The Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) is preparing for a significant leadership transition as its two Vice Presidents, Bishops David Abioye and Thomas Aremu, are set to retire after serving for over four and three decades, respectively.

Sources within the church, including an anonymous pastor, confirmed the impending retirements to Punch on Thursday. 

This move aligns with the church’s operational manual, known as The Mandate, which recently revised the retirement age for its leadership from 60 to 55 years.

Church members have speculated that the retirements will coincide with celebrations for Bishop David Oyedepo’s birthday.

One congregant stated, “We have heard that Bishop Abioye and Bishop Aremu will leave during the Bishop Oyedepo birthday celebration. That is the new law in the church; only Bishop Oyedepo can remain in his position for life. One of the two bishops has even been considering leaving for a while, so this is not news to some of us in the church.”

Bishop Abioye is currently 63 years old, while Bishop Aremu is 67. Under the new policy, only the church’s founder, Bishop Oyedepo, will be permitted to serve beyond the specified age limit, while future leaders will be allowed to serve one or two terms of seven years each, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees.

According to Church Times, farewell services will be organized for the two bishops at their respective locations. Bishop Abioye’s valedictory service is scheduled for Friday, October 18, 2024, at the Durumi branch in Abuja, while Bishop Aremu’s farewell will take place on Tuesday, October 15, 2024, at LFC Basorun in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Bishop Abioye, the current Senior Pastor of Living Faith Church, Goshen City in Abuja, has a long-standing relationship with Bishop Oyedepo, dating back to 1979. He led one of the church’s five pioneer branches in 1987 and was consecrated as a bishop in 1993 at the age of 32.

Bishop Aremu transitioned to full-time ministry after a successful career in accounting and was among the seven bishops consecrated in November 1999 at the Garden of Faith in Kaduna.

Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has said Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)’s action to fix imported and locally refined fuel prices is illegal and void.

Falana, in a statement on Thursday, referred to remarks made on September 5, 2024, by the Executive Vice President of Downstream NNPC Ltd, Adedapo Segun, who explained that under Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), NNPC Limited is established to operate in a deregulated market where free market forces determine petroleum prices.

Segun had said, “The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd. Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices.”

However, Falana objected to the comment, stating that NNPCL has no legal authority to set the petrol price in Nigeria.

The human rights lawyer pointed out that despite Segun’s claim, NNPCL set the fuel price refined by Dangote Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited last month without allowing market forces to dictate the pricing.

Falana noted that on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, NNPCL again bypassed the mechanism of market forces in determining the cost by announcing new pump prices for fuel refined by the Dangote Refinery.

According to Falana, NNPCL actions violate Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act, which mandates that market dynamics determine the prices of petroleum products.

The Federal Government on Thursday in Abeokuta began the sale of rice at a subsidised rate in Ogun.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, while speaking during a ceremony to signify the commencement, said it was “one of the numerous programmes initiated to bring succour and relief to Nigerians”.

Kyari, who was represented by Mrs Toyin Ayo-Ajayi, the ministry’s State Director, explained that the distribution was being monitored by several Federal Government agencies to ensure transparency, fairness and adequate security.

The Minister stated that the government had put measures in place to ensure that the rice got to the intended beneficiaries.

He said all that was needed was an individual’s National Identification Number (NIN) and Automated Teller Machine (ATM) card to buy 50kg of rice at N40,000.

“However, I want to specifically applaud Gov. Dapo Abiodun for his commitment to the welfare of the citizens of the state.

“Ogun is one of the first set of states in Nigeria to enjoy the benefit and this can be attributed to the governor’s tenacity and visionary leadership.

“Ogun has one of the most organised templates ensuring that this gets to the three Senatorial districts of the state and all at the grassroots,” he said.

Kyari urged citizens of the state to support the government to make sure that all the efforts by different levels of government were appreciated.

In his address, Gov. Abiodun noted that President Bola Tinubu’s initiative testified to his commitment to ensuring he tackled the issue of food inflation and also improved the people’s livelihood.

He expressed his appreciation of the President for his unwavering dedication to supporting the agricultural sector and ensuring food security for citizens.

“This is especially in the light of the present economic realities facing the nation.

“Government has shown responsiveness, thoughtfulness.

“This is appreciated and welcomed, particularly following the removal of petroleum subsidy, as this will go a long way in cushioning the impact of the subsidy removal,” the governor said.

NNPCL deals with companies, not associations — Expert

By Obas Esiedesa

THE Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, has observed that the full deregulation of petrol pricing, along with the withdrawal of NNPC Limited as the sole off-taker of petrol from the Dangote Refinery, means that marketers are now free to source products from various suppliers, including through imports.

This is even as an expert said the NNPCL does not deal with associations, including IPMAN but with companies that applied and paid for their petroleum products.

The IPMAN position came a day after the NNPC increased the pump price of petrol by 15 percent to N998 per liter in Lagos and N1,030 per litre in Abuja.

Speaking to Vanguard, the Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said marketers would source their products from wherever they feel is cheaper and make them (IPMAN) competitive.

Ukadike pointed out that the current business environment in terms of petrol pricing is shrouded in secrecy with marketers not adequately informed about decisions before they were taken.

“The happening has been shrouded in secrecy but with time everything will come out because full deregulation has come into play. Marketers can now import and so let’s see what they will do. Then we will know whether we will go with Dangote or elsewhere where the price is better”, he stated.

Earlier in the day, IPMAN President, Alhaji Abubakar Maigandi Shettima, demanded a refund of N15 billion from NNPC Limited for petrol orders placed by independent marketers but were not supplied.

Shettima who made the demand in an interview with Channels TV stated that if NNPC’s current pricing is higher than that of Dangote Refinery, the national oil company must refund the payments made by independent marketers.

He criticized the NNPC for requesting additional payments from marketers despite not supplying the product for which they had already paid.

However, an expert that preferred to be anonymous faulted the oil marketers, stating that the NNPCL does not do business with oil marketers, including IPMAN.

He said: “NNPCL does not have a business relationship with IPMAN because the association did not fill a form and paid to lift petrol from the company. Rather, the NNPCL is dealing with many companies.

….As NHRC, NBA, others call for abolition of capital punishment

In commemoration of the World Day Against Death Penalty, the Advocates Sans Frontiers, ASF, France, otherwise known as Lawyers Without Borders, yesterday, expressed its concern over the swelling number of inmates awaiting execution in various prisons across the country.

The organization, through its Country Director, Ms. Angela Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, disclosed that a total of 3,650 inmates are currently on death row in Nigeria.

It stressed that 63 of the inmates that are waiting to be executed in 11 maximum prisons across the federation, are women.

The revelation came on a day the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC and the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, threw their weight behind the call for the abolishment of capital punishment.

Speaking at a high-level technical consultation to mark the world day against death penalty, the ASF’s director, Uzoma-Iwuchukwu, noted that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, had at a recent international engagement, revealed that Nigeria has a voluntary moratorium on death penalty.

“To us, this is a step in the right direction, but what is lacking is a policy to back up that comment that was made by the Minister.

“This is very crucial because as long as we do not have any policy paper, then executions could happen at any time, thereby, putting those over 3000 persons on death row at risk of execution at any time.

“This is very important. Nigeria has highest number of persons on death row in sub-Saharan Africa and the number keeps increasing because people are being sentenced to death everyday, even though the last execution occured in 2014. However, the risk of execution remains,” the ASF director added.

Likewise, the Legal Defence & Assistant Project, LEDAP, through its Executive Director, Mr. Chinonye Obiagwu, SAN, noted that in Africa, only 15 countries which included Nigeria, have not abolished the death penalty.

“Among those 15 countries, Nigeria has the highest number of death row prisoners as well as highest number of offences that are punishable by death.

“We are therefore worried that the death penalty regime in Nigeria is very appalling and we do hope that it will be abolished soon.”

On his part, the Executive Secretary of the NHRC, Mr Anthony Ojukwu, SAN, while calling for “a complete legal abolition of capital punishment,” maintained that the continued sentencing of individuals to death remained a grave concern.

“The death penalty, as a form of state-sanctioned violence, is not only irreversible but fraught with the potential for irreparable harm.

“We cannot ignore the growing body of evidence that shows capital punishment does not serve as a deterrent to crime. Moreover, the risk of wrongful conviction, which can lead to the execution of innocent individuals, stands as one of the most tragic and indefensible failures of any justice system,” he added.

The President of NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, who was represented at the occasion by the Chairman of Citizens Liberties Committee of the legal body, Mr Nuhu Egya, said there was need for the federal government to review the issue of death sentence which he described as “an outdated and ineffective form of punishment.”

He said the NBA would continue to push for reforms that would promote fair trial and humane sentencing, saying the association would also provide free legal services to individuals facing the death penalty.

Among those that participated in the event included the Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ms Leilani Bin-Juda and the Deputy Head of Mission of the French Embassy in Nigeria, Jean-François Hasperue.

Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has attributed the worrying cases of Nigerian youths defrauding U.S citizens and other countries’ nationals to “rising unemployment” and societal pressures.

In a statement by the anti-graft agency on Thursday, Mr Olukoyede, represented by Assistant Superintendent of the EFCC ASE I Ogunjobi Olalekan, stated this at an event in Abuja organised by the “Child Protection Initiative against Cybercrime.”


“Hard work and integrity should define your future, not the fleeting gains of fraud,” Mr Olukoyede said, urging youths to resist the temptations of internet fraud and the attendant “get-rich-quick” mentality.

The anti-graft czar identified cybercrime enablers among Nigerian youths to include unemployment, internal and external pressures to acquire material possessions and overly supportive parents and guardians.


The latter inadvertently fostered a lack of self-control and discipline in children, adding that the toxic mix of societal and familial influences could lead vulnerable youths down a dangerous path of cybercrime, including online scams, identity theft, and other malicious activities.

A 24-year-old man, Usman Mohammed Iyal, has confessed to  Police personnel  how he raped a 16-year-old girl and threw her into a well at Ambassadors Quarters, Katsina State.

In his confessional statement, the suspect said his action was to save his identity. Iyal stated, “Because I didn’t want her to expose me.”

He made the confession during his parade alongside that of other suspects at the Katsina State Police Command headquarters before newsmen on Tuesday evening.

The suspect’s brutal actions were thwarted when the police launched a swift investigation and rescue operation aimed at saving the victim from the well unharmed. 

Arewa PUNCH gathered that the incident occurred on September 27, 2024, when the victim was sent on an errand by her mother.

According to the state Police Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Abubakar Sadiq, the suspect, armed with a knife, accosted and threatened the victim, then dragged her into an uncompleted building where he violently assaulted and raped her.

“On September 27th, 2024, at about 1216hrs, the Katsina State Police Command succeeded in arresting a suspected rapist for the brutal assault and attempted murder of a 16-year-old girl in Ambassadors Quarters, Katsina.

“The victim was sent on an errand by her mother when the suspect, one Usman Mohammed Iyal, male, age 24, of Ambassadors quarters, armed with a knife, accosted, threatened, and dragged her into an uncompleted building where he then violently assaulted and raped the victim.

“In a desperate bid to conceal his crime, the suspect threw the victim into a nearby well and hurled stones down the well, with intent to kill the victim.

“Upon the victim’s disappearance, her father, Abdullahi Sabitu, m, reported the incident at the GRA Divisional Police Headquarters, leading to our swift action. An investigation was immediately launched, and successfully, we rescued the victim from the well, and we arrested the suspect.’’

 The victim is currently receiving medical attention,” according to Sadiq.

“Similarly, on September 19, 2024, at about 2000 hours, the command arrested Binta Muhammed, age 35, of Lungun Loma quarters, Dutsinma LGA, Katsina State, in connection with a suspected case of cruelty to a child.”

ASP Abubakar Sadiq said “a report was received at the Dutsinma d

Divisional Police Headquarters through one Halima Aliyu of the International Human Rights Commission, Dutsinma Zone, that on the same date, while discharging their duties in the area, they received information that the suspect illegally tied and locked up a two-year-old boy in a room in a cruel manner.

“Upon receipt of the report, the Divisional Police Officer mobilised a team of detectives to the said address, where a search was conducted. The victim, one Abdulmajid Shafi’u, male, age 2, was found hanging on a wall inside a room, tied with a wrapper. He was quickly rescued and rushed to the hospital, where he is receiving medical attention, and subsequently, the suspect was traced and arrested.

“During the investigation, the suspect confessed to the commission of the offence and would soon be charged to court upon the conclusion of the investigation.

“On 25th September, 2024, at about 0545hrs, the command succeeded in arresting the trio of one Sabi’u Hassan, male, age 34, Isiya Salisu, mald, age 30, and one Aliyu Haruna, male, age 20, all of Kofar Durbi Quarters, Katsina, in connection with a suspected case of vandalism and theft.

“While on routine patrol, a team of police operatives, in collaboration with members of the vigilante, intercepted the syndicate around Kofar Durbi quarters, in possession of some quantity of electric armored cable, a sharp pointed iron bar, and a hacksaw reasonably suspected to have been stolen.

“During interrogation, the suspects confessed to the commission of the offence and further mentioned four other suspects now at large as their accomplices.

“Efforts are being intensified to ensure the arrest of the fleeing suspects as the investigation proceeds,” Sadiq disclosed further.

MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and Airtel Nigeria collectively generated about N3.67tn from their data and voice services in the first half of 2024, an analysis of their financial results showed.

MTN, the country’s biggest telecom operator with almost 80 million subscribers, reported a combined revenue of N1.27tn for the first six months of 2024, driven by a significant uptick in data services.

The revenue includes N726.6bn from data services, reflecting a 55 per cent increase from N469.7bn in the same period in 2023. Voice services also grew, with revenue reaching N541.3bn, up from N474.1bn year-on-year.

The operator, which has been serving Nigeria’s vast population for two decades, attributed this growth to enhancements in service quality and the robust demand for data services. Price optimization strategies implemented in Q4 2023 further fueled this growth.

Airtel, with over 60 million subscribers, recorded $229m in revenue for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. This revenue comprises $112m from voice services and $117m from data services.

Although voice revenue experienced a significant decline of 55.8 per cent from $254m in the same quarter last year, it increased by 21.6 per cent in constant currency terms, its financial report showed.

Data revenue also declined by 48.6 per cent from $228m in the previous year, but constant currency figures showed a robust growth of 41.3 per cent, indicating rising demand for internet services.

For the full year ending March 31, 2024, analysis of the report showed that Airtel achieved $711m in voice revenue and $654m in data revenue, bringing its total revenue across both periods to $1.594bn.

When converting the total revenue generated by Airtel Nigeria into naira, using the exchange rate of N1500/$1, the operator generated N2.4tn in six months.

The combined revenue figures for both companies indicated that Airtel generated N2.4tn, while MTN raked in N1.27tn, resulting in a total revenue of approximately N3.67tn from data and voice services over the six months.

The duo are adeptly navigating a dynamic telecommunications landscape, capitalizing on the growing demand for digital services amid Nigeria’s expanding digital economy.

However, the companies face significant challenges, primarily due to the weakening naira against the dollar, which has severely impacted operational costs.

Both MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa, listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, budget a significant portion of their revenues to diesel consumption.

Industry operators estimate that over 50 million liters of diesel are consumed by telecom operators each month to fuel their infrastructure.

In response to these rising costs, telecom companies are now shifting their focus towards renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, and lithium batteries.

The Director of Corporate Communications and CSR at Airtel Nigeria, Femi Adeniran, disclosed last month in Lagos that the company spends approximately N28bn monthly on diesel.

A senior telecom executive, who requested anonymity, revealed that MTN, with around 80 million subscribers, incurs over N30bn in monthly diesel expenses to power its approximately 25,000 base stations.

Collectively, MTN and Airtel spent approximately N570bn in the first eight months (January to August) of 2024 due to rising fuel costs, with diesel prices averaging N1,426.09 per liter, The PUNCH reported last month.

For the first half of 2024, MTN reported a loss of $519.1bn after tax, while Airtel posted an $89m loss for the fiscal year ending March 2024. However, Airtel managed to achieve a $31m profit in Q2, despite being impacted by $80m in derivative and foreign exchange losses.

Mr Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, has said that the worsening economic situation under President Bola Tinubu’s administration is fuelling mental health cases, among other factors.

Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, stated this in his message as Nigeria joined the global community on Thursday to commemorate this year’s World Mental Health Day.

In a post on his X handle, the LP presidential candidate in the 2023 general election said mental health remains one of the critical health issues not given the due attention it deserves in Nigeria.

He lamented that suicide cases in the country, fuelled by anxiety and depression, had remained on the rise.

“In Nigeria, mental health remains one of the critical health issues not given the due attention it deserves.

“The worsening economic situation resulting from hunger, poverty, and income inequalities in the country, coupled with other socio-political issues affecting the nation, have continued to fuel a growing menace of mental health cases.

“The National Institute of Health reports that about 40 to 60 million Nigerians suffer various forms of mental ailment,” Obi said.