The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined to constitute a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara, citing subsisting court orders restraining him from taking further steps on the matter. The Rivers State House of Assembly had earlier requested the Chief Judge to set up a seven-member panel to probe the governor and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, over allegations bordering on gross misconduct. However, in a letter dated January 20, 2026, and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, Justice Amadi said he was legally prevented from acting on the request due to…
Author: Adeboye
Gunmen have attacked a mining site in the Kuru community of Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State, killing seven persons. The incident, which occurred on Wednesday night, was said to have left several others injured. The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Caleb Mutfwang on Artisanal Mining, Emmanuel Solomon, confirmed the attack to PUNCH Online in Jos on Thursday. “I have just been informed about the attack in the Kuru community which happened yesterday night. Seven people died in the attack. I’m about to go to the community to see things by myself,” Solomon said. Describing the incident as…
The Oyo State Police Command has arrested a 19-year-old suspect alongside two teenage accomplices over alleged involvement in a string of armed robbery incidents within the Ibadan metropolis. The arrest was made during a stop-and-search operation carried out by operatives of the command’s Operations Department. This was disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday by the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ayanlade Olayinka. According to the police, the suspects were intercepted while riding in an unregistered tricycle, popularly known as Keke Maruwa. The statement noted that a search of the vehicle led to the recovery of a locally made firearm.…
The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the attempt by the Lagos State Government to re-open the murder trial of a former Chief Security Officer to late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, Major Hamza Al-Mustapha (retd), over the killing of Alhaja Kudirat Abiola. Kudirat, wife of the late Chief MKO Abiola, was assassinated in Lagos on June 4, 1996, during the political turmoil that followed the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. A five-man panel of the apex court, led by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji, struck out the matter after observing that Lagos State failed to take any step…
The Lagos State Police Command has uncovered a hideout disguised as a shrine in the Idimu area of the state, where suspected kidnappers and “one-chance” operators allegedly held victims. The command also confirmed the arrest of 13 suspects linked to the operation. The Commissioner of Police, Olohundare Jimoh, disclosed this on Wednesday while leading journalists on a tour of the premises located along Pipeline Road in the community. Jimoh said the suspects were members of a notorious syndicate that specialised in defrauding commuters and, in some cases, detaining victims when they resisted being robbed. He explained that the arrests followed…
The Federal Government, through the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, is set to arraign a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Mike Ozekhome, before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Monday, January 26, 2026, over an alleged fraud involving a property in London, United Kingdom. The scheduled arraignment is expected to hold in Courtroom 4, according to a hearing notice sighted by The PUNCH on Wednesday. In the suit, Ozekhome is listed as the sole defendant, while the Federal Republic of Nigeria is named as the plaintiff. The prosecution will be led by the Head…
The Lagos State Police Command has dismantled a criminal syndicate allegedly involved in ‘one chance’ robberies and advance-fee fraud, popularly called ‘419’, with the arrest of 13 suspects, including a recently released ex-convict. The command said the suspects operated by impersonating commercial drivers, passengers and traders to lure unsuspecting commuters, abduct them and extort money from their relatives. The Commissioner of Police, who briefed journalists on the operation, disclosed that detectives also uncovered the gang’s hideout at No. 85 Pipeline Road, near OPC Junction, Idimu, where victims were allegedly detained until ransom was paid. The police also recovered two vehicles…
There was confusion on Wednesday at the Bende Local Government Council Headquarters in Abia State after heaps of human faeces were reportedly discovered at the office complex of the council chairman, Uwabunkeonye Bassey. The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the chairman, Chimezie Princewill Okezie, who raised the alarm in a statement, said the faeces were plastered around the political block that houses the executive chairman’s office. Okezie described the development as disturbing, noting that the identity of those behind the act and their motive had yet to be established. He, however, alleged that the incident was politically motivated,…
Two persons have been confirmed dead, while six others sustained serious injuries in a late-night road crash involving a heavy-duty truck along the Gombe–Yola Road in Gombe State. The accident occurred around 10:20pm on Tuesday at New Mile 3, close to the entrance of the main dual carriageway on the Gombe axis. Findings showed that the crash involved a long open-body truck conveying bags of rice, which was allegedly abandoned improperly by the roadside. Confirming the incident, the Senior Special Assistant on Security Matters and Intergovernmental Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Danbayo, said preliminary investigations pointed to negligence on the part of…
The Christian Media Forum has condemned the abduction of scores of Christian worshippers in Kurmin Wali community, Kajuru Local Government Area of Kaduna State, urging authorities to secure their immediate release. In a statement jointly signed by its National President, Okpani Jacob Onjewu Dickson, and National Secretary, Andrew Ibrahim Mshelia, the forum called on security agencies to intensify efforts to rescue the victims, put at 167. According to the group, the attackers stormed the community during church services, launching coordinated assaults on several churches. It said the assailants fired shots into the air, triggering panic that culminated in the abduction…