Heavily armed police operatives on Thursday sealed off the Edo State secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), popularly known as the Adams Oshiomhole Labour House, to prevent the inauguration of a new caretaker committee. Security was also reinforced at the University of Benin (UNIBEN) main gate, where officers and an armoured personnel carrier were deployed. Witnesses said suspected thugs were sighted loitering around the Labour House. Despite the clampdown, the inauguration went ahead at an alternative venue in Benin City, where Prof. Monday Igbafen was sworn in as chairman of the caretaker committee. Sources said the ceremony was initially…
Author: Adeboye
The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has announced a new fee structure for passport applications processed within the country, with effect from September 1, 2025. In a statement issued on Thursday by the Service’s Public Relations Officer, ACI AS Akinlabi, the revised charges peg the cost of a 32-page passport with five-year validity at N100,000, while the 64-page booklet with 10-year validity will now cost N200,000. The NIS clarified that the new fees apply strictly to applications made in Nigeria, while charges for Nigerians in the diaspora remain unchanged at $150 for the 32-page, five-year passport and $230 for the 64-page,…
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has affirmed the conviction and 18-year prison sentence of Nigerian national, Chinedu Justice Obasi, for human trafficking and contracting a sham marriage to obtain residency. Obasi was first convicted in December 2017 on three counts, including two charges of harbouring women for exploitation and one of fraudulent marriage, and sentenced in September 2018. Court documents revealed that between April and September 2016, Obasi harboured two women, identified as Busisiwe and Puleng, in a Pretoria flat where they were forced into prostitution. He reportedly took their earnings, supplied them with drugs, and restricted their movements…
The Osun State Government says it will obtain the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment delivered by a United States court that sentenced the Apetumodu of Ipetumodu, Oba Joseph Oloyede, to prison over a multimillion-dollar COVID-19 loan fraud. Oloyede, 62, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the U.S., was on Tuesday sentenced to 56 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $4.4 million in restitution. The monarch forfeited a house in Medina, Ohio, and nearly $100,000 traced to the fraud. According to U.S.…
Four infants rescued as doctors uncover suspected baby factory The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Warri Zone, has uncovered a suspected baby factory disguised as a medical hospital along Oru Orhuwhorun Road in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State. Chairman of the zone, Dr. Djebah Bright, told journalists that the discovery was made during the association’s routine monitoring exercise against quackery and unregistered health facilities. According to him, four babies were found in the facility being cared for by an auxiliary nurse. The police were immediately invited, leading to the arrest of the operator and the nurse. “The babies have…
The suspected louts accused of torturing an 18-year-old boy, identified as Great, in the Abule Odan-Era area of Ojo, Lagos State, have failed to honour a police invitation, days after the incident sparked outrage. Great was reportedly assaulted on August 18 by men said to operate from a base known as New Era in the community. The group accused him of stealing a pair of boxers and demanded that his aunt, Philomena, pay N30,000 for the underwear and an additional N20,000 as a fine. Despite the payment, the teenager was allegedly blindfolded, tied up, and beaten. A video of the…
Markets, shops and stalls in Akure will be closed on Friday, August 29, 2025, in observance of the annual Amole Festival. The announcement was made on Thursday by the Palace of the Deji and Paramount Ruler of Akure Land, who said the closure was in line with long-standing tradition and cultural practices of the people. According to the statement signed by Adeyeye Michael, Chief Press Secretary to the Deji, all trading activities are expected to cease for the duration of the festival. Business owners and market women were urged to strictly comply with the directive. “Markets, shops and stalls in…
The Anambra State Special Anti-Touting Squad (SASA) has arrested four persons in Achalla, Awka North Local Government Area, for allegedly posing as operatives of the agency and carrying out illegal activities. The suspects were said to have been moving around the community in uniforms with fake identity cards, extorting and harassing residents before their arrest, which followed complaints from members of the public. Speaking on Wednesday, the Director-General of SASA, Monday Onwe, condemned the impersonation, stressing that no such unit had been approved to operate in Achalla. He warned that the authority to establish an anti-touting outfit rests solely with…
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a man, identified as Ebuka Adindu, for allegedly stabbing Sodiq Ibrahim to death during a violent fight in the Mandillas area of Ebute Meta, Lagos, on Wednesday. The incident, which first gained public attention through a post by a social media user on X sparked panic after claims surfaced that street urchins were attacking innocent passersby. Police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin, however, dismissed the reports, insisting that no miscreants had taken over the area. He said officers from Lion Building and Ebute-Ero divisions were promptly deployed to the scene and restored calm. Hundeyin further…
The Centre for Legal Advocacy for Citizens’ Rights (CLACR) has accused Akure-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Emmanuel Emodamori, of allegedly using the courts to harass government officials in Ondo State for political reasons. In a statement signed by its Executive Director, Ewonowo Gbenga, and made available to journalists, the group expressed concern over Emodamori’s decision to drag the state’s Commissioner for Finance and the House of Assembly to court over statutory allocations to local governments and asset declarations of commissioners appointed by Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa. CLACR alleged that the lawyer had constituted himself into a “diversionary agent of destabilisation” in…