Nigerian singer, Paul Nonso Okoye, better known as Rudeboy, has confirmed the split of their music group, Psquare, for the second time.

Naija News recalls that the duo, which consists of Paul and his twin brother, Peter Okoye, popularly known Mr P, first split in 2016 but reunited in 2021.

In June, Nigerian celebrity journalist, Stella Dimokokorkus, said the twin brothers are at war over joint funds being allegedly diverted by their elder brother cum music executive, Jude Okoye.

In a recent interview with City FM, Lagos, Rudeboy confirmed that the group has broken up again, stating that the plan to produce hit albums together will no longer happen.

Rude Boy claimed that he was wrongly accused of saying that he is the music group singer while Peter is the dancer, and the issue hurt his brother.

The singer said Peter told him to his face that he was no longer interested in the music group and was not ready to make the issue public.

He said, “The plan of our coming back together was going to produce a lot of hit albums. But as it is now, I’m just focusing on Rudeboy. Trust me, it is not everything that I would want to say.

“I was being accused of saying that he [Peter] was the dancer and I’m the singer. I know whenever we go to the airport, people ask are you a singer or a dancer? I didn’t know it was touching him. But I know there was a time we came together and said, ‘don’t allow this thing get to you, you should be proud of what you’re doing. That’s the role you’re playing.’

“We have a song we did with T.I, ‘Eja Jo’. That was when the issue started. Till today, that song is still on 3 million views because people didn’t hear the PSquare’s voice that they are used to.

“When we came back together, because I didn’t want the issues that happened before, I told my brother to show himself, let us be involved in the creative process together. I told him we should share who carries the tracks equally but still it wasn’t working.

“The new PSquare was peaceful. I needed the past mistakes not to repeat themselves. But then again he [Peter] said he’s no more doing [no longer interested]. In fact, he told me in the face that he wants to quit. I asked if we could make it public and he refused. But what will happen when I go solo? People will call me the bad person. That’s why I’m speaking up now.”

The Katsina State Police Command reported the arrest of more than fifty suspects linked to the looting and destruction of government and public properties during the #EndBadGovernanceProtest held in the state.

Naija News reports that Nigerians stormed major streets on Thursday to protest the economic hardship and food scarcity.

In a statement, Police Spokesman ASP Abubakar Sadiq emphasized that efforts are ongoing to capture individuals involved in the looting of both private and public properties.

The statement urged parents and guardians to advise their children and wards against engaging in illegal activities such as violent protests, vandalism, and looting.

The police also appealed to the youths to exercise restraint and resist being manipulated into committing acts of violence.

The statement highlighted that the police command, in coordination with other security agencies, will conduct regular patrols to enforce the curfew imposed across the state. It warned that anyone violating the curfew would face strict consequences.

The public was asked to cooperate with security forces and remain indoors during curfew hours. The statement called for collective efforts to maintain peace and order in the state.

Due to security concerns arising from the protests turning violent in certain areas, the Katsina State Police Command has begun enforcing a 24-hour curfew in Dutsinma Local Government Area (LGA) and a 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. curfew in the remaining LGAs. These measures aim to ensure public safety, prevent further violence, and maintain law and order.

The statement also addressed circulating rumors, denying that police used live ammunition on protesters, which allegedly resulted in fatalities.

It reassured the public that officers acted with restraint and professionalism, and there were no reports of casualties due to police actions at the time of reporting.

“Let’s work together to maintain peace and order in our state.

“Due to the current security concerns in light of the nationwide protests turning violent in some parts of the state, the Katsina State Police Command commenced enforcement of the Katsina State Government imposed 24-hour curfew in Dutsinma Local Government Area (LGA) and a 7:00 pm to 7:00 am curfew in the rest of the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the state, effective immediately.

“The 24-hour curfew in Dutsinma LGA is necessary to ensure public safety and prevent further escalation of violence, vandalism, and looting of public and private properties, while the 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew in the rest of the state is aimed at preventing nocturnal criminal activities and maintaining law and order throughout the state.

“Additionally, we wish to debunk the circulating rumors and misinformation that police personnel shot live ammo at protesters, resulting in loss of lives.

“We assure the members of the public that our officers exercised the maximum level of restraint and professionalism in handling the violent protesters.

“There is no record of any fatalities resulting from police actions as of the time of these reports,” the statement partly read.

WhatsApp is considering suspending its services in Nigeria following a $220 million fine imposed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for data privacy violations.

Sources close to Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, suggest that they are evaluating the possibility of withdrawing some services from Nigeria due to increasing regulatory pressures.

In addition to the hefty fine, the FCCPC has instructed WhatsApp to stop sharing user data with other Facebook entities and third parties without explicit user consent.

The commission also demands that WhatsApp provide transparency about its data collection methods and improve user control over their data.

In an email to TechCabal, a WhatsApp spokesperson stated, “We want to be clear that, technically, based on the order, it would be impossible to provide WhatsApp in Nigeria or globally.”

The spokesperson criticized the FCCPC’s order as misleading and said it misrepresents WhatsApp’s data practices, requiring significant alterations to the platform’s infrastructure.

While Meta has not specifically addressed the FCCPC’s concerns about user opt-out options following the 2021 privacy policy update, the company insists that this update does not entail sharing user data.

According to their privacy policy, Meta maintains, “While traditionally mobile carriers and operators store this information, we believe that keeping these records for two billion users would be both a privacy and security risk, and we don’t do it.”

A potential withdrawal of WhatsApp from Nigeria would have serious implications for individuals and small businesses that depend heavily on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook for customer interaction.

Some privacy attorneys have questioned the FCCPC’s application of the National Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) as the basis for the fine.

The NDPR, introduced by the National Information Technology Development Agency in 2019, serves as Nigeria’s main data protection framework.

Two anonymous lawyers have expressed skepticism about the NDPR’s legal weight in such a significant case, questioning whether a government regulation can be definitive in privacy matters.

Additionally, two unnamed government officials have raised concerns about the $220 million fine’s fairness. “We are too revenue-focused. What is the opportunity cost of $220 million in government coffers?” questioned an industry expert.

On Thursday morning, policemen tear-gassed defiant protesters at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos.

These protesters carried placards expressing their dissatisfaction with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, marching against hunger and hardship across Nigeria.

Protesters gathered at the Lekki Tollgate during the End Bad Governance protest on August 1, 2024.

Chanting solidarity songs, the protesters decried the hunger in the country and called for swift government action. “We just want the country to be stable. People are hungry. People are dying. We are not coming to fight; we only want the government to do something,” said one female protester.

Numerous security agents, including policemen, soldiers, officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), and the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency, were present at the iconic tollgate.

They informed the mostly young demonstrators of a court order restricting their gathering to Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota and Peace Park in Ketu, both in Lagos mainland.

The youths who converged at the tollgate rejected the relocation to Lagos mainland and continued their demonstrations until they were dispersed by police teargas.

The nationwide protests against economic hardship began on August 1, 2024, and are scheduled to continue until August 10 across all states in the country.

In recent months, food and basic commodity prices have skyrocketed as Nigerians face one of the worst inflation rates and economic crises, exacerbated by the government’s petrol subsidy removal and forex unification policies.

Despite warnings from the police, military, and Department of State Services against Kenya-style protests, and politicians’ appeals for youths to cancel the planned rallies, the young people remain undeterred.

Nigeria’s Badminton star, Anuoluwapo Opeyori, crashed out of the 2024 Paris Olympics after losing his second consecutive match against China’s Li Shi Feng 2-0 in a Group N encounter.

Opeyori started his Olympics campaign on a sad note when he lost his first match against Switzerland’s Tobias Kuenzi 2-0 (20-22, 14-21)on Tuesday.

It was not a straightforward victory for Li Shi Feng as Opeyori gave him a tough run. The first set ended 21-17 in favour of the Chinese.

Opeyori bounced back in the second set with an impressive performance to lead 11-7 before Li Shi Feng fought back to win 21-17 to end his Olympics campaign in the first round.

He is Nigeria’s only representative in Badminton and his exit ends Nigeria’s chances of winning any medal in Badminton.

Opeyori is delighted with the opportunity to showcase his talent at the Olympics.

He said, “I am so impressed with my performance; I gave a good account of myself in the men’s singles playing against one of the best players in the world. The Olympics gave me an opportunity to get exposed properly and I am wishing myself all the best.”

Opeyori joins the table tennis quartet of Aruna Quadri, Fatimo Bello, Offiong Edem and Omotayo Olajide to crash out of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

Popular singer, Paul Okoye, aka Rudeboy, has said his twin brother Peter Okoye, aka Mr P, was behind his recent arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

In a recent interview with City FM, Lagos, Rudeboy said Mr P wrote a petition to the anti-graft agency to invite him over alleged fraudulent dealings.

He said that despite the EFCC clearing him of all allegations after a thorough investigation, his twin brother refused to apologise over the false accusations.

“This year, I was invited by the EFCC after they received a petition against me from my twin brother. I never thought it [our beef] would get to this extent. I thought it was just music,” he said.

“The next thing, people are asking me, ‘What do you do?’ Somebody said, ‘You’re going to go to jail for 20 years. They’re going to lock you up.’ I got to the EFCC office, they told me everything. They’ve already printed all my account statements. They asked me to explain every transaction.

“First of all, what entered my mind was, what if I was into fraud? That’s how my brother would have finished me? But I took it. Then they started the investigation. At a point, I was no longer comfortable with the kind of questions they were asking me. When I knew it was serious was when they asked me to get a lawyer and sureties. I did everything.

“One month ago, they called me, my twin brother and our elder brother [Jude Okoye], and said, ‘First of all, we have to say that after all investigations, Paul is innocent. Paul is cleared. Everything you accused him of, we’ve done our investigation and he’s innocent.’

“Despite the fact that I was proven innocent, my twin brother didn’t apologise for the false accusations,” he narrated.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, has lamented the destruction of a technology hub in Kano, just days before its scheduled launch.

The Digital Innovation Park, designed to support Nigeria’s technical talent accelerator program (3MTT), was reportedly set ablaze and looted during the protests on Thursday.

“Sad to learn that our Digital Innovation Park in Kano slated for launch next week to support our technical talent accelerator (3MTT) has been set ablaze and looted by protesters,” Tijani stated in a post via X on Thursday.

The incident occurred as part of wider unrest in Kano, where protesters targeted the yet-to-be-commissioned Nigeria Communication Commission Industrial Park.

Tijani highlighted the immediate impact of this destruction on planned initiatives.

“Alongside #3MTT, this building is set to host our buildathon holiday maker programme for secondary school kids starting next week,” he added.

The minister characterised the damage as a setback for the journey to deepening the workforce for technology and creating job opportunities for the youth.

“Millions of Naira down the drain,” Tijani said.

Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has clarified that his recent remarks on Nigeria’s population challenges were not aimed at any specific person or region and that he stands by his comments without apology.

Naija News reports that Fayose, an ally of President Bola Tinubu, recently suggested that polygamy and large family sizes are significant factors in Nigeria’s population crisis.

These remarks were made during an interview on Channels TV, where Fayose indicated that Tinubu’s difficulties in managing economic hardship stem from “indiscriminate” childbearing and marriage, particularly in Northern Nigeria.

In response, social activist and former Kaduna State lawmaker, Shehu Sani, condemned Fayose’s statements about marriage customs in the North.

Similarly, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dele Momodu, also criticized Fayose, urging against blame games during this critical period.

Addressing the backlash, Fayose took to his X handle to clarify his stance, stating, “No Apologies, My Comment Not Targeted At Anyone or Any Region.”

He elaborated, “I have no reasons to say derogatory things about anyone, not even the North, not the South.

“What I said was very clear.

“I said I visited a State in the North, I didn’t mention the State. And I gave an illustration that I got talking to a Gateman who said to me that he had four wives and 16 children. And I said what can the government do about such a person? What can government do about a Gateman with four wives and 16 children?

“That illustration is not about the North, it could be anyone in the Southwest, Southeast or South-South.”

Fayose emphasized, “Some people are saying I should apologize, and I want to state that I have no apology because I have not offended anyone. My point is, the nation needs to address the issue of its population, either North, South or anywhere.”

He further remarked, “It is regrettable that people like to pervert the truth and quote others out of context. Majority of those who have reacted to that interview did not even watch it, they didn’t also bother to see the video.

“Therefore, I can’t be bothered about the anger of anyone. I have no reasons to be derogatory about anyone, any region or group.”

The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has declared that the #EndBadGovernance protest in Kano State is no longer peaceful.

The presidential media aide took to his account on the X platform to share some happenings in the ancient city of Kano, which informed his submission.

Onanuga said properties were getting destroyed, and some of the protesters had started looting items, including mattresses, bags of rice and other things.

He shared a video of an attack on a property during the protest in Kano, with the caption; “The place attacked is a supermarket on Hadejia Road in Kano, all in the name of protest.“

In another video of the incident, the presidential media aide wrote: “An office attacked in Kano. It is no longer a peaceful protest in the city.”

Earlier, Onanuga had also shared some pictures of protesters looting in Kano.

He wrote: “Protesters are also looting in Kano, stealing furniture, rice bags, mattresses and so on.”

In another video, Tinubu’s aide also disclosed the vandalization of the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) building in Kano State.

“Protesters go on rampage in Kano. Here is the gate house of the NCC set ablaze,” he wrote.