On Thursday, the Enugu State Government demolished a suspected criminal hideout operating under the guise of a worship center in Onicha-Enugu-Ezike, Igbo-Eze North Local Government Area.

The facility, reportedly operated by a self-acclaimed prophet, Chinedu Ezedike, was exposed as a base for alleged ritual practices, kidnappings, and other organized crimes.

Authorities, after investigations, revealed that the centre had no genuine religious function and was instead used to carry out and conceal criminal activities contributing to growing insecurity in the region.

The demolition is part of a broader crackdown by the Enugu State government targeting individuals—including fake pastors, native doctors, and spiritualists—who use religious and traditional platforms to perpetrate crime.

Local residents, speaking anonymously, lauded the government’s action, describing it as a bold step toward restoring peace and ensuring the safety of lives and property in the area.

“This sends a strong message that criminality, no matter how cleverly disguised, will not be tolerated in Enugu State,” one resident said

A former chairman of the Labour Party, LP, Jilius Abure has said the party is different from other parties.

This is as he maintained that the party is for those who have no voice and would ordinarily not be recognised in the scheme of things.

Abure, who made this statement on Thursday in Abuja during the inauguration of the Directorate of Physically Challenged Persons.

While citing the instance of a commercial motorcyclist, commonly referred to as ‘okada man’ winning the House of Representatives seat in the 2023 general elections, Abure said the Labour Party looks out for the disabled people and empowers them.

“We have our goals rooted in social democracy, the party is for those who have no voice. The party is for those who ordinary will not be recognized in the scheme of things, and that’s why we have made deliberate efforts to see that those people who are disabled either because of their gender, because of their sex, either because of their physical condition, or they have disability financially or one way or the other, we look out for those people and empower them, and that’s why, that’s why you find that it is only a Labour Party that an Okada rider can become a member of the House of Representatives.

“Those with disabilities are not just those who have physical disabilities. If you want to run for an office, you have the potential to develop your community. You will have what it takes. You have the leadership capacity, the traits, the leadership qualities. You are passionate about the growth and development of your community, but because of the very exploitative character in Nigeria, the exploitative character of the way politics is played, you are disabled, the Labor Party is the destination.

“We want to make sure that those with physical disabilities are taken care of. And if we see the Labour Party is different, believe that charity should begin at home. If we say we are going to change the country, we believe that the change should begin with us as a ward Chairman. We want to change Nigeria, you must change yourself first,” he said

A Nigerian man has finally been released after spending 8 years in prison without trial.

He has been in prison since March 2017 without trial.

The man identified as John Gift Tobia was held in prison on the 6th of March while his case was still awaiting trial.

However, his case was never heard in court and he ended up spending 8 years, 4 months and 10 days without trial.

Luckily for him, a high court in Rivers state set him free unconditionally in June 2025.

He was seen appreciating the lawyer who had intervened on his case, while sharing what he intends to do from now on.

Al-Hilal has indicated interest to sign Super Eagles star, Victor Osimhen.

The club gave him Friday as deadline to give them a reply.

According to transfer expert, Ben Jacobs, Al-Hilal are optimistic of a positive answer from the striker.

There is optimism the Nigerian will agree to a €30m-per-season offer, and in time for the Club World Cup.

The Saudi Pro League side tried for Osimhen in 2023, while the Nigerian also agreed to Al-Ahli last summer, only for Napoli to ask for more money.

Hilal have retained signfiicant centrally-allocated budget, originally earmarked for Mo Salah’s wage, and are in a position to trigger Osimhen’s €75m clause.

They are now waiting for his answer, which is expected imminently.

Osimhen is also attracting from top European clubs like Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Chelsea.

The 26-year-old spent last season on loan at Galatasaray

A notable elder from the North and a public commentator, Alhaji Dabo Sambo has revealed why President Bola Tinubu may not win the 2027 presidential election.

According to Sambo, if Tinubu does not promptly address the issues of insecurity and banditry, especially in northern Nigeria, his prospects for winning will be diminished.

In a briefing with journalists on Thursday, Sambo emphasised that insecurity is the most significant threat facing the nation, with lives and property continually at risk.

He remarked that ensuring safety and stability is the fundamental responsibility of any government, and failing to achieve this could jeopardise the President’s chances for re-election.

Sambo pointed out that food scarcity is a pressing issue in Nigeria, leading to widespread hunger, and he attributed the escalating food crisis to the insecurity prevalent in the North-East and North-West regions, which contribute over 60% of the nation’s agricultural production.

According to Daily Trust, Sambo indicated that farmers are abandoning their lands due to banditry, kidnapping, and terrorist activities, resulting in a substantial decline in food production and an increase in prices.

Additionally, he highlighted the economic ramifications of insecurity, which include a weakened naira, elevated transportation costs, and rising inflation that are depleting the savings of average Nigerians.

Sambo made a direct appeal to President Tinubu, urging him to address the insecurity crisis within the next six months and to revitalise local agriculture within a year.

“If President Tinubu refuses to wipe out the security challenges, he will definitely not win the 2027 election,” He warned, drawing parallels with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s defeat in 2015, which he also attributed to unchecked insecurity.

“The era of carton noodles and salt distribution during campaigns is over,” he said. “People want security and food. Without these, they will not vote,” Sambo noted.

Sambo dismissed Tinubu’s political opponents as lacking viable strategies to transform Nigeria.

However, he emphasised that if the president fails to tackle the underlying issues of insecurity and economic distress, even the most sophisticated rigging mechanisms will not secure his re-election.

He further stated that President Tinubu must confront the true adversaries within his inner circle, asserting that the apparent competitors are not the real issue; rather, it is the inability to take decisive action on security and food production that could jeopardise his presidency.

Additionally, he referenced recent disclosures from the U.S. Congress that implicate the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in allegedly financing Boko Haram, a claim also supported by Nigeria’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa. Sambo urged the Nigerian government to cease its pretence and directly address these international influences.

A Makurdi Chief Magistrates’ Court on Thursday ordered that 11 cattle rearers be remanded at the Correctional Centre, Makurdi, for allegedly terrorising Benue communities.

The cattle rearers were identified as Nanzir Ishaya, Suleiman Umaru, Yakubu Mallam, Dauda Abdulkarim, Manu Buhari, Haruna Abdulkarim, Ibrahim Mallam, Yunusa Waziri, Idi Usman, Adamu Manu and Abdullahi Wakili.

The defendants who live at various addresses in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area, were charged with criminal conspiracy, illegal possession of firearms, acts of terrorism, open grazing and being in possession of cattle suspected to be stolen.

The Chief Magistrate, Mr Kelvin Mbanongun, did not take their pleas for want of jurisdiction.

Mbanongun adjourned the matter until July 7, 2025, for further mention.

Earlier, prosecutor Insp. Godwin Ato told the court that on June 1, a team of policemen attached to Operation Zenda at Katsina-Ala received credible information that a group of armed bandits who were allies of a dreaded bandit leader, one Amakaa Akwaza, were sighted in their hideout at Nugu village with arms.

The prosecutor said on receiving the information, a combined team of Operation Zenda and Benue State Civil Protection Guards led by Insp. Donald Ahulu were mobilised to the location of the hideout and engaged the hoodlums in a gun battle.

Ato said the security operatives overpowered the suspected bandits in the fierce gun duel, which resulted in some of the fully armed bandits fleeing, while one AK-47 rifle with breech number 6189 with 16 rounds of live ammunition was recovered from the scene.

He said the security operatives then arrested 10 of the suspected bandits while they were loading cattle suspected to be stolen into a Mercedes Benz truck with registration number TTM 405 XA Taraba, and openly grazing some of the cows on a nearby farm.

The prosecutor said further investigation led to the arrest of the chief of the Fulani community in Katsina-Ala, Wakili, who he said has been working closely with Akwaza in supplying arms to the herdsmen terrorising Benue and its environs.

The prosecutor said their offences contravened sections 6(b) and 3(1) of the Robbery and Firearms Act, 2004; 19 of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of Benue, 2017; and 321 of the Penal Code Laws of Benue, 2004.

Twelve Nigerian universities have been selected to design and produce electric shuttle buses.

The Director General of the Nigerian Automotive Design and Development Council, NADDC, Mr. Oluwemimo Osanipin who disclosed this during a stakeholders engagement in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Wednesday, said two universities from the six geopolitical zones made up the team.

“We have started an initiative where we have gathered twelve universities, two from each geopolitical zone, they are designing what we call the university shuttle bus that is going to be electric 100%.

“It is going to be designed in Nigeria; most of the parts are going to be sourced locally. So, they are on it, when they are done, we will come together again with assemblers, auto-vehicle manufacturers and with some companies that can finance the project like the Bank of Industry and other financial institutions. Then we will be able the produce these vehicles,” he said.

Osanipin urged stakeholders in the industry to embrace regulation of the sector to ensure safety and environmental soundness of vehicles in the country.

In his remarks, the National President of Automotive Dealers of Nigeria, Engr Ajibola Adedoyin, listed the gains of the regulatory framework to include security and increased revenue.

Adedoyin tasked the government on finetuning the policy to promote affordability and accessibility.

He said, “The nation stands to gain a lot, we feel it’s wrong for anybody to import a vehicle into the country without going through a registered dealer so that in case of anything, it could be traced.

“Even in the area of security, it matters a lot because most of the atrocities are committed with vehicles. So apart from revenue lost and making work easier for the industry and government, it still gives room for a large percentage of security threats to be curtailed.

“Also, the government has to finetune the policy to make vehicles affordable and accessible.”

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, on Thursday said political scientists should study how Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, became part of President Bola Tinubu’s government.

Ogunwusi spoke at the 2025 OAU Distinguished Personality Lecture in Ile-Ife, the capital of Osun State, where Wike delivered the keynote lecture.

The monarch reflected on Wike’s involvement in Tinubu’s government, despite being a member of an opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). 

The Ooni said, “For your career, I will particularly say that I give a very strong honour to the father of the nation, President Bola Tinubu. You belong to a different political party and yet are able to work together.

“You are part of this government. It’s still a mystery; I don’t even know how it happened. For me, it is something that universities should be studying and I mean it; it’s very important.

“Hate him, like him; what will be, will be. He (Wike) is a politician to be studied. I don’t know how he’s been actively relevant for 20 years.

“Nigeria is for all of us and you are playing your part and making history,” he added.

Wike, a member of the opposition PDP, has vowed to lead Tinubu’s reelection campaign in Rivers State.

The President of Ijaw National Congress, Prof. Okaba Benjamin, on Thursday said there is no wrong if the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara, decides to defect to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Benjamin said Nigerians no longer consider defection as a big deal because President Bola Tinubu may decide to join PDP if he sees the party as a veritable platform.

Benjamin’s remark comes amid permutations that Fubara is planning to dump the PDP for APC. 

This followed Fubara’s recent visit to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, to seek reconciliation with two APC governors.

Fubara, who was suspended for six months over the political crisis in Rivers State, met with Tinubu for the second time a few days back.

However, Benjamin said Nigeria has no political parties but platforms for transmission.

Featuring on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, Benjamin said: “If a former Vice presidential candidate defects, what’s wrong about Fubara defecting to APC? There is nothing wrong about that.

“We don’t have political parties, we have platforms put together for people to transmit from one position to the other.

“So, if we have state governors, former Vice presidential candidates of parties just moving on, to the extent that one of the governors said if you don’t move with me, I will sack you, so there are no ideological differences and all that.

“I had a conversation with a former state party chairman and I asked him, you have moved from PDP to this, and he said yes, I now asked him what is the first item in schedule this of your party, and he said he doesn’t know.

“What I’m trying to say is this, Fubara said he will do anything for peace in Rivers State, however, Nigerians shout not interpret this as him planning to defect. Even tomorrow, Tinubu may decide to defect to PDP if he finds the party as a veritable platform.”

In an unusual administrative error, the Finland women's national football team mistakenly included 51-year-old retired player Stina Ruuskanen in their squad for a UEFA Nations League match against Serbia. The intended call-up was for 23-year-old defender Nanne Ruuskanen of Djurgårdens IF.

The confusion arose due to both players sharing the same last name, despite no familial relation. Stina, who last represented Finland in the 1990s and remains listed in UEFA's database, was erroneously registered.

The mistake was only identified after the team sheet deadline, rendering Nanne ineligible to participate in the 1-1 draw.

Head coach Outi Saarinen publicly apologized for the oversight, acknowledging Nanne's disappointment and commending her professionalism. Stina Ruuskanen responded with humor, jesting about her unexpected selection and expressing readiness to play if needed.

"I'm definitely ready if the call comes! Just yesterday I was playing in a hobby league match... so my game feel is good," Stina told the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.

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