Author: bibncollar

A 43-year-old Nigerian man has been extradited from Benin to the United States to face federal charges over an alleged multi-year scheme that sought more than $100 million in fraudulent tax refunds using stolen identities. Akinade Adedeji Raheem was arraigned in a US federal court after his transfer and ordered held in the custody of the US Marshals Service. Prosecutors say he and co-conspirators filed more than 300 false tax returns between 2018 and 2023, seeking refunds from the Internal Revenue Service. US Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said the group obtained hundreds of stolen identities, filed fraudulent returns with that…

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday dismissed a N10 billion fundamental rights suit filed by Nollywood actor Emeka Ike against Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and the Independent National Electoral Commission. Justice Salim Ibrahim upheld the preliminary objections of both respondents, holding that the suit was incompetent and improperly constituted. The judge also dismissed the substantive claim for lack of proof. Ike, who sought the House of Representatives seat for the AMAC/Bwari Federal Constituency in the 2027 elections on the platform of the Nigerian Democratic Congress, had lost the party primary. In May,…

The Kano State House of Assembly on Tuesday approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would empower state governments to establish and operate their own police forces. Majority Leader Lawan Hussaini Dala confirmed the decision shortly after plenary. “We have approved the constitutional review for the establishment of state police at plenary today,” he said. Lawmakers considered the constitutional alteration bill in the Committee of the Whole, deliberating on clauses one to 26 of the proposed amendments to the 1999 Constitution, as amended. The assembly had earlier adopted a motion to take the bill in the Committee of the Whole before…

The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill granting the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency stronger powers to impose heavier fines and criminal sanctions on oil spill offenders. The legislation, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (Establishment) Act (Amendment) Bill, 2026, seeks to amend the 2006 NOSDRA law to provide clearer statutory authority for tougher penalties in the petroleum sector. Senators adopted the report of the Committee on Environment before dissolving into the Committee of the Whole. They approved Clauses 1 to 12 and later gave the bill a third reading and final passage. Committee chairman Senator…

High Chief Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, has declared support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election and donated 30 vehicles to aid grassroots mobilisation in Imo State. The declaration came on Tuesday at the inauguration of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement in the state. Tompolo was represented by Chief Kestin Pondi, managing director of Tantita Security Services Limited. Pondi said the vehicles and other resources were provided to support Governor Hope Uzodimma and the movement’s campaign activities across Imo. “Your Excellency, we have come with vehicles. We have come with resources. These vehicles you have seen, there are 30 of them.…

Nigeria’s federal government has identified 53 contacts linked to the country’s sole confirmed Ebola case in the Federal Capital Territory and approved emergency weekly payments of N100,000 for those placed in isolation or quarantine. The figure is up from the 44 contacts initially announced after the case was confirmed on 20 October. The contacts include healthcare workers, the patient’s spouse, domestic staff and others who may have been exposed. All have been categorised and placed under monitoring, according to Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Director-General Dr Jide Idris. Idris told a briefing in Abuja that contact tracing continues…

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday dismissed a no-case submission by former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai and ordered him to open his defence in a trial over alleged unlawful interception of the National Security Adviser’s telephone communications. Justice Joyce Abdulmalik held that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence to require explanations from the defendant. The court found the no-case application lacking in merit and ruled that El-Rufai has a case to answer. El-Rufai is facing a five-count amended charge filed by the Federal Government through the Department of State Services. The charges stem from comments he made…

The Department of State Services has arraigned a Kaduna man on charges of cybercrime and defamation for circulating a forged letter purportedly written by President Bola Tinubu to the President of the United States. Mubarak Abdullahi, also known as Sardaunan Samari, was arrested on September 28 after sharing the document on his Facebook page with the caption “ATIKU IS COMING.” He was brought before Chief Magistrate Court No. 10 in Kabala Doki, Kaduna, which ordered his remand at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in Kaduna. Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga announced the development in a post on X late Monday. He said…

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday reserved judgment in a suit filed by the Social Democratic Party against the Independent National Electoral Commission over the publication of Adewole Adebayo as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election. The SDP and its National Organising Secretary, Dr Chukwuma Ogbonna, are the plaintiffs. They accused INEC of failing to recognise the candidate they say emerged from a valid primary process. According to the party, it conducted its presidential primary election and national convention on May 20, 2026, in Abuja under the leadership of its national chairman, Alhaji Shehu Musa Gabam.…

An independent ministerial committee has concluded that the deaths of 33 people held by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in Minna, Niger State, were a preventable custodial tragedy caused by severe overcrowding, extreme heat, dehydration and failure of duty of care. The committee, chaired by Jonathan Kure, presented its report on Tuesday in Abuja to the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. It found that the fatalities resulted from environmental asphyxia—an acute respiratory failure triggered by prolonged confinement in a severely overcrowded and poorly ventilated cell—aggravated by heat stress and dehydration. The panel rejected claims of a disease outbreak.…