Author: bibncollar

The Anambra State Government, on Tuesday, announced its decision to withdraw from the suit that is seeking to declare the operations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, illegal. The state, through its Attorney General, Prof. Sylvia Ifemeje, told the Supreme Court that it was no longer willing to be a part of the legal action that was originally instituted by Kogi state. The withdrawal notice was dated October 20. Anambra took the position on a day that Osun state, through its Attorney-General, Mr. Oluwole Bada, applied to be allowed to consolidate its grievance against the operations of the…

A 42-year-old teacher, identified as Gbolahan Osinusi, has been arrested by Lagos State police command for allegedly defiling a teenage in the Ketu-Epe area of the state. Gbolahan, who is also the guardian of the victim, had reportedly been having sexual intercourse with the girl since she was 12 years old till December 2023, when she was 17. The suspect allegedly took her to a nurse identified as Mariam Fatolu multiple times for abortion drugs whenever she got pregnant. The Lagos Police Command, Spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday, said Gbolahan Osinusi forced the…

The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, fixed Oct. 22 for the hearing of a suit filed by at least 16 state governments challenging the constitutionality of the laws establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and two others. A seven-member panel of justices, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, fixed the date after the states were joined as co-plaintiffs and leave granted for consolidation of the case in the suit originally filed by the Kogi Government through its Attorney General (AG). The states that joined in the suit marked: SC/CV/178/2023 include Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Nassarawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu,…

It is not uncommon that you have referred to a legal practitioner in Nigeria with ‘barrister’ as a prefix to his name. For instance, Barrister Roosevelt. Relax, you’re not the only one. Even lawyers do. But then is this proper? What is the standpoint of law on this issue? While this is a popular culture of name reference, it is pertinent to state that it is unprofessional and wrong. The rationale behind this is found in Section 22(1) (b) of the Legal Practitioner Act which permits only lawyers to take or use the title of a legal practitioner. A proper…

Commercial activities in most parts of the South East states were grounded, yesterday, in continuation of the sit-at-home directive by the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, over the incarceration of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kalu. Despite the success of the weekly directive, IPOB, yesterday, denied declaring a sit-at-home exercise for October 21 and 22 in any part of Igbo land. In Aba, Abia State, schools, banks, markets, and other business centres did not open. Major roads such as Azikiwe, Faulks, Ngwa, Aba-Owerri, Obohia, Ohanku, Ikot Ekpene Road, and Aba main motor park, among others, were deserted. Combined teams of soldiers…

The Nigerian government has rejected Shell’s proposed sale of its onshore oil business in the country, dealing a significant blow to the energy giant’s plans to exit the sector. The divestment, aimed at selling its Nigerian onshore assets to Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, failed to meet regulatory requirements. Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), confirmed the decision during the launch of the “Project One Million Barrels of Oil Per Day” initiative in Abuja on Monday. He explained that Shell’s deal, despite years of negotiation and a pending $2.4 billion transaction, “could not…

The Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,603.16 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM. However, the Naira yesterday appreciated to N1,715 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,725 per dollar last weekend. Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM fell to N1,603.16 per dollar from N1,600.78 per dollar last week Friday, indicating N2.38 depreciation for the naira. The volume of dollars traded (turnover) in the official market grew by 2.4 per cent to $359.22 million from $350.72 million traded last weekend. Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and the NAFEM rate narrowed…

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially confirmed the arrest of popular cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, while attempting to flee the country through the Seme Border. In a statement issued by the Service Public Relations Officer (SPRO), Deputy Comptroller of Immigration (DCI) Kenneth Udo, the NIS revealed that Bobrisky is a “person of interest” in an ongoing investigation. The arrest took place on Monday during a routine passport check, when the cross-dresser was identified while attempting to evade detection at the border. The NIS has not disclosed further details regarding the investigation, but Bobrisky’s arrest is reportedly…

Director General of the South-East Governors Forum, SEGOF Senator Uche Ekwunife says that the current Administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should not be blamed for the current economic hardship experienced by Nigeria. Ekwunife who represented Anambra Central in the 9th Assembly stated this in a brief chat with newsmen on Saturday. The economic hunger Ekwunife noted is as result of the poor Policy decisions undertaken by previous Government administrations most of which President Tinubu is trying to correct. Ekwunife emphasized that this perspective ignores the systemic issues that have long plagued the nation, dating back several decades. She lamented…

The United Kingdom, UK, through its Secretary of State for Transport, Louise Haigh, has explained why Nigerian flag carrier, Air Peace, was denied access to Heathrow Airport. According to Haigh, Air Peace submitted its requests for slots too late for both the Summer 2024 and Winter 2024/2025 seasons. In a letter dated September 5, 2024, addressed to Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Mr. Festus Keyamo, Haigh explained that Air Peace’s request was received after the Airports Coordination Limited, ACL, had already completed the slot coordination process for the summer season. Outlining the options available to Air Peace,…