₦airaland Forum

CBN debited N6.9 trillion from banks last week, the result of the MPC decision to increase CRR to 32.5%. This means a third of all bank deposits now sterilised with CBN. It’s one of the worst MPC decisions I’ve ever seen, and has simply gone unnoticed.

In a country struggling for growth, CBN’s CRR hike will simply kill any type of lending, and by extension, growth. And the worst part is it won’t even curb inflation, which is now clearly more cost-push, than demand-pull.

So lending will stall and rates will go up. Now guess how companies will respond to the higher interest payment? Exactly; they will increase prices, which will only worsen the problem CBN is trying to solve. End

Another VGC drug bust! As massive and beautiful this mansion located in highbrow VGC Lekki Lagos, pictured here looks, it’s not occupied by humans but used to warehouse over 13million pills of Tramadol 225mg by another billionaire drug baron now in @ndlea_nigeria.

Many have said I have died; others claim I have withdrawn from the presidential campaign.

Well... Nope.

This is the reality: I am strong, I am healthy and I am READY to serve Nigerians from Day One.

Many have said I have died; others claim I have withdrawn from the presidential campaign.

Well... Nope.

This is the reality: I am strong, I am healthy and I am READY to serve Nigerians from Day One.#BAT23 pic.twitter.com/qqPkgSDYjs

— Bola Ahmed Tinubu (@officialABAT) October 2, 2022

Soma notable individuals who will receive Nigeria's 2022 National Award on Oct 11:

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, GCON
Amina Muhammed, GCON
Jim Ovia, CFR
Tony Elumelu, CFR
Abdul Samad Rabiu, CFR
Herbert Wigwe, CON
Chimamanda Adiche, OFR
Iyin Aboyeji, OON
Shola Akinlade, OON
Ezra Olubi, OON

Buhari to confer national honours on Abba Kyari, Burna Boy, Okonjo-Iweala, others

President Buhari has listed his late Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari among the 437 nominees for the 2022 National Honours Award.

Also on the list is presidential spokesperson, Femi Adesina, and the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

The investiture is billed to hold on 11 October at the State House in Abuja.

On the list sighted by PREMIUM TIMES, out of the 437 nominees, five persons were listed for Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON), 54 for Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) and 67 for the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).

Others are 64 for Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR), 101 for Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), 75 for Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR), 56 for Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) and eight for Federal Republic Medal (FRM).

While the late Abba Kyari would be honoured posthumously with the CFR, Mr Adesina and Mrs Okonjo-Iweala would be honored with OON and GCON respectively.

Other recipients include serving and former governors, serving and former presiding officers of the National Assembly, serving and former Chief Justices of Nigeria and serving and former members of the National Assembly.

Others are serving and former service chiefs, traditional rulers, retired public servants, lawyers, philanthropists, businessmen, ministers and members of the academia.

GCON
Apart from Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, the other recipients of the GCON are the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan; Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kayode Ariwoola, his predecessor; Tanko Muhammad and UN Deputy Secretary General; Amina Mohammed.

CFR
Prominent on the list of recipients for CFR include Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor; former Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, and Appeal Court president, Monica Mensem, and former Army Chief, Tukur Buratai.

Others are Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, his predecessor, Mohammed Adamu, Emir of Lafia, Sidi Bage, and Tor Tiv, James Ayatse, amongst others.

OFR
Nominees in this category include Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama, CEO of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, Nasiru Bayero and Muiz Banire.

Others are Ishaq Bello, Aliyu El-Nafaty and Kehinde Aina, amongst others.

OON
Some nominees in this category include National Assembly members such as Alhassan Doguwa, Muktar Betara, Ndudi Elumelu and Nkiruka Onyejeocha.

Others are a former Permanent Secretary, Sunday Echono, NBA President Yakubu Maikyau, Sarki Abba and Sabiu (Tunde) Yusuf, amongst others.

MFR
In this category are Sanusi Lemu, late DIGJoseph Egunike (posthumous), Haliru Nababa and Burna Boy.

Others are Simon Shango, Billy Okoye, Akwa Okon and Emeka Agbanari, amongst others.

MON
Notable in this category are 2Face Idibia, Shehu Othman, Teni the entertainer and Abubakar Maikano.

A Lagos State coordinator for the rally organised by the supporters of Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi has been reportedly arrested by the Department of State Services.

The coordinator who is identified as Joseph Onuorah was arrested when he arrived in Lagos on his way from France during the early hours of Saturday.

"DSS have arrested Joseph Onuorah (the Lagos coordinator for Obi rally) upon his arrival in Lagos. He is said to be returning from France for the Obi Rally In Lagos," a witness said.

Rallies to demonstrate support for the Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi were held in major cities around the country on Saturday.

The LP candidate supporters, popularly called “Obi-dients” were seen gathering in critical locations across Nigeria, including Lagos, Kaduna, Abia, and Edo state.

It was gathered that In Lagos, the supporters started the walk from the Admiralty Junction moving through the major road in Lekki.
They stopped at every junction, carrying flags, banners, and other paraphernalia as they marched towards the Jakande, Elegushi axis, ostensibly to avoid clashes with the police already stationed at the Lekki Toll Gate.
Recall that a Lagos court on Wednesday ruled against the convergence of the rally on Lekki Toll Gate.

The court also directed the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, to ensure compliance with the order.
The rally, according to the conveners, is to garner organic support for the LP presidential candidate ahead of next February’s general elections.

Obi, a 61-year-old former governor of Anambra State, is running alongside Datti Baba-Ahmed.

Total energies in partnership with NNPC has started producing 50,000bpd to boost oil production and make money for Nigeria. A wonderful development.

Fresh from the police cell, five persons, arrested and detained by the police at Area Command Headquarters in Onitsha, Anambra state, have recounted the horrific and tortuous experiences they claimed to have had during their six weeks of incarceration in the cell.

They alleged that apart from contracting chicken pox alongside other inmates, they also witnessed five other detainees slumping and dying inside and outside the cell as a result of severe torture they were subjected to by the policemen on the orders of a serving Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP.

Speaking to newsmen shortly at the General Hospital, Onitsha where they had gone for medical treatment, after their release recently, the detainees, Ifeanyi Ezennakwe (44), Somtochukwu Udemba (21), Emmanuel Okeke (24) and Ifeanyi Ifere (28) said that three of the detainees slumped and died right inside the cell, while two others died outside the cell.

They expressed concern that the kind of torture meted out to the deceased suspects usually ranged from shattering their legs with bullets, to flogging/whipping them with iron rods and big sticks, as well as kicking them with hands and legs, adding that once any of the victims slumped and died, police officers would quietly remove the corpse to a morgue and thereafter, deny their presence inside the cell to their friends and relations who came to the station to see them in the police custody.

They recalled that out of the five detainees they counted dead while they were still in detention, three of them slumped and died in front of all the detainees inside the cell mostly at midnight when they could not bear the pains arising from the tortures, while two others died outside the cell.

They further recalled that one of the last deaths that rattled the police was when an indigene of Onitsha was arrested, brought to the station and tortured in like manner. He slumped and died by 2 a.m. and when his relations came to the station in the daytime to ask of him, the police didn’t know what to say and the bereaved vowed to get to the root of the matter.

The former detainees described their stay at the police cell as “horrific and a foretaste of hell fire”. They added that during the one month and two weeks of their sojourn in police custody, they were starved all through day and night, except on rare occasions when they were served with moin-moin and polluted water drawn from the drainage. According to the detainees, their relations who brought food for them were not allowed to have access to them with the food inside the cell except they bribed the police, until their release on Friday, September 16.

They narrated how six of them, as staff of G.U. Okeke & Sons Limited, a subsidiary of GUO Group of Companies were arrested by the police on July 30 at the National Inland Waterways Authority, NIWA, motor park at the Bridge-head, Onitsha following civil dispute between Sir G. U. Okeke and Chief Ngozi Okpagu, even as they claimed that the said civil dispute had been decided in favour of Sir Okeke at an Onitsha High Court presided over by Hon. Justice Nwizu.

They said shortly after the decision of Justice Nwizu in favor of Sir Okeke on the civil disputes, NIWA had written Chief Ngozi Okpagu suspending his activities in the park, until he complied with the orders of the High Court but Okpagu refused to comply it.

“But as of today, Okpagu is still running the NIWA park, collecting dues, tolls and fees running into several hundreds of naira on daily basis with the help of armed policemen deployed to the park by the Onitsha Area Commander, against the larger interests of G.U. Okeke’s Company which has a subsisting grant of the land from the customary owners”, they said.

They further recalled that their arrest by the police arose as they were doing their legitimate duty at the NIWA Park as employees of G U Okeke’s Company, that the complainant allegedly instigated the police to descend on them, with the Area Commander himself personally leading some policemen under his command to invade the park, shooting their guns sporadically into the air that reverberated in the vicinity as people scampered for safety.

The detainees said they were arrested on Saturday, July 30, detained in police cell until they were granted bail by the police on Monday, August 1, and mandated to report at the station on Wednesday, August 3 and when they reported, they were again hounded into the cell and arraigned before a Chief Magistrate Court 1 in Onitsha the next day, Tuesday, August 4.

They claimed that when the complainant discovered that the charge preferred against them in the court by the police conducted likely to cause a breach of the peace only, which he considered was not as grievous as he wished, he instigated and colluded with the police area commander, to amend the charge to armed robbery, a more serious offence which they did not commit, but just to make their case unbailable, elongate their case and imprisonment while awaiting trial in the High Court.

When eventually the robbery charge was slammed against them in the amended charge, the court adjourned the case and ordered that the accused persons be returned to the police custody, following serious objections raised by the defense lead counsel, led by Chris Ajugwe, Esq.

In the meantime, following a petition by the G. U. Okeke & Sons Ltd, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Anambra State, Prof. Silvia Ifemeje, requested the State Commissioner of Police, Echeng Echeng to forward the original case file to her office for legal advice, in compliance with Chapter 10 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of the state, 2010, Section 160(1) of the extant law.

However, following the application by Motion on Notice by Chris Ajugwe, on behalf of the defendants, Justice S. N. Odili, sitting as a vacation Judge in Awka High court, granted the police detainees bail in the sum of N1 million each with one surety each.

The detainees further alleged that the Area Commander, however, refused to comply with the court order when served on him until the intervention of the state Police Commissioner, following enquiries by journalists from the office of Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga.

The accused persons, having spent a month and a half (six weeks), following their arrest on Saturday, July 30, were released from police custody on Friday, September 16, from where they headed straight to Onitsha General Hospital for medical attention.

When contacted, Anambra state police spokesman, DSP Tochukwu Ikenga said: “There is no such information before me. I urge the witnesses of this incident to come forward for more detailed information, please. This will enable us to conduct a proper investigation."

Olamilekan Bashiru, an Ogun state-based journalist who was recently released from prison, is severely ill and has turned to his associates to raise funds for his treatment.

Spending 138 days at the Ibara facility of the Nigeria Correctional Service, Mr Bashiru was arrested by the State Security Service (SSS) in May after his website republished a story that detailed the criminal records of the state’s governor, Dapo Abiodun.

Although Mr Bashiru was granted bail by Abeokuta’s Division of the Federal High Court on June 21, the conditions, which included N3 million bail bond, and two senior civil servants as sureties, were very stringent and could not be met by his associate. The bail condition, according to his lawyer, Festus Ogun, was a deliberate effort to prolong his incarceration.

While in SSS detention and after his transfer to prison, Mr Bashiru was repeatedly tortured and held in inhumane conditions, deprived of sleep, clean water and other basic needs for human survival, Peoples Gazette learnt.

Upon his release on Wednesday, he was diagnosed with malaria, severe typhoid and other infections.

“His health condition worsens by the minute, and the family has already spent much on the case with almost no resource left to take care of him,” Festus Afofun, a close associate of Mr Bashiru, told The Gazette.

As a follow-up to our promise some weeks ago, roadworks are now ongoing at Sango Ota-Ijoko Road with some sections already being asphalted as we speak.

We've also commenced the reconstruction of failed portions along Ota TollGate down to Singer which will subsequently extend down to Abeokuta in line with our strong resolve to fix this deplorable Federal Government road for the benefit of our people. #ISEYA #OgunState #DapoAbiodun

LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2nd paragraph, I don’t think I’ve seen anything like this before in my life

Lwkmmmmmmmm , even Dangote will know when 36M enters his account

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigeria remains committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying the nation would continue to promote it.

Buhari made this position known while addressing delegates at a High-Level Plenary to Commemorate and Promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in New York.

The president, who was represented by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, said that expending further resources on nuclear weapons stockpiling and maintenance was senseless.

This is contained in a statement by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

Buhari also expressed Nigeria’s dissatisfaction over the failure of the Tenth Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that was held in New York, from Aug. 1 to Aug. 26.

He said the conference was to produce a consensual final document which assessed the implementation of the treaty, 12 years since the adoption of an outcome document in 2010.

According to him, current global realities, including threats of global and transboundary terrorism, climate change, hunger and zoonotic diseases, require collective global efforts and channelling of resources towards addressing them.

“Therefore, expending further resources on nuclear weapons stockpiling and maintenance makes no sense at all.

“The total elimination of nuclear weapons can be considered a catalyst to the assurance of global peace and security and development.

“Africa had long acknowledged the existential threat nuclear weapons pose to human existence.

“It was to this end that African countries collectively adopted the Pelindaba Treaty, which prohibited the acquisition of nuclear weapons for military purposes and declared Africa a nuclear-weapons-free zone,” he said.

Buhari said that the NPT remained an essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament and the key instrument in the efforts to halt the vertical and horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons.

He, therefore, called for the full implementation of all commitments and the unequivocal undertakings assumed by the Nuclear-Weapons States at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference and the 2000 and 2010 Review Conferences of the Parties to the treaty.

According to Buhari, while Nigeria remains resolute in its support for the global nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament regime, the country is mindful of the beneficial uses of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

He reaffirmed the right of all states to use nuclear technologies for their developmental aspirations consistent with the relevant articles of the NPT, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) statute.

He said that Nigeria joined other countries in the core group to co-sponsor the resolution that led to the adoption of the comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons in 2017.

President Buhari enjoined other states that had not ratified the treaty to do so without any further delay, to enable full implementation of its provisions.

“Nigeria wishes to reiterate its call for the implementation and enforcement of all treaties on the elimination of nuclear weapons and reassures of her continued principled position in support of a world free of nuclear weapons,” he added.

NAN reports that NPT is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology.

It is meant to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.

You can win $5,000 at the Techpoint Africa Fintech Summit by building a solution that solves a financial need in Nigeria. To participate, simply register your interest using the form below.
https:///4zatmFsu1L4NrDpE9

Thank you for your support.

Join The Fintech Summit hackathon and stand a chance to win $5,000

You may often come across a debate about fintech in Africa. This could be regarding the number of fintech startups in Nigeria or whether existing fintechs are doing enough to drive financial inclusion.

While these debates can be tiring, there’s no denying that financial technology companies occupy an important place in the lives of most Africans. From enabling quick transactions to providing loans to individuals and businesses, fintech is here to stay.

At The Fintech Summit, there would be conversations about fintech in Africa from various speakers. But in addition to these conversations, there will be a hackathon dedicated to showcasing an exciting fintech solution.

Sponsored by Oneliquidity, participants in the hackathon will be building a fintech solution using Oneliquidity’s tech stack and stand a chance to win $5,000 and could receive further investment for their solution.

What solutions do we want to see?
The solution that makes the cut must be innovative, easy to use, and scalable. There are no limits to the solutions you can develop, provided they solve problems in Nigeria’s financial system. A solution that can be applicable across borders will also receive more attention.

Who can participate?
Anyone can participate either as an individual or a group. However, teams must not be made up of more than five individuals. At least one team member should also be able to make it to Lagos for the final round of judging if they make it that far.

Hackathon timeline
Applications for the hackathon open on Tuesday, September 20, 2022, and close on Sunday, October 9, 2022, and you can get started by filling out this form.

The judges will choose thirty teams to present their ideas virtually and get feedback before they start building their solutions. Participants will have four weeks to build their solutions, after which the top five teams will be assembled to share their progress at a physical location. The winner of the hackathon will be announced at The Fintech Summit on Saturday, November 26, 2022.

Former militants led by Tompolo’s crew locate illegal oil refinery in the creeks of Bayelsa. These guys know all the hidden bunkering sites.

Nigerian Customs intercept 81,425 litres of petrol concealed in sacks to be smuggled into Benin Republic at 1:30am �� from Badagry. The smugglers bought the petrol for N13m in Lagos and would have sold them for N29m in Benin �� where petrol is N365/L, without subsidy.

The leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, has justified Afenifere’s support for the Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi for the 2023 general elections.

The Afenifere leader also stated reasons why the group will not support the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC candidate, Bola Tinubu, and the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Adebanjo, in a statement on Monday, the Afenifere leader said the group stood on justice and fairness and believed in true federalism and the Federal Character principle.

His justification comes on the heels of the backlash that followed his earlier announcement of the group’s support for Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election.

Adebanjo said, “…not a few Yoruba leaders questioned why I should be supporting Peter Obi, a candidate of Igbo extraction, against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Yoruba. I took my time to explain that the presidency is not a contest between the Yorubas and the Igbos and to a large extent I was able to convince many.

“But ever since, social media has been filled with comments tending to ethnicise the campaign instead of making it issue-based. Afenifere has, therefore, decided to address you today and through you educate the public on the ideological and equitable principles which have influenced our decision.”

According to Adebanjo, Afenifere is the Yoruba interpretation of the social welfarist ideology of Action Group, a political party founded by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his colleagues in 1951 with strong advocacy for federalism as the best form of government to give the federating units the requisite autonomy to thrive and peacefully compete among themselves for the ultimate development of Nigeria.

He said other founding fathers of Nigeria — Sir Ahmadu Bello, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Chief Obafemi Awolowo — agreed to the system with the endorsement of colonial secretary Sir Oliver Littleton in 1954 “and it was embodied in the 1960 independence constitution. This is the modest contribution of Afenifere in shaping Nigeria into a federation where no person or ethnic nationality is oppressed.”

The nonagenarian said Afenifere had always advocated and insisted on restructuring of the country “long before the parties conducted their Conventions to elect their National Executives and candidates[/b],” and had proposed “a synthesis of the identical Resolutions of the 2014 National Conference and the APC El-Rufai 2018 True Federalism Committee.”

Adebanjo said Afenifere and the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum “[b]unanimously proposed that the minimum condition for a peaceful transition from the disastrous eight years of Buhari’s government headed by a President of northern extraction was to have the next President from the South,” a position which, he said, was supported by southern governors irrespective of their political parties.

He added, “In this quest for peace, based on equity and inclusiveness, the Yoruba took the first turn at the zoning arrangement in 1999, and that led to the emergence of Chief (Olusegun) Obasanjo, the current Vice President is a Yoruba man and equity forbids us for presuming to support another Yoruba person for the presidency in 2023.

“The current President is a Fulani from the North-West and by virtue of the zoning arrangement that has governed Nigeria since 1999, power is supposed to return to the south imminently.

“The South-West, as I have pointed out, has produced a president and currently sits as VP, the South-South has spent a total of six years in the Presidency, but the Igbo people of the South-East have never tasted presidency in Nigeria, and now that the power is due back in the South, equity demands that it be ceded to the Igbo.

“We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria, while we at the same time continue to brutally marginalise and excluded them from the power dynamics.”

Adebanjo, therefore, condemned the ceding of the PDP presidential ticket to “a Northern Fulani Muslim to succeed General Muhammadu Buhari, another Fulani Muslim, who will soon complete eight years of uneventful and disastrous rule. One can imagine such a high degree of political insensitivity.”

The Afenifere leader also stated that the group would not jettison equity, inclusiveness and justice just because one of their own — Asiwaju Bola Tinubu — was in the contest.

“We will not compromise this principle of justice, equity and inclusiveness because one of our own Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a frontline candidate,” Adebanjo said.

Adebanjo, who said Afenifere had “no apologies but due courage of our conviction that Nigeria can only prosper in righteousness,” reiterated that, “To keep Nigeria one, everyone should be Obi/Datti compliant,” and advocated that that should be the slogan henceforth.

PHOTOS: Letter Ordering VCs To Reopen Varsities

The Federal Government through the National Universities Commission has ordered vice-chancellors to re-open schools and allow students resume lectures.

Ransom paid. Aunt released. Kidnapping is now like buying bread in Nigeria. Everyone has set up shop because of how easy it is. Other criminals are now diversifying and including kidnapping in their portfolio. Non criminals are becoming angel investors. What a fucking country.

Nigeria is experiencing the worst flooding in decades, with over 300 dead and more than half a million people affected. But the crisis could still get worse.

Nigeria battling floods ‘beyond control’ as warning given of dams overflowing

Nigeria is battling its worst floods in a decade with more than 300 people killed in 2022 including at least 20 this week, as authorities said the situation is “beyond our control.”

The floods in 27 of Nigeria’s 36 states and capital city have affected half a million people, including 100,000 displaced and more than 500 injured, Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency said.

The disaster has also destroyed thousands of hectares of farmland, worsening fears of a disruption of food supply in Africa’s most populous country.

Since 2012, “this [the flood-related deaths] is the highest we ever had,” said Manzo Ezekiel, a spokesperson for the disaster management agency.

Nigeria sees flooding every year, often as a result of non-implementation of environmental guidelines and inadequate infrastructure. Authorities are blaming the floods this year on water overflowing from local rivers, unusual rainfalls and the release of excess water from Lagdo dam in neighbouring Cameroon’s northern region.

The Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency predicted more floods in 2022 than last year due to “excessive rainfalls and contributions from external flows” such as the dam in Cameroon.

On Monday, Nigeria’s disaster management agency alerted more than a dozen states of “serious consequences” in the coming weeks as two of the country’s dams started to overflow.

“I want to advise all the governments of the frontline states to move away communities at risk of inundation, identify safe higher grounds for evacuation of persons and prepare adequate stockpiles of food and non-food items,” said the head of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency, Mustapha Habib Ahmed.

In the north-west Jigawa state, floods killed more than 20 people in the last week, Yusuf Sani Babura, head of the Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency, told the AP. The state has recorded 91 deaths from flooding this year – more than any state in the country.

“We are facing devastating floods beyond our control,” said Babura. “We have tried our best and we couldn’t stop it.”

The floods have also destroyed crops, mostly in Nigeria’s northern region, which produces much of what the country eats, raising concerns that they could further affect food supplies already disrupted by armed conflict in the country’s north-west and central regions.

In the Benue state, Aondongu Kwagh-bee said he visited his rice farm recently and discovered that a heavy downpour had “wiped away everything.”

“Right now, there is nothing there. Just sand filled up and the rice has been washed away,” the 30-year-old said.

Akintunde Babatunde, an Abuja-based climate analyst, said the main cause of Nigeria’s annual flooding problem was the poor infrastructure of roads, drainage and waste disposal.

“Unusual rainfall is evidence of the changing climate,” he said.

Fact Check: Is China Having A Coup And Is Xi Jinping Under House Arrest? Here's What We Know

Rumours of a coup against Chinese President Xi Jinping are going around on social media, but experts have highlighted that there is no concrete evidence of coup or any disturbance in China so far.

The internet is abuzz with reports saying 'something is up' in China, with people's guesses ranging from a political or military coup against President Xi Jinping to potential military activity in Western China.

The evidence cited for such guesses includes reports of cancelled passenger flights in parts of China, Xi not being seen in public for some time, and footage allegedly of military vehicles moving towards the capital Beijing.

However, there is neither any official comment on these guesses nor any confirmed report on military movement towards the capital.

Here we share what's being said on social media, particularly in India, and what are the facts that we know for sure.

Is Xi Jinping facing a coup?

Twitter accounts with several thousands followers have shared that there has been a coup against Xi. Photographs of a successor have also appeared. However, none of these updates are from verified or credible accounts and most of these accounts are of anonymous users.

Videos of alleged military movement have also surfaced.

"This video of military vehicles moving to Beijing comes immediately after the grounding of 59 per cent of the flights in the country and the jailings of senior officials. There’s a lot of smoke, which means there is a fire somewhere inside the CCP. China is unstable," said author Gordon G Chang.

Defence affairs writer Saurav Jha shared on Twitter that there were no flights over Tibet Autonomous Region of Cihna earlier on Saturday.

"Of direct concern to us here in India. Many Flights to Lhasa Gonggar are also being cancelled. We have to see if there is an uptick in military air traffic over the Tibetan plateau or not," said Jha, hinting at possible military activity in Western China that borders China, where India and China are engaged in a military stand-off for over two years.

What experts have said?
Most of the China experts have highlighted that there are no signs of the coup beyond commentary on social media, particularly in Indian circles.

China expert Aadil Brar noted that Xi is likely in quarantine after returning from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, which would explain his absence from public affairs at the moment.

Brar also shared flight data showing there is no disruption of flights. He further shared visuals of public briefings by senior Chinese officials, suggesting that government is functioning normally.

Journalist Zakka Jacob higlighted that Xi has a powerful institutional hold over China which makes a coup unlikely.

"Lots of rumours this morning about a military coup in China. Nothing credible so far. Military coups are unlikely in China because the People's Liberation Army comes under the Central Military Commission. Xi, as General Secretary of the Communist Party heads the CMC. The Army is that of the party, not government," said Jacob in a tweet.

Journalist and author Ananth Krishnan also said there is no evidence so far of a coup.

"While Chinese politics is the blackest of black boxes, I’ve come across zero evidence in Beijing today to substantiate any of the social media rumours," said Krishnan on Twitter, noting that the rumours have surfaced in the run up to the crucial Chinese Communist Party in which Xi is expected to secure an unprecedented third term.

The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post has not reported about any coup or political upheaval in China at all. It has posted dozens of tweets in the last 24 hours about various issues concerning China and the world, but not even a remote hint about the alleged development in Beijing.

Nollywood actress, Nancy Isime has set tongues wagging on social media after she released photos of her giving another actor Daniel Etim Effiong a ride on her back.

Isime took to her Instagram page on Friday night to upload the photos of her giving a piggyback ride to a fellow male actor, displaying her strength.

The incident appeared to have taken place after a movie set in which Effiong played to role of a DSS officer.

He was wearing DSS bulletproof vest vest when the actress took him to the cleaner and lifted him on her back.

Isime wrote: “Always a pleasure filming with @etimeffiong #SetLife“

The photos has elicited reactions on social media, with some describing the actress as a strong woman.

It was Effiong who first reacted to the photos, saying, “❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Nanslayyyyyy!!! #strongblackwoman ����������.”

The duo having fun
According to Jemima Osunde, “meinssssssssss, you will carry me with one finger �����.”

An Instagram user by the name be_adikwu wrote: “Omo this babe is strong oh!���.”

Another user, gela-gold added: “na man you carry like toddler abi na eye dey pain me���❤️❤️❤️.”

Mayschills wrote: “Another Bangerrrr loadingggg ���.”

Isime, born on 17 December, 1991, is a Nigerian actress, model, and media personality.

She began a career as an actress in the TV series Echoes in 2011. She is also a television presenter, known for presenting gossip show The Squeeze, technology show What’s Hot, and backstage segments of MTN Project Fame season 7.

In 2016 she replaced Toke Makinwa as the presenter of the popular show Trending on HipTV. She co-hosted the 2019 edition of The Headies award with Reminisce.

She is also the presenter of The Voice Nigeria 2021. In 2019, Isime launched her own TV show which she called The Nancy Isime Show. In 2020, she co-hosted The Headies award with Bovi. In 2022, she starred in the Netflix original series Blood Sisters, playing the lead role of Kemi, produced by Ebonylife TV studio which is owned by Mo Abudu.

Ukraine’s ministry of defence has shared a horrific image of one of its soldiers recently liberated from Russian captivity.

In the photograph shared on Friday, Mykhailo Dianov, a Ukrainian soldier, looks emaciated.

“Ukrainian soldier Mykhailo Dianov is among the fortunate ones: in contrast with some of his fellow POWs, he survived Russian captivity. This is how Russia ‘adheres’ to the Geneva Convention. This is how Russia continues the shameful legacy of Nazism,” the ministry tweeted.

When compared with what he looked like before captivity, Dianov is a literal shell.

On Thursday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, said the country had secured the release of 215 people in Russian captivity.

“We returned 215 people from Russian captivity: 188 defenders of Azovstal and Mariupol. 108 Azov warriors, national guards, marines, border guards, policemen, territorial defense, Security Service employees. They’re safe now. We remember and try to save everyone,” Zelenskyy tweeted.

Ukraine has reached an agreement with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, to send its released Azov commanders to Turkey until the end of the war with Russia.

“They will be able to see their families. I sincerely thank President Erdoğan for his leading role in liberating our people,” Zelenskyy said.

When Big Bill met Nnakenyi