Author: Vardiafrica

Residents of Okuama community, Delta state, have instituted a suit against the Nigerian Army over an alleged breach of their fundamental human rights. In the suit marked FHC/WR/CS/41/2024 and filed before a federal high court in Warri on Thursday, the plaintiffs are seeking N200 billion as general and exemplary damages. On March 14, a group of army personnel comprising a lieutenant colonel, two majors, one captain and 12 soldiers were killed in the community. Since then, there have been military operations in Okuama in a bid to find the perpetrators. In the suit, the applicants averred that they have been subjected…

The police have detained a female police officer who was the aide-de-camp to the embattled former Kogi State Governor, Mr Yahaya Bello, over allegations of being part of the security aides that obstructed the arrest of the former governor in Abuja. The ADC was arrested alongside other police officers attached to Mr Bello. They are being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Abuja. Sources within the Police say their arrests and detention followed an order by the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, directing their immediate withdrawal from the former governor. The source who spoke to our correspondent…

Weeks after 17 military personnel were killed in an attack in Okuama, Delta State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori has visited the community, promising the safe return of the indigenes who fled the community after the act. The governor, accompanied by some government officials, reiterated that innocent citizens would not be made to suffer for what they know nothing about. The Commanding Officer of 181 Army Amphibious Battalion, two majors, one captain, and 13 soldiers were ambushed and killed in March, an attack which drew widespread outrage and condemnation. It led to a manhunt that stretched from Delta State to Bayelsa with…

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) on Friday shared a total sum of N1.123 trillion March 2024 Federation Account Revenue to the three tiers of government after its April meeting in Abuja. A statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation Bawa Mokwa indicated that in March 2024, import duty, value-added tax, (VAT) Gas Royalty, companies’ income tax (CIT), and others increased considerably while excise duty, oil royalty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and CET Levies recorded decreases. FAAC in a communique at the end…

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of new boards for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). The approvals of their appointments were contained in separate Friday statements by presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale. According to him, the people in the SEC board are: (1) Mr. Mairiga Aliyu Katuka — Chairman (2) Mr. Emomotimi Agama — Director-General (3) Frana Chukwuogor — Executive Commissioner (Legal and Enforcement) (4) Mr. Bola Ajomale — Executive Commissioner (Operations) (5) Mrs. Samiya Hassan Usman — Executive Commissioner (Corporate Services) (6) Mr. Lekan Belo — Non-Executive Commissioner (7) Mr. Kasimu Garba…

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has announced a remarkable achievement of over a 100% increase in the state’s monthly Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Governor Fubara revealed that the IGR has surged from approximately N11 billion under the previous administration to between N26 and N27 billion in about one year of his tenure. He made this announcement during his address to the House of Representatives Committee on Public Account members, who visited him at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday to commend his government for hosting their retreat. Governor Fubara thanked the Reps Committee for selecting Rivers for their…

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe has commended Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) and the Bayelsa State Government for the completion and inauguration of a Learning Centre and Digital Library at Niger Delta University (NDU), Amassoma, Bayelsa State. The state-of-the-art facility which boasts three floors – a 2,300-seater Library Building – and a fully equipped digital library, also has a Wi-Fi Lounge, offices, digital educational technology rooms, a 500KVA generator housed within a purpose-built external structure, 500KVA transformer, a dedicated water facility and overhead tank, a restaurant/recreation hub, etc.Engr. Ogbe,…

Clement Oghenerukvwe, the traditional ruler of the Ewu kingdom who surrendered himself in the course of investigations into the killings of 17 military officers in Okuoma, Delta State, has been released by the Nigerian Army. At a brief ceremony at the Nigerian Army Headquarters in Abuja, the Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, handed him over to the Senator representing Delta Central, Ede Dafinone. General Nwachukwu explained that the Army has painstakingly reviewed every available information on the incident, and has come to the preliminary observation, that while the culpability has not conclusively established anything against the…

Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja has dismissed the money laundering allegations filed against a former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Delivering a ruling on a no-case submission filed by the former AGF, Justice Ekwo, held that the EFCC failed to establish a prima facie case against Adoke. Ekwo further said the EFCC did not provide any evidence to prove the essential elements of the offence against the first Defendant, Adoke. The EFCC had charged Adoke and Abubakar Aliyu, a property developer, in 2017 alleging money laundering…

The Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) has put the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on its watchlist to prevent him leaving the country. This as the Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, has also withdrawn all police officers attached to the embattled former Governor of Kogi State. In a circular dated April 18, 2024 and signed by Assistant Comptroller of Immigration DS Umar, for the Comptroller-General, Kemi Nandap, the NIS alerted the police and the Department of State Services (DSS) to effect the former governor’s arrest. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had earlier declared Bello wanted…