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Governorship Election Petition Tribunals delivered what could be called landmark judgements across the States over the week.

So far, only one governor was axed by the tribunal. Others had their victories validated, at latest for now.

The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, secured victory in some states.

.ng recalls that the tribunal, last week, upheld the victory of the PDP in Plateau, Bauchi, Enugu and Zamfara States, dismissing the petitions filed before it by the APC and the Labour Party.

In Plateau, the tribunal affirmed the election of Governor Caleb Mutfwang as the duly elected governor of the State.

A three-member panel of the tribunal led by Justice Sunday dismissed the petition filed by APC and its Governorship candidate, Nentawe Yiltwatda for lacking in merit.

Similarly, the court affirmed the election of Senator Bala Mohammed as the duly elected governor of Bauchi State. The judgement was delivered by the three-man panel headed by P.T Kwahar.

The panel dismissed the petition of APC and its candidate, Sadique Abubakar, a former Chief of Air Staff, challenging the re-election of Mohammed for a second term.

DAILY POST also recalls that the PDP also retained its victory in Enugu as the tribunal upheld the election of Governor Peter Mbah.

The three-member panel of the tribunal led by Justice Kudirat Murayo dismissed the petitions of the Labour Party and its candidate, Chijioke Edeoga, insisting that they could not prove their petitions.

In Zamfara State, the tribunal dismissed the petition by the APC and its governorship candidate, Bello Matawalle, challenging the declaration of Dauda Lawal of PDP as the winner of the 18 March governorship election.

The tribunal declared that APC failed to prove the allegation of exclusion of the results from Maradun Local Government and that the election was not conducted in some wards in the State.

APC on the other hand, reclaimed power from the New Nigerian Peoples Party, NNPP, in Kano State and also retained its victory in Benue State.

In Benue, the tribunal dismissed the petition of the PDP and its governorship candidate, Titus Uba, challenging the outcome of the March 18 gubernatorial election which produced Governor Hyacinth Alia as winner.

More shocking in the recent verdicts declared by the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in some states was the sacking of NNPP in Kano State.

In what looks like a twist of fate, the NNPP lost its only governorship seat to the ruling party in Kano as the tribunal sacked Governor Yusuf Abba and declared Nasir Gawuna of APC winner of the March 18 poll.

The three-member panel of judges led by Oluyemi Asadebay delivered the judgement on Wednesday virtually allegedly for security purposes. The court invalidated over 165,663 votes cast in favour of NNPP.

The court deducted the invalid votes stating that the ballot papers (165,663) were not stamped or signed and were therefore invalid.

The tribunal said the petitioner has proven the allegation of the invalidity of some of the votes cast on the ground that the election was not in compliance with the provision of the Electoral Act, 2022.

.ng reports that the development in Kano State has triggered palpable tension in Abia State where the ruling Party is also seeking to truncate the victory of the incumbent governor, Alex Otti of the Labour Party.

It was gathered that the Abia State Petition Election Tribunal had fixed October 6, 2023, to deliver judgement on the petition challenging the declaration of Mr Otti as winner of March 18.

The governorship candidate of APC, Chief Ikechi Emenike, had approached the court to seek the sack of Otti, over allegations of non-resignation of his membership of the ruling party before joining the Labour Party prior to the 2023 general elections.

The APC candidate also alleged that Otti’s name was not in the Labour Party register before his nomination as the party’s governorship candidate in the state.

Also joined in the petition were the candidates of the PDP, Okey Ahaiwe; the Young Progressives Party, Nana Nwafor and the Independent National Electoral Commission.

The apprehension may not be unconnected to the fact that the National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Umuahia recently sacked three House of Representatives members elected on the platform of the Labour Party.

Abia State Chairman of the Labour Party, Mr Ceekay Igara told DAILY POST on Saturday that the ruling party is allegedly making all efforts to truncate Otti’s victory.

He said, “It is like APC has bought the court because they struck out a document and later when they were rounding up, they exhumed the case about the same document which they earlier struck out.

“Now, the judges are relying on that case and these are issues that have been settled in the appeal court.

“It is obvious that the court has already given all our seats to them. Apart from the governorship seat, they have given all the senatorial and House of Rep seats to the oppositions.”

He, however, expressed optimism that the governor would win the battle in court.

“I think he will win. One thing is certain, you cannot shave a man’s hair in his absence. They cannot judge based on any other thing apart from what was presented to them. I was also a witness in most of the cases.

“All the cases were centred on election matters before they brought the issue of NYSC. I’m sure they can’t do anything outside that,” he said.

However, in a counter reaction, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary of PDP told newsmen that the party is expecting the sacking of Governor Otti.

According to him, PDP “presented a good case in Abia and we are expecting the tribunal to deliver a good judgement in our favour”.

Speaking on PDP’s victory in Zamfara, Bauch, Enugu and Plateau, Debo said the judgements were in line with the choices the electorates made during the election.

He said, “Like you always hear from the presidential candidate of our party, we respect the judges and their judgements so we welcome their verdicts.

“They are in line with what took place at the polling units on the day of election.

“We celebrate that because that is the will of the people.”

Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that he became a politician by accident.

The former military head of state said that he never wanted to go into politics

Obasanjo said this while speaking with a group of youths under the aegis of Africa for Africa Youth Initiative (A4A), at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) in Abeokuta.

He said, “I never wanted to be a politician, I became one by accident, but the love of my people, love for my country and humanity made it something that I am coming into”.

The former [resident, therefore, said that politicians must aspire to go into politics to serve.

Omowunmi, the longtime girlfriend and babymama of late Nigerian singer, Ilerioluwa Olademeji Aloba, aka Mohbad, has mourned the passing of her lover.

.ng reported that Mohbad, 27, died on Tuesday. His family confirmed the rapper’s death in a statement released late Tuesday.

Mourning the ‘Feel Good’ crooner, Omowunmi lamented that their son, Liam is just clocked five months.

Taking to her Instagram story, she wrote, “Our son Liam is just 5months today. Where do I start from?

“Somebody should help me, I can’t do this alone.

“Our love story was a different one. We fought really hard to be here.

“Ah I don’t wish this type of pain on anyone.”

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, says its operatives have intercepted consignments of skunk concealed in tins of tomato paste and methamphetamine hidden in used clothes meant for export to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

According to NDLEA, the skunk in tomato paste consignment weighing 20 kilograms was intercepted on Friday at the SAHCO export shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja, while the meth shipment with a gross weight of 1.60kg was seized at a courier company in Lagos, .ng reports.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA’s Director of Media & Advocacy, Femi Babafemi.

The anti-narcotic agency also announced that another consignment of 556 grams of Canadian loud sent from Canada to one Tunji Adebayo in Ikorodu, Lagos, was also intercepted by its officers at the Directorate of Operations and General Investigation, DOGI, attached to courier firms.

Similarly, NDLEA operatives on Monday raided the enclave of an alleged notorious drug lord in Akala, Mushin, Lagos, Abdul Rauf (aka ‘Na God), where 1,101kgs of Ghanaian loud were recovered and three suspects arrested while the wanted kingpin remains at large.



In Kogi, the agency disclosed that a 22-year-old Agada Emmanuel was arrested with 77.400kgs cannabis on Thursday 7th September along the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja expressway, adding that a total of 369,980 pills of opioids were also recovered on the same road on Monday 4th September.

The statement said the suspect linked to the seizure, Kabiru Ahmad Abdullahi, was arrested in a follow-up operation in Gombe State.

Meanwhile, no fewer than 399 pieces of improvised explosive devices were claimed to have been recovered by NDLEA operatives from one Asana Oluwagbenga Leke, 39, along Mokwa-Jebba road on Thursday 7th September.

According to NDLEA, the suspect said the explosives were handed to him at a park in Ibadan to be delivered to someone in Kaduna, adding that the suspect and exhibits have since been transferred to the military authorities in Niger State.

In Ogun State, the anti-narcotic agency stated that a follow-up operation led to the arrest of Yinka Azeez at Sabo Lafenwa, Abeokuta on Tuesday 5th September, following the seizure of 41kg cannabis from Titilayo Adetayo at Sagamu Interchange the previous day, leading to the arrest of two suspects: Muhammad Aliyu, 38, and Abdullahi Zakariya, 40, who were arrested in Zaria-Kano Road and Haye Arewa, Hotoro, Kano, respectively, with over 426.5 kilograms of skunk seized from them.

The agency also stated that one Onyeka Uzor, 25, was arrested at Idemili, Anambra State, with 64.8kgs skunk and tramadol, while another suspect, Destiny Irabor, was nabbed on Friday 8th September with over 180kgs of opioids loaded in his Toyota Sienna bus.

“In Kaduna, two suspects, Ahmed Yusuf and Rilwan Nura, were arrested on Wednesday 6th September in connection with the seizure of 100 blocks of cannabis weighing 55kgs along Abuja road.

“In Edo State, operatives stormed the Ekudo forest, Onwude LGA, where they destroyed cannabis farms measuring 4.236347 hectares. In the same vein, operatives on Thursday 7th September raided the house of one Amuodu Egwehide, 40, in Iloje Okpuje, Owan West LGA, where they recovered 22 bags of skunk weighing 261.4kgs, while a 60-year-old grandma, Mrs. Eunice Egwehide was arrested in the town same day with 17kgs of the same substance seized from her.

“A suspect, Gapchiya Modu, 26, was arrested with 60kgs of cannabis along Kano-Nguru Road, Nguru, Yobe state, while in Imo state, 200 blocks of the same substance weighing 57kgs were recovered from Usim Orji, 45, along Aba-Owerri road on Wednesday 6th September.

“After over two months of surveillance, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday 6th September arrested a wanted kingpin, Idoko Festus Ifesinachi, 40, linked to the importation of 76.9kgs Canadian Loud intercepted in a container marked MSDU6686346 at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, Rivers state on 2nd June. He was arrested at his hideout in Lagos and taken to Port Harcourt,” the statement added.

However, NDLEA said that besides the various drug control efforts, the state commands and its formations had continued the Agency’s War Against Drug Abuse, WADA, advocacy campaigns to schools, worship places, palaces and local communities among others.

While commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Ogun, Lagos, Kano, Kaduna, Kogi, Anambra, Niger, Edo, Yobe, and Imo commands of the Agency as well as those of DOGI, for their balanced efforts in drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction activities, Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd) urged them and their compatriots across the country to keep up the good work.

The troops of Joint Task Force Northwest Operation Hadarin Daji, under the command of the General Officer Commanding, 8 Division Nigerian Army, have rescued over 18 kidnapped victims in Zamfara, Kebbi, Katsina and Sokoto states.

This was contained in a statement on Sunday by Captain Yahaya Ibrahim, Force Information Officer, Operation Hadarin Daji.

According to him, the successes were achieved when the troops deployed at the Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Anka Local Government Area of Zamfara State rescued five kidnapped victims after a gun duel with armed bandits along Anka-Baggega Road.

According to .ng, he said the victims were abducted by armed bandits who blocked Anka-Baggega Road and abducted several kidnapped persons in a Canter truck while conveying goods to Baggega Market in Anka LGA.

He added that the troops in Zamfara rescued two kidnapped victims from their farmlands.

In another development, the troops, acting on distress calls from locals on armed bandits’ activities in Danfanmi village in Kaura, mobilized to the villages which led to the rescue of three victims.

“On 8 September 2023, troops of FOB Baggega in Zamfara State, while on a fighting patrol, intercepted and rescued six kidnapped victims who escaped from their captives in Gando forest.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the victims were kidnapped from Mahuta community in Kebbi State and had spent 10 weeks in captivity,” the statement added.

It further added that troops deployed at Tsafe LGA of Zamfara rescued two females who were kidnapped in the late hours when bandits invaded their community.

The Commander Joint Task Force Northwest Operation Hadarin Daji (OPHD), Major General Godwin Mutkuta commended the troops for their vigor, resilience and prompt response to distress calls which led to the rescue of the victims.

The Federal Capital Territory Police Command has arrested at least six suspects who masquerade as genuine drivers to commit heinous crimes in the nation’s capital.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, Haruna G. Garba made this known while parading several suspects at the command’s headquarters on Thursday.

According to the CP, six vehicles belonging to the suspects have also been impounded.

The Commissioner explained that the suspects were using vehicles bearing “both foreign and local plate numbers or foreign number plates at the back and Nigeria number plate in front” to defraud unsuspecting citizens.

He noted that the modus operandi of the drivers was that “they use the vehicle to convey unsuspecting passengers and midway to their destination, they disposes them of their handsets and other valuables.

“The moment they carry out this criminal act and to avoid been traced or linked to the crime, they quickly remove the Nigeria Plate number. The suspects will be charged to court at the conclusion of investigation.”

No fewer than 13 other suspected criminals were also paraded for committing different crimes across the territory.

Apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide has appealed to Nigerian youths to resist the temptation of being used to cause chaos in the country.

The advice came as the nation awaits with anxiety the judgement of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, today, Wednesday.

Tension is high across the country, with spears increasing that there could be protest should the judgement go against the expectation of certain persons.

Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and that of the Labour Party, LP, want the Tribunal to sack President Bola Tinubu. But for Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress, APC, members, his victory was well deserved and should be affirmed.

In a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday, the National President of the Ohanaeze Youth group, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike pleaded with the youths not to be hoodwinked by politicians.

Okwu said there were indications that politicians would “recruit youths as usual to protest the outcome of the judgement.

“We, however, advise youths across the country to resist the temptation; it is only in times like this that politicians remember the youths. Once they get what they want, we are forgotten.

“No youth should make himself a willing tool in the hands of these desperate politicians.”

He further reminded the youths that the Appeal Court was still a first instance, stressing that “whatever is the outcome is still subject to the final judgement of the Supreme Court.

“We, however, appeal to security agencies not to harass or maim any Nigerian today; rather, they should secure the lives of citizens.”

Chairman of Northern States Governors’ Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has felicitated with the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima on his 57th Birthday.

A statement by the Director-General, Press Affairs,, Government House Gombe, Ismaila Uba Misilli, Inuwa described Shettima as a patriot and dependable ally, with outstanding pedigree and exceptional competence.

He said, “Your illustrious career and political journey which saw you serve meritoriously as Senator of the Federal Republic, Governor of Borno State, and also assuming the highly influential position of Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, which afforded you the opportunity to make significant contributions towards the development and progress of not only your home state but the entire northern region and Nigeria at large.”

Inuwa said since Shettima assumed the role of Vice President of the country, he has continued to demonstrate uncommon commitment to his duties and that his dedication to the wellbeing and prosperity of the Nigerian people is truly commendable.

” Vice President Kashim Shettima’s loyalty and unwavering patriotism have endeared him to the hearts of Nigerians from all walks of life, his ability to unite people, regardless of their differences and work towards common goals has made him a shining example of leadership in Nigeria.

Inuwa prayed to the Almighty to continue to bless the Vice President with more wisdom, good health and long life to keep serving the nation and humanity.

As the electorate in Kogi State prepares to file out for the governorship election on November 11, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje, has said he expects 99 percent support and victory.

Ganduje spoke while addressing APC members and supporters at the official inauguration of the party’s National and State Campaign Councils for the Nov. 11 governorship election.

He expressed hope that the people of the state would massively vote for the ruling party because the state is a traditional APC state, NAN reports.

“Today we are officially inaugurating the state campaign committee that will join hands with the national campaign committee and the LGAs campaign committees to ensure victory at the polls.

“You have tested good governance from Governor Yahaya Bello’s administration and as a party, we hope to do more with our flagbearer, Usman Ododo, once elected into office.

“Ododo is your son, whom you know very well as a very loyal and hardworking person who is ready to serve you and the state in the capacity of governor.

“We are expecting nothing less than 99 percent victory votes from the people of Kogi in this forthcoming Nov. 11 governorship election, ”he said.

He told residents that President Bola Tinubu had promised to provide an enabling environment required for peaceful and credible conduct of the governorship election.

Also, Yahaya Bello gave assurance that the citizens of Kogi were all ready to cast their votes for APC, given the choice of a credible and articulate candidate.

“The APC Governorship flagbearer, is politically well groomed, with the needed experience and competence, to lead Kogi to the next level of its development.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that both the Kogi and the national gubernatorial campaign councils were inaugurated by the APC national chairman.

While Dapo Abiodun, Governor of Ogun State, heads the national campaign Council, Yahaya Bello, Kogi Governor, heads the state campaign council.

In his acceptance speech, Abiodun pledged his council’s commitment and resilience to work with Gov Yahaya Bello’s led state campaign council to conduct a vigorous and peaceful campaign that would attract opposition into supporting APC and its flag bearer for outright victory.