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By Sam Tyav, Makurdi Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Iormem Alia, has directed the immediate and indefinite suspension of the Special Adviser on Documentation, Research, and Planning, Mkor Aondona, following his arrest by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged involvement in sextortion, cyberbullying, and blackmail. A statement by the governor's Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Tersoo Kula, on Sunday said the decision was informed by his unwavering commitment to uphold integrity, discipline, and accountability in public service. According to the statement, the Governor stated that any official of his administration found wanting in matters of criminality…

Iran’s parliament has voted to shut down the vital Hormuz shipping channel in retaliation against Donald Trump’s attack on the country, prompting fears of a sharp spike in oil prices that could cause a global recession. In Nigeria, petrol price is at risk of increasing from the current average of between N925-N950 per litre as prices are dependent on global rates. Trump ordered air strikes against three important nuclear programme sites in Iran this weekend with the U.S government saying the strikes completely obliterated Iran's nuclear ability. A barrel of Brent crude was selling for about $77 on Friday, June…

By our reporter Immediate past Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, has his successor, Governor Hyacinth Alia, in his crosshairs over the roiling insecurity in the North-Central State, asking him to be alive to his responsibilities of securing the lives and properties of people of the state rather than allegedly playing politics with same. Alia belongs to the All Progressives Congress (APC) while Ortom,who completed his second term in office on May 29,2023, is of the now-opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In a statement today, Ortom warned Gov. Alia to stop using him (Ortom) as a scapegoat for the persistent…

*Judge Says Shell, Subsidiaries Can Be Sued For Liability Residents of two Nigerian communities, Bille and Ogale, both in Rivers State, who are taking legal action against Shell over oil pollution are set to take their cases to trial at the high court in 2027. Ogale is located in Eleme Local Government Area, and Bille is in Degema Local Government Area. In 2021, the UK Supreme Court ruled that Shell's parent company could potentially be held liable for environmental damage to both communities. Members of both communities in the Niger Delta, which have a combined population of about 50,000, are…

The Trump administration has terminated 639 employees at Voice of America and its parent organization in the latest round of sweeping cuts that have reduced the international broadcasting service to a fraction of its former size. The mass terminations announced Friday, June 20, round out the Trump-led elimination of 1,400 positions since March and represents the near-complete dismantling of an organization founded in 1942 to counter Nazi propaganda, whose first broadcast declared: “We bring you voices from America.” Just 250 employees now remain across the entire parent group, the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), who operated what was America’s…

By our reporter After countless all-night and day meetings, several press conferences and exclusive interviews, loads of behind-the-scene planning, arguments, counter-arguments, prayer vigils, and lots more, finally the coalition seeking to deprive President Bola Tinubu a second term has matched words with concrete action. The opposition titans have despatched to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) a letter and relevant documents applying for registration of a new political party to be known as All Democratic Alliance (ADA). ADA, with a slogan of Justice for All, will be the special purpose vehicle on which the coalition seeks to climb to power…

By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu Governor of Enugu State, Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, has approved the appointment of Colonel Dan Didiugwu (rtd) as Chairman of the Enugu State Forest Guard and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Olamitisoji Akinbamilayo (rtd) as Commander of the State Forest Guard. The appointments of Chairman of the Forest Guard Board, which is subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly, and that of the Commander of the Forest Guard, which takes effect immediately, are part of the State Government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen and professionalize forest and environmental security operations across the State, in alignment with…

In a presumed attack on dissenting opinion, a retired Nicaraguan army officer in exile-turned fierce critic of the country’s authoritarian president Daniel Ortega, has been shot dead in neighboring Costa Rica. Major Roberto Samcam, 66, was shot at his apartment building in San José on Thursday, reportedly by men pretending to deliver a package. “It was something we did not expect, we could not have imagined it,” said Samantha Jirón, Samcam’s adoptive daughter. Nicaraguan rights groups and exiled dissidents immediately blamed the government of Ortega and his co-president wife, Rosario Murillo. “Roberto was a powerful voice” who “directly denounced the…

By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu Commissioner of Police (CP), Enugu State Command, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, paid a courtesy and familiarization visit to the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 82 Division, Nigerian Army, Enugu, Major General Oluyemi Thomas Olatoye. In a statement by the Command's Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Daniel Ndukwe, it said that the visit was aimed at strengthening the existing interagency collaboration between the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Army. During the interactive visit, CP Giwa emphasized that the complexity of contemporary security challenges necessitated enhanced cooperation among the Police, the military, other security agencies, and the community at…

By Stephen Gbadamosi, Ibadan South-West chieftain of opposition New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, on Thursday paid a courtesy visit to the patriarch of his family, Chief Bode Amoo, at his Ibadan,Oyo State capital, residence. Chief Amoo is the elder brother to Ambassador Oguntoyinbo's father, the late Ajadi Sola-West of Ibadan, a highlife musician. Chief Amoo, who has long held the torch of the family's integrity, discipline, and purposeful leadership, while receiving Amb. Oguntoyinbo, shared personal anecdotes from his leadership journey, emphasising that he never sought power for selfish gain. “The day I agreed to become the…