₦airaland Forum

eakenbor:
May what happened to Ruth Matthew happen to you. You are saying this because one of your Daddy GOs is affected. When your own happens, then you will know how corrupt Nigerian bloggers have become. Let Nairaland continue to ignore until they can't anymore.

eakenbor:
Up till this moment, Nairaland and their moderators are still pretending not to have heard of this matter. It goes a long way to confirm Nairaland is in their pockets. What a disgrace!

Sodiq Oyeleke


The Inspector-General of Police has commended police officers for rejecting N300,000 bribe and returning N600,000 paid into one of their accounts in error.

The police boss charged Senior Police Officers to always commend their personnel who have exemplarily excelled in their duties, which have in turn impacted positively on the goodwill and image of the Nigeria Police Force.

He said this in a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Tuesday.

“The IGP made the charge while commending the exemplary performances of some officers and men across the State Commands, particularly Sergeant Sampson Ekikere, attached to 22 Police Mobile Force, Ikeja, Lagos, for his uncommon professionalism exhibited on Saturday, 19th March 2022, when he painstakingly recovered a wallet, belonging to one Mr. Lukman Abaja, and traced the owner to deliver the found item.

“He equally commended Sergeant Yahaya Ahmed attached to Higher Shari’ah Court, Tudun Wada Division, Gusau, Zamfara State, for rejecting the sum of N300, 000 bribe, offered to him by one Chukwuka Jude, who was arrested at the same court on 18th January, 2022 for the offence of false presentation and cheating by impersonation.

“Also commended was CSP Elemide Akinkunmi Bishop who was Head of Operations at the Police Radio. CSP Bishop was mistakenly credited with the sum of N600,000 into his Police Account. The officer withdrew the sum and remitted it back to the Nigeria Police Cooperative Society treasury, showing attributes of an honest and trustworthy police officer,” the statement added.

Baba, however, assured the entire Police workforce of sustainable efforts in improving their condition of service.

By Jude Aguguo Owuamanam

There are possibilities that 17 members of the Imo State House of Assembly, who at various times defected from the parties under which they were elected, may vacate their office.

This followed the recent sacking of Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi and some lawmakers who defected with him from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – on whose ticket they were elected – to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Another court had also sacked 20 members of the Cross River State House of Assembly who defected with Governor Ben Ayade from the PDP to APC.

Encouraged by these developments, the plaintiffs in Imo have dusted up a suit they filed against the defection of the lawmakers in July 2020.

The suit was filed by representatives of Legal Defence and Assistance Project, Chijioke Nwachukwu, Chibuzo Ekene and Mmerole Modestus (the plaintiffs) against the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Clerk of the House, Independent National Electoral Commission, Attorney General of the Federation, Hon Collins Chiji, Hon. Amarachi Chyna Iwuanyanwu, Uju Onwudiwe and 15 others.

In suit No. FHC/Ow/27/2020 filed by their counsel, Nath Epele and Co., the plaintiffs asked the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri to declare the seat of the defendants vacant by virtue of the fact that they defected from the party that elected them into another party.

Former Speaker Collins Chiji representing Isiala Mbano had left his former party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) under whose platform he got to the House and defected to PDP which won the 2019 governorship election in the state in order to grab the Speakership.

However, a few days after January 14, 2019, Supreme Court judgment, which sacked Emeka Ihedioha and declared Hope Uzodimma of the APC as governor, Chiji, along with other members, moved to the APC to retain his position.

Chiji and majority leader, Mr. Chigozie Nwaneri, announced their defection on the floor of the House, while others wrote letters of defection.

Others who were elected under the Action Alliance (AA) also dumped the party and joined the APC.

They are; Chyna Amara Iwuanyanwu (Nwangele LGA); Innocent Egwim (Ideato North LGA); Chidiebere Ogbunikpa (Okigwe LGA); Obinna Okwara (Nkwerre LGA); Paul Emeziem (Onuimo LGA); Ekene Nnodim (Orsu LGA); Duru Johnson (Ideato South LGA); Ngozi Obiefule (Isu) and Herculus Okoro (Ohaji-Egbema) and the minority leader, Ekene Nnodumele (APGA Orsu).

A few days later, Eddy Obinna (Aboh Mbaise), Samuel Otibe (Ahiazu Mbaise) and Uche Ogbagu (Ikeduru) all of PDP, defected to APC.

Some months later, the leadership of the House was changed as Mr. Paul Emeziem of Onuimo replaced Chiji as Speaker, while Iwuanyanwu became the deputy speaker.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

By Zakariyya Adaramola


The Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals of Nigeria (CIFIPN) says 70 to 75 per cent of Nigeria’s national budget is lost to corrupt practices at all levels of governance in the country.

CIFIPN president, Dr Enape Victoria Ayishetu, said this at a press briefing in Abuja on Sunday.

She said the loopholes would continue if the right mechanisms and cogent interventionist measures were not put in place to check the trend.

She noted that brilliant budget ideas hardly translate to the actual implementation of the government’s laudable expenditure framework.

Ayushetu attributed this to “well-orchestrated systemic and endemic monumental corruption of the highest proportion.”

She said the larger chunk of Nigeria’s resources “always end up as products of fraud, corruption and cybercrime. This is a travesty of rational realism as the country cannot justify how the huge sums, we see every year in the national budget are not often matched with a commensurate measure of realistic budget performance.”

She said fraud, corruption and cybercrimes “thrive” in Nigeria owing to a lack of investigation and prosecution of the crimes.

She urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Chartered Institute of Forensic and Investigative Professionals Bill 2021.

According to her, forensic investigation is vital for the restoration of the nation’s economy and the fight against fraud, corruption and cybercrime.

By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT: Operatives of the Nigeria Police have arrested a man suspected to be a ritual killer at Barako Community in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State.

The suspect, identified as Sunday Kara, was accused of killing a 24-year-old girl in the community after having her canal knowledge.

It was gathered that the incident happened on Friday, according to a source within the community.

The source alleged that the victim hailed from Nwebiara community, neighbour to Barakor in the same Local Government.

The source, who gave her name simply as Barisi alleged that Kara, popularly called Rugged Star took the girl to an uncompleted building in Barako in the early hours on Friday and killed her.

When apprehended and interrogated by community leaders the suspect said he is from Bomu and his father’s name is Leede Kara.

He denied killing the victim, adding that late the girl was an asthma patient and died while they were making love.

However, the Menebon of Bomu, HRH. Mene Vurasi Benedict Tenalo, when contacted on phone distanced himself from the suspect and called on the police to ensure that justice is done on the matter.

He further advised that the police should be professional in their investigation as Bomu is a peace-loving Community and would not allow the criminal element tarnish it’s the image.

The spokesperson of the state police command, DSP. Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the development, noting that the suspect was already in detention.

Iringe-Koko said police have commenced full-scale investigation into the issues, adding the suspect would be prosecuted if found culpable.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has again blamed the Federal Government for the ongoing strike in public universities.

The union’s National President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, stated in an interview with our correspondent that the government “went to sleep” for eight months after it completed negotiations with the union in May 2021.

According to him, ASUU waited for actions from the government to no avail.

Sunday PUNCH reports that ASUU had on Monday, March 14, 2022 announced an eight-week rollover of its four-week warning strike, which ended a day earlier.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Osodeke explained that the union embarked on the eight-week rolling strike to give the Federal Government “more time.”

He said, “The initial idea was that the government would have met all the demands within the four weeks. But since the government said they could not meet up with our demands in four weeks, we said let us give them eight weeks. We just don’t want to declare an indefinite strike. Let us hope that in eight weeks, they meet up so that schools can return to normal and there will be an improvement in the system.

“All they have done is to make promises like they had done in the past. For our members, if you have made promises in the past that you did not fulfil, why should we believe you again? If the government was serious about these problems, within four weeks the problems would have been solved.

“We say release the white paper, release the revitalisation fund for universities and sign the agreement, these things should not have taken four weeks if they were serious.

“In 2021, ASUU did not go on strike and I’m sure you are aware of that. We completed negotiations in 2021, did we go on strike? Between May 2021 and February 2022, that is eight months, for them to go and look at what we discussed; did we go on strike during this period? No, but the government went to sleep.

“For eight months, the government went to sleep and when ASUU went on strike, they came up.”

When asked for his reaction to claims by the Federal Government that there were no funds to meet the demands of the union, Osodeke said, “The government said there is no money but they have money for elections. Between education and election, which one is much more important? They constructed a railway from Kaduna to Niger Republic, is that more important than education?

“They claim there is no money, but the President increased the duty tour allowance and you see them travelling from one country to another. Does that prove that there is no money? Who are the ones benefiting from the DTA? Aren’t they political office holders? But the one that concerns the ordinary Nigerians, they claim they don’t have money. It is not correct; it is just the issue of priority”.

From Fred Itua, Abuja

Immediate-past governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano, who was arrested on Thursday night at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, en route United States of America, has been denied administrative bail by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

According to EFCC sources, Obiano is being interrogated and detained over alleged embezzlement of funds during his eight-year tenure as governor.

The source said that the anti-graft agency will keep Obiano in its Abuja office throughout the weekend, and may likely secure an order from a Magistrate Court to detain him for more days.

The source said that Obiano was ferried to Abuja in the early hours of Friday from Lagos, where operatives are drilling him on how the alleged funds were misappropriated.

The source also revealed that some commissioners and principal officers, who served in Obiano’s administration, may be picked up by EFCC operatives in the coming days.

Obiano has been in a running battle with the EFCC. Last year, the anti-graft agency, issued a notice, baring Obiano from leaving the country even as governor with immunity.

Unable to effect his arrest, operatives of the Commission were on high alerts at the various exit international airports across the country, waiting for the former governor.

Spokesman of the Commission, Wilson Uwujaren, didn’t respond to calls placed on his GSM to further confirm the line of action by the anti-graft agency.

PORT HARCOURT – White Witches Association of Nigeria (WWAN), has come out with a damning prediction on the political future of Vice President Yemi Osibanjo to the effect that he would not win the forthcoming presidential election no matter how hard he tries.

The Association said that God brought Osibanjo for a particular mission and that he would conclude that mission on May 29, 2023 and therefore advised him to return to the pulpit where God has a higher assignment for him more than being the “head of state”.

Speaking in an exclusive telephone interview with SATURDAY INDEPENDENT on Saturday, the spokesman of the witches and the former board member, Edo State Traditional Council in the administration of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Dr Iboi Okhue, said that the Vice President was sent by God to deliver a specific assignment which he will finish next year, advising that it would be a “waste” of resources, energy and time if the Professor of Law sticks out his neck to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.

“God sents him to deliver a message to Nigerians. He has done that and he should go back to the church. God will use him in a bigger way other than being a head of state,” Okhue said.

Okhue revealed that a sitting governor from the South-East geopolitical zone would be impeached except he engages in fervent and effective prayer, adding that a topnotch political figure in Nigeria would die before the next elections and his death would shake the entire country and the international community.

“Some of the serving governors will have serious problems and one of them will be removed from office before his time. The only solution is serious prayer. In the South-East, one of the governors will have problem with his own people and he will be removed from office before the next election,” he said.

The WWAN Spokesman blamed the present precarious situation of Nigeria on the cabal that has hijacked the government of President Buhari, whom, he said has a good intention for the country but has always been frustrated by people who don’t wish the country well.

Dr Okhue said that after the meeting of the witches which took place in Aladja, Warri in Delta state in February, far-reaching decisions were taken which include free, fair and credible elections next year so that whoever emerges as the next President, Nigerians will not have any reason but to accept him.

The mouth-piece of the witches who would not want to disclose the geo-political zone that would produce the next president for security reason said “he will be a man Nigerians will love and accept. He will reposition Nigeria for greatness again and clear all the piling debts the country has accumulated.

“We had our meeting in the last week of February in Aladja, Warri. Nigeria has suffered for too long and the only way to tackle that problem is to have a credible election. That is why I can tell you that the next election will be very free and transparent. The winner will be accepted by Nigerians and he will do very well,” he assured.

Pandemonium has engulfed residents of Udu in the Udu Local Government Area of Delta State as gunmen attacked and assassinated a groom and his little son.

PUNCH Metro gathered that the incident occurred at old Ekete road, opposite Ghawan junction at about 6pm in the evening of Thursday, March 17, 2022, as the gunmen invaded the abhor and shot the groom and his little son to death.

It was further gathered that the deceased had earlier in the day concluded his traditional marriage before he was shot dead in his residential area.

Witnesses said that the gory incident forced traders, shop owners and residents to flee the area for fear of reprisal attacks.

It was, however, gathered that the incident had been reported to the Ovwian Police Division for further investigation.

Meanwhile, the two corpses were said to have been deposited in an undisclosed morgue in Udu town.

The Police Public Relations Officer for Delta State Command, DSP Bright Edafe, could not be reached for comments on the incident as of the time of filing this report.

Kinsmen and loyalists of a former Governor of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode, have commenced discreet mobilisation to drag the Epe-born politician into the 2023 governorship race, multiple sources told Daily Trust Thursday.

Investigations by our correspondent showed that the move to prop Ambode to complete his second term in office has been on since last year, starting from his community in Epe.

The movement, which started virtually through several social media platforms, has crystallised into a state-wide movement to ‘bring back’ Ambode.

It was however not clear if Ambode would be contesting under the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the incumbent Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is also said to be interested in seeking re-election.

Daily Trust reports that although Ambode has not dumped the party, he has not identified with the party in the state either since his unceremonious exit after he failed to clinch a second-term ticket.

However, a group loyal to him also conducted a parallel congress during the state congress of the party held last year.

While Ambode has not disclosed his next political move ahead of the 2023 elections, he took to his Twitter page recently to ask the youth to get their permanent voter’s card, saying the youths are coming as power is in their hands.

But feelers showed the former governor might take another shot in the governorship and the mobilisation has since commenced toward actualising the ambition.

It was learnt that a one-million man walk had been planned for him penultimate week before it was postponed till after the convention of the APC slated for next week.

The coordinator, Ambode Fan’s Club Worldwide, Prince Akoja Adeleke in a chat with our correspondent yesterday confirmed the move, saying the plan to bring back Ambode was the initiative of his friends and admirers, among them politicians, non-partisan people, market women.

An activist and member of the APC, Comrade Toyin Raheem, said it is within the constitutional right of Ambode to seek a second term.

However, he noted that he was not sure if Ambode is still a member of the APC or not, adding though that he can still contest under any political party.

Daily Trust reports that as of this moment, Sanwo-Olu has not hinted on whether he would contest for a second term or not. He recently declared that Lagosians would decide whether he deserved a second term or not.

There has also been anxiety in the state over an alleged plot to stop him from seeking a second term for another anointed party prompting the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to offer him (Sanwo-Olu its ticket).

The APC however rejected the offer which it describes as a Greek gift, saying, “The platform that initially elected Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, having acknowledged his glowing performance across various sectors in his first term, is certainly still available to re-contest for another term.”

By Steve Oko

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A Magistrate Court sitting in Umuahia, Abia State, yesterday, remanded a popular actress, Chioma Toplis at the Nigeria Correctional Centre, Afara for alleged cybercrime.

The 48-year-old was accused of using her Facebook page to post “a malicious publication” against the Chairman of Abia State Traditional Prime Ministers Council, High Chief Uche Akwukwuegbu popularly known as BAWAS.

According to the charge sheet marked 124c/2022 and signed by SE Onyemauche, a Chief Superintendent of Police, the accused used her Facebook page to tag Akwukwuegbu as ” a rapist and a ritualist”.

In a one-count charge entitled:”Inspector General of Police vs Chioma Toplis ‘f’ aged 48″, the accused committed the alleged offence between May 28, and 31, 2021.


The charge read:”That you Chioma Toplis ‘f’ between the 28th and 31st of May, 2021, while residing in Nigeria, and being a social network user, and being under the Umuahia North Magisterial District and knowingly and maliciously published in your Facebook page “CHIOMA TOPLIS” the following: “Ur rapist father invited his daughter-in-law (now Ex) to Nigeria without his son’s consent and slept with her”.

” You equally called him a ritualist who used his last daughter as the sacrificial lamb of the family, hence she is perpetually sick and hidden in the house. A publication which you know to be false and intended to cause annoyance, inconveniences, danger, obstruction, enmity, hatred, ill-will or needless anxiety to the person of Chief Uche Akwukwuegbu, the Chairman of Abia State Traditional Prime Ministers Council, a renowned Community Leader and business mogul, and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 24(b)of the Cyber Crime (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act, 2015, as applicable in Abia State.

After reading the count charge, there was no plea for bail, and the trial Chief Magistrate, Idika Kalu, ordered that the accused be remanded at the Afara Correctional Centre.

The matter was adjourned till April 14.

Later in an interview, Chief Akwukwuegbu who identified the accused as his sister-in-law expressed grief that she resorted to blackmailing him “for who knows what”.

The business mogul who claimed innocence of all the allegations said he was still at a loss why the accused would resort to cheap blackmail to disrepute him, insisting that she has to substantiate her claims.

He alleged that the accused had boasted that “she is highly connected and untouchable after rubbishing me on her Facebook page but she has to prove it at the court”.

Mai Mala Buni, governor of Yobe, has paid a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in the United Kingdom.

Buhari had left Nigeria for the UK on March 6 for a medical checkup.

The Yobe governor, who was in charge of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker committee before Abubakar Sani Bello, governor of Niger, took over, is said to be on a medical trip abroad.

Buni was said to have written a letter to the committee requesting a leave of absence, but Bello had denied receiving such a letter.

The Yobe governor’s visit to Buhari comes amid controversy in the APC over leadership of the caretaker committee and plans to scuttle the party’s convention scheduled for March 26.

The crisis in the party has also seen governors taking sides over the matter, including Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna governor, who said Buni had secured a “nuclear weapon” to destroy the party’s planned convention, while Rotimi Akeredolu, Ondo governor, had described his colleagues working against the party as “Yahoo Yahoo governors”.

Meanwhile, Buhari waded into the matter on Sunday, and warned leaders of the party against “distractions” ahead of the convention.


See photos of Buni’s visit to Buhari below.


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Russia has lost up to 40 per cent of the units it sent into Ukraine when Moscow invaded its neighbour in February, the Ukrainian military’s general staff said on Wednesday.

The troops were either completely destroyed or had lost their combat capabilities, he said at the daily bulletin but did not give concrete numbers.

The information could not be verified independently.

The area surrounding embattled Mariupol continued to face the most serious situation.

The Russian army was attempting a blockade of the city from the western and eastern fringes of the port city but was suffering “significant losses,” according to the bulletin.

Ukrainian authorities said some 20,000 people from Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, managed to get to safety on Tuesday.

About 30,000 civilians nationwide were able to leave threatened areas on Tuesday, but a column with relief supplies for Mariupol is still being blocked by Russian soldiers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In the Odessa region, Russian ships were shelling the Ukrainian coast but there was no attempt to land, Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko said.

Ukrainian and Russian representatives are set to resume their negotiations on Wednesday.

Zelensky said demands are starting to get more realistic while warning it would still take a while before Ukraine can be satisfied with talks.

Meanwhile, the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia assured Zelensky of their solidarity and support during a visit to Kyiv.

They travelled to Kyiv by train in a gesture of support for Ukraine.

By Evelyn Usman & Ikechukwu Nnochiri


Suspended Commander of the Intelligence Response Team, IRT, DCP Abba Kyari, who is remanded in the custody of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, over his involvement in a 25kg cocaine deal, has refused to officially respond to the query issued him by Force Headquarters.

This is even as the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday, threatened to strike out the N500 million fundamental right enforcement suit Kyari filed against the Federal Government.

It was gathered that the embattled detective was handed the query while in NDLEA’s custody, close to a month ago.

Rather than answer the query, sources told Vanguard that Kyari said he could not write from where he was.

“That alone is a reply to the query. He stated that he could not write from where he was. He said when he gets out, he would officially answer the query, as he was not in the right frame of mind to answer officially,” a source said.


Court threatens to strike out his N500m suit against FG

Meanwhile, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has threatened to strike out the N500 million fundamental right enforcement suit Kyari filed against the Federal Government.
He had before his arraignment on March 7, instituted the legal action to challenge his arrest and detention by the NDLEA.

The applicant, among other things, is praying the court to order the FG to pay him N500 million and also tender written apology to him in two national dailies for the unlawful violation of his fundamental human rights.

Meanwhile, at the resumed proceedings in the matter, yesterday, the NDLEA, through its Director, Prosecution and Legal Services, Mr. Joseph Sunday, told the court that he was just served a further affidavit by Kyari’s lawyer, Cynthia Ikenna.

Sunday noted that the agency served its counter-affidavit on the applicant since February 24.

He argued that going by rules of the court, the applicant filed the further affidavit out of time.

Responding, Kyari’s lawyer, prayed the court for a short adjournment to enable her to regularize her processes.

Before he adjourned the matter till April 7, Justice Inyang Ekwo warned that he would strike out the matter for lack of deligent prosecution.

Justice Ekwo said: “If on next date you are not ready, I will strike out the matter. Put your house in order before the date of hearing.

“If you have an excuse not to be here on that date, I will take it that you are out to frustrate this matter and I will strike it out.”

Kyari had in his suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/182/22, accused the NDLEA of assisting drug peddlers to ship in cocaine into the country, alleging that a corrupt officer of the agency framed him up after he went to demand for compensation for a whistleblower that gave information that led to the arrest of a suspect by the Police Intelligence Response Team, IRT.

He told the court that the said suspect had been shipping cocaine into the country from Ethiopia, using all the airports, “with the knowledge of the NDLEA officers”.

In an affidavit deposed to by one Muhammad Nur Usman, who identified himself as his younger brother, Kyari told the court that NDLEA officials usually cleared the drug baron “and even escort him from the airport to his destination”.

Narrating the circumstance that led to his present ordeal, Kyari, said: “That on that fateful day, the suspect as usual shipped drugs (cocaine) from Ethiopia to Enugu Airport. The officer of NDLEA cleared him within the airport, then officer of FIB-IRT arrested the suspect with the help of an information.

“That before the informant accepted to work with the officers of FIB-IRT, they both had an agreement to compensate the informant.

“That officers of FIB-IRT, having noticed that officers of NDLEA were the ones clearing the said suspect with his drugs (cocaine), they immediately took the suspect to NDLEA and also reported those officers involved in the act.

“That instead of the NDLEA to handle the matter accordingly and bring their officers involved to book, they decided to frustrate the informant, thereby refusing to compensate the informant.

“That it was at this juncture that the attention of the DCP Abba Kyari was called, who because the NDLEA officer involved is his friend, decided to intervene for the purpose of compensating the Informant.

“That the NDLEA officer who refused to compensate the informant was the one who framed DCP Abba Kyari up on a trump-up allegation that he was trying to bribe him.

“That the agent of the Respondent declared the Applicant wanted because of a mere allegation that he was trying to bribe an NDLEA officer without sufficient proof.

“That the Nigerian Police Force, based on the allegation of the Respondent arrested the Applicant on February 12, 2022, and handed over to the NDLEA.”

He maintained that his continued detention amounted to an infringement on his fundamental human rights.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed directly to Russian soldiers to surrender in his latest video address.

In a video posted early on Telegram early Tuesday, Zelensky told the invading forces to surrender and have a chance to live.

He said: “On behalf of the Ukrainian people, we give you a chance, a chance to survive.

According to the translation provided with the video, Zelenskyy said: “If you surrender to our forces, we will treat you as people are supposed to be treated, as people, decently. Somehow you weren’t treated in your army. And somehow your army doesn’t treat ours.”

He added that his country’s fighters continue to resist the invasion and have inflicted significant damage on the Russian army.

“You have it all figured out already. You won’t take anything from Ukraine. You will take lives. There’s a lot of you. But your life will also be taken. But why should you die? Why? I know you want to survive,” he said.

He added that the Russian forces will face a new trial for committing war crimes.

“Responsibility for the Russian military’s war crimes is inevitable,” Zelenskyy warned. “Responsibility for a deliberate humanitarian disaster in Ukrainian cities is inevitable.”

Zelenskyy also pleaded with ordinary Russians to continue to resist Russian President Vladimir Putin’s disinformation campaign.

State media in Russia used the term “special military operation” instead of “war” to describe the fighting and falsely claim Ukraine is ruled by neo-Nazis, according to the BBC.

Zelenskyy made a special mention of Marina Ovsyannikov, the TV editor who stormed the Channel One news set with a poster saying, “Stop the war. Don’t believe the propaganda. They lie to you,” in Russian.

“Until your country has completely closed itself off from the whole world, turning into a very big North Korea, you have to fight. You must not lose your chance,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has endorsed a plan to conclusively end the fuel scarcity in the country, a presidency official has said.

The official, who disclosed this on Sunday in Abuja, said the plan would ensure that incidence of fuel scarcity does not occur again.

He said that in a matter of days, virtually every state in the country would have returned to a very low queue situation at filling stations or a complete return to normalcy.

The source said the plan, which was presented to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) last week, had been signed off previously by the president before he left the country last Sunday.

The plan, according to the source, had clear goals that included a conclusive determination on the initial cause of the scarcity with attendant consequences imposed.

“The plan is designed to do everything necessary to end the scarcity quickly and hold those responsible for it in the first instance responsible so as to avoid a repeat,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that what used to be a recurring decimal of fuel scarcity had been reduced to the barest minimum by the Buhari administration until the recent case of adulterated petrol.

The plan drawn up by NNPC executives, however, had won the endorsement of the president and the praise of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, especially because of the 24-hour round the clock operations.

NAN reports that 24-hour sales in major supply centers in the country and 24-hour continuous loading at all depots coordinated personally by NNPC Group Managing Director, Mr Mele Kyari, with the active participation of the Director-General of the DSS, Alhaji Yusuf Bichi, are ongoing.

The 24-operations also have an enforcement element with monitoring teams “to prevent any act of sabotage and ensure smooth operations.”

That 24 hour operations also included the direct participation and support of members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and private depot owners.

By the end of the previous week, the source said the country had over one billion litres of petrol stock equivalent to about a month sufficiency based on the 60 million litres per day evacuation.

He said Lagos and Warri/Oghara loading zones hold the highest land stock of petrol with over 200million litres and over 100 million litres respectively, with the balance of the stock held as Marine Stock.

According to the source, the endorsed plan also maintains the high evacuation rate which is the total amount of stock supplied until such a time that the distribution situation is normalised.

NAN reports that by the middle of the previous week, a National Filling Stations Queue Map presented to the presidency and at FEC indicated that fuel supply had returned to normal in the four states of Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and the FCT.

In another six states- Oyo, Osun, Lagos, Imo, Abia and Ebonyi–there were very small queues with mostly about 10 cars at a time.

It also indicated that in 13 states there were medium queues of maximum of 50 vehicles.

Those states were Delta, Rivers, Anambra, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Kano, Ogun, Ondo, Sokoto and Zamfara.

In the rest of the 14 states, there were still high queues of above 50 cars at a time in the filling stations as at the middle of last week.

“The most important thing to the presidency is that this scarcity is quickly ended and a recurrence firmly avoided in the future.

“This now seems certainly possible,” the official said.

I wish I had never met him. I wish we had never crossed paths that day at school. I wish he had never asked for my number and I wish I didn’t let him take me on a date where we spent the whole night talking — I felt like I had known him for my entire life and I never wanted it to end.

I regret letting him kiss me over and over and over again until our teenage lips were chapped and sore. I wish he never took me home to his parents, who eventually became like a second family to me. I wish he never loved me.

I wish he didn’t exist.

Because if he didn’t exist, then I wouldn’t know what it’s like to fall in love with the perfect guy, and then subsequently have to dump him because his dick was too small.

He was perfect in every way, except the one. The first time we met, it felt like there was a magnet pulling us together. I had to know him. I had to talk to him.

I wasn’t even in control of my body anymore, it was completely acting on its own accord. I went up and talked to him (something I would otherwise never, ever do) and the conversation flowed like magic.

His name was Ethan and as I introduced myself, I had to stop myself from saying “Hi Ethan, I’m in love with you.”

We didn’t stop talking. I gave him my number and we went out on our first date that next day. Things quickly snowballed into a relationship and it was the first time that I ever really understood what people meant when they said they’d found their soulmates.

“So this is what it’s like,” I thought to myself one night as he pulled away from my driveway after another five hour long date.

I couldn’t understand how a guy this incredible, gorgeous, and charming could be single. I thought for sure some girl would’ve swooped him up in high school, if she were smart.

I understand now.

But before we get there, you have to understand how utterly obsessed we were with each other. I had never been so physically, emotionally, spiritually (crazy, I know) attracted to someone. It’s like I had been put on this Earth to find him. I couldn’t want for anything more in a person. There was no jealousy, no possessiveness, no question in our minds that this relationship was it. You could’ve offered me Ryan Gosling on a silver platter and I would’ve said “No, thanks,” and asked for Ethan instead. I was completely and irrevocably in love.

And then the pants came off.

We were young and in love so obviously the next step was sex. The no-pants dance. The horizontal hula. Dry humping just wasn’t doing it for us anymore, so we decided to go all the way.

Neither of us were exactly virgins, so while it was a huge step in our relationship, it wasn’t like it was something completely brand new.

What he was packing (or rather, not packing) down there was, however, very new to me.

At this point in my life, I had seen a dick or two or three or more, who knows. I knew what they looked like. Sure, they differed in size, but they were all in the realm of average to above average. When I unwrapped his package, what I saw wasn’t in that realm. It wasn’t even on the same planet as “average.”

It’s like someone had taken the “resize” feature on Facetune and pinched inwards on his dick. It looked like every other dick I had seen, but just waaaaay smaller. I don’t think you could technically call it a micropenis, but his dick and a micropenis could be brothers. Very similar. Too similar, I’d say.

Seeing his extra small peen was a shock, but I thought it was something I could work around. Maybe he’s incredibly good at oral, I tried to convince myself. Because if you have a small penis, it’s required by law to be good at oral.

And he was. His tongue did things that his miniature penis couldn’t, and while that was great, I had an epiphany one night mid-penetration (if you could even call it that). Yes, the love of my life was “deep” inside me and my mind literally wandered so far away that it came to this realization: oral isn’t enough for me.

Yes, oral is great and honestly the only way I can ever finish, but it just wasn’t enough. I needed actual, physical, DEEP penetration. Try as he might, his little Vienna sausage just couldn’t do the trick. It was so small that the condom would routinely just slide off. I honestly couldn’t even feel the damn thing inside me. I’d rather catch a finger or two than catch his sorry excuse for a dick.

I thought I would just be able to deal with his, uh, shortcoming, because I’m not exactly a freak in the sheets. I’m pretty vanilla in bed compared to some of the things I’ve heard girls do. I’ve never had a money shot, I have no desire to try anal or be with another woman, and besides a little light choking, I just like regular old-fashioned sex. Give me some tongue-fucking and then that good ol’ P in V action and I’m good. I thought I could overlook this small (oh, it was small alright) flaw because everything else about him was perfect. But I couldn’t and I didn’t.

Sex isn’t everything in a relationship, but it is something. It matters. Sexual chemistry goes hand-in-hand with relationship chemistry, and I just didn’t have it with Ethan. As perfect as he was, I couldn’t sell myself short for the rest of my life. I deserved to be happy. I deserved a real dick.

I broke up with him six months after we first met and started dating. I tried to stick it out for as long as I could, hoping that my sexual needs would just go away because every other need had been met. It took me six months to realize that it doesn’t work like that. He was obviously hurt by the breakup, and so was I. Ethan was everything I wanted in a guy, everything I still want in a guy, except for that. It was the hardest breakup I ever had to go through because I honestly didn’t want to do it. I felt shallow and selfish for breaking up with the perfect guy just because he had a small dick, but I couldn’t stay with him knowing that I was unhappy and unfulfilled.

We’ve relapsed a few times since the breakup. Every time I see him I think of the guy he is on the outside: tall, sexy, sweet with an ass that won’t quit. I convince myself that maybe I made a mistake — maybe I can be with him even though he can’t fulfill my sexual needs. The sexual tension between us is palpable, and we give into it. But every time we go home together I’m reminded of how untrue that is. I tear his clothes off, filled to the brim with desire, only to have all that sexual tension fizzle away when he whips out his two-inch garden snake.

I recently deleted his phone number from my phone and blocked him on every social media because I don’t think I can see him or talk to him without wanting to try and work things out. I may have dumped his dick, but I don’t know if I’ll ever not be in love with the other 99.999 percent of him.

Moscow on Friday said it was opening a criminal case against Meta for “calling for the murder” of Russians, saying the parent company of Facebook and Instagram had relaxed rules on violent messages aimed at Russia’s army and leaders.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it was launching an investigation “due to illegal calls for the murder of Russian nationals by employees of the American company Meta.”

Russia’s General Prosecutor’s Office also requested that the internet giant be branded “extremist” and called for Instagram to be blocked in the country.

The announcement came over two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine, with Russia seeking to ban any criticism of the military campaign.

The General Prosecutor’s Office said “materials were being distributed on Instagram that contained calls for committing violent acts against the citizens of Russia, including military personnel.”

It said it had asked Russia’s media watchdog Roskomnadzor to “restrict access” to Instagram.

Facebook and Instagram are widely used in Russia, the latter being the most popular social media platform for young Russians.

Since early March, Twitter and Facebook have been inaccessible in Russia.

By Sunday Ani


Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has again reiterated that it would gladden his heart to see a Southeasterner emerge as president of Nigeria after President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.

Obasanjo who has maintained that the time has come to bring total reconciliation to Nigeria by supporting a president of Southeast extraction to emerge in 2023, repeated the sermon yesterday when the founder of New Nigeria Group (NNG) and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, paid him a visit in his Abeokuta, Ogun State country home.

The former president said he also believes that there are a lot of things that Southeasterners can bring on the table. “Beyond bringing unity to Nigeria or being the cement that holds the country together, I believe that Southeasterners can model hard work and entrepreneurship. That will help in wealth creation and fight against poverty, which is ravaging Nigeria,” he said.

He told Ohuabunwa that running for the office of the president of Nigeria was a tough job but expressed happiness that he (Ohuabunwa) has endured up till date and said he was looking forward to the final realisation of his vision to see Nigeria fully united and restored to a country that all Nigerians would be proud to call theirs.

Fielding questions from journalists after the meeting, Ohuabunwa encouraged the people of the south, particularly the southeasterners to aspire to the office of the president because that is what has been done in the past to maintain the unity of the country. “We had southern and northern protectorates, which came together to form Nigeria and since then, our founding fathers had always wanted to maintain peace by ensuring that there is rotation and that we share things.

That is why the federal character principle is in the country’s constitution. We are a nation of diverse ethnicities and geographies, and the only way we can maintain proper peace is to ensure that everybody is treated fairly, and rotation and power sharing are some of the methods of ensuring inclusiveness and making sure that Nigerians feel that they are part of it,” he said.

He noted that Southeasterners had made great contributions to Nigeria, starting from the days of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and reminding them that they are not strangers neither are they just appendages. “When it comes to political rights, we need to assert our rights and provide that leadership that Nigeria is lacking, and I hope that in 2023, God will offer us that opportunity and Nigerians will come behind us to take Nigeria to become the first world nation,” he added.

He said his ambition is to make Nigeria a first world nation; a globally competitive nation and a nation that works like the other countries, which Nigerians admire. “Most importantly, I want a nation that works for all and creates job for the young people of Nigeria to exercise their creativity and innovation; not a nation of poor, corrupt, jobless people or that of terrorists and bandits. That does not describe us; we are going to change the narrative,” he said.

He said that Obasanjo as a president, showed the highest level of not only detribalization but also fairness and equity as he didn’t discriminate. “He believes in equity but also in merit because he took good people; I mean people like Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, the Chukwuma Soludo and the rest of them worked for him and that is what he represents. He wants Nigeria to work,” he added.

He described the former president as a phenomenon and conscience of the country. “He is the conscience of this nation and we must admit it. He speaks his mind. He is not an angel and he can’t be perfect, but I have never seen a man as bold, audacious, and also, with a heart of humanity as Obasanjo.

By Yinka Adeniran,


The Majority Leader of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Sanjo Adedoyin, his wife and some of his supporters were on Tuesday attacked by constituents.

The attack occurred during the Ogbomoso South Local Government meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The lawmaker said the attack was the handiwork of some perceived political enemies.

He urged his supporters not to retaliate, saying they should allow peace to reign.

Sources said the meeting, which holds fortnightly, was held at Methodist Primary School, Arowomole, Ogbomoso. It turned riotous when the lawmaker tried to enter the venue.

A source, who is a member of the party, said Adedoyin attracted the wrath and anger of the youth in the constituency as a result of his neglect of members since his emergence as a lawmaker and the majority leader.

Adedoyin, popularly called Sanjay, was also accused of locking the party’s local government secretariat, owing to the perceived feud between Governor Seyi Makinde and former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mulikat Akande-Adeola.

He was said to have been playing loyalty card to the ex-House leader, which Akande-Adeola had dissociated herself from.

The Nation learnt that trouble started when the party leaders at the local government level had to look for another space to be used as a secretariat.

Adedoyin said his wife was not attacked, but was on the scene of the incident.

He confirmed that he was injured after he was stoned at a very close range.

Adedoyin said the leadership issue that rocked the recent party primary necessitated the decision to close the secretariat, adding that it was collectively agreed that another office should be secured.

By Mumini AbdulKareem,

A commercial driver (names withheld) was, on Wednesday, ordered by some soldiers to sweep their surroundings for refusing to offer them bribe.

The incident which occurred at the army checkpoint in Ikun-Ekiti, close to the Ekiti Diary Ranch around past 5:30pm lasted for over 20 minutes.

Trouble started after the driver, who was coming from Abuja, refused to give the army officers bribe.

In annoyance, one of the soldiers said, “This time, we will not take no for an answer, you (driver) must give us money, otherwise we will not allow you to go.”

But while the driver was still pleading with them, he was ordered to get a broom and sweep as a form of punishment.

Two soldiers, who sat on white plastic chairs, mocked the driver while the incident lasted.
Some of the passengers, who expressed displeasure, shared similar experiences of the past.

“That was how they ordered a commercial driver the other day to cut grass for several minutes while passengers were left inside his vehicle.

“In another instance, the ‘culprit’ was made to kneel down inside the sun simply because he refused to part with money. We are not saying they should not do their work, but not to the detriment of passengers who most times are helpless and suffer the consequences of their actions on businesses and appointments”, Mrs Chinyere, one of the passengers, noted.
Daily Trust observed than many commercial drivers preferred to use the Jebba/Niger route to Abuja than Ekiti because of the several checkpoints which they said lead to delay.

More details about the death of the Deputy Inspector General of Police in Charge Force Criminal Investigations Department, and head of the probe panel of suspended DCP Abba Kyari, DIG Joseph Obiajulu Egbunike have emerged with Police saying the DIG gave up the ghost at the national hospital after an operation which may have been a medical error.

Police sources said DIG Egbunike was driven to National Hospital following severe neck pains which troubled him at the weekend for a medical check-up.

On getting to the hospital and seeing the pain the DIG was going through, the doctors immediately recommended an operation leading to the DIG being taken into the theatre.

Sources present at the hospital however said that the National hospital doctors knowing fully well that the senior officer had a history of high blood pressure, would have allowed him to stabilize and the BP reduced to a manageable state before proceeding with the operation.

“They ignored this and this is a medical error. There is no doubt this may gave led to his death”.

DIG Egbunike recently headed the Special Investigation Panel that investigated the alleged involvement of Suspended DCP Abba Kyari, former Commander of the Police Intelligence Yeam IRT over the $1.1million Hushpuppi internet fraud reported slumped in the office and died before medical response could be performed late on Tuesday.

Egbunike who had previously served as the DIG in charge of Finance and Administration before he was appointed DIG Investigation hails from Onitsha in Anambra state and in the DIG overseeing the South-East geo-political zone.

A senior Police officer who was evidently in pain over the shocking demise confirmed the death of Egbunike.

Some Nigerian students in Russia have lamented the effect of sanctions imposed by Russia.

Following the invasion of Ukraine on the orders of President Valdimir Putin, many Western nations slammed sanctions on Russia.


Nigerians won’t be used as mercenaries in Ukraine – FG

In a chat with BBC Hausa Service, Yahya Usman YZ, president of Nigerian students in Russia, said the sanctions have started taking tolls on them.

“Honestly, the sanctions are manifesting on us; train fares have increased; the price of food in the mall also went up. A kilo of meat that was 15 dollars has now jumped to 20-30 dollars. This is applicable to every provision,’’ he decried.

Asked on how deactivation of VISA and MasterCard services is affecting the foreign students in Russia, Mr. Usman said, “It has a negative effect on us. Though, Russian authorities have since anticipated such ramifications, hence they embraced the menace by devising monetary transactions into gold and bitcoin. But for foreigners, we were stunned by these developments, not knowing that war was lurking around.

“Some students have their own feeding money and school fees entangled in the banks. They are complaining that they can’t access their money stashed in the banks to buy food, as VISA and MasterCard are not operating now.

“One can no longer go to restaurants and make e-payment due to the blockage of VISA and MasterCard. Even though, before the war started it was said that VISA and MasterCards could be rendered non serviceable; so, some of us had managed to make huge withdrawals of cash. But many, including me, are having things difficult now.’’

He commended the Nigerian embassy in Moscow for prompt issuing of visas and relevant services to Nigerians in Russia whilst calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to plead with President Putin to consider a short term ceasefire in order to pave the way for evacuation of Nigerian students trapped in Ukraine’s second largest city of Kharkiv.

Gunmen suspected to be bandits have killed 20 security operatives, including 15 soldiers, in Kebbi State, SaharaReporters has gathered.

The soldiers from Light Tank Battalion of the Nigerian Army in Zuru were deployed to Kanya, a village in Danko-Wasagu district following the killing of 68 vigilantes otherwise known as Yan Sakai by gunmen fleeing from Niger State.

The Yan-Sa-Kai hail from various towns and villages of the emirate.

Local residents often form informal vigilante units to protect themselves from bandit raids.
However, hundreds of gunmen invaded the community on Tuesday evening, engaging the soldiers and police officers in a three-hour gunfight, killing 20 of them.

The gunmen also burnt about two military operational vehicles.

“About 15 of our colleagues and 5 policemen were killed yesterday in Kanya, Kebbi State. They were all from 223 battalion in Zuru. May their souls rest In peace,” a military officer told SaharaReporters.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday condemned the killing of the vigilantes.

Expressing sadness over what he described as “the brutal murder of tens of vigilante members”, Buhari in a statement by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu also extends his condolences to the family members of the deceased.

“This egregious level of criminality is shocking and I want to assure Nigerians that I will do all it takes to tackle this monster decisively,” the President was quoted as saying.

“My greatest preoccupation is the threat to life posed by these murderous gangs and remorseless outlaws who have no slightest regard for the sanctity of life.

“While extending my sympathy to the families of the victims of this savagery, let me use this opportunity to also call on our security forces to be more proactive and redouble their efforts in order to frustrate the operational plans of the terrorists before they even launch attacks.”

No fewer than 20 lawyers have indicated interest to defend the suspended DCP Abba Kyari in a suit filed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

A legal practitioner, Musa Shafiu, speaking on behalf of other lawyers, told newsmen on Wednesday, NAN reported.

According to Shafiu, the team is made up of four Senior Advocates of Nigeria.

The lawyer said the decision to defend the suspended cop was premised on the meritorious sacrifices he had made for the country in the area of security.

Shafiu recalled that the “DCP Abba Kyari, in a motion filed before Justice Inyang Ekwo of Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, denied the allegation linking him to an international drug cartel by the NDLEA,” saying Kyari “was ready to appear in court to answer” any case against him, as he was purportedly charged “on a trumped-up allegation without sufficient proof.”

He further said Kyari had distinguished himself, serving his father’s land as a dutiful police officer, having arrested many high-profile criminals across the country, noting that his “good works and dedication to the country is far more than his shortcomings.”

The NDLEA, through its Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Mr Joseph Sunday, had on Monday arraigned the suspended supercop, alongside six accomplices, on eight counts bothering on drug trafficking.

Although Kyari pleaded ‘not guilty’ to the charges levelled against him, the court had adjourned the case to March 14 for further hearing on the matter.

From Stanley Uzoaru,Owerri

Palpable fear has gripped residents of Arugo in Owerri west Local Government Area of Imo State and environs as an official of the National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW) who was said to be on an illegal duty killed a commercial bus driver, Uzoma Onyeagucha from Umunkweye, Irete also in Owerri west On Tuesday morning.

An eye witness who narrated the incident to Daily Sun said the NURTW official in company of some of his members had forcefully aproached the victim where he parked at Asumpta Control Post bus stop to discharge his passengers and demanded why he had to park there, claiming his parking was against the unions recommended place for parking.

The bus driver,45 year old,a father of 7 children according to the source hurriedly drove his vehicle away from there when they started beating him,but he could not run too far as he was later caught up with by the officials numbering over 20 at Arugo park and one of them was said to have kicked him so hard that he fell to the ground,hitting his head on the tarred road. He died at the hospital before he could be revived,the source said.

Hundreds of commuters were stranded on Tuesday along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, following a protest by the National Association of Nigerian Students.

Our correspondents gathered that the students had blocked the expressway, protesting the ongoing one-month warning strike imposed upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, having failed to strike a bargain with the Federal Government vis-a-vis the 2009 FG-ASUU Agreement.

The students who had gathered at the Redeemed Church axis of Mowe as early as 8 am, also protested against the current fuel scarcity in the country, thereby causing an obstruction on the ever-busy highway.

The NANS Chairman in Ogun State, Mr Damilola Simeon, who spoke on behalf of the students, urged FG to accede to the demands of the ASUU, noting that students were the most affected by the strike.

Simeon made a special appeal to both the FG and ASUU, to return to a roundtable and find a lasting solution to the incessant strikes that had paralysed academic activities in the nation’s universities, making the oppressed students helplessly idle.

“Our time is being wasted. Age will be against us by the time we graduate and go into the labour market.

“We will be forced to pay extra rents as most of us are staying in private hostels while some of our colleagues will be distracted, discouraged and will probably jettison schooling for illegal activities,” he said.

He further appealed to the government for more funding in tertiary institutions to ensure good working conditions for teaching and non-teaching staff.

On fuel scarcity, he noted that it had far-reaching adverse effects on the masses, particularly the ousted great Nigerian students, adding that the agencies concerned should do the needful as soon as possible to calm down frayed nerves and restore normalcy in the already heated polity.

Oil producers in Nigeria say the negative impact of illegal oil bunkering is eroding gains, calling on the federal government to tackle the menace in the Niger Delta.

In a statement made available to TheCable, the indigenous producers said oil thieves are raking in ‘petrodollars’ while Nigeria is bedevilled by low production.

Nigeria and oil producers have been in a longstanding battle with illegal oil bunkers for decades, an activity that has resulted in significant losses for Africa’s biggest economy.

The illegal activities also affected monthly revenue remittance to the federation account. In January, TheCable reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited did not remit any money to the federation account.

On average, Nigeria loses about 200,000 barrels per day, according to Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

In its July 2021 audit report, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said Nigeria lost 42.25 million barrels of crude oil to oil theft, valued at $2.77 billion in 2019.

“People are making petrodollars on the high seas, while we are experiencing fall in production volumes,” a source told TheCable.

The source said indigenous producing companies are the worst hit by oil bunkering, noting that the strides recorded over the years in gaining a foothold in Nigeria’s upstream oil sector were gradually being eroded by oil theft which is also aided by the rising crude oil prices in the international market.

The price of the international benchmark, Brent Crude, for the better part of 2021, and this year has been above $100 per barrel mark, jumping seven-year high to over $130 this week.

He added that Nigeria’s Bonny Light and other blends in the country are also selling within that range, but oil bunkering is impeding their fortunes.

“The thieves are cashing in on rocking prices, and there is a noticeable presence of barges and vessels in the creeks loading stolen oil from pipelines and transporting to large vessels on the high seas,” he said.

The source said crude oil theft is highest just after the flow station as it is after the primary treatment, hence, the flow is of higher quality and easier to handle by the crude refiners.

The producers revealed that the ENI-operated pipeline to brass terminal appears to be a favourite of many oil thieves. They further noted that the AITEO-Nembe Creek Trunkline is also recording heavy losses; as well as Chevron’s production to Escravos and, to some extent, the TransForcados pipeline.

Abdulrasaq Isa, president of the independent petroleum producers’ group, the umbrella group for indigenous oil producers, had decried the challenges of oil theft.

“The key challenges now are in the areas of security and high operating costs. ’’We look forward to the government in finding long-lasting and sustainable solutions to these challenges,” Isa said.

The eastern naval command of the Nigerian Navy disclosed recently that it had deactivated 175 illegal refineries while arresting 27 vessels under 11 months in its areas of operations in 2021.

In September last year, the federal government set up a committee on the recovery of crude oil and illegally refined petroleum products.

The group comprised the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC; formerly DPR), the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd., the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, the Nigerian Army and Navy, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

An executive of an international oil company, who does not want to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said while there is so much talk about oil spills, much more oil revenue is lost to the sale of stolen oil on the high seas, where the major challenges lie.

Dakuku Peterside, immediate past director-general/CEO of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), estimated that 80 percent of the stolen oil is exported, while the balance of 20 percent goes into illegal refining in “refineries” dotting the landscape of the Niger Delta creeks.”

“The vessels and the illegal refineries are very conspicuous and visible to be noticed, yet these illegal operations have been going on without any significant challenge from government or governmental institutions, including security agencies,” he said.