The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has impounded a truck loaded with 70,000 litres of stolen crude oil in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

This is contained in a statement signed by the NSCDC National Public Relations Officer (NPRO), Afolabi Babawale, yesterday in Abuja.

Babawale explained that the Commandant General’s Special Intelligence Squad (CGS SIS) had acted on orders to prevent incidents of pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft, and illegal dealings in petroleum products in the Niger Delta.

According to him, the CGS SIS responded swiftly to an intelligence tip-off and impounded a long caravan truck with an in-built tank fully loaded with stolen crude oil.

“The truck was spotted while in transit around Eleme flyover in Elelewon, Port Harcourt, and was subsequently impounded by the CGS SIS,” he said.

Babawale quoted the Squad Commander, AS Dandaura, who revealed that his team was quickly deployed to the crime scene.

“The truck was fully loaded with siphoned crude oil illegally drawn from vandalised wellheads and destroyed pipelines.

“However, the truck’s occupants fled as the operatives approached the scene of the crime.

“An investigation has been launched to track down the syndicate responsible for the act of economic sabotage.

“For the record, the exhibits recovered at the point of arrest include: A red-head and navy-blue container truck with 10 tyres (Reg. No. AGL574XY), containing approximately 70,000 litres of stolen crude oil,” he stated.

Babawale emphasised that once the investigation concluded, the NSCDC would seek the forfeiture of the truck and its contents in a court of competent jurisdiction.

He said proceeds from the sale of the assets would be remitted to the Proceeds of Crime Account (POCA).

The CGS SIS Commander further reiterated the squad’s commitment to waging an unrelenting battle against oil thieves and their sponsors, affirming that any suspects arrested would face the law after thorough investigations. (NAN)

There are indications that the naira-for-crude policy of the Federal Government may continue, as impeccable insider sources familiar with the development insisted on Monday that all parties involved in the deal would reconvene soon.

The first phase of the six-month deal involving the Federal Government, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and Dangote Petroleum Refinery ended March 31, 2025.

It has not been renewed, and the Dangote refinery has since stopped selling refined petroleum products in naira due to the non-renewal of the naira-for-crude deal.

This came as a report by S&P Global on Monday stated that the Dangote refinery processed approximately 400,000 barrels per day of crude oil in 2025 so far, with about 35 per cent of this supply being sourced from international imports.

This means the plant imported about 140,000 barrels of crude oil per day and a total of 12.6 million barrels in three months.

Commenting on the naira-for-crude policy, a senior government official familiar with the workings of the committee responsible for the deal told one of our correspondents that the government has not ruled out the policy.

“The initiative is going to continue because it is now obvious that the policy has a great impact on not just fuel prices, but also on other economic indices. It also positively impacted the FX rate.

“However, the committee is awaiting the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission’s submission on the task given to it as regards the policy. Once that is done, the next thing should be the way forward as regards the naira-for-crude policy,” the source, who spoke to one of our correspondents in confidence due to the lack of authorisation to speak on the matter, stated.

Recall that on October 1, 2024, the government commenced the sales of crude oil in naira to the Dangote refinery to improve supply, save the country millions of dollars in petroleum product imports, and ultimately reduce the pump prices of fuel.

NNPC recently stated that the Dangote refinery had received 48 million barrels of crude oil in naira under the deal. It also said a total of 84 million barrels of crude had been supplied to the refinery since it commenced operations in 2023.

NNPC’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, in a statement, explained that the initial deal was for six months and that discussions for the renewal of the agreement were currently ongoing, with the aim of establishing a new contract.

Meanwhile, the S&P report also revealed that the Dangote refinery had secured its first crude oil from Brazil and Equatorial Guinea, according to a company executive, as volatile domestic availability had added incentive to diversify its feedstock.

According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, Brazil’s Petrobras shipped the first cargo of Brazil’s Tupi crude to the refinery on March 26, delivering one million barrels of the medium sweet grade.

Supplies from Equatorial Guinea are yet to be dispatched, according to the ship tracking data, but will soon add to the growing list of crude grades being processed at the plant.

“We have started sourcing globally,” a refinery executive told S&P Global Commodity Insights. The official also confirmed that the company now counts Brazil and Equatorial Guinea among its global oil suppliers.

“Dangote has received roughly 400,000 b/d of crude oil in 2025 to date, of which around 35 per cent was imported internationally,” the S&P report stated, quoting data obtained from the CAS data.

Last year, the Dangote Chairman, Aliko Dangote, shared plans to run Brazilian crude at the plant back in July 2024 and said talks were underway with Senegal and Libya over potential supply routes.

However, as the refinery’s main trade partner and minority stakeholder, NNPC, has faced its challenges, the company could have new incentives to forge alternative supply links. Since the refinery began operating, NNPC has consistently underdelivered on supplies for Dangote.

After delivering around a third of some 300,000 b/d of discounted oil it had initially promised to the refinery, according to CAS data, the national oil company reduced its stake in the project from 20 per cent to 7.2 per cent in July.

In October, it agreed to begin supplying crude to Dangote in naira as part of an initiative to deflate Nigerian fuel prices and briefly became its sole supplier.

However, according to NNPC figures, the NOC delivered roughly 280,000 b/d of crude to Dangote in naira by March 10, falling shy of the 385,000 b/d agreed under the deal. The six-month deal officially ended on Monday, March 31, 2024.

Reacting, a Dangote executive who spoke to S&P Global expressed significant uncertainty regarding the future of a new naira-for-crude deal, stating, “We are not even certain if it will be renewed or if it will proceed at all.”

Besides challenges for NNPC, he argued that the obligation for Dangote to sell its oil products in naira under the deal had become a drag on its operations. He said that the refinery was left exposed to price fluctuations by pegging contract prices to dollar-based benchmarks and converting them into naira at the point of sale.

“It’s not commercially advantageous for us,” said the source. “When we buy in naira and sell in naira, the forex risk between the time of buying crude and selling the products may not be fully covered”.

According to trade sources and Nigerian port authorities, NNPC has allocated seven crude oil cargoes to deliver around 245,000 b/d to the Dangote site in April but has yet to agree on payment terms.

HURIWA reacts

The Human Rights Writers Association has called on President Bola Tinubu to ensure the continuation of the naira-for-crude deal between NNPC and local refineries, including the Dangote refinery.

The group warned that the termination of the deal could lead to sudden and indiscriminate hikes in pump prices of petroleum products, thereby exacerbating the hardships faced by millions of Nigerians.

HURIWA made the call in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, who emphasized the need for a humane and compassionate government, while urging the President to quickly direct his economic team to reach a new agreement with local refineries.

“In the spirit of the Sallah celebrations and given the public shows of supplications to God by the President and other public office holders as part of the end of the fasting and lenting period, we are praying President Tinubu to direct his Coordinating Minister for the Economy and the Minister of Finance to transparently and rapidly reach agreement to continue the naira-to-crude-deal with local crude oil refineries including the Dangote Petroleum refinery.

“We make this public supplication and appeal because any alteration to this deal would mean excruciating hardships and the massive affliction of poverty on millions of the already suffering, struggling and multidimensionally poor households,” the statement read.

Onwubiko noted the economic impact of failing to renew the deal, adding that many small and medium-scale enterprises dependent on petrol-powered generators may be forced to close down, while private sector workers may face termination of appointments.

He further noted the impact of the deal on 133 multi-dimensionally poor Nigerians, noting that the World Bank had stated that several million more Nigerians had fallen into poverty due to the rising cost of living.

The group urged Tinubu’s government not to ignore “the expanding frontiers of mass poverty that any further hike in the pump price of petrol would bring unto millions of Nigerian already overstretched households.”

The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal has fixed Wednesday, the 2nd of April, 2025, for Judgment, Naija News reports.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has the winner of the election held last year.

Okpebholo defeated Asue Ighodalo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP).

Recall that the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had reserved judgment in the petition filed by the PDP and its candidate, Asue Ighodalo, challenging the declaration of Okpebholo as winner of the September 21, 2024 governorship election.

The PDP and Ighodalo are disputing the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), alleging electoral irregularities, including over-voting, ballot non-serialization, incorrect collation, and computation errors.

During the course of the tribunal hearings, the petitioners called 19 witnesses and subpoenaed a Senior Technical Officer from INEC’s ICT department, who presented 154 BVAS machines to support claims of over-voting.

INEC, Okpebholo, and the APC are the first to third respondents respectively in the case marked EPT/ED/GOV/02/2024.

INEC did not call any witnesses to counter the petitioners’ claims. Okpebholo presented one witness, while the APC called four before closing their defense.

The three-member panel led by Justice Wilfred Kpochi announced that judgment would be delivered at a later date to be communicated to all parties.

“A date for judgment will be communicated to the parties by the Secretary of the tribunal. The tribunal stands adjourned until then,” said Justice Kpochi.

Earlier, the petitioners’ lead counsel, Adetunji Oyeyipo (SAN), formally adopted their final written address. INEC’s counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), urged the tribunal to dismiss the case, describing it as lacking in merit.

Agabi argued that all polling unit agents who testified had signed the result sheets and “could not distinguish between what they heard and what they observed.” He added that the number of polling units covered by the petitioners was too small to warrant nullification of the entire election.

“The petitioners have not pleaded any alternative results on the basis of which they can be declared winners. Their case is based on analyses carried out by hired consultants,” Agabi stated, describing their claims of non-compliance as weak and unsupported by credible evidence.

On behalf of the governor, Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN) said the APC candidate emerged victorious through valid votes. He challenged the petitioners’ position on the non-serialization of sensitive materials, clarifying that Form EC25B only requires the quantity of materials received and returned—not their serial numbers.

He added that while the petitioners alleged over-voting, none of the BVAS machines brought before the tribunal were actually opened for verification. “They failed to present the necessary documents to substantiate their claims,” Ikpeazu argued, calling the petition an “academic exercise.”

Also adopting its final address, APC’s counsel, Emmanuel Ukala, stated that the petitioners failed to provide enough witnesses to support their claims. He pointed out that only five polling unit agents were called out of over 4,000 polling units in the state, with no presiding officers summoned to testify.

He stressed the Supreme Court’s standard that allegations of non-compliance must be proven polling unit by polling unit, ward by ward, and local government by local government. “The petitioners did not show how the BVAS machines functioned, nor did they call enough witnesses,” Ukala added.

Responding, the petitioners’ counsel, Ken Morzi (SAN), clarified that their complaints were limited to 765 polling units, not the entire state. He argued that the case should be assessed holistically and not based solely on the percentage of polling units challenged.

Morzi said, “We concede that elections took place at the polling units, but our contention is how 25 votes transformed into 525 votes at the collation centres.”

He also addressed allegations of document dumping, asserting that all submitted documents were certified by INEC and tendered without objection. On the issue of alternative results, Morzi said all evidence before the tribunal was provided by the petitioners.

An elder in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David Parish, Quincy Ayodele, has denied claims that the former Pastor-in-charge of the parish, Idowu Iluyomade, rebelled against the church before starting his own.

Ayodele stated that she had expected that Iluyomade would be restored to his parish or another after he had served his three-month suspension handed to him by the church leadership.

According to Church Times, in a chat with Daddy Freeze posted on his YouTube Channel on Monday, the natural medicine practitioner said she was surprised and disappointed that Iluyomade was given a letter not to step into the church’s premises.

The World Health Organisation consultant said she was always going with Iluyomade to the headquarters of the RCCG in Ebute Meta for the three months that he served the punishment.

She said, “We were expecting that after the three months he would be restored to the City of David. but to our surprise, whatt we heard was that he was given a letter that he must not step into the City of David.”

Ayodele expressed concern about the action of the RCCG, saying, ‘Pastor Adeboye and Pastor Iluyomade were like father and son..They are so close..There is nothing Adeboye wanted that Iluyomade would not go out of his way to make available.”

While insisting that Iluyomade did not rebel against the church, she reiterated, ‘He was told not to enter City of David. Why they did that is only known to our daddy, the governing council and God. I cannot answer why. But we are curious.”

She said some elders in the church had to step in when it was clear that Iluyomade was stopped from entering the church.

According to Ayodele, the concerned elders wrote letters of appeal to the General Overseer of the Church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, to plead with him not to take such drastic action against Iluyomade.

She said, “They wrote letters and signed their names on the letters to Pastor Adeboye. But there was no response from Baba Adeboye.”

Ayodele said the next step the Iluyomades took was to start going to Kings Court, another RCCG Parish that Iluyomade pioneered many years ago.

‘The pastor in the church welcomed them and accorded them the honour of the founding pastors, only to be told later that they should not be accommodated.

“Pastor Adeboye taught us that if one sheep is missing out of 100, Jesus would go after the lost sheep..I was now asking will he now allow Iluyomade to be lost to the world.”

Ayodele, who disclosed she has been in RCCG for about 32 years, said she had to be on the trail of Iluyomade to bring him back to the church.

She also denied insinuation that it was the former CEO of Access Bank, late Herbert Wigwe, who was the highest contributor to the building of the Trinity Towers of the City of David.

According to her, many people contributed to the building of the tower, and some gave as much as Wigwe gave. She said many were as committed to the church as Wigwe, citing examples of how people supported projects at the prompting of Iluyomade.

She said Iluyomade did a lot for the RCCG and Adeboye, wondering what could have led to the church’s action against Iluyomade.

She gave examples of free schools that Iluyomade built, how he fed the hungry every week, and how he impacted the larger society by using church funds.

Ayodele said many prominent Nigerians were contacted to beg Daddy GO and change his mind about the expulsion of Iluyomade, but to no avail.

“They went to beg him, and he said he (Iluyomade) was paying loan. But he has been paying loans without coming to ask for money from you. So, why don’t you leave him and let him finish paying the loan?

“He said it’s okay; he will let him come back. He did not. Other people went to beg him, rolling on the floor and asking for his forgiveness..He did not.” Ayodele said.

Asked if the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria intervened in the matter, she said, ‘Who will talk to him if God has not talked to him. My daddy hears from God. It is what God says that he tells us, and we believe him. He will say my daddy says’ and we believe him.”

Ayodele said Pastor Iluyomade never planned to start a church, adding that the people they helped abandoned them in their moment of trials.

She said. “He does not even know how to start a church. He was an Anglican before he joined RCCG. His father was a reverend. He had left Anglican for almost 32 years. If he goes back to Anglican, where is he going to start from?

“I can tell you that the people they helped abandoned them in their moment of trials. They were not even praying for him in the City of David that he left. That was what made me go to him. When I got to him, he was weeping, telling me that he was told not to step into the church.”

Ayodele said she was moved to tears when Pastor Adeboye insinuated during his visit to the City of David on Sunday that those who left the Church were demons and that devils built trinity towers.

She said, “I started wondering if this my daddy is talking. What is going on?”

The health practitioner said she did not follow Iluyomade when he started his church because she believed the matter could still be resolved and that she was mediating.

Ayodele said if she had the grace of meeting Pastor Adeboye, she would be him frantically and appeal to him to forgive Iluyomade.

The fate of suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing the Kogi Central Senatorial District, will be decided within the next 90 days.

Last week, constituents from Kogi Central submitted a recall petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), seeking to remove Akpoti-Uduaghan from office. INEC is now in the process of verifying the signatures attached to the petition.

For the petition to progress, it must be endorsed by more than half of the registered voters in the Kogi Central District.

According to Punch, if the required threshold is met, the commission will organize a referendum within 90 days from receiving the petition. According to INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines for Recall 2024, a public notice will be issued, providing details of the referendum’s time, date, and location.

However, if the petition fails to meet the necessary number of signatures, a public notice will be issued informing the public of this outcome.

INEC’s guidelines dictate that a referendum will only be conducted if it is confirmed that over half of the registered voters in the district support the petition.

The recall petition stems from several controversies surrounding Akpoti-Uduaghan, including her suspension from the Senate on March 6, 2025, for alleged “gross misconduct” following a disagreement with Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

The petition cites “loss of confidence” as the main reason for the recall and accuses the suspended senator of gross misconduct, abuse of office, and deceit.

Accompanying the petition were six bags filled with documents containing signatures collected from more than half of the 474,554 registered voters in Kogi Central.

These signatures were gathered from 902 polling units across the five local government areas of Adavi, Ajaokuta, Ogori/Magongo, Okehi, and Okene.

As part of the recall process, Naija News gathered that INEC has sent a notification letter to Akpoti-Uduaghan, informing her of the receipt of the petition. A copy of the letter has also been forwarded to the presiding officer of the Senate.

The National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Julius Abure, has disclosed that the late Ayo Adebanjo played a pivotal role in the 2023 victory recorded by the party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in Lagos State.

He stated this on Monday while paying tribute to the late leader of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere.

Abure’s tribute was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the National Publicity Secretary of LP, Obiora Ifoh, after he led a delegation of the Labour Party executives to the residence of the late elder statesman over the weekend.

Applauding Adebanjo for his effort, Abure insisted that the late politician deserved credit for his contribution to the electoral upset.

According to him, Adebanjo’s troubleshooting efforts not only engendered peace in the Labour Party but also propelled the party into achieving massive successes in the last general elections.

He said, “Recall that the Labour Party played a major role in the 2023 general elections. I can remember whenever a crisis came up, he (Adebanjo) would summon me to Lagos.

“We would discuss and reach amicable resolutions in those crises.

“Our strong performance in the last general elections can be credited to his several interventions. He navigated several of such cases, particularly in Lagos, and today, that state is one of the strongest bases of the party. I learnt a lot from Pa Adebanjo personally, that culture of resistance, defending what is right, defending democracy and the rule of law, I learnt it from him.

“I am happy that the struggle to enthrone democracy in Nigeria was achieved in his lifetime. Many of his contemporaries were not that lucky. He saw an unbroken democracy for close to 25 years, and he participated in it. We were able to identify and put together all our candidates from the presidential candidate down to the least position and the ruling oligarchy didn’t believe what they saw in the 2023 general elections.

“For the first time, we mobilised the youths of this country. For the first time, the youth of the country saw hope and they were living it. They envisioned themselves in it and we were able to achieve that change. Pa Adebanjo, as old as he was, led the struggle.”

Former Deputy Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olabode George, has berated the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (PDP), Nyesom Wike, for revoking the Certificate of Occupancy of the party’s secretariat.

Naija News reports that recently, the FCT Minister, who is also a member of the PDP, took the bold step of revoking the land title of Wadata Plaza.

The government’s decision was due to the PDP’s failure to pay ground rent for the property. In addition, the title for the party’s unfinished national secretariat in the Central Area Business District of Abuja was also revoked.

Wike accused the party of failing to pay ₦7.6 million ground rent for its land title in the Central Area, despite being in power for many years and generating between ₦13 billion and ₦20 billion from the sale of forms.

Reacting in an interview with New telegraph, George said the decision of Wike to revoke the party’s land was a clear declaration of war.

He stated that Wike, who is like his political son, has crossed the redline with such act.

The Elder statesman also revealed how he initially joined the Wike-led G5 governors ahead of the 2023 presidential election but had to withdraw when the group was going against the PDP’s dictate.

He said: “Let me tell you something. When the crisis started in the PDP, they invited me as an elder to join the G5 governors and some other elders. I did but we fell out when we found that some of the things they are doing do not fall in line with the dictates of the party. And what Wike just did is completely unacceptable in any civilized situation.

“He has crossed the red line. Do you know why? During this same period of trying to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, he revoked the Certificate of Occupancy of our party’s secretariat. I want him to listen to me very carefully because he’s like my political son.

“It’s like you come from your community, and from that community, your home, your home village was there. Suddenly, you now became the local government chairman of that community.

“And the first exercise you did officially is to go revoke the Certificate of Occupancy of your father’s house, the house that produced you and the house where you got all kinds of things. What is the amount of money we owe, N7.2 million?

“It would have been more honourable if he put his hand in his pocket, and said, yes, you owe this, but I’m going to pay it because I am a thoroughbred son of the soil. I am a child of that house. It is that house that gave him the ticket to be chairman of the local government, made him the chief of staff to the governor, made him a minister, and became governor for eight years. Is that the way to say thank you?”

Asked if Wike has disowned his party with his actions and through what he has done, George responded in the affirmative.

The PDP Chieftain stated that Wike has declared and open war and party chieftains would be seen as irresponsible leaders and elders if they don’t take action.

He said: “Absolutely! What else? That’s what I said. As a general, I’m saying he has crossed the red line. Once you cross the red line, what are you looking for? The party has to met. We have to meet; the leaders and members of the Board of Trustees. We own the party in trust for members of the party.

“We own the assets and the liabilities of the party for the good of our people. If a young man has done what he did to say they should revoke the secretariat of our party, he has crossed the red line.

“He has declared an open war. And it’s such a shame. We would be seen as being irresponsible as leaders and elders if we don’t take action. Unfortunately, like I said, when those people started the disciplinary committee headed by Chief Tom Ikimi, I looked at the membership. Ikimi, yes, he’s on Atiku’s side.

“The secretary of that same committee is on Atiku’s side and they said I should come and be a member. I said, no, I cannot. First of all, Ikimi met me in this party.

“So, I cannot serve in that committee. Secondly, the way the thing was structured was warped. Where do you start from? So, I’m pleading with our people, we should go back. Fortunately, by October or November this year, we are going to have a convention.”

The killing last Friday of 16 Northern travellers along the Uromi-Ubiaja road in Edo state is an event that will live in infamy. Twenty-five travellers from Port Harcourt going home to the North, Kano specifically for the Eid el-fitri celebrations were intercepted by vigilantes along the way on the suspicion that they were kidnappers and they were lynched to death. There were 25 of them travelling together, nine of them managed to survive, but for the majority, it was an encounter with death. Some of the victims are from the Bunkura and Rano Local Government Areas of Kano State, mostly from Garko, Kibiya, Toronkawa and Rano villages. The fallen victims had wives, children and mothers. The men were said to be hunters and they were suspected by the vigilantes because they were reportedly carrying dane guns, and they had dogs with them too.  It was a tragic incident. Madam Sadiya Sa’adu, for example, lost her son, her brother and her nephew: “They were not criminals; they were simply out to make an honest living. My son’s blood must not be spilled in vain,” she said. 

One of the victims, Abdullahi Harisu, 21, got married only four months ago. In one account, the Edo Vigilante Commander was said to have ordered the killings.  He had concluded that the travellers were Boko Haram terrorists and kidnappers. Three of them were reportedly taken to the police station, with the vigilante commander telling the police that they had brought in kidnappers. He then, in spite of the police, instructed that the remaining persons who had been apprehended should be killed by the vigilantes. Now, the people of Bunkura and Rano LGAs are mourning. More orphans and widows have been created. Nigeria happened to the Uromi 16. When Nigeria happens to you, it means literally that the state has turned you into a victim of its many imperfections, and justice may never be done. In some other places in the world, even when a person dies unjustly, the law takes its course, but here in Nigeria, a country of over 230 million persons, when a whole village is razed to the ground due to jungle justice, the media would make righteous noise, the people would oh and ah, and just almost immediately, the country moves on. Everything wrong with Nigeria is written all over the Uromi tragedy. It is such an irony that Uromi in that axis is the home-town of prominent nationalist and statesman Anthony Enahoro, and his brother Peter Enahoro – the inimitable “Peter Pan”, two brothers who championed the ideals of national peace and progress.

The Nigerian 1999 Constitution guarantees the right to life (Section 33), the right to the dignity of the human person (section 34) and the right to be free from discrimination (Section 42), and the right to the freedom of movement (section 41). The rights of the Uromi 25 to all these fundamental human rights were brutally violated. Only a court of law can determine that life be taken after the accused person has gone through the justice system and he or she has been taken through due process, and fair hearing has been allowed, and it is established that a criminal offence, punishable by death, has been committed, as provided for in an existing law of the Federation of Nigeria. But things have gone so bad that vigilante groups of different colours in all parts of the country take the laws into their hands and dispense jungle justice. The vigilante group in Uromi reportedly went to the police station. What did the police do? It was the duty of the police to step in, and not allow the vigilantes to inflict punishment and commit murder. We need to know the exact police station where the complaint was lodged, who the officers on duty were, and what exactly was done or not done. Vigilantes telling the police that they had arrested Boko Haramists and kidnappers should have prompted the police to intervene immediately. They are definitely complicit in the tragedy that followed by their inaction. The least that the police could have done was to establish whether or not the apprehended persons bearing dane guns have the required licenses under the Firearms Act. The Nigerian Constitution further talks about the duty of the government to ensure the safety and welfare of every citizen (Section 14 (2b) and says that every Nigerian can move freely, reside in, and egress in and out of every part of Nigeria. 

The dangerous and painful reality that we have seen in Uromi and elsewhere is that this is never the case. It is possible for a Nigerian to leave home in the morning, but the road is forever lying in wait, hungry and ravenous, cruel and unkind, either in form of bad roads, dangerous, unlatched container trucks, tankers bearing toxic and flammable cargo that could fall over at the mere rush of saliva, or armed vigilantes and other criminals inflicting jungle justice and a reign of impunity. This is so because the state is in retreat. This is so also because the state has been captured by unscrupulous elements. The emergence of non-state actors, otherwise called vigilantes or by whatever other appellation, is one of the responses to this failure. We are in a country where the routine loss of lives, and the habitual conflicts that have enveloped our lives, have forced many to resort to self-help. People have also lost faith in the state’s institutions. They don’t trust the police because they believe every policeman can be easily compromised. They doubt the judicial system because they are convinced that the courts no longer dispense justice. They do not trust anyone who does not speak their language. The Uromi 25 were labelled and profiled as terrorists and kidnappers because they are from a certain part of the country – the North, and yet there has been no report that they were engaged in any act of aggression, or violence that could be considered suspicious. They were travelling, they had dane guns, they identified themselves as hunters travelling back to the North. They were citizens moving from one part of the country to the other!  They didn’t deserve to die just because they spoke a different language or looked different. The problem with Nigeria is that ethnicity is written into every fabric of social interaction. 

It is most unfortunate that this happened, as the Ramadan, the Muslim Holy month was ending, and Christians were still observing the Lenten season. Nigerians are a very religious people, but they are also very hypocritical about their faith. Most of the persons who murdered the Uromi 16 in the early hours of Friday, would have gone to the Mosque later in the day, wearing the garment of piety. Others would have been in church on Sunday singing alleluia and asking their Daddies and Mummies, the entrepreneurs of Christianity, who sell salvation for tithes, to pray for them. Both religions teach self-discipline, comportment, compassion and charity, but such virtues are sorely missing in our land.  The leaders set bad examples. The followers are worse. We harvest the collapse of values and ideals in the needless mass graves that we often dig, the cry of orphans and widows, and the agony of parents and communities. There is such a yawning gap between private morality – what we say to God and public morality – what we do as citizens.

The bloodbath in Uromi has been condemned by many including Waziri Adamawa Atiku Abubakar, Senators, members of the House of Representatives, the Northern Elders Forum, the Edo community in Kano, and the Arewa community in Edo State. The Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo has since ordered the suspension of all vigilante groups in Edo State. He has suspended the Commander of the Edo State Security Corps, CP Friday Ibadin (rtd.). The state has also disowned the vigilante group involved in the dastardly act and commenced investigations. Further, Governor Okepbholo has paid a visit to the Governor and the people of Kano State, and the families of the victims to commiserate with them. Fourteen suspects have reportedly been arrested. What this means is that the Governors of both Kano and Edo states and the leaders of the respective communities are trying their level best to de-escalate tensions, and ward off reprisal killings. There is too much shared bloodshed in Nigeria. This is what led to the counter-coup of July 1966, and the eventual blow-out that resulted in the three-year fratricidal civil war, 1967 – 70. Till date, the civil war has not ended. There has been no full reconciliation. The biggest emergency in the land is the spectre of revenge killings: seen, with tragic consequences in Southern Kaduna, Plateau state and the entire Middle Belt, and as seen most recently in the third week of March in Ondo state, with the killing of five farmers by persons described as herdsmen. In Ondo state, two weeks earlier, about 14 persons had been killed in the same Akure North Local Government Area. The killers, it was claimed, infiltrated Ondo State, through Edo State, and if we may stretch the logic, there could be a connection between the incident in Uromi last Friday and the killings in Ondo State two weeks earlier and what could come after in the nearest future in an unending cycle death and violence.       

This is the real national emergency that the Tinubu administration must worry about. Insecurity in the country and a growing culture of vengeance and reprisal killings are the real issues that the government of the day must tackle, to stem the tide of imminent anomie, and anarchy resulting in the threat of disintegration. We survived the civil war. No country can afford to have two civil wars – the consequences would be terrible. The interest of individuals or specific groups relying on the advantages of power and position should not supersede that of the nation. There is obviously a need to rethink the country’s security architecture: what we have at the moment is not working. It has failed to work before now. It has no prospect of working tomorrow. With over 200 million people, and just about 300, 000 policemen, the country is grossly under-policed. The police are also under-funded, and there are too many criminals within the security sector. The police are in fact, so overwhelmed and poorly structured, that the military are often called upon to do police work. What would happen in the case of any external aggression? The same soldiers that have been immersed in police habits and culture would be the ones to defend Njgeria’s territorial integrity. The police should be restructured for efficiency and performance. The police force, as it is presently structured, cannot meet the security needs of the country. The emergence of groups like the vigilantes, and regional quasi-police structures like the Amotekun, Hisbah, Agunechemba, and neighbourhood watch groups are attempts to fill the gap and meet the people’s needs.  There is now a clear case to be made for the creation of state police, and even a National Guard. The fact that an incident in Uromi or elsewhere would require a convoluted search for clearance and direction from Abuja makes mockery of the urgency of the crisis of insecurity that the country faces. 

The most unfortunate part of it all is that Nigerians are quick to forget. There is an evil spirit of selective amnesia upon the land. Nothing shocks the average Nigerian anymore. We have become so numbed by state failure that once a tragedy occurs, our defence mechanism is to move on, carry on actually with life as if nothing happened, as if nobody died; like a people used to disaster, as in Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, we seem to have developed a sympathy for death. It is a horrible place to be – for a country to be moving backwards, or at best, paralysed, bereft of empathy, when the rest of humanity is struggling to advance.  The death of the Uromi 16 must not be treated like other cases before it; the investigations must be carried out to the letter, and the files must not disappear, all the police officers involved must not be transferred out of Edo state until thorough investigations are done and a report written; and the report must not disappear, and due action must be taken in this as in all similar cases. Certain questions beg for answers: what were hunters from Kano State doing in Rivers State? Rivers is a fishing community for the most part. Does anyone fish with dane guns?   

Other state governments must learn from the tragedy in Uromi. It is colourful, after a fashion, for Governors to wear fanciful uniforms of auxiliary security outfits in their states, inspect guards of honour set up by untrained, ill-equipped fancy brigades who have neither the powers nor the intelligence to manage the security situation in the state. More Governors have learnt to dance on those occasions, thinking that this is some form of Nollywood entertainment. Meanwhile, Nigerians have found themselves in a situation where security is an issue, and welfare is a nightmare - with more people sliding daily into poverty. From whence then, cometh our help?  

Gospel singer, Frank Edwards, has disclosed that his mother once stopped him from signing a $320,000 deal that would have given a group control of his music catalogue.

Edward explained that his mother warned him against signing the deal and confiscated his international passport to prevent him from finalising it.

Speaking via a social media post, Edwards said he didn’t understand his mother’s reasoning, but he has since come to appreciate her discernment.

He mentioned how she had given him ₦150,000 naira to start a studio, and her instincts proved correct.

The singer expressed gratitude for his mother’s selfless love, guidance, and unwavering support.

He thanked her for being a source of wisdom and strength, always providing guidance and protection.

Edwards wrote: “Thank you for everything, this space is not enough to write about you. Thank you for an impenetrable wall of fire! Thank for always telling me the mind of God about the things I’m doing, Non of your words fell to the ground because you truly hear from God ..

“The very first time in my life years ago I was to close $320,000 deal from a group that wanted to almost own my entire catalogue.

“You said NO ! And I quote you. “ The 150,000 naira gave you to start that studio is bigger than that money, just give it time . They are not of God.

“Infact you took my international passport away from me Just to ensure I don’t travel to close that deal , and I was laughing because I didn’t need to travel to close it but then I listened to you !

“After u said that I was thinking How is 150,000 Naira bigger than $320,000 .. BUT NOW I UNDERSTAND.

“There is so much to say !! But like I said .. this space is not enough!! Happy Mother’s Day mum!!!”

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor E. A. Adeboye, has officially changed the name of the RCCG Apapa Family to The Favoured Family.

Naija News reports that this renaming took place on Sunday during his second visit to Trinity Towers, the headquarters of the RCCG City of David parish, which oversees the Apapa Family.

Accompanied by his wife, Pastor Folu Adeboye, he shared that he received a divine directive to rename this prominent family within the RCCG community.

While preaching from 2 Kings 2:19-24, Pastor Adeboye articulated the need for the Apapa Family to experience a new outpouring of grace, symbolized by the introduction of salt and a new cruse.

He highlighted that the salt represents God’s restoration of flavor and vitality, the elimination of bitterness, the prevention of demonic influences, and the promotion of swift progress.

The new cruse, he explained, symbolizes a new beginning, the recovery of lost glory, and a renewed commitment to reignite spiritual passion.

“If anyone had once been hot and had grown lukewarm, they would now burn brightly again,” Pastor Adeboye stated.

Naija News reports that the RCCG Apapa Family boasts a rich heritage that began in 1991 at Roxy Cinema, Apapa, with approximately 50 members under the leadership of Pastor Tony Rapu.

In just five years, the congregation expanded to over 45 parishes both within Nigeria and internationally, supported by a dedicated workforce of more than 500 individuals.

The family’s mission is to reach heaven and bring as many people as possible along, while also nurturing leaders and fostering a community that exemplifies excellence, faithfulness, character, and integrity.

Their objectives include evangelism, establishing God’s governance, and showcasing the significance of Christianity through innovative and contemporary expressions of their beliefs.

Throughout the years, the RCCG Apapa Family has experienced considerable growth and transformation, with various pastors playing pivotal roles in its development.

Following Pastor Tony Rapu, Pastor Eskor Mfon took the helm and furthered the expansion of the Apapa Family Churches.

After Pastor Mfon’s passing, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade was appointed as the new leader of the Apapa Family.

On September 1, 2024, Pastor Kayode Pitan succeeded Pastor Iluyomade as the Head of the Apapa Family