Author: Editor
Our Reporter, Abuja Human rights lawyer and former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, has criticised Nigerian opposition leaders for what he described as selective outrage, accusing them of prioritising personal political interests over the worsening insecurity in the country. Odinkalu’s remarks followed a joint statement issued on December 14, 2025, by leading opposition figures, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi. In the statement, the opposition leaders accused the Federal Government of politicising anti-corruption agencies and engaging in selective prosecutions to weaken political opponents ahead of…
Our Reporter, Abuja Human rights group, the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), has warned that Nigeria may be heading toward another nationwide #EndSARS-style uprising if authorities fail to halt what it described as the resurgence and normalization of police abuses, particularly in Imo State. In a statement issued on Monday, RULAAC’s Executive Director, Mr. Okechukwu Nwanguma, said five years after the historic #EndSARS protests, the very violations that sparked the 2020 uprising—arbitrary arrests, torture, prolonged detention without trial, disregard for court orders, and institutional cover-ups—are again widespread and largely unchecked. “This is no longer a rhetorical question.…
By Femi Falana, SAN In its judgment delivered on December 15, 2025, in Attorney-General of Adamawa State & 19 Ors v Attorney-General of the Federation (Suit No. SC/CV/329/2025), the Supreme Court dismissed the suit for want of jurisdiction, holding that the plaintiffs lacked the requisite locus standi to institute the action. Notwithstanding this finding, the apex court proceeded to consider the substantive issues raised in the case. Unfortunately, sections of the media have since misinterpreted the judgment. Contrary to these misleading reports, the Supreme Court did not endorse the dissolution of democratic structures during the imposition of emergency rule in…
Our Reporter, Abuja Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe has predicted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will lose the 2027 presidential election, insisting that Nigerians are increasingly dissatisfied and ready for political change. Speaking during an interview on Politics Today aired by Channels Television, the Abia South lawmaker dismissed claims that President Tinubu has never lost an election, arguing that no politician is invincible. “I do not think so. Everybody loses elections, and you will see when the time comes,” Abaribe said. “He will lose in 2027 because I know what Nigerians are feeling outside.” The senator went further to question the legitimacy…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, has denied allegations by notorious bandit leader, Bello Turji, linking him to the financing of terrorism, describing the claim as a deliberate blackmail orchestrated by his political enemies. Bafarawa dismissed the allegation as false and malicious, insisting that Turji had been recruited by individuals bent on tarnishing his reputation. Turji had, in a viral video, accused two former Northern governors of fuelling insecurity in the region. Bafarawa, who served as governor of Sokoto State from 1999 to 2007, categorically denied ever sponsoring banditry or terrorism, stressing that there was…
Our Reporter, Abuja Human rights activist and convener of the RevolutionNow Movement, Omoyele Sowore, on Monday declared “war on police impunity” as he unveiled a new investigative report accusing a special police unit in Imo State of systematic torture, extrajudicial killings and the deaths of at least 200 detainees in custody. Sowore spoke at the public launch of the report, titled “The Tiger Base Files: Systematic Torture, Extrajudicial Killings, and the Collapse of Police Accountability in Imo State,” held at Social Action, Wuse 2, Abuja. He said the findings exposed not just routine police abuse, but what he described as…
Our Reporter, Abuja A damning new report has accused the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Imo State Police Command, popularly known as Tiger Base, of operating as a centre of systematic torture, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and large-scale extortion, with at least 200 detainees alleged to have died in custody over four years while implicated officers were promoted and rewarded. The report, released on Monday by the Coalition Against Tiger Base Impunity (CAPTI) and titled “Tiger Base Files: Systematic Torture, Extrajudicial Killings, and the Collapse of Police Accountability in Imo State,” paints a grim picture of a police unit that, according…
By Godwin Onyeacholem In a way that sort of confounds, he still retains some pretty good springs in his steps, and his handshake amazingly grips firmly while he joyfully enacts a random squeeze on the handshake as he fixes a powerful gaze on anyone meeting him. At 95, Charles Jimmy Ekpe Owen, a retired commander in the Nigerian Navy, and apparently the oldest surviving retired naval officer, is not done yet. He remains an embodiment of determination, courage and spirit. On December 9, he marked his birthday with family and friends in Abuja, with lots of good food and drinks…
By Owei Lakemfa The world witnessed an awakening, on May 8,1945. The nightmarish Second World War virtually ended. In Nigeria, the immediate fall-out of this was that freedom bells tolled for an implacable enemy of colonialism, Michael Aithokhaimen Omiunu Imoudu. He had been detained by “freedom loving” Britain for twenty nine months. Imoudu’s release came on May 20, 1945. The day on June 2 when Imoudu set foot on Lagos soil after his release, was perhaps the biggest anti-colonial rally ever held in the country. A night vigil was kept by Lagosians and at his train stops in places…
Our Reporter, Abuja Former Nigerian Minister of Education and renowned anti-corruption advocate, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, has been honoured as a joint winner of the 2025 International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award in the Lifetime/Outstanding Achievement category. The award, conferred on December 14 in Doha, Qatar, was communicated by the Secretariat of the International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award on behalf of the High-Level Award Committee chaired by the United Nations Special Advocate for the Prevention of Corruption, Dr. Ali Bin Fetais Al Marri. In a formal notification, the organisers stated that Ezekwesili’s nomination emerged successful after a rigorous and independent assessment process, noting that…