Author: Gabby

Ehiozuwa Agbonayinwa, a senatorial aspirant for Edo South under the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), has voiced strong criticism against the party’s national leader, Senator Seriake Dickson, alleging that Dickson imposes his will on the entire party. Speaking on Arise News on Friday, Agbonayinwa argued that the NDC’s main problem is the concentration of power in Dickson’s hands, which he described as undemocratic.

Agbonayinwa, a former member of the House of Representatives, is among party members frustrated with the leadership’s handling of primary elections. He claims he won the party’s ticket for the senatorial district during the primaries held on May 29 but has been denied the opportunity due to Dickson’s influence. The NDC has yet to officially announce results for Senate, House of Representatives, and state-level primaries, fueling discontent.

During the interview, Agbonayinwa stated, “One man cannot dictate for the whole NDC. You have a national leader, a national chairman, a secretary, and other officials—all wonderful people—but one man cannot decide the future of NDC members.” He emphasized that democracy means allowing the people to choose their representatives. “I won the senatorial seat; there’s no two ways about it. What stops them from announcing the result? The primary was on May 29, and now it’s June 5—what are they hiding?”

Agbonayinwa also criticized Dickson’s alleged plan to impose a female candidate to ensure gender representation, arguing that primary winners deserve their slots. “You can’t just decide that a lady must be a senator after primaries. Those who won should be given the opportunity,” he asserted. He called on the party to uphold democratic principles and release the election results promptly.

In a significant blow to illegal petroleum operations, the Nigerian Navy has confiscated 92,660 litres of suspected illegally refined diesel along the Rivers–Bayelsa border. The operation, conducted under the banner of Operation Delta Sentinel, targeted hidden storage sites used by criminal networks.

Personnel from the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) SOROH acted on credible intelligence to search the Okolomade Community in Abua-Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State. Aerial surveillance and ground patrols led to the discovery of 138 sacks filled with Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), cleverly concealed under foliage and along waterways.

Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, Director of Naval Information, confirmed that the recovered products were handled according to regulations, effectively preventing economic saboteurs from benefiting from their illicit trade. The Navy reaffirmed its dedication to intelligence-driven operations aimed at curbing crude oil theft and illegal fuel distribution across the Niger Delta.

Primate Elijah Ayodele, the leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, has publicly criticized First Lady Remi Tinubu for her response to the abduction of students in Oyo State. Speaking to a group of women on Friday, the cleric accused her of failing to act as a mother figure during the crisis.

According to Ayodele, the First Lady’s lack of urgency in demanding the safe return of the kidnapped schoolchildren could have severe political consequences. He warned that her behavior might lead to President Bola Tinubu losing the 2027 general elections.

“Remi Tinubu, you will make Tinubu lose the 2027 election. You did not behave like a mother at all. You should have done what Jonathan’s wife did,” Ayodele stated. He emphasized that instead of protesting and calling for the children’s release, she was distributing cars for political campaigns.

It is worth noting that the First Lady recently donated vehicles to women leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in five opposition-controlled states. This occurred during the launch of the Tinubu Torchbearers (TTB), a pro-Tinubu support group, at the State House banquet hall in Abuja.

Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Tijani, has issued a directive requiring all Area Commanders, Divisional Police Officers, and heads of tactical units to step up intelligence-driven policing and reinforce security monitoring across the state. The order was given during a high-level security meeting held on Friday with senior officers, as announced by the command’s spokesperson, SP Abimbola Adebisi. The gathering focused on evaluating the current security landscape in Lagos and examining how prepared various police divisions are to address new and emerging threats.

During the meeting, CP Tijani instructed commanders to keep close oversight of their personnel and ensure rapid reactions to criminal incidents and safety issues in their assigned zones. He highlighted the importance of professionalism, urging senior officers to set a good example and maintain high ethical standards while guiding junior staff to do the same. In a significant boost to operational capacity, the Lagos State Security Trust Fund donated 200 bulletproof vests and 200 bulletproof helmets to the police command. The equipment was handed over by the Fund’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Ayodele Ogunsan, who reaffirmed the organization’s dedication to backing security agencies in protecting residents and upholding public order.

Ogunsan stated that this donation would further enhance law enforcement’s ability to fight crime effectively and secure lives and property throughout Lagos. In response, the Commissioner expressed gratitude for the Trust Fund’s ongoing support and collaboration in advancing security operations. He noted that the protective gear would greatly improve officer safety in the field, raise morale, and boost overall performance. CP Tijani also thanked Lagos residents for their cooperation with the police, especially for sharing timely and credible intelligence that has helped prevent crime and aid investigations. He urged the public to continue working closely with law enforcement and assured them of the command’s firm dedication to keeping everyone safe. Additionally, he encouraged citizens to stay alert and promptly report any suspicious persons, activities, or movements via the command’s designated emergency lines.

The Kogi State Government has launched a crackdown on an unauthorized trailer park in New Zango, Abobo, within Okehi Local Government Area, acting on intelligence that tied the site to criminal activities such as drug dealing and other illicit operations.

State Security Adviser Commander Jerry Omodara (Rtd) spearheaded the operation, coordinating a joint security force that included the Nigerian Army, Nigeria Police Force, the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), and other law enforcement bodies.

Omodara reported that multiple individuals were taken into custody during the sweep, and security agents uncovered illegal substances and hard drugs at the location.

“This area had turned into a refuge for lawbreakers and a hub for unlawful acts. Based on reliable intelligence, we assembled security forces to clear the site and reinstate law and order,” he stated.

He emphasized that the exercise is part of the state government’s broader push to combat crime and enhance public safety, especially after Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo launched the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU).

Omodara pointed out that the location was never officially approved as a trailer park and confirmed that all trailers present have been moved out.

“We had previously warned occupants to leave the area. Today’s action is merely enforcing that order,” he added.

The security adviser also revealed that buildings believed to be criminal hideouts would be leveled to prevent a resurgence of illegal activity.

Reiterating the government’s dedication to safeguarding lives and property, Omodara stressed that security remains a top concern for the Ododo administration.

“We will keep taking strong measures against criminals wherever they operate. The protection of all Kogi State residents is our utmost priority,” he affirmed.

He also praised local residents for supplying prompt and accurate intelligence that helped security forces carry out the operation effectively.

The cleanup operation is set to proceed as authorities ramp up efforts to dismantle criminal networks and bolster security throughout the state.

Prominent human rights attorney Femi Falana has leveled serious accusations against Nigerian state governors, asserting that they have neglected their constitutional obligations regarding the oversight of the nation’s police force. In a televised interview on Channels Television, Falana weighed in on the ongoing debate surrounding the creation of state police, arguing that the governors’ dereliction of duty is at the core of the issue.

Falana clarified a common misconception: Nigeria does not operate a purely federal police system. Instead, the Nigeria Police Force functions as a federation police, involving both federal and state governments in its management. He pointed out that the Nigerian Police Council, which includes the president, the Inspector General of Police, the Police Service Commission chair, and all 36 state governors, is constitutionally mandated to oversee police operations. However, since 1999, this 39-member council has largely been inactive, with governors ceding their authority to the president.

According to Falana, this abdication has resulted in the president unilaterally controlling the police, bypassing the council’s intended checks and balances. For instance, the appointment or removal of an Inspector General requires council approval, but since the council never meets, this provision is ignored. Falana stated that the Police Council is the only security body in Nigeria that fails to convene, and governors’ failure to demand its proper functioning has exacerbated security challenges and fueled calls for state police.

While many advocate for new state police structures, Falana pointed out that such entities already exist in various forms across the country. Examples include Amotekun in the South-West, Neighborhood Watch in Lagos, the Civilian Joint Task Force in Borno, and Hisbah in Kano. He argued that the real problem is not the lack of agencies but inadequate funding, poor coordination, and insufficient equipment. He questioned how security personnel armed with locally made guns can confront criminals wielding AK-47 rifles in forests. Falana urged a focus on strengthening existing structures rather than creating new ones, emphasizing that proper resourcing and coordination are key to improving security.

The international human rights organization, Amnesty International, has issued an urgent appeal to the Nigerian government to take swift action to free schoolchildren kidnapped in Borno and Oyo states. In a statement posted on X on Friday, the group warned that the children are in grave danger and need to be saved without delay.

Amnesty highlighted that these abductions underscore the escalating threat to students and communities that are repeatedly subjected to armed assaults. The organization emphasized that all children held by armed groups must be rescued, and that attacks on educational institutions should be regarded as serious breaches of international law.

“The children abducted in Borno and Oyo are at serious risk of being harmed. Nigerian authorities must take all measures to return them to safety,” the organization stated. It further declared that “attacks on schools and abductions of children are war crimes.”

The group also pointed out that ongoing insecurity has forced many children to drop out of school, and teachers in affected areas have been displaced due to persistent violence. “Other children have had to abandon their education after being displaced by frequent violent attacks on their communities, and many teachers have been forced to flee to other states,” Amnesty added.

Amnesty stressed that schools should remain sanctuaries of safety, not sites of fear or danger. “Schools should be places of safety, and no child should have to choose between their education and their life,” the organization said. It called on Nigerian authorities to implement immediate and concrete measures to prevent further school attacks, protect children, and uphold their right to education.

In a unique display of faith and cultural devotion, female traditional worshippers from throughout Egbaland gathered on Friday to parade through key streets and sacred sites in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Their mission: to call upon divine powers for the safe return of those taken during the Oyo abduction incident.

Dressed in flowing white garments associated with their spiritual practice and bearing ritual objects, the women traversed prominent cultural and religious landmarks across the city. They chanted invocations and offered prayers to ancestral spirits and deities, appealing for an end to the escalating security crisis.

The ceremony was guided by Dr Omolara Fashola-MacGregor, who holds the titles Yeye Olokun Agbaye and Olori of Orile-Ilawo Kingdom. She emphasized that the procession was a solemn act of supplication and atonement, aimed at securing the protection of Yorubaland and the entire nation through the intercession of revered spirits and deities.

The worshippers made stops at several venerated shrines, including those at Olumo Rock, Lisabi Agbongbo-Akala, and the shrine honoring the legendary Egba warrior Sodeke. Their journey concluded at the Itoku shrine located at Orita Aje Junction in Abeokuta, where final rites were performed.

At each sacred site, participants engaged in prayers and traditional rituals consistent with age-old customs, seeking mercy and intervention.

Speaking to journalists during the event, Fashola-MacGregor explained that the spiritual exercise stemmed from profound worry over the safety of innocent schoolchildren, their educators, and other Nigerians currently in the hands of abductors. “We have come to implore the deities of our ancestors and the spirits of our heroes to step into this distressing situation. Our collective prayers are aimed at the safe return of all who have been kidnapped. We trust that when people unite with genuine faith and purpose, supernatural intervention can occur,” she stated.

Security forces in Plateau State have successfully dismantled a human trafficking operation, rescuing two pregnant women, a nursing mother, and seven minors from a makeshift transport hub in Jos South. The operation, which took place at Zawan Junction, targeted a syndicate that allegedly preyed on vulnerable individuals, luring them with false promises of employment in mining camps in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Olivia Dazyam, the Special Adviser on Gender to Governor Caleb Mutfwang and Chairperson of the Plateau State Gender and Equal Opportunities Commission, led the rescue mission. She recounted that her team acted on a tip from a local resident who noticed unusual activity at an illegal motor park operating only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The informant suspected the park was being used to transport victims to Ibadan for forced labor in mining sites.

During a discreet investigation, authorities discovered that children as young as 11 were being recruited for grueling work. The victims were promised wages, but in reality, they were subjected to bonded labor—working six days a week for their handlers and keeping only the earnings from the seventh day. Dazyam described the conditions as exploitative, noting that the system enriched a chain of beneficiaries at the expense of the victims’ freedom.

On the day of the raid, Dazyam and her team found five vehicles preparing for a night journey. They intercepted the group, identifying minors among the passengers. Three suspected traffickers were arrested in connection with the ring. Dazyam emphasized that many parents were unaware of their children’s whereabouts, with one father expressing shock that his two children were about to be transported.

The rescue underscores the ongoing fight against human trafficking in Plateau State, where illegal mining camps have become a magnet for exploitative labor practices. Authorities have vowed to intensify efforts to dismantle trafficking networks and protect vulnerable populations.

The academic community is mourning the loss of Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali, a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, who passed away on Saturday, June 6, 2026.

Professor Ambali, who served as the 9th Vice Chancellor of Unilorin from 2012 to 2017, died in the early hours of Saturday after a brief illness. He was 68 years old.

The current Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Professor Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, confirmed the news in a statement released by the institution’s spokesperson, Kunle Akogun, in Ilorin.

According to Professor Egbewole, the death of Professor Ambali represents a significant loss not only to the University of Ilorin and the Kwara State University, Malete, where he served as Pro-Chancellor, but also to the entire nation and humanity at large.

Professor Egbewole expressed his condolences to the family of the late scholar and the people of the Ilorin Emirate. He urged sympathizers, particularly members of the Unilorin community, to attend the Janazah (funeral prayer) for the former Vice Chancellor at his residence in Oloje Housing Estate, Ilorin, by 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.