Author: Editor
Lawrence Nwimo, Awka The devastating petrol tanker explosion on Saturday at Ugwu Onyeama has left a trail of grief and devastation, claiming the lives of 11 family members, including the President of the Altar Boys Association at SS John and Paul Parish, Iba Pope, Onitsha. Brother Jeremiah Nwaji, a devout Catholic and leader of the Altar Boys Association, was among the victims of the tragic incident. He was accompanied by his wife, six children, younger brother, maid, and apprentice, all of whom lost their lives in the blaze. The family was en route to Ebonyi State to attend the burial…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu The Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), says it has arraigned one Barrister Benjamin Chukwuemeka Nwobodo before Justice F. O. Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court, sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu State. This was contained in a statement released by Dele Oyewale, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity of the zone and made available to newsmen in Enugu. According to the statement, Nwobodo is facing a five-count charge bordering on forgery and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N12 million. Count three of the charge states: “That you, Benjamin…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu Maj.-Gen. Oluyemi Olatoye has taken over as the 39th General Officer Commanding (GOC) of 82 Division of the Nigerian Army and Force Commander, Joint Task Force South-East code-named ‘Operation UDO KA.’ Olatoye took over from the outgone GOC of the Division, Maj.-Gen. Hassan Dada, who has been deployed to Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre. The new GOC charged officers and troops to brace-up, redouble all efforts and surpass all known operational successes. Olatoye said that his job in the Division was to take the standard higher. He called on all principal officers and commanders within component…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, has entered into peace agreement with bandits, citing his high premium for security of lives and property of residents of the state as reason for his action. According to him, his priority is to preserve lives and ensure peace and safety of all residents. Gov. Sani who spoke during an interview with the BBC Hausa Service, monitored on Monday, said whatever needed to be done to achieve peace and stability in the state should not be considered too much. He explained that the decision to strike a peace deal with…
By Owei Lakemfa Anambra State Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo in a Trumpian manner, made several fallacious and specious statements at the December 2024 dedication of a new church building in Onitsha. For example, the press quoted him as saying: “Since the inception of my administration, we have declared war on criminals, their shrines, priests and burnt down their idols.” In this claim, he tries to present non-Christians and non-Muslims as the criminals in the state. This is a fallacy. Criminals including elites looting our common patrimony, cut across all religions. In fact, many criminals who claim…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu Dr Chigozie Okonkwo, a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of African Studies, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), has urged the three tiers of government in the country to create enabling environment that will address food scarcity that is responsible for high cost of food items in the markets. Okonkwo said this in Nsukka on Monday in an interview with newsmen while speaking on what government would do to bring down high cost of food items in markets. He said government should as matter of urgency address the issue of security challenges that had made many farmers lose…
…Hints of move to resolve Abia, Ebonyi boundary clash Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Chairman of Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State, Chief Sunny Afuruobi, has attributed the elimination of kidnapping in the council to the decision of Governor Alex Otti to demolish shanties inside the regional cattle market at Lokpa which hitherto served as a harbour for criminals. He also said that the Governor’s insistence on fencing the market despite stiff opposition by some unpatriotic elements contributed to the drastic drop in crime wave around the area. Recall that kidnapping for ransom was at its peak before Otti assumed…
By Cheta Nwanze There is a correlation between the handling of the recent controversy surrounding the NIUK Community on social media and the handling of the fallout of the “Sex For Grades” controversy from a couple of years ago. This correlation has exposed a deep-seated problem in Nigerian society: the erosion of trust in the legal system. These incidents are not isolated; they are symptomatic of a broader crisis that has plagued Nigeria for decades. The way Nigerians respond to injustice—whether through jungle justice or reliance on informal systems of justice—reveals a society that has lost faith in its formal…
Lawrence Nwimo, Awka A joint security team comprising Police operatives from Oko divisional headquarters and some vigilante operatives have cracked down on criminals in Amaokpala, Orumba North Local Government Area, Anambra State. A statement from the Anambra Police Command revealed that operatives recovered items ranging from hard drugs, mobile phones and cash suspected to be proceeds from drug deals. Spokesperson of the Command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, in the statement wrote: “The Joint Security Team comprising of Police Operatives from Oko Divisional Headquarters and AVG Operatives, Amaokpala acting on intelligent-driven information on 25th January 2025 by 10.30 pm raided an identified…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu The Enugu State Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation says it has registered over 60,000 farmers within the last 18 months in its ongoing farmers registration. The Commissioner for the Ministry, Dr Patrick Ubru, told newsmen in Enugu on Sunday that the over 60,000 farmers are duly verified with vital details such as verifiable residential and farm addresses. He said that “the ongoing diligent registration” was the first mandate given to the ministry by Gov. Peter Mbah. The commissioner noted that Gov. Mbah wanted to ensure that genuine farmers were identified and given necessary inputs and technical support…