Author: Vardiafrica

The remains of 17 military personnel, comprising four officers, 13 soldiers, slain by some irate youths in Okuama community in Delta State during a peace mission on March 14, have arrived at the National Military Cemetery, Abuja, for burial. The bodies, which arrived at about 2:30 p.m., were conveyed by the FCT Ambulance Emergency Services and other vehicles. In attendance are the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla. The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau; and Speaker of…

The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara has presented staff of office and a certificate of recognition to Ateke Tom, a former Niger Delta Agitator as a first-class King. Ateke was coronated as King of Okochiri, a kingdom in Okirika Local Government Area in 2017, and was recognised as a second-class King by former Governor Nyesom Wike. The stool was however elevated to first class by Governor Fubara this month. Governor Fubara while speaking during the presentation ceremony at the government house on Tuesday, said he acted within the ambit of the law to upgrade the traditional stool which Ateke is…

On March 20, workers who were not allowed access into the party office gathered around the premises chanting songs against and demanding the sack of the Labour Party Chairman whom they accused of financial impropriety. The leadership of rival camps in the party both faulted the picking of the LP by the NLC, though they disagree over the party’s leadership. According to the LP, the party’s leadership is not answerable to the congress. Last Thursday, former NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, weighed in on the crisis, saying the LP is answerable to the congress. Wabba, who was a guest on Channels…

Flights were grounded at the Port Harcourt International Airport following a protest embarked on by some women from the Ipo community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State The protesters all dressed in black blocked the airport roundabout gate which leads into the complex even as they brandished placards with various inscriptions some of which read: ‘What is our offence?’ ‘Over Seven Years of No NEPA Light,’ ‘No single access to mobile network,’ ‘No good access roads within Ipo community,’ among others. The situation disrupted flights within the airport for about two to three hours. A source inside the…

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has uncovered 27 cells belonging to the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) in 22 countries across the globe, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland In a document obtained by Channels Television on ‘Counter Terrorism Financing Newsletter’ dated 26th February, 2024, the NFIU said the US and the UK house the largest numbers of these IPOB cells per country, with seven and six operating IPOB cells respectively in both countries. The Federal Government had in 2017 proscribed IPOB and designated the self-determination group a terrorist organisation. Its…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says security agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission are investigating questionable foreign exchange allocations and forward contracts previously estimated at $2.4bn made by certain firms. Recently, the apex bank engaged a global firm, Deloitte, to carry out an audit of the $7 billion debts, revealing that about $2.4bn FX allocations from the $7bn backlogs were invalid. Briefing journalists in Abuja after the 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, the CBN governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said security agencies were investigating the FX transactions that had been declared invalid by the audit report Cardoso…

President Bola Tinubu has declared that individuals involved in despicable crimes such as kidnapping must be treated as terrorists. The President made the declaration on Tuesday at a Ramadan dinner with members of the Federal judiciary led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. Reiterating the government’s resolve to defeat banditry, the President said those who resort to kidnapping children are cowards, incapable of confronting the might of the Nigerian Armed Forces. ”We must treat kidnappers as terrorists,” the President said, according to a statement by his spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale. “They are cowardly. They have been degraded.…

The observation missions deployed to Senegal by the European Union and West Africa’s regional bloc on Tuesday praised the smooth running of the presidential election, won by an anti-establishment opponent after three years of unrest. Around 7.3 million Senegalese were eligible to take part in Sunday’s vote, which saw 44-year-old Bassirou Diomaye Faye elected as the youngest president in the country’s history after his main rival and government candidate, Amadou Ba, conceded defeat. “Voting generally went smoothly and in a largely peaceful atmosphere,” said Ibrahim Gambari, head of the mission deployed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS),…

Governor Dauda Lawal has met with President Bola Tinubu to discuss the alarming increase in banditry and related criminal activities in Zamfara State. The meeting was held on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. A statement by the spokesperson for the governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, revealed that the governor briefed President Tinubu on the security situation in Zamfara, particularly the resurgence of attacks in some areas. According to the statement, President Tinubu and the governor discussed various strategies and measures to tackle the insecurity, including enhanced security deployment, intelligence gathering, and community engagement programs. The meeting also highlighted the need…

Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi has confirmed his invitation by security agencies over some comments he made on the activities of bandits. In a social media post on Tuesday, hours after the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, said security agencies have summoned Gumi, the Islamic cleric said his engagement with security agencies on how to curb the menacing trend of banditry. The minister had said nobody is above the law and if found guilty, Gumi would be reprimanded. In his post titled, ‘Only one person is above the law: the innocent’, Gumi said, “Last night I got many frantic calls from…