 (Christmas Eve), 2024, when unidentified gunmen kidnapped him as he returned home on Ugwunaobankpa Road, Inland Town, Onitsha. Elected on the platform of Labour Party…

By Stephen Gbadamosi, Ibadan Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barrister Nyesom Wike, on Wednesday, February 5, led a strong delegation to condole with Governor 'Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, South-Western Nigeria, who lost his elder brother recently. The delegation comprised two former governors in the former G-5 Governors' Forum, Senators and a former Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives. Wike, who arrived Makinde's Ikolaba, Ibadan residence in company with the former governors of Abia and Benue states, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu and Samuel Ortom, commiserated with the governor, stating that "whatever affects him also affects the G-5 Governors." The delegation…

By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna Worrying developments seem to have,once again, cropped up in Kaduna State,which has witnessed rare calm in about one-and-a half years now, as fresh violence was unleashed in the key North-Western State on Wednesday, February 5. During the incident, a deadly attack was launched by bandits on Majagada community, Lere Local Government Area (LGA) of the state, leaving in its wake deaths, injuries and abductions. In January,2025, the State government, through the Senior Special Assistant to the State Governor on Public Affairs, Victor Bobai, issued a statement where it accused Gov. Uba Sani's "political adversaries" of recruiting…

By Achadu Gabriel, Kaduna National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu has fired a letter to politician and leader of Northern Star, Hajia Naja’atu Muhammad, demanding public apology and retraction over an alleged malicious statement in a TikTok video shared across social media platforms. Popularly known to her followers simply as Naja'atu, in the TikTok video she allegedly accused the NSA of serving in President Bola Tinubu’s government, a man he allegedly castigated when he (Ribadu) was Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). In a letter, through his lawyer, Dr Ahmed Raji SAN, the NSA said he has never…

By Okerafor Athanasius, Jalingo Seeking to revitalize the civil service, Governor Agbu Kefas of Taraba State has appointed a new Head of Service (HOS). He is Dr. Hamidu Ahmed Kara, who hails from Gembu, headquarters of Sardauna Local Government Area (LGA) of the North-Eastern State. These were contained in a press release signed and issued to journalists in Jalingo, the state capital, by Secretary to the Government of the State (SGS), Barrister (Chief) Gebon Timothy Kataps. According to the statement, Dr. Kara's appointment followed what was described as the statutory retirement of the former Head of Civil Service, Mr. Paul…

By Okwudiri Okafor, Umuahia After over 70 years of existence, a new lease of life beckons for the rickety, colonial era Igwu River bridge in Abia State, South-East Nigeria. The iconic bridge was constructed by Nigeria's British colonial masters long before October 1,1960, the historic date the West African country extricated herself from foreign rule and gained political independence. Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, officially flagged off reconstruction of the long-abandoned bridge, popularly called Omenuko bridge. The government's move seeks to break the jinx of not having a firm bridge at the location, after decades of managing the fragile…

By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, South-East Nigeria, has signed into law a bill to create a one-stop shop for tax collection and administration in the state. The action thus ends multiple taxation. Entitled the 'Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (Establishment and Consolidation of Revenue Administration) Law, 2025:, the new legislation also makes the revenue collection agency autonomous and free of bureaucratic encumbrances. Speaking at the brief bill-signing ceremony at Government House, Enugu, on Tuesday, February 4, Mbah described the law as a milestone in his administration’s quest to enable the Ease of Doing Business policy…

By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu Death toll from the petrol tanker explosion on the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway has risen from 21 to 23, according to Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). Sector Commander of FRSC, Enugu State Command, Mr Franklin Agbakoba, told newsmen in Enugu on Tuesday, February 4, that an additional two female victims died recently while on hospital admission. It would be recalled that the incident, which happened on Saturday, January 25, about 11:30 a.m. when a fuel-laden tanker had a brake failure, fell and exploded, left 11 road users dead before emergency responders came to the scene. The deceased were…

By our reporter Angry Igbo youths have berated Ebonyi State governor, Francis Nwifuru, over the murder of several citizens of the state by suspected Fulani killer herdsmen. Indicting the governor, they alleged that they alerted him of the attack four days before the bloodshed,which occurred on Sunday, February 2 this year. While official and police reports put the death toll at below 20, independent sources said up to 100 persons were killed by the herdsmen during the attack at Amegu Nkalaha community, Ishielu Local Government Area (LGA) of the South-Eastern Nigeria state. The sources claimed that worshippers, including the pastor,…

By our reporter Hensard University, a fast growing private institution in Bayelsa State, on Tuesday, February 4, named Professor Femi Okiremuette Shaka Dean of its Faculty of Communication and Media Studies. The appointment provides a significant boost to the faculty by bringing in a prominent figure in Nigerian film studies and scholarship. Vice Chancellor (VC), Professor Dileep Kumar, along with faculty members, Dr. Thomas Terna and Dr. Cookey Ogechi, formally welcomed Professor Shaka, who previously worked in the Department of Film & Multimedia at the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT). The ceremony, while understated, emphasised the university's dedication to academic…