₦airaland Forum

By Solomon Odeniyi


The Nigeria Customs Service will spend a staggering N14.39bn on new luxurious vehicles for its senior officers in 2025.

This is part of a larger N35.27bn budget for 579 official vehicles, according to the service’s proposed appropriation bill obtained by our correspondent on Wednesday.

Out of the total 579 vehicles, the senior officers would take the majority.

The most expensive of these vehicles are intended for officers at the ranks of Comptroller, Assistant Comptroller-General, and Deputy Comptroller-General, with unit prices ranging from N44m to N75m.

Among the brands to be acquired are BYD hybrids, CHANGAN, MAXUS D90, NISSAN MG5, MIKANO, and NORD vehicles.

The breakdown includes 20 CHANGAN CS95 vehicles for ACGs at N68m each, totalling N1.36bn; 15 MAXUS D90 SUVs for DCGs at N70m each, totalling N1.05bn and 20 QIN BYD Hybrid sedans for ACGs at N65m each, totalling N1.3bn.

Others are 15 HAN BYD Hybrid sedans for DCGs at N75m each, totalling N1.125bn; 180 sedans for Comptrollers, comprising NORD C3, MIKANO CHAGGAN EADO, and NISSAN MG5—each at N44.625m each, totalling N9.55bn.

The proposal also includes 50 NORD TUSK trucks, 50 NISSAN NAVARA trucks, 100 JIM 4WD trucks, and 10 30-seater buses for various administrative and operational purposes.

The allocation has sparked strong criticism from civil society advocates who described the plan as wasteful and insensitive, especially given the country’s harsh economic realities.

The Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, earlier in the year, said the service recorded 397 seizures of vehicles worth N5.64bn in 2024, along with thousands of bags of rice and other restricted goods in a bid to protect local industries and enforce import regulations.

In 2023, the Service seized 3,491 vehicles, with a Duty Paid Value of N2bn.

Two Anti-corruption groups, Transparency and Accountability Group and Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, argued that these impounded vehicles could serve the operational needs of the service, rather than being auctioned or left idle while the agency spent billions on new imports.

Speaking to The PUNCH, the convener of TAG, Ayo Ologun, said the Customs’ budget reflected “hypocrisy and insincerity at the highest levels of government.”

He said, “Customs claim to be generating revenue for the country, yet they waste the same funds through extravagant vehicle purchases.

“So the question would be, if you are sincere about what you are doing, the same vehicles that you have auctioned over time, maybe in the last six months or one year, for non-payment of tax or one reason or the other, are they not good enough to be used by your senior officers?

“If it means they will only need to carry out a few repairs on them and flip the country on necessary and a very poor expenditure?

“Or would the same amount, the money needed to repair, be equal to the money to buy? So why can’t you take luxury vehicles among those that you have impounded and seized, that you are paying out for auction, why can’t you take some of them, spend a little money on them to repair and make them usable for the benefit of your senior officers that you want to buy vehicles for and save us as a nation from this wastage?”

The Executive Director of CAROL, Debo Adediran, called the procurement “obscene opulence,” urging government agencies to be more empathetic toward the citizens.

He said, “It is not at a time like this that one should engage in frivolity. They are too ostentatious of the economy of Nigeria. This is the time when they should empathise with the people.

“At least they should not rob us and show it to us and tell us maybe what we can do. This is why people exhibit their frustrations with the government at some levels.

“People are unable to raise resources, to take more to their workplaces, to their places of economic activities. Some people are roasting in poverty.

“And our leaders will be showing unbridled immoral affluence. I don’t believe that Customs officials need new vehicles.

“That is what they do in government, buying vehicles now and then, even when the ones that they are using are still serviceable.

“So many frivolous spending that could have taken care of healthcare, education, and essential needs of the people. Basically, it is uncalled for. It is unwarranted. It is like taking the people for granted.”

By Leadership News


The booking for a formal event slated to unveil the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as the main platform to challenge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 elections, has been cancelled at last-minute by Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments in Abuja.
The fully paid reservation was cancelled by the hotel management just hours before the event on Wednesday.

However, on Wednesday morning, organisers were informed that the hotel would no longer be able to host the event, citing an unspecified “internal compliance matter.”

A screenshot of the hotel’s message posted by opposition politician and media figure, Dele Momodu, on Instagram read: “Dear Esteemed Patron, Thank you once again for choosing the Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments.
“We sincerely regret to inform you that due to an internal compliance matter that has just come to our attention, we are unable to proceed with hosting your scheduled event.

“We are fully aware that the event is less than 24 hours away, and we deeply apologise for the timing and inconvenience this may cause.”
LEADERSHIP reports that former Senate President David Mark and the immediate-past Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, have accepted their appointments as interim national chairman and secretary of the party, respectively.

ADC has, however, opted for Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre in Central Area of Abuja to hold the planned event this Wednesday afternoon, where Senator Mark, Aregbesola and other party leaders would also be unveiled to the public.

by Claire Mom


Former President Muhammadu Buhari has reportedly been sick and only recently discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU) in a United Kingdom (UK) hospital.

According to Empowered Newswire, a close relative of the former president said he took ill in London during a medical check-up trip.

The report said Buhari was admitted to the ICU and was discharged last week.

Though the nature of his ailment was not disclosed, the former president is reportedly recuperating in London and is expected back in Nigeria once fully recovered.

Citing informed sources, Empowered Newswire added that Mamman Daura, Buhari’s uncle and confidant, is also currently convalescing in the UK.

Buhari was conspicuously absent from the 50th anniversary celebration of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Lagos on May 28.

In a letter to President Bola Tinubu, Buhari told his successor that his inability to attend the event was due to a medical check-up in the UK.

On May 1, a photo of Abdulrasheed Bawa, former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside Buhari, surfaced online following a visit by Bawa to Buhari in London.

The purpose of the visit was not disclosed.

A man said to be a pastor and an unidentified married woman were stripped naked in Iguomon Community of Benin, Edo State, after they were caught in sexual act.

The public humiliation was caught in a viral video that circulated online on Monday.

Some of those who witnessed the scene, confirmed that the pastor, whose identity was not immediately known, had been having an affair with the woman before they were eventually caught.

Angry youths reportedly dragged the pair out of a house, stripped the pastor completely naked, and sat him on the bare floor.

The woman was also dragged, taunted, and later stripped naked by a lady among the mob.

The incident attracted a large crowd, with some residents recording the spectacle on their mobile phones.

A popular Edo state based activist, Marxist Kola Edokpayi of the Talakawa Parliament, who shared the video line, frowned at the treatment meted out to the duo, maintaining that jungle justice should not be encouraged as it could lead to death.

Edokpayi said that the incident should have been reported to the police for proper investigation for appropriate steps.

He said, “We condemn jungle justice in its entirety and what the people did in that community cannot be justified. The matter should have been reported to the police who will take appropriate action.”

By Hafsat Bello Bahara


Save for last-minute change, for the first time since the protracted Kano Emirate crisis erupted over five years ago when the 14th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, was deposed by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje administration, his successor and 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, and the reinstated 16th Emir, Sanusi II, are set to meet face-to-face this Tuesday at the burial of the late Kano-born business mogul, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, in Madina, Saudi Arabia.

LEADERSHIP reports that the renowned elder statesman and philanthropist died late Friday night in Abu Dhabi, UAE, at the age of 94. His funeral rites are scheduled to take place in the holy city of Madina this Tuesday in line with Islamic tradition.

Given the influence of the late Dantata, political officeholders, businessmen, and others have been scrambling to visit the deceased family home in Kano, while others, including a Federal Government delegation, have travelled to Saudi Arabia to pay their last respect.

While Kano State governor, Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf, has led an official Kano State Government delegation, including the 16th Emir of Kano Sanusi II, to Saudi Arabia for the funeral, the rival 15th Emir Bayero departed separately, accompanied by his aides, to the holy city of Madina for the same purpose.

LEADERSHIP recalls that both Sanusi II and Bayero are currently laying claims to the Kano Emirate throne since 2024 when the latter was deposed, a development that is now a subject of litigation awaiting judicial pronouncement.

Spokesperson for Emir Bayero, Abubakar Balarabe Kofar Naisa, confirmed in a statement that the 15th Emir of Kano left Nigeria on Sunday. He was joined by prominent associates such as the Sarkin Dawaki Mai Tuta, Alhaji Aminu Babba Dan’agundi, and the member of House of Representatives representing Doguwa/Tudun Wada fFederal constituency of the State, Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa.

While it is not sure whether both claimants to the Kano throne will exchange pleasantries at the occasion, the elder statesman’s burial marks the first time in five years when both rival ‘Emirs’ will be seen together at the same public event since the controversial deposition of Sanusi II in 2020 and Bayero’s ascendancy to the throne, from where he was also removed by Governor Yusuf administration in 2024.

The house of representatives ad hoc committee on the oversight of Rivers has faulted Ibok-Ete Ibas, sole administrator of the state, over some proposed expenditures in the N1.48 trillion 2025 budget.

On June 25, the senate passed the N1.48 trillion appropriation bill for Rivers state.

According to the budget breakdown, N120.8 billion is earmarked for debt servicing, N287.38 billion for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure, while N1.077 trillion will be invested in capital projects.

Speaking during a budget defence session in Abuja on Monday, Julius Ihonvbere, majority leader of the house and chair of the ad hoc committee on Rivers, said the committee had reviewed the proposal and flagged multiple concerns.

Ihonvbere queried the N24 billion earmarked for CCTV, N30 billion allocated for gunboats, and N23 billion for contingency allocations in the Rivers’ budget, demanding a breakdown and justification for the allocations.

He said the budget was presented without an accompanying medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) — which is a legal requirement.

The lawmaker also questioned why Rivers is funding federal projects without any agreement with the federal government for reimbursement.

Ihonvbere asked the administrator to provide details of transfers to local governments, including how funds meant for the third tier are being managed.

“We need additional details for those allocations. We request details of the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the last three months,” he said.

“That will enable us to know your financial flows so that we can weigh it against the deficit in the budget in terms of financing it and carrying out some of the projects.

“We also need details of transfers to local governments — essentially, how local government funds that came into the state are being managed at the moment.

“Those documents we have requested must reach us within 48 hours; rest assured that we are all on the same side in terms of getting Rivers working again.

“We want to ensure that we promote a lot of accountability and ensure that the interests of the people themselves, no matter how remote they are from the state capital, are protected.”

Responding on behalf of Ibas, Andrew Nweke, senior special assistant on strategy and policy, said the current administration inherited many of the budgetary items.

He said the allocations reflect the priorities of Rivers people, based on a needs assessment conducted by implementing agencies.

Nweke said the CCTV allocation was for modern surveillance infrastructure at the government house.

He added that the gunboats were meant to aid security agencies patrolling Rivers’ waterways.

According to him, the contingency reserve would help address flooding, insecurity, and other emergencies.

He promised to make the requested documents available to the committee.

By : Jimisayo Opanuga


The Delta State Police Command says it will now punish people who wear clothes that show too much of their body under the provisions of the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) Law.

The police made the announcement on Saturday through a post on their official X account.

The police said the Delta State government frowns upon indecent dressing and that the VAAP law is ready to punish anybody who doesn’t dress well, and anyone who goes against the law could be fined ₦50,000 or asked to do community service.

The post included a cartoon-style illustration with a message in Pidgin English that said, “As you nor like wear cloth wey dey cover your body well, and you prefer dey waka go work, school, or anywhere with clothes wey dey show everywhere for your body, make you hear am – Delta state government nor dey smile for that kain dressing that kain.VAAP law don ready to punish anybody wey nor dress well.”

The post also added the police will be sharing more laws every weekend so that people can know what the state does not accept, stating, “There are some laws that you don’t know the state frowns against. So every weekend, we will dropping some of these laws so that you will be aware…”

The VAPP Act, signed into law in 2015 by then-President Goodluck Jonathan, was domesticated in Delta State in July 2020 by the State House of Assembly.

The law is designed to prohibit all forms of violence against persons in both private and public life, offering protection to victims and ensuring offenders are punished.

It prohibits female circumcision or genital mutilation, forceful ejection from home and harmful widowhood practices. It prohibits abandonment of spouse, children and other dependants without sustenance, battery and harmful traditional practices.

However, while the Delta State Police referenced Section 16 of the VAPP Law in their post, the section dealing with “indecent dressing” actually falls under Section 29: Indecent Exposure of the Delta State version of the law.

It states: “(1) A person who intentionally exposes any of his or her private parts wholly or partly in public commits the offence of indecent exposure.

“(2) A person who commits the offence provided for in subsection (1) of this Section is liable on conviction to perform such community service as the court may order or to pay a fine not exceeding N50,000.00 or both.”

At the federal level, Section 16 of the VAPP Act deals with the abandonment of dependants: “A person who abandons a wife or husband, children or other dependants without any means of sustenance commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or to a fine not exceeding N500,000.00 or both.

“(2) A person who attempts to commit the act of violence provided for in subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both.

“(3) A person who incites, aids, abets, or counsels another person to commit the act of violence as provided for in subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 2 years or to a fine not exceeding N200,000.00 or both.

“(4) A person who receives or assists another who, to his or her knowledge, committed the offence provided for in subsection (1) of this section is an accessory after the fact and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or to a fine not exceeding N100,000.00 or both.”

Meanwhile, Section 26 of the federal law also covers indecent exposure, stating that (1) a person who intentionally exposes his or her genital organs, or a substantial part thereof, with the intention of causing distress to the other party, or that another person seeing it may be tempted or induced to commit an offence under this Act, commits an offence termed “indecent exposure”.

(2) A person who intentionally exposes his or her genital organs, or a substantial part thereof, and induce another to either massage, or touch with the intention of deriving sexual pleasure from such acts commits an offence under this section.

(3) A person who commits an offence under this section is liable to upon conviction to a term of imprisonment of not less than 1 year or to a fine not exceeding N500,000 ог both.

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has asked young Nigerians to prioritise competence over religion and tribe in choosing leaders.

Speaking in an interview on Talking Books African, a programme by the Rainbow Book Club, Jonathan said Nigeria’s deepening divisions along tribal and religious lines remain one of the biggest obstacles to national development.

The former president said tribe and religion are a major setback to the country’s leadership recruitment process.

“Nigeria today — we are divided along tribal and religious lines, and it worries me. And if we don’t make any changes, which are difficult to make, it may continue to our grandchildren because we started wrongly. There is no effort to make sure we change, and it is a major problem. Most of the problems we have today in the country are because of this division,” he said.

“Young people should know that the issue of tribe and religion is a major setback for this country. It creates problems of leadership recruitment. If somebody is holding a political office and wants to make an appointment, he begins to see that even if Mrs A knows the issue better than Mrs B, and Mrs B is from his tribe, he wants to use Mrs B.

“That is what happens in a system where we tend towards tribe, and that is one of the banes of Nigerian politics. The leadership recruitment process is skewed along tribal and religious interests. So, you see how difficult it is to get the best.

“There are some states where if you come from some parts of the state, you cannot be governor, even if you are the best material at the time. In Nigeria, if you want to contest an election, they first ask: ‘Is it our turn? Is it their turn? Is it the turn of the Muslims? Is it the turn of the Christians? This creates a problem in recruiting the best material.

“You are not assessing the person you want to recruit into a leadership position based on competence; you assess the person based on how he worships his God or the part of the map of the country he comes from.”


‘BREAK THE BARRIERS’

Jonathan warned that tribe and religion have continued to influence appointments and elections, often at the expense of merit.

He recalled the success of the Not Too Young to Run movement, which reduced the minimum age for contesting key political positions, including the presidency and governorship, and urged young people to replicate such kind of effort in changing how leaders are assessed.

“It’s not something you can do overnight. It’s difficult because the elders will continue to be pushing you back, but just like the young people came together and came up with the concept of Not Too Young to Run. Before that time, when we came in 1999, for you to contest for deputy governor, governor, senator, vice president, or president, you had to be 40 years and above,” he said.

“The Not Too Young to Run law has now brought it down to 30. If you remember, when Yakubu Gowon became head of state, he was 32 years old. Then, Alfred Diete-Spiff was 28 years old when he became the military governor of the then Rivers state (present-day Rivers and Bayelsa states), and he did very well. I don’t think we’ve had a governor who performed better than him at the age of 28. So I don’t believe in all these barriers.

“Youths should assess people based on their competence, not how many years they’ve been sleeping on earth. Somebody can sleep for 40 years and know nothing. Another person of 25 years could even be more knowledgeable and more competent to manage society.

“But the key thing is: If younger people can begin to gradually downplay the issue of religion in Nigerian politics, the leadership recruitment process will improve — we will begin to recruit people better.”

Jonathan added that religious and tribal identity should not be a yardstick for leadership, urging youths to lead the charge in dismantling the tribe, age and religious barriers to leadership.

by Jerrywright Ukwu


Former President Goodluck Jonathan says late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua did sign a letter empowering him to act in his absence during his prolonged illness, but the document was never submitted to the national assembly.

At the time, Yar’Adua’s protracted absence from office, without formally transferring power, plunged Nigeria into a political vacuum.

Speaking in an interview with the Rainbow Book Club about his memoir My Transition Hours, Jonathan described the period as one of the most turbulent in Nigeria’s democratic history, marked by ethnic and religious tensions and a constitutional crisis.

He said the power struggle intensified after Yar’Adua, a northern Muslim, took over from Olusegun Obasanjo, a southern Christian, and there was a silent agreement for the north to retain power for eight years before it rotated again.

“But the health issue came up, and that was the problem. And that is why even to allow me to act was an issue,” he said.

Jonathan, who was vice-president, found himself caught in a constitutional dilemma — unable to act fully as president or exercise the powers of commander-in-chief.

“That letter was written. But the person who the letter was handed over to — I will not mention the name — refused to submit it to the national assembly. Yar’Adua became so ill that he had no control of issues,” Jonathan said.


‘DOCTRINE OF NECESSITY SAVED NIGERIA’

Jonathan said although he could carry out certain executive duties as vice-president, he could not assume the role of commander-in-chief without a formal transfer of power.

“The president of Nigeria has two main responsibilities. First, you are the chief executive, like a prime minister — that the vice president can assume,” he said.

“But there was no commander-in-chief, and there’s nothing like acting commander-in-chief. You are either a commander-in-chief or not.”

Jonathan said the lack of a clear transfer of authority left Nigeria in a constitutional limbo, prompting the national assembly to invoke the doctrine of necessity to make him acting president.

According to him, the country was on edge, and coup rumours became a daily concern.

“The country was tense. Under this north-south divide, Christian-Muslim divide, it was really tense. Every day I was hearing about coup,” he said.


‘BETTER TO DIE IN STATE HOUSE’

He said during that time, some friends urged him to vacate the presidential villa for his safety.

“I remember one day, I was still vice president — they had not even moved the doctrine of necessity — and some of my friends came and said, ‘No, you don’t have to sleep here. You have to come and sleep in my guest house,’” he said.

“I said, ‘No.’ I will stay in the state house. If anybody wants to kill me, it’s better you kill me in the state house so Nigerians will know that they assassinated me in the state house. They know I have not committed any offence.

“If I go and stay in your guest house and people kill me there, they will now say Indian girls brought apple to kill me. And I wouldn’t want that kind of story.”

Despite the pressure, Jonathan said he remained calm and unshaken.

“To me, I was not bothered. Really, I was not bothered. And I was very calm. But that was the scenario,” he said.

Babcock Varsity Final-Year Student Commits Suicide In Lagos After Suspension For Exam Malpractice

A final-year student of Babcock University, Joshua Lawson, has tragically ended his life after being suspended for a year over alleged examination malpractice.

Lawson, a 20-year-old 400-level Computer Science student, reportedly took his life on Wednesday at his family home in Lagos, days after learning of his suspension by the university’s disciplinary committee.

He was due to graduate on July 27.

The incident has sent shockwaves across the Babcock community and beyond, with students and sympathisers flooding social media with tributes and criticisms of the institution’s disciplinary measures.

Confirming the incident in a phone interview with PUNCH on Friday, the university’s Director of Communication and Marketing, Dr. Joshua Suleiman, said Lawson had been found guilty of examination misconduct by the disciplinary committee and given a one-year academic suspension.

“The school is aware of the tragic incident,” Suleiman said. “He was a 400-level Computer Science student.

“He faced the university disciplinary committee for examination malpractice; he was found guilty and handed a one-year academic suspension.

“He has not even come for his suspension letter, maybe he got to know about the suspension. But we don’t know whatever happened thereafter. We only heard that the student took his life.”

The university's confirmation has further fuelled an emotional outpouring online, with many students mourning the loss and calling for more humane policies within the institution.

One student wrote on social media, “How can someone be so close to the finish line just a month to their convocation, and suddenly, everything gets ripped away because of an ‘exam misconduct’ case? Two years’ suspension? Cancelling an entire semester?

That’s not just punishment… that’s destruction. This isn’t just about rules anymore. This is a life. A dream.
“A family’s pride. And now that life is gone to suicide. Even if the person made a mistake, where is the compassion? Where is the support? Where is the humanity?”

Another added, “If this school does not stop some of their stupid policies or actions, it will continue getting worse!!! Like whyyyy…??”

Reacting to the backlash, Dr. Suleiman stressed that while the university deeply regrets the tragedy, its policies are in line with institutional standards.

“The university is never happy that anyone dies, in fact, we wish this never happened and we commiserate with the family,” he said.

“However, like every institution and organisation, the university has its rules that the staff and the students are well aware of, and these rules also come with their penalties which are usually applied once an infraction is established.”

He maintained, “Like I said earlier, we are not happy that anybody dies, certainly not.”

The late Joshua Lawson’s death comes amid growing national conversations about mental health, academic pressure, and the role of disciplinary actions in Nigerian higher education institutions.

Defence Minister Israel Katz told media that Israel would have killed Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the war between the two countries if the opportunity had presented itself.

“If he had been in our sights, we would have taken him out,” Katz told Israel’s public radio station Kan Thursday evening, adding that the military had “searched a lot”.

“Khamenei understood this, went very deep underground, broke off contact with the commanders… so in the end it wasn’t realistic,” Katz told Kan.

He told Israeli television Channel 13 Thursday that Israel would cease its assassination attempts because “there is a difference between before the ceasefire and after the ceasefire”.

Katz had said during the war that Khamenei “can no longer be allowed to exist”, just days after reports that Washington vetoed Israeli plans to assassinate him.

But on Kan, Katz advised Khamenei to remain inside a bunker.

“He should learn from the late Nasrallah, who sat for a long time deep in the bunker”, he said, referring to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah, who Israel killed in a Beirut air strike in September 2024.

The movements of the supreme leader, who has not left Iran since he took power, are subject to the tightest security and secrecy.

Katz said Thursday that Israel maintained its aerial superiority over Iran and that it was ready to strike again.

“We won’t let Iran develop nuclear weapons and threaten (Israel) with long-range missiles”, he said.

In his Channel 12 interview, Katz admitted that Israel does not know the location of all of Iran’s enriched uranium, but that its air strikes had destroyed the Islamic republic’s uranium enrichment capabilities.

“The material itself was not something that was supposed to be neutralised,” he said of the enriched uranium.

The impact of Israeli and US strikes on Iran’s nuclear programme has been a subject to debate.

A leaked US intelligence assessment estimated the programme to have set Iran back a few months, while Katz and other Israeli and US public figures said the damage would take years to rebuild.

Israel and Iran each claimed victory in a 12-day war that ended with a ceasefire on June 24.

The war erupted on June 13 when Israel launched a bombing campaign that it said aimed to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon — an ambition Iran has consistently denied.

By Jide Ajia


Nigerians earning less than N250,000 monthly will be exempt from income tax under new laws, according to Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms.

Oyedele made the disclosure on Channels Television’s Politics Today shortly after President Bola Tinubu approved four new tax bills on Thursday.

He stated that households earning N250,000 or less per month are now classified as poor.

Appointed by the President in July 2023, Oyedele described his two-year tenure leading the tax reform committee as both eventful and challenging.

He said that the objectives of the new laws, which would take effect from January 2026, were not intended to increase taxes but to stimulate economic activity in the country and track tax evaders.

Oyedele stated that the new laws would also protect businesses and ensure that the government doesn’t tax poverty, adding that the new laws are efficiency-driven, growth-focused, and people-centric.

He said, “This tax law will not give you cash in your pocket, but at least it won’t take your cash away if you are poor.”

He said nobody earning below the amount would have to pay taxes because they don’t even have enough.

“We have eliminated the tax component for people at the bottom, we have reduced for people at the middle, and we have increased slightly for people at the top.

“That middle, we estimated it at about N1.8 to N2m a month. If you are earning that amount and below, your tax will not be zero but it will reduce from what you are paying today,” he stated, noting that those who earn this amount are about 5% of the total Nigerian population.

The tax boss said to arrive at a decision, his committee debated the poverty line of an average Nigerian.

Oyedele said, “We debated this question; we said: ‘Who is a poor person in Nigeria? First, we started with data like the World Bank and the UN will tell you two dollars, fifteen cents a day per person means you are at the poverty line but there are people who do not earn two dollars a day but they are not poor because they produce the food that they eat and they do not pay for transportation. I lived and grew up in the village.

“So, we had to factor that in. We drew our own (poverty) line for Nigeria on the basis of an average of five people per family: two people working if they are lucky, taking care of the five. When we did the maths, it gave us an amount, and that was what we used in determining the income below which nobody should pay taxes.

“We came up with a N120,000 or N130,000 per two people working in a household of five. If the earnings are about N250,000, they can take care of themselves. Of course, they are not going to have luxury, but at least they can take care of themselves. They are poor, and they shouldn’t pay taxes. When we did the maths, it gave us an amount, and that was what we used in determining the income below which nobody should pay taxes.

“We came up with a N120,000 or N130,000 per two people working in a household of five. If the earnings are about N250,000, they can take care of themselves. Of course, they are not going to have luxury, but at least they can take care of themselves. They are poor, and they shouldn’t pay taxes.”

Oyedele stated that Nigeria currently collects only about 30 per cent of what the country should be receiving in taxes, noting that the objective of the new tax laws is to close the 70 per cent gap

By Dare Olawin


The shutdown of the Port Harcourt Refining Company for maintenance has entered its second month, as the plant has yet to resume operations.

The PUNCH reports that the immediate past Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Olufemi Soneye, told our correspondent on May 23 that the refinery would be shut down for maintenance.

On May 24, Soneye issued an official statement, announcing the shutdown of the refinery for maintenance. However, more than one month later, the refinery has yet to start producing fuel.

Local petroleum marketers, who had once expressed their concerns over the shutdown of the facility, told our correspondent that the repair work was still ongoing. Our correspondent reports that the NNPC did not have a spokesperson as of the time of filing this report.

Efforts were made to contact the state-owned firm through the phone number and email address displayed on its website, but to no avail. The Port Harcourt refinery’s cost of turnaround maintenance is currently being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

It was widely reported that operatives of the EFCC on Monday arrested a former Chief Financial Officer of the NNPC, Umar Isa, in connection with an alleged $7.2bn fraud linked to the rehabilitation of the Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries.

It was earlier reported that the EFCC was probing the disbursement of $1.5bn allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery, $740m released for the Kaduna refinery, and $657m approved for the Warri refinery.

A top official in the agency had told The PUNCH on Monday that Isa was being investigated for alleged abuse of office, corruption, and other offences.

“As CFO, Ajiya oversaw the release of funds for the turnaround maintenance of the three refineries. All key officials involved in the maintenance and other major NNPCL projects are also under investigation for alleged abuse of office, corruption, diversion of public funds, and kickbacks from contractors.

“Other officials involved are Tunde Bakare, MD, Warri Refinery; Ahmed Adamu Dikko, former MD, Port Harcourt Refinery; and Ibrahim Monday Onoja, former MD, Port Harcourt Refinery,” the source was quoted.

It was also learnt that the former Managing Director of the Warri refinery was detained by the anti-graft agency.

Recall that the Port Harcourt refinery was declared operational by the former Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, in November 2024, after years of inactivity.

Then, the NNPC said the 60,000-capacity refinery had resumed operations after years of inactivity. It said the newly rehabilitated complex of the old Port Harcourt refinery, which had been revamped and upgraded with modern equipment, was operating at a refining capacity of 70 per cent of its installed capacity.

The company added that diesel and Pour Fuel Oil would be the highest output from the refinery, with a daily capacity of 1.5 million litres and 2.1 million litres, respectively.

This was expected to be followed by a daily output of Straight-Run Gasoline (Naphtha) blended into 1.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit, 900,000 litres of kerosene, and low-pour fuel oil of 2.1 million litres. It was stated then that about 200 trucks of petrol would be released into the Nigerian market daily.

However, six months after the much-publicised rehabilitation completion and resumption of production, the facility was locked again for another round of maintenance expected to last one month. It has now exceeded that timeframe without any update from the NNPC.

Similarly, the Warri refinery, which was declared open by Kyari in December, was shut down a month after and has yet to resume operations since then. In its April 2025 monthly performance report, the new NNPC board said the status of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries “are currently under review.”

Our correspondent recalls that the Petroleum Products Retail Outlet Owners Association of Nigeria once argued that the facility would be of no value without the Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) blending unit, adding that 30 days were not enough to complete the repair exercise.

In its demand, PETROAN requested the inclusion of a PMS blending unit in the maintenance activity. “PETROAN emphasises that the repair process must include the Premium Motor Spirit blending unit, as the crude oil cracking process is of no value without it,” he said.

Meanwhile, following the seemingly botched repairs of the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, after both plants gulped about $2.4bn and returned to dormancy within six months of operation, the Organised Private Sector and oil marketers called for the immediate privatisation of the facilities.

It was reported that calls for the privatisation of the government-owned refineries, under the management of NNPC, intensified following the shutdown of the 60,000 barrels-per-day old Port Harcourt Refining Company, six months after it was declared operational.

The Port Harcourt refinery, situated in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta region, has been in operation since 1965, but later became moribund for several years.

The NNPC failed to commence operations at the refinery after seven postponements between December 2023 and September 2024, but Kyari declared it open in November 2024 without prior notice.

The former GCEO promised to reopen the Kaduna refinery and the new Port Harcourt refinery but this could not be achieved until he was asked to go by President Bola Tinubu.

Meanwhile, in another development, fuel marketers on Tuesday protested the rising price of diesel at the Port Harcourt refinery. The marketers said to be members of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of NIgeria, kicked against what they described as incessant hikes in the price of diesel.

According to them, the refinery increased the price of diesel from N930 to N980 and later N1,130 per litre in one week, asking them to too their earlier payments to meet the new price. The refinery has old stocks of diesel in its tanks.

However, the retailers demanded that the NNPCL should either load their trucks based on the oil payment or refund their money. “NNPCL/Oando, under one week, you raised diesel from N980 to N1,130 per litre. This is not acceptable,” one of the marketers said.

Another protester stated, “You must honour the N980/litre rate. We cannot keep absorbing the cost of arbitrary changes.” Leaders of IPMAN in Port Harcourt and senior officials of the refinery urged the protesting marketers to remain calm, saying the matter had been escalated to the NNPC headquarters in Abuja.

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja


Iran yesterday said its nuclear installations were “badly damaged” by US airstrikes, the first such comments by Tehran as debate grows over how much the bombardment managed to dent the Islamic Republic’s atomic programme.

“Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told Al Jazeera TV in an interview, quoted by Bloomberg.

Baghaei did not give further details and said authorities were still assessing the situation on the ground. He added that the US attacks were a “detrimental blow” to international law and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to which Iran is a signatory.

The comments are the first time an Iranian official has addressed the scope of damage caused by the June 22 strikes which involved US attacks on three nuclear facilities in Iran using more than a dozen 30,000-pound bombs.

The comments came hours after US President Donald Trump disputed a US intelligence report that said the attacks had limited impact on Iran’s nuclear programme below ground.

An assessment from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency said the bombing likely didn’t cripple the core components stored underground including centrifuges, according to people familiar with its contents.

Commenting on the intelligence leak, Trump said the report was “very inconclusive” but that he still believed the sites were demolished, the Bloomberg report added.

“The intelligence says we don’t know,” he told reporters at a NATO summit in the Hague. “It could have been very severe. That’s what the intelligence says. So I guess that’s correct, but I think we can take that we don’t know. It was very severe. It was obliteration,” he added.

But International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said “very significant damage is expected to have occurred” at Fordow, Iran’s main uranium enrichment site which is built under a mountain. The IAEA has not had access to Iran since Israel started attacking Iran on June 13.

Satellite images showed that US military planners were careful not to hit reactors at the Isfahan research facility which appeared to have been intentionally left untouched, according to four senior officials in Vienna.

The Israel Atomic Energy Commission said the US strikes on Iran’s Fordow nuclear site rendered the enrichment facility inoperable. It said both Israeli and US attacks set back the country’s ability to develop its nuclear weapons by “many years.”

Trump brokered a ceasefire to end the 12-day war between Israel and Iran that appeared to be holding on Wednesday. The president had lashed out at both countries a day earlier, and particularly Israel, over what he said were early violations of the truce. Both nations have said they’ll honour the ceasefire provided their enemy does the same.

As Nigeria attracts a groundbreaking $400 million Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to establish Africa’s largest rare earth and critical minerals plant in Nasarawa State, attention is once again turning to the country’s vast and largely untapped mineral wealth.

From the plateaus of Jos to the hills of Ekiti, Nigeria is home to a remarkable variety of rare and precious gemstones—many of which are gaining global recognition for their quality and uniqueness.

Here are 10 rare gemstones and the regions in Nigeria where they are discovered.


1. Benitoite – Bauchi State

Nicknamed the “Blue Diamond,” benitoite is a brilliant blue gemstone known for its rarity and intense colour. Although famously associated with California, small deposits have been discovered in Bauchi State, making Nigeria one of the few places on Earth where this gem occurs.


2. Niobium – Plateau State

Often overlooked as a gemstone, niobium is a rare metal with lustrous appeal, used extensively in aerospace and electronics. Nigeria is among the leading global sources of niobium, with Plateau State being a major mining area.


3. Tourmaline – Ijero Ekiti, Ekiti State

Ijero Ekiti is famed for its stunning tourmaline deposits, which come in vibrant green and pink shades. Highly valued in the global gemstone market, Nigerian tourmalines are prized for their clarity and brilliance.


4. Sapphire – Kaduna State

Nigerian sapphires are known for their rich blue and greenish-blue tones. Found primarily in Kaduna State, these precious stones are used in high-end jewellery and are gaining international recognition for their depth of colour.


5. Barite – Cross River State

Though not a traditional gemstone, barite plays a crucial role in the oil and gas industry. Found in large deposits in Cross River, it is valued for its high density and use in drilling fluids.


6. Morganite – Oyo State

This pink-to-peach beryl gemstone is cherished for its romantic hues and brilliance. Nigerian morganite, found in Oyo State, is of exceptional quality and is increasingly being used in engagement rings and luxury jewellery.


7. Sphalerite – Zamfara State

Sphalerite is a zinc-rich mineral with striking reflections that sometimes show fiery orange, red, or green flashes. Beyond its industrial use, its gem-quality crystals make it a rare collector’s item.


8. Aquamarine – Oyo State

With its serene sea-blue to blue-green colours, aquamarine is a beloved gemstone found abundantly in Oyo State. Nigerian aquamarines are renowned for their transparency and natural beauty.


9. Emerald – Jos, Plateau State

Nigeria’s emeralds, particularly from Jos, stand out for their rich green hue and clarity. As one of the most valuable gemstones globally, Nigerian emeralds are becoming a force in the global market.


10. Goshenite – Nasarawa State

Goshenite is a colourless variety of beryl and is often cut as a diamond alternative due to its clarity and brilliance. It is found in Nasarawa State and adds a unique option to Nigeria’s gemstone offerings.

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has advised President Bola Tinubu not to seek for a second term in office in 2027 elections.

This is as he applauded former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, and former Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as well as others, for forming a new political platform, the All Democratic Alliance (ADA).

Eze, in a statement made available to LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt, stated that the Tinubu-led administration has performed abysmally in the past two years.

He said: “Finally, President Tinubu can now start packing his luggages for his much anticipated movement back to his Bourdillon Home after all the collosal damages he has committed against our democracy and economy due to his abysmal performance within 2 years of stolen mandate as a President.

“Never again can we as a nation be made to pass through such a horrible path of maladministration, corruption, crass incompetence, and nepotism, which have become the hallmark of the Tinubu presidency

The APC chieftain thanked those behind ADA for their patriotic resolve to salvage Nigeria’s failing democracy and rescue the country from nose-diving into the murky waters of anti-democratic governance.

Eze said: “I commend all of you for your foresight, proactiveness, optimism, commitment and patriotism in a bid to wrestle power from the hands of despots, nepotistic selfish and anti democratic forces, who have plunged our dear nation into a land of bloodletting, kidnapping, misery, abject poverty, devastating hunger and made Nigeria a laughing stock before the international community.

“Once again, as prominent Nigerians, and a group of cerebral, enigmatic, influential, visionary and grassroots politicians, you have proven that you all are not only born tactical politicians, but a group of caring patriotic, eminent and grassroots oriented leaders who are touched with the present sordid state of our nation.

“God will surely answer our collective prayers in our drive to salvage and liberate this country from the hands of misguided leaders, misfits, autocrats, most clueless, insensitive and demented undemocratic forces, who are riding rough-shod over the common patrimony of Nigerians.”

by Claire Mom


United States President Donald Trump has hinted at the possibility of a regime change in Iran as the tension between the Middle East country and Israel escalates.

Trump bared his mind in a post on his social media page after the US bombed Iranian nuclear facilities – an action that has drawn the country into the ongoing crisis between Iran and Israel.

“It’s not politically correct to use the term, ‘Regime Change,’ but if the current Iranian Regime is unable to MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN, why wouldn’t there be a Regime change MIGA!!!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

His remarks also came after other top US officials stressed that toppling Iran’s leaders was not the aim of the US military action.

The US had carried out attacks in Iran after a week of hostilities between Israel and Iran.

The actions echoed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s sentiments of wiping out Iran’s nuclear research programme.

US allies, including the United Kingdom (UK), said the strikes eliminated the threat of nuclear attacks.

But Iran has repeatedly denied plans of building a nuclear arsenal.

Trump said the strikes caused “monumental damage”, but Iran downplayed the intensity.

Iran vowed that the US strikes would have “everlasting consequences”.

On Monday, Iran launched retaliatory missile strikes at a US air base in Qatar.

Trump has repeatedly asked Iran to surrender.

As Operation “Midnight Hammer” got underway on Saturday, a group of B-2 bombers took off from their base in Missouri and were noticed heading out toward the Pacific island of Guam, in what experts saw as possible pre-positioning for any U.S. decision to strike Iran.

But they were a decoy. The real group of seven bat-winged, B-2 stealth bombers flew east undetected for 18 hours, keeping communications to a minimum, refueling in mid-air, the U.S. military revealed on

As the bombers neared Iranian airspace, a U.S. submarine launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles. U.S. fighter jets flew as decoys in front of the bombers to sweep for any Iranian fighter jets and missiles.

The attack on Iran’s three main nuclear sites was the largest operational strike ever by B-2 stealth bombers, and the second-longest B-2 operation ever flown, surpassed only by those following the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States by al Qaeda.

The B-2 bombers dropped 14 bunker-busting GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, each weighing 30,000 pounds. The operation involved over 125 U.S. military aircraft, according to the Pentagon.

From the U.S. military’s perspective, the operation was a resounding tactical success. The Iranians were unable to get off a single round at the American aircraft and were caught completely flat-footed, General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon on Sunday.

“Iran’s fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran’s surface to air missile systems did not see us throughout the mission,” Caine said. “We retained the element of surprise.”

Caine said initial battle damage assessments indicated that all three sites targeted sustained extremely severe damage and destruction, but he declined to speculate whether any Iranian nuclear capabilities might still be intact.

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth was more confident.

“It was clear we devastated the Iranian nuclear program,” he said, standing alongside Caine in the Pentagon briefing room.

‘A lot of talk earlier last week about, you know, Iran, potentially threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz, which you know is interesting to see. The oil markets didn’t necessarily place that much of a premium on it.

Gulf states, home to multiple U.S. military bases, were on high alert on Sunday as they weighed the risks of a widening conflict in the region.

Guarding against blowback, the U.S. military also dispersed U.S. military assets in the Middle East and heightened force protection for U.S. troops.

Hegseth said the U.S. military was positioned to defend itself in the Middle East, but also to respond against Iran if it goes through with longstanding threats to retaliate.

By Adebayo Waheed


The crisis rocking the family of the late former governor of Oyo State, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, has taken a new dimension, as his first daughter, Mrs Oluwatoyin Alao-Aderinto, has sought for Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) test on seven individuals claiming to be biological children of Alao-Akala.

Mrs Alao-Aderinto has also filed an application at the Oyo State High Court for the exhumation of the late former governor’s body in order to carry out the DNA test.

In a suit filed before Justice Taiwo of Court 12 at the State High Court, Ibadan, with Motion Number 1/443/2024, Oluwatoyin Alao-Aderinto, through her counsel, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Oladipo Olasope, prayed the court to direct that DNA test be carried out on herself, and six others, namely Olamide, Adebukola, Olamipo, Olamiju, a serving member of the House of Representatives, Tabitha, and Olamikunle.Green job opportunities

The names were listed in the Motion on Notice filed before the court and that the test be conducted at a court-approved, accredited laboratory to determine their true biological relationship with the late Alao-Akala.

As part of the application, Oluwatoyin was also seeking an order of court, directing the exhumation of Otunba Alao-Akala’s remains from the mausoleum built in his Ogbomoso country home for the purpose of carrying out the paternity test.

The results of the tests, she pleaded, should be filed under a sealed envelope and delivered directly to the presiding judge for pronouncement in open court.

The fresh application brought before the court has added a new twist in what has become a messy and prolonged family feud over the vast estate of the late Ogbomoso-born politician, who died on January 12, 2022.Family vacation packages

The crisis, which had been brewing silently since his burial, became public in October 2022 when one Kemi Alao-Akala and Olamide Alabi, believed to be among the deceased’s daughters, obtained a Letter of Administration from the Oyo State Probate Registry without the knowledge or consent of Oluwatoyin, the first child.

This singular act, she contended, was a deliberate and unlawful exclusion that contravenes applicable laws guiding intestate succession in Nigeria.Green job opportunities

In her affidavit and accompanying exhibit filed in support of her motion, she accused the duo of manipulating facts to claim sole control over Alao-Akala estate, despite the presence of other biological children and heirs.

The estate in question is said to be massive properties spread across Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja, United Kingdom and the United States of America, including a five-star hotel in Ghana, vehicles and multiple bank accounts containing hundreds of millions in naira, dollars and pounds sterling.

Oluwatoyin’s position on her deceased father’s estate stemmed from her strong resolve at ensuring that every individual, including nuclear and extended family members, aides of the former governor, who served him meritoriously without blemish and yet-to-be identified children, among many others, were catered for, as against the winner-takes-it-all approach adopted by the duo of the defendants.Family vacation packages

The said administrators listed only seven individuals as legal heirs, but Oluwatoyin’s position, as articulated by her counsel, was that there is no consensus on the paternity of these persons and that the inclusion of some and exclusion of others in the administration of the deceased’s estate raised troubling questions of authenticity and equity. It is on this basis she sought judicial intervention through scientific means.

It will be recalled that in an August 2023 letter, which was made public, counsel to Oluwatoyin, Oladipo Olasope, SAN, warned that the exclusion of the claimant, who is the first daughter of the late Alao-Akala, violated both moral norms and legal rights, stressing that unless resolved, the dispute could further polarise the family and damage the late former governor Alao-Akala’s political legacy.

There are calls for US President Donald Trump to be impeached over his “unconstitutional” move to bomb top nuclear facilities in Iran.

Democrats have responded with uproar to the US attacks, but Mr Trump also faces criticism from within his own party, including prominent Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has spoken against the strikes.

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, was among the US politicians to respond to Mr Trump’s announcement of “successful” attacks on Iran.

“The President’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorisation is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez said.

“He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Trump announced that he had ordered strikes to target Iran’s Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan nuclear sites.

Mr Trump said American planes successfully departed Iranian airspace and were “safely on their way home”.

Mr Trump endured bipartisan backlash over the strikes, but so far, only Democrats have clamoured for impeachment despite some of them acknowledging that they lack the votes.

Republican Thomas Massie, who hasn’t been shy about splitting with Mr Trump in the past, simply declared: “This is not Constitutional.”

Ismaeel Uthman, STEPHEN ANGBULU, Dirisu Yakubu, and Abdulrahman Zakariyau




Vice President Kashim Shettima’s political future may be hanging in the balance as signs from within the All Progressives Congress point to his exclusion from the 2027 presidential ticket.

Credible sources in the Presidency and the APC told Sunday PUNCH that there are ongoing political permutations that could compel President Bola Tinubu to drop him for another running mate.

This comes as four northern governors, two each from the North-East and North-West, and two principal officers in the 10th National Assembly are reported to be eyeing the VP’s seat.


The odds against Shettima

According to credible sources, the plot against Shettima stems from open criticism of the Tinubu administration by Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, and the Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume.

Zulum is a staunch loyalist of Shettima, his predecessor.

The governor was a vocal voice against the tax reform bills when they were first introduced by Tinubu. He said it favoured Lagos more than the North.

He has also consistently criticised the Federal Government’s handling of insecurity in his state, slamming information minister Mohammed Idris.

The Borno governor openly protested the omission of Shettima’s name during the adoption of Tinubu for a second term at the North-East APC stakeholders’ meeting on June 15 in Gombe State.

The meeting descended into chaos when the VP’s supporters attempted to attack the party’s Zonal Vice Chairman, Mustapha Salihu, for endorsing Tinubu without mentioning Shettima as his running mate.

Salihu had said, “We want to reaffirm and also adopt the endorsement earlier done by the National Working Committee, that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is endorsed to be a sole candidate for the 2027 election.”

Following his failure to acknowledge the vice president, angry delegates began chanting, “Shettima! Shettima!! Shettima!!!” in protest, with one aggrieved supporter confronting Salihu on stage.

Zulum also insisted that Shettima must be adopted as the APC’s vice-presidential candidate for 2027.

Although Ndume’s current level of loyalty to Shettima remains unclear, the lawmaker has consistently criticised the Tinubu administration.

On July 17, 2024, the National Working Committee of the APC wrote to Senate President Godswill Akpabio requesting Ndume’s removal as Senate Majority Whip.

The APC cited Ndume’s “unguarded outbursts” against the government and described his remarks as “unbecoming” of a senior party member.

A source said, “The main problem for Shettima is the conduct of politicians from his state, including the governor, Ndume, and others close to him, who have been openly critical. The perception is that he can’t rein them in.

“If a sitting governor and senator from your state, especially one you handed over to, keep criticising the government, it becomes a problem.”

Following the chaotic APC North-East stakeholders’ meeting, Sunday PUNCH gathered that some governors and lawmakers had begun positioning themselves as potential vice-presidential picks.

One insider said, “It is very much within the realm of possibility because the VP is not particularly close to the President. It’s not like the President has said categorically that he will change his running mate in 2027, but it is not certain that he won’t.

“Still, that hasn’t stopped people from positioning themselves just in case the President decides to.”

Another source added, “Two principal officers from the National Assembly and about four governors are involved, two each from the North-East and North-West. I know of a few, including one within the VP’s circle.”


Northern govs eyeing VP’s seat

Sunday PUNCH gathered that the governors of Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna, and Katsina, Mai Mala Buni, Muhammadu Yahaya, Senator Uba Sani, and Dikko Radda, respectively, are being considered as potential replacements for Shettima.

Sources also listed the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass, and Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, as possible contenders.

“It’s usually governors who want that position. There’s the governor of Yobe, Gombe, Kaduna, and Katsina. The Katsina governor’s interest is no secret.

“There are also signs that the Speaker and Deputy Senate President are eyeing it. They represent different political blocs,” a source said.

Another claimed that a “confidence vacuum” may be working against Shettima.

“He has unfettered access to the President. That’s true. He meets with the President often.

“But somehow, he hasn’t earned the President’s confidence. He hasn’t demonstrated leadership or taken initiative. He mostly operates under instructions and has not shown independent capacity,” the top party official said.


Govs, Jibrin deny interest

However, the Director-General of Press Affairs, Gombe Government House, Ismaila Misilli, dismissed claims that Governor Yahaya is eyeing the VP slot.

Speaking to Sunday PUNCH, he said, “The governor is 100 per cent with Tinubu and is not pursuing the vice-presidential slot. The position of Vice President isn’t one you campaign for.

“The governor’s priority is to deliver for Tinubu in 2027 and complete his own second term successfully. If some people believe he is capable of being vice president, that’s another matter.”

Similarly, the Chief Press Secretary to the Katsina State Governor, Ibrahim Mohammed, denied that his principal was angling for the VP’s position, calling it “mere political permutations.”

He said, “My principal has just completed two years in office and has two more to go. He has an agenda for Katsina State and is implementing it effectively. I believe all these are just political permutations.”

Similarly, a close associate of Jibrin also dismissed the report that the Deputy Senate President was being positioned to replace Shettima in 2027.

The associate, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the claims were a distraction from the lawmaker’s legislative duties.

“There’s no truth in any of it. Senator Barau is focused on his job as Deputy Senate President and on representing the people of Kano North Central. He’s not chasing rumours or backroom politics. He’s committed to the mandate he was elected for.”


APC NWC, NEC members divided

Insiders in the APC told Sunday PUNCH that discussions about Shettima’s return had divided members of the National Working Committee and the National Executive Committee of the party.

However, the national leadership of the APC is said to be trying to manage the matter to avoid creating a crisis for the party in the North-East.

A principal officer of the party, who was contacted to speak on the matter, said, “It is a sensitive matter, I cannot comment on that; I am sorry.”

But another senior party official told one of our correspondents that the speculation about dropping Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate had “elements of some truths.”

The insider also confirmed that some governors were actively lobbying for the position, with backing from some party members.

He stated, “The move to replace Shettima with another running mate for President Tinubu in the 2027 election is real. Some party leaders are working tirelessly to persuade the President to drop the vice president and choose either a governor from the North-East or another from the North-West.

“This has sparked a cold war among party leaders. It is ‘cold’ because only the President has the constitutional right to select his running mate.

“So, it’s not exactly a crisis, but rather high-level political manoeuvring. At the moment, various key stakeholders in the party, particularly members of the NEC and NWC, are discreetly supporting different candidates. While they may not admit it publicly, that’s the reality, and in my opinion, it’s a normal part of party politics.”

Another source described the situation as a routine political development, emphasising that it was all about differing interests.

“Some party leaders are insisting that Shettima should remain President Tinubu’s running mate in 2027, while a few others prefer someone else. That is very normal and expected.

“Ultimately, it is the President, as the party’s 2027 candidate, who will make that decision. So, they are merely trying their luck by attempting to influence his choice,” he added.

Attempts to get a response from the APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, were unsuccessful.

However, the party’s Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Duru, maintained that there was no confusion in the party regarding the 2027 presidential and vice-presidential candidates.

In an interview with our correspondent, he said, “APC is calm and cool. The party is focused at this time primarily on two things: governance and providing the dividends of democracy to Nigerians, and addressing what matters to the people of the country.

“Our candidates have the first right of refusal as our candidates in upcoming elections. It is the President who will decide his running mate. He made that choice previously in a very well-informed and deliberate manner, and it was on the strength of that, among other factors, that we won the 2023 election. That’s how democracy functions.”


We will retain the VP slot – North-East APC

However, the Zonal Chairman of the APC in the North-East, Salihu, said the zone would retain the VP slot as it was not ready to relinquish it to another zone.

Some stakeholders in the North-Central have, for almost a year, been asking Tinubu to pick his deputy from the zone in 2027 if he wants their support.

But Salihu said the North-East was ready to do everything to retain the vice-presidential slot.

In an interview with Sunday PUNCH, Salihu said, “Emphatically and categorically, we will not relinquish the VP slot to another zone. This is a federation. Every region has the right to aspire, to look for what they think is theirs. But we believe we are right and should be the rightful beneficiary of that (VP) slot.

“We are going to hold on to it and do everything to retain this seat through political consensus. Even with the North-Central, we are going to sit with them and show them the reason they should allow and support us in keeping the VP.”

Salihu explained that there was no ill intention in not mentioning Shettima’s name when he declared the adoption of Tinubu for a second term at the meeting.

He said he was merely carrying out the resolution of the NWC.

“Nobody comes into a primary election with a running mate. They come individually. After securing the ticket, the candidate then picks his running mate. So, in line with that, the National Working Committee at the summit in Abuja passed the resolution to adopt Tinubu as our sole candidate.

“As North-East Zone Chairman, and also a member of the NWC, I only reaffirmed and adopted the endorsement earlier made by the NWC. So, there’s no harm intended.”


‘Tinubu must not drop Shettima’

Meanwhile, a member of the House of Representatives has cautioned President Tinubu to think carefully before making up his mind on whether to stick or part ways with Shettima.

The federal lawmaker declared that without the political reach of the VP, the President couldn’t have won the 2023 election after securing the flag of the APC at an elective convention in Abuja.

Speaking with Sunday PUNCH in confidence, the lawmaker, who hails from the northern part of the country, credited Shettima for the support Tinubu got in that part of the country two years ago.

He said, “If he (Tinubu) retains Shettima, he will reduce internal rancour and sabotage in the north. If he drops him, he will widen the scope of his challenges.

“Without Shettima, the President couldn’t have won the election in 2023. We know the key roles played by Shettima and other northern stakeholders. He built bridges across parties and leveraged them to get the required percentages for the APC presidential ticket.

“Shettima used members of the opposition in so many instances and places to secretly work against their parties’ interests in their states.”

Regardless of who the President runs with, the lawmaker warned that he would not find it easier “this time around.”

By Mikal Attah


Farmers in Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State have reportedly received threats from terrorists believed to be members of the Lakurawa group, warning them against replacing traditional cattle-driven farming methods with mechanised equipment.

According to reports by security analyst Zagazola Makama, the terrorists warned that anyone found using mechanised tools in place of cattle for farming would be executed. The warning has triggered fear and panic among residents of affected communities, many of whom had begun shifting to modern farming techniques in response to ongoing cattle rustling in the region.

“Now, the terrorists are dictating how we should farm,” a local source was quoted as saying. “They forbid us from using machines. When we use cattle, they seize them. We’re farming both for sustenance and commercial purposes.”

An intelligence source also reportedly confirmed that the threats were genuine and circulated among several villages in Augie LGA. Community members are now calling for urgent intervention from the Nigerian military and government.

The area has suffered repeated attacks and widespread cattle rustling, allegedly by the same group. In April, at least 13 vigilantes were killed in Morai village, also in Augie LGA, after suspected Lakurawa gunmen ambushed them during a failed attempt to recover stolen livestock.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Kebbi State, Nafiu Abubakar, said he would investigate the development.

The Nigerian Correctional Service has started investigation into the circumstances surrounding the movement of a robbery convict, Haruna Ayo, to a passport office in Lagos for processing of travel documents.

Saturday PUNCH exclusively gathered that the incident happened on Wednesday, May 19, 2025, when warders from the Kirikiri Maximum Security Custodial Centre, Apapa, moved the inmate to the Nigeria Immigration Service passport office at FESTAC Town under suspicious circumstances.

According to a credible source, Ayo was convicted for armed robbery and sentenced to life imprisonment, which was later reduced to 21 years on appeal and further reviewed downward after some consideration. He was due for release on October 11, 2025.

Our correspondent learnt that the inmate was among five convicts selected to do a menial job at the residence of the officer in charge of the custodial centre on the day of the incident.

During the outing, an orderly, who claimed to be acting on the instruction of another superior officer, told the supervising officer to release Ayo to him.

Our source disclosed that the inmate was subsequently transported to the passport office.

“However, while waiting to be attended to, the warder escorting him became impatient and said, ‘I need to take him back to the cell’.

“This raised suspicion among immigration officers, who then detained both the inmate and the warder and alerted their superiors,” the source added.

Saturday PUNCH learnt that the NIS escalated the matter to the Lagos headquarters of the NCS, Alagbon.

Two officers were reportedly suspended over the incident.

The source identified one of the affected officers as one Femi.

“I think the real culprits are not being punished. It’s a system and many people are involved,” the source said.

Another source explained that the convict had been using medical pretences to process the passport and visa.

She said, “What happened was that this particular inmate, a convict, claimed he had a health problem, which necessitated his visit to a hospital in that neighbourhood. However, during the process, he started processing his passport and visa documents by proxy.

“The whole thing started last year and he seemed to be progressing with the passport and visa applications until the correctional service started probing the Bobrisky case (Idris Okuneye). The convict’s case was not known that time. Apparently, he was among those enjoying special treatments in the maximum prison.

“After the suspension of top officers, things changed as new officers took over. Security was tightened and people who enjoyed certain privileges had those things withdrawn.

“This particular convict then started protesting and threatening blackmail. His conduct led to investigations. A search was conducted and it was discovered he had been processing the travel documents. It is suspected that the hospital where he claimed to be receiving treatment was also involved in the compromise. The prison authorities discovered that three medical evaluations had already cleared him that he was medically fit. Whereas he was using that to do all manner of things.”

Another source said the matter was causing a serious storm at the custodial centre.

“The question remains, how will a convict be processing passport and visa? Was he planning to escape? It’s a big mess,” the source said.

This latest revelation adds to the long list of corrupt practices in the country’s correctional service.

In the past, some warders were accused of extorting money from inmates, selling donated items and giving VIP treatments in exchange for bribes.

In 2024, the correctional service was embroiled in a mess after the Baale of Kirikiri, Babalola Shabi, accused prison officials of collecting N35m to give Bobrisky special treatment during his sentence.

A leaked voice note also purported the cross-dresser paid huge sums of money to get special apartment at the prison, which led to the suspension of some senior officers.

Similarly in 2024, officers at the Afikpo Custodial Centre, Ebonyi State, allegedly smuggled an inmate, Ibuchi Eze, out of prison for a private visit to his girlfriend.

The NSC confirmed the latest incident, adding that investigation was ongoing.

The Service National Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Umar, also confirmed the suspension of an officer.

“The staff member suspected to have committed the act has been suspended, and investigation is ongoing. The suspension is necessary to ensure a smooth process,” Umar stated.

“The Comptroller-General does not take issues of indiscipline or sabotage lightly. This administration, under President Bola Tinubu, places high priority on the welfare of correctional officers, and the CG has made it clear that outstanding performance will be rewarded. However, any officer found engaging in illegal activities will be shown the way out; they are not worthy of wearing the uniform,” he added.

Umar noted that further updates would be made public at the conclusion of the investigation.


Experts decry sleaze

Speaking on the matter, legal experts wondered how a serving inmate could reach the passport application stage without detection or red flags.

They also raised concerns on why inmates were still being used for domestic work in private residences of top officials.

Reacting to the incident, a legal practitioner, Tolu Babaleye, described the development as a disgrace to the correctional service system.

“When somebody is in a correctional centre, they are not supposed to go outside the four walls of the facility. The whole idea is for the inmate to reflect, show remorse, and reform. But when that process is undermined and inmates are taken out for pleasure or personal errands, justice is subverted and the essence of the sentence is defeated.

“In some cases, convicted robbers are taken out to commit more crimes, then return to prison to share the proceeds with warders. It’s disgusting. This speaks volumes about the level of decay in the system,” he added.

Similarly, a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said, “The essence of incarceration is the restriction of liberty. An inmate cannot be taken out of custody unless by a court order, for judicial proceedings, or if sentenced to community service. Anything outside this is illegal.”

Effiong warned that allowing inmates to leave the facility for personal activities, including sexual engagements, was a direct violation of the law.

“The Correctional Service must hold all officers involved accountable and put mechanisms in place to prevent a recurrence,” he urged.

A former Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Dr Monday Ubani (SAN), also expressed dismay at the incident.

“It reflects a dangerous level of laxity within the correctional service. Inmates should not leave custody unless there is a valid court order or legitimate assignment. Anything contrary is a subversion of the justice system,” he said.

Ubani stressed the need for strict discipline within the Correctional Service.

“If a convicted criminal escapes while being moved illegally, it undermines the entire justice system. The leadership of the correctional service must enforce internal discipline and restore the integrity of the institution. Allowing convicted persons to roam freely reflects poorly on the Ministry of Interior and should not be tolerated,” he said.

Barely two and a half months after Rivers State Sole Administrator, Admiral Ibas Ibok-Ete (Rtd), appointed local government administrators, one of them has resigned.

The administrator of Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State, Goodluck Ihemnacho, tendered his resignation letter, citing the need to return to the private sector.

The resignation was contained in a letter dated June 20, 2025, addressed to the state sole administrator.

"I humbly write to your noble office to convey to you my resignation as the administrator, Ahoada East LGA.

“My sincere gratitude goes to the government of Rivers State and the good people of Ahoada East for finding me worthy to serve as Ahaoda East LGA from 11th day of April 2025 to 20th day of July 2025.”

In April, SaharaReporters reported that the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Rtd), approved the appointment of administrators for the 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state — less than 24 hours after a Federal High Court reportedly restrained him from doing so.

The appointments, along with the reconstitution of previously suspended boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals, were announced in a Special Government Announcement issued Wednesday morning by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Ibibia Worika.

“His Excellency The Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral (Rtd) Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas CFR, has approved the appointments of administrators for the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State,” the statement had read.

“He has also approved the reconstitution of some boards of agencies, commissions, and parastatals, earlier suspended. All appointments take effect from Monday, the 7th of April 2025.”

by Beloved John


The war between Israel and Iran entered the eighth day on Friday, amidst planned talks between Iran’s foreign minister and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK over Iran’s nuclear programme and the possibility of ending the war.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has already arrived in Geneva for the talks, which is considered the first real diplomatic push to end the week-long war.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he believes “a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution” after meeting senior US officials on Thursday, Al Jazeera reports.

This is also the first substantial European involvement in the conflict since Israel launched its surprise attacks last week.

Europe has been divided in its stance on Israel’s attack on Iran.

While Germany welcomed the development and declared support for Israel, France has warned against an escalation that could destabilise the entire region.

Europe has played a major role in the Iranian nuclear challenges and in producing the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, which limited Iran’s nuclear activities, reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

But President Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018, and Iran resumed uranium enrichment activities.


Israel accuses Iran of war crimes

As the war escalates, Iran shot a barrage of missiles into Israel on Thursday and hit a hospital in Beersheba, a town in the southern part of the country.

Israel decried the attack and accused Iran of “war crimes.”

While Iran claimed it targeted a military site near Soroka Hospital and not the hospital itself, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister insisted that the strike was deliberate and criminal.

In a post on X, Sharren Haskel stated that the hospital serves as the main medical centre for the entire Negev region.

She also wrote that, “Iran is targeting Israeli children. Missiles rain down on towns and cities where kids should be playing, learning and sleeping safely in their beds.

“This is terror aimed at the most innocent from the genocidal maniacs in Tehran. The world must not stay silent.”

The country also disclosed that about 24 people have been killed and 271 people were injured in the strikes reported across the country.

Iranian state media last updated the death toll on June 15, reporting that 224 people had been killed.

However, the Human Rights Activists News Agency(HRANA), a Washington-based organisation that has been monitoring Iran for years, has reported that about 639 people have been killed in the country since Friday.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that the conflict began on 13 June, when Israel carried out strikes on Iran, resulting in the deaths of several high-ranking generals and atomic scientists.

Iran, in response, fired dozens of retaliatory missiles and drones into Israel hours later.

Both parties have repeatedly vowed to intensify attacks on each other over the past week. Last Friday, Israel stated that the conflict is likely to last for weeks and not days.


US to decide involvement in two weeks

Meanwhile, the White House has disclosed that Mr Trump is expected to decide within the next two weeks whether the US will become involved in the Israel-Iran conflict.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that President Trump believes there is a strong possibility for negotiations, though it remains uncertain whether talks with Iran will happen any time soon.

“I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks. That’s a quote directly from President Trump,” she said.

She also added that, “The president is always interested in a diplomatic solution … he is a peacemaker in chief. He is the peace through strength president. And so if there’s a chance for diplomacy, the president’s always going to grab it. But he’s not afraid to use strength as well.”

The US had earlier tried to distance itself from the attack against Iran.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, had declared that the US was not involved in the strikes shortly after Israel’s strikes hit Iran last Thursday.

He described the strikes as a “unilateral action” against Iran, and warned against an attack on “American forces and interests.”

Iran has not attacked US facilities or personnel since the war with Israel started.

by Press Release


The High Court has ruled that Shell plc and its former Nigerian subsidiary can be held legally responsible for legacy, or historic, oil pollution which has devastated the environments of two communities in Nigeria. The judgement means that Shell, and its former Nigerian subsidiary, can be held liable for oil spills and leaks going back many years.

Years of chronic oil spills have left the Bille and Ogale communities, which have a combined population of 50,000, without clean water, unable to farm and fish and with serious ongoing risk to public health. Shell tried to prevent these claims from getting to trial with a range of technical, legal arguments that have now been firmly rejected by the Court.

After a four-week High Court preliminary issues trial from 13 February to Friday 7 March 2025, Mrs Justice May ruled on Friday 20 June 2025 that Shell’s attempts to restrict the scope of the upcoming full trial, to be held in 2027, had failed. She made several findings that are important for environmental claims generally.


Claims for legacy pollution

Shell had argued that there was a strict five-year limitation period and that the communities were barred from claiming in relation to any oil spills that took place more than five years ago, even if they had not cleaned up the pollution. The judge rejected this and left it open to the communities to claim for oil spills which occurred more than five years ago, including if Shell has failed to clean them up properly.

The judge found that a failure to clean up could be an ongoing breach of Shell’s legal obligation to clean up and could create a fresh right to make a legal claim for every day that the pollution remained. The judge also considered that an oil spill could be a trespass and, where that was the case, “a new cause of action will arise each day that oil remains on a claimant’s land”.

This is a very significant development in these claims and more broadly for legacy environmental pollution caused by multinational corporations around the world. The legal position following the UK Supreme Court case of Jalla v Shell International Trading and Shipping Vo Ltd [2024] AC 595 appeared to be that corporations could not be held liable for legacy pollution if the claimants failed to file their claim within the relevant limitation period. However, the Judge distinguished this claim from Jalla and made it clear that the claimants are not prevented from bringing claims if a polluter has left contamination on their land, even if a spill happened many years ago.


Illegal bunkering and refining

During the preliminary issues trial Shell sought to blame much of the pollution in the Niger Delta on illegal activities such as oil theft (known as ‘bunkering’) or local artisanal refining of oil. The communities’ lawyers, Leigh Day, argued that Shell had repeatedly failed to take basic steps to stop the bunkering and resulting illegal refining and oil pollution, from taking place.

Shell argued that it could never be liable for pollution arising from bunkering or illegal refining. The judge rejected Shell’s arguments and found that Shell could be liable for damage from bunkering or illegal refining if it failed to protect its infrastructure, and particularly if there is evidence that its own staff have been complicit in the illegal activities.

The two communities allege that there is clear evidence that Shell’s employees and contractors are themselves complicit in illegal bunkering which causes devastating pollution in the Niger Delta and this will be a central issue in the trial which is due to take place in 2027. The communities are currently preparing to cite substantial evidence to support their allegations of complicity.


Liability of Shell plc

· Shell argued at the preliminary issues trial that the Nigerian legal framework prevented claims against its parent company, Shell plc, for oil spills from pipelines. The judge rejected this argument and concluded that Shell plc can still be liable for these spills.

This means that the claims against Shell plc will proceed to trial and there will be scrutiny of Shell plc’s involvement in its Nigerian operation over many years, which resulted in chronic pollution to the Bille and Ogale communities. The decision, together with the Supreme Court’s decision in Okpabi v Shell plc, also opens the door for Nigerian communities to pursue claims against Shell plc in the Nigerian courts, should they choose to do so.


Nigerian Constitution

· The communities also argued that Shell’s pollution breached their constitutional rights under the Nigerian constitution and African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The Judge found that oil pollution can engage the right to life under the Nigerian Constitution, finding that “knowledge about the impact of environmental harm has moved on such that there is now a greater readiness to see polluting activities as capable of engaging the right to life” (para 326).

The Judge noted that the “direction of travel” of the Nigerian Supreme Court was to recognise the relevance of fundamental human rights in cases of pollution. However, she did not allow the constitutional claims to proceed against Shell since as an English judge she felt that such a legal development about the interpretation of the Nigerian Constitution should be left to the Nigerian courts.

· The onus is now therefore on the Nigerian courts to clarify this point about whether an oil company such as Shell can be liable for breaches of fundamental constitutional rights arising from serious pollution.


Next steps

The trial is a significant moment in the legal claim by the Bille and Ogale communities, who have been fighting UK-based Shell plc and oil company Renaissance, formerly Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd, for a clean-up and compensation since 2015. Neither community has had a proper clean up despite the ongoing serious risk to public health documented by the United National Environment Programme in 2011.

The Bille and Ogale communities were represented in the trial by Leigh Day international team partners Daniel Leader and Matthew Renshaw who instructed Fountain Court’s Anneliese Day KC, Matrix’s Phillippa Kaufmann KC, Anirudh Mathur and Catherine Arnold, 2 Temple Gardens’ Alistair McKenzie and Blackstone Chambers George Molyneaux.

Reacting to the High Court judgement, the leader of the Ogale community, King Bebe Okpabi said:

“It has been 10 years now since we started this case, we hope that now Shell will stop these shenanigans and sit down with us to sort this out. People in Ogale are dying; Shell need to bring a remedy. We thank the judicial system of the UK for this judgment.”

Leigh Day international department partner, Matthew Renshaw said:

“Shell’s attempts to knock out or restrict these claims through a preliminary trial of Nigerian law issues have been comprehensively rebuffed. This outcome opens the door to Shell being held responsible for their legacy pollution as well as their negligence in failing to take reasonable steps to prevent pollution from oil theft or local refining. This sets an important new legal precedent in environmental claims against multinational corporations.

The trial against Shell and its former Nigerian subsidiary, including in relation to the complicity of their staff in illegal activities that caused pollution, will now take place in early 2027. Our clients reiterate, as they have repeatedly for 10 years, that they simply want Shell to clean up their pollution and compensate them for their loss of livelihood. It is high time that Shell stop their legal filibuster and do the right thing.”

Nigeria to begin export of locally made military equipment - Minister

Africa’s top military powers for 2025 have been unveiled, with Egypt maintaining its dominance, while Nigeria climbs to the third position in the latest Global Firepower Index.

The annual ranking, released by Global Firepower and cited by Business Insider Africa, assesses military strength using over 60 indicators including troop size, defence budget, equipment capabilities, and geographical positioning.

Egypt retains its title as Africa’s strongest military force, despite dropping slightly on the global scale from 15th to 19th.

Algeria follows closely as second in Africa and 26th globally. Nigeria, now ranked third in Africa and 31st globally, has made one of the most notable jumps—up from 4th place on the continent and 39th worldwide last year.

The updated list reflects shifting regional dynamics, with Nigeria’s improved ranking attributed to increased investment in defence, counter-terrorism efforts, and expanding military partnerships.

Africa’s Top 10 Military Powers in 2025:

1. Egypt– Global Rank: 19th | PowerIndex Score: 0.34

2. Algeria –Global Rank: 26th | PowerIndex Score: 0.35

3. Nigeria – Global Rank: 31st | PowerIndex Score: 0.57

4. South Africa – Global Rank: 40th | PowerIndex Score: 0.68

5. Ethiopia – Global Rank: 52nd | PowerIndex Score: 0.93

6. Angola– Global Rank: 56th | PowerIndex Score: 1.09

7. Morocco – Global Rank: 59th | PowerIndex Score:* 1.12

8. Democratic Republic of Congo – Global Rank: 66th | PowerIndex Score: 1.30

9. Libya -Global Rank: 76th | PowerIndex Score: 1.44

10. Sudan – Global Rank: 73rd | PowerIndex Score: 1.47

Experts say the rankings show both strategic advancement and regional instability. Countries like Nigeria and Algeria have focused heavily on modernising equipment and enhancing internal security amid growing threats from insurgent groups. Meanwhile, South Africa, previously ranked 3rd in Africa, has slipped to 4th, reflecting ongoing budgetary and logistical constraints.

Ethiopia, Angola, and Morocco round out the top five, each maintaining robust ground forces, although they trail behind in aerial and naval capabilities compared to North African giants.

The index also sheds light on the continent’s widening military gap with major global powers, despite signs of progress. Africa’s top militaries remain significantly behind global leaders in terms of advanced technology, power projection, and defence industry output.

Nonetheless, the rankings indicate a steady build-up of conventional military capabilities in Africa, with several countries now playing prominent roles in regional peacekeeping and anti-terror operations.

The Global Firepower Index remains one of the most comprehensive annual assessments of military strength worldwide, tracking over 145 countries.

The Federal Capital Territory Administration is set to build a new headquarters for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The new facility is to be situated in the Maitama district of the nation’s capital.

Lere Olayinka, senior special assistant on public communications to Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), told TheCable on Saturday that President Bola Tinubu will flag off the construction of the new INEC headquarters next week.

In May, Wike said Tinubu would inaugurate completed projects and flag off the construction of new ones in the FCT to mark his second anniversary in office.

The projects being executed by the FCTA include the newly renovated Abuja International Conference Centre (AICC), bus terminals in Kugbo and Mabushi, and the Apo-Wassa Road.

Other projects are the N16 interchange and roads connecting Maitama through Katampe to Jahi; the inner northern expressway from Ring Road 3 (Idu to Kubwa road), CN8 from N5 (Obafemi Awolowo Way) to the court of appeal, the N20 flyover on onnex Kubwa road; and the Life Camp junction to Ring Road III.

They also include the Kabusa-Takushara Access road, Kabusa-Ketti Access Road, an access road in Giri District, a 15km road from A2 Junction Abuja-Lokoja Road to Pai in Kwali Area Council, and roads in Ushafa, War College, and the army checkpoint in Bwari area council.

by Kabir Yusuf


Abigail Katung, the wife of Nigerian senator Sunday Katung, said she has appealed a High Court judgement granting forfeiture of her house to the UK National Crime Agency (NCA).

PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported how the NCA, the UK’s law enforcement agency responsible for tackling organised crime and drug trafficking, won a High Court battle with Mrs Katung over the rights to the house located at Sandmoor Drive in Alwoodley, Leeds.

The NCA accepted title to the house in 2020, as part of a £10 million civil recovery agreement with a businessman suspected of money laundering offences.

Mrs Katung filed an interest claim in the house because she had entered into an agreement with the previous owner to purchase the house in 2015. She paid him £400,000 of the contracted £1,000,000 purchase price.

Court documents revealed that the majority of funds used for Mrs Katung’s deposit were transferred from Nigeria to the UK via the Bureau De Change operation she described as a “parallel” or “black” market.

In his ruling, Justice Jay of the UK High Court noted there were “telling omissions” from her evidence, and the court was “not satisfied that she was a particularly reliable witness”.

Mrs Katung did not provide an “adequate, documented explanation” of the transaction. Therefore, the judge ruled that she was “conducting a business in foreign exchange transactions to circumvent Nigerian foreign exchange regulations and/or to avoid a punitive exchange rate.”

The High Court also ruled that Mrs Katung had no legitimate interest or right to the property, which will be vested in and transferred to the NCA.

The judge said, “No credit falls to be given for the value of the deposit payments made by Mrs Katung.”

The NCA will be entitled to damages for Mrs Katung’s use and occupation of the house since 2020, as well as to its costs.

Reacting to the judgement, the Punch newspaper reported Mrs Katung as saying, “The house has not been seized yet as there’s now an appeal lodged in the court. There is no point in disguising my upset at the terms of the judgment. I need to make two things clear.

“First, I intend to appeal on both the facts and the law. Particularly, the judgment reflects neither my consistent account nor the documentation I provided. Because it is plainly not appropriate for me to comment on the details of the appeal, which will be considered by a higher court in due course, that is all I can sensibly say for now.”

Mrs Katung added that she had made “full disclosure” of the ruling to the Leeds City Council prior to it becoming public knowledge, adding: “Whilst this is dreadfully upsetting to me and my family, I have not sought to hide away,” Mrs Katung said.

Meanwhile, Head of Asset Denial at the NCA, Rob Burgess, said the NCA uses both civil and criminal powers to investigate the provenance of assets in the UK believed to have been acquired using the proceeds of crime.

“The court’s finding here will allow us to fully recover a property we accepted title to in 2020, ensuring that a substantial sum can be returned to the public purse.”

Mrs Katung became Leeds’ first lord mayor of African descent when she took over the ceremonial role for a 12-month term in May 2024.

She has lived in the city since she came to the UK to study at the University of Leeds in 2000 and has represented the Little London and Woodhouse ward since being elected in 2019.

A spokesperson for the Labour Party told BBC that an internal investigation into Mrs Katung was taking place.

We are currently examining the High Court judgement and are unable to comment further at this time,” a Leeds City Council spokesperson told the BBC.

On Wednesday, Mr Katung defended his family against any wrongdoing.

A statement signed by the senator’s spokesperson, Midat Joseph, said, “For the avoidance of doubt, Senator Sunday Marshall Katung and his Wife, Abigail Katung have always conducted their affairs lawfully and transparently, and will pursue all necessary legal action to correct this defamatory narrative.”

By : Joke Falaju,


https://cdn.guardian.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/WhatsApp-Image-2025-06-14-at-13.22.04_676e4fd9-256x400.jpg

11 year old Kuku Hamidah Anjolaoluwa earned recognition as the youngest female horse rider as she rode her way into the hearts of thousands at the Ojude Oba 2025 grand cultural parade.

Representing the prestigious Kuku Royal Family, Hamidah made a stunning return for her second official appearance at the annual celebration, and this year, she delivered a performance that wowed the crowd and drew admiration from all corners of the festival ground.

Hamidah began horse riding at the tender age of 6, trained diligently by her father, a seasoned horseman and cultural custodian who saw not just potential in his daughter but purpose. She had appeared alongside him for years, quietly learning the ropes and earning respect behind the scenes. But it was in 2024 that everything changed.

That year, Hamidah stepped into the spotlight solo, commanding attention with a rare blend of poise, confidence, and elegance that stunned even the elders. Her performance instantly made her a standout — and the youngest female rider to ever shine in the historic parade.

“Ojude Oba is more than a festival to me. “It’s a celebration of our heritage and unity,” Hamidah shared. “Riding symbolises strength and courage. It reminds me that being a young woman doesn’t limit me — I ride to represent tradition and progress.”

In a heartwarming twist, her 2025 appearance came with extra meaning: Hamidah was joined by her 6-year-old younger brother, marking his debut ride and adding another layer of legacy and family pride to the moment.

“Before the festival, I remind myself who I am, who I represent, and why I ride,” she said.

Her father, proud and emotional, added, “This isn’t just about riding horses. It’s about raising children who understand the richness of where they come from and are proud to represent it.”

The crowd’s reaction said it all – cheers, applause, and phones lifted in the air capturing the moment a young girl, trained by her father, rode with the spirit of royalty and inspired a new generation.

Kuku Hamidah’s story is more than just a festival highlight. It’s a powerful reminder that the future of tradition is already in motion — galloping forward with pride, purpose, and possibility.

by Samuel Akpan


On Thursday, President Bola Tinubu conferred national honours on 66 Nigerians in recognition of their service to the nation.

Among the recipients announced by the president, as he addressed a joint session of the senate and house of representatives, was Labaran Maku, a former minister of information.

Maku was conferred with the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) — 11 years after he received a higher award of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

In 2014, under former President Goodluck Jonathan, Maku was conferred with CON, which ranks above OON in the national honours pecking order.

The CON is typically reserved for senior public servants, ministers, governors, and other high-ranking figures, while the OON is a tier below.

The CON ranks above the Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), which itself precedes the OON.

Over 48 hours later, the presidency is yet to comment on the apparent downgrade in Maku’s national honour.

The presidency also wrongly included Reuben Fasoranti and Edwin Madunagu among the posthumous awardees of national honours — but later apologised for the error.

In the past, speakers of the house of representatives were typically honoured with the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR), which ranks just below the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).

However, in October 2024, the house of representatives rejected the CFR honour proposed for Tajudeen Abbas, its speaker, after the federal government announced plans that Tinubu would confer it on him.

On Thursday, bowing to pressure from the house, Tinubu upgraded the recognition and decorated Abbas and Senate President Godswill Akpabio with the GCON — the second-highest national honour.


WHO IS MAKU?

Maku served as minister of information between 2010 and 2014, first under ex-President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later under Goodluck Jonathan.

In 2015, Maku defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) after losing the PDP ticket for the Nasarawa governorship poll.

He ran for governor on the APGA platform in 2015 and 2019 but lost both elections.