Fully Reported

The Ogun State Police Command says its operatives attached to Sagamu Division intercepted a truck loaded with vandalised Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in Sagamu area of the state. This is barely four days after a 33,000-litre truck loaded with stolen petrol was intercepted in Ogijo, Sagamu Local Government Area of Ogun State. According to a press statement by the spokesman for the command, Muyiwa Adejobi, the Police operatives acted on a tip-off which led to the arrest of one of the vandals named Elochukwu Byron. He said other suspects escaped. The suspect and the exhibits, according to Mr Adejobi, would be transferred to the Department of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence, in Eleweran Abeokuta, for further investigation on the directive of the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State, Abdulmajid Ali. Mr Ali has also put all officers and men of the command on their toes to make sure that pipelines and installations are adequately protected, particularly during a period

The Police have arrested eight suspected arms dealers alleged to be the major arms supplier for bank robbers in Lagos and Ogun states. The feat was achieved by a Special Intelligence Response Team from the Force Headquarters in Abuja inaugurated by the Inspector General of Police, IGP Solomon Arase. An Army corporal, who is serving in Borno State and presently detained by military intelligence alongside eight suspected arms dealer have been arrested by the Police. The arrest of the suspects, according to the Police, came as a relief as the suspects narrated how they delivered seven riffles to suspects in the creeks of Lagos. A 46-year-old suspect, Monsuru Adisa, told reporters how he used a locally fabricated compartment of his vehicle to convey guns for delivery. A notorious gang had earlier in the year attacked two banks in Ebute Ikorodu through the waterways in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. The Police said they had arrested four leading members of the group at

Kano State Government has formed an amnesty committee for cattle rustlers who may wish to lay down their arms to stop cattle rustling and other criminal activates in the state. While receiving cattle and other domestic animals recovered by the police in Kano, Governor Ganduje urged rustlers to surrender their weapons before it becomes too late. According to Channels Television’s correspondent in the state, 71 suspects were arrested, while 21 weapons of different caliber were recovered from the miscreants. While disclosing the success achieved in the fight against cattle rustlers in the state, the Governor said that “The days of cattle rustlers in Kano State are numbered”. Mr. Ganduje also revealed that under the cattle rustling amnesty, the rustlers will be trained and empowered by the state government on any business suitable for their skills. He went further to say that three Local Government Areas, which were worst hit by rustlers, have since been liberated while a join

The Oyo State Police Command has paraded a fake Colonel who it says has fraudulently collected 40 million Naira as part payment for an oil deal from unsuspecting investors. Also paraded was a fake lawyer who has duped many of their valuables by also disguising as a prophet. Others include armed robbery syndicates, vandals and a group of kidnappers and rapists. The Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Adeleye Oyebade, said he and his men were leaving nothing to chance as the year winds down and have increased efforts to rid the state of criminals.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has convicted and sentenced nine foreigners for stealing 3,423.097 metric tonnes of crude oil from Nigeria. The vessel, MT Asteris, and its crew were intercepted by the Nigerian Navy Ship, Beecroft, during a routine patrol in Lagos on March 26, while trying to export the stolen product. Upon interrogation, the Captain or any of the crew members could not produce any relevant document authorising the lifting and destination of the petroleum products they had on board. They were arrested and after investigation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on June 18 arraigned the foreigners and their vessel before Justice Ibrahim Buba on a four-count charge of conspiracy and illegal dealing in petroleum products, an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 17 of the Miscellaneous Offences Act of 2004. When the charges were read to the accused persons, they all pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Owerri, has removed Okezie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party as governor of Abia State. The court also declared Alex Otti of the All Progressives Grand Alliance  the winner of the April 11 and April 25 supplementary elections in the state. Delivering judgment in an appeal filed by Mr. Otti, the five-member panel, headed by Justice Oyebisi Omoleye, said the APGA candidate scored 164, 444 valid votes to defeat Mr. Ikpeazu who scored 114, 444 votes. The court declared that Mr. Otti was the winner of the April 11 and April 25 supplementary elections in Abia. Justice Omoleye said the cancellation of the elections held in three LGAs of Obingwa, Osisioma Ngwa and Isiala Ngwa by the returning officers after the results were uploaded to INEC was wrong. “In the Electoral Act, the Returning Officer has the right to only declare results of elections and not to cancel elections. “This panel discovered that the earlier results uploaded to INEC h

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says President Muhammadu Buhari’s responses at the Wednesday Presidential Media Chat were not only embarrassing but also further exposed his undemocratic character as an unrepentant tyrant who has no regard for the rule of law and the self-worth of Nigerian citizens. The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, Thursday,  also said the President confirmed his partisanship in the much-vaunted war against corruption by openly absolving his ministers and party members of corrupt practices. “Whilst we restate our respect for the person and office of the President, we note that President Buhari bared his true colours to the world as an unrepentant tyrant. Today, the world is no longer in doubt as to who is behind the prevailing recklessness, abuse of rights of citizens and outright flouting of judicial pronouncements by security agencies. “A situation where the President openly pronounced persons facing trial g

BOLA TINUBU’S  NEW YEAR MESSAGE The new year presents a  chance for us to place this precious nation  on the right path. This path will not be easy as we must press to surmount obstacles that should have been laid behind us long ago. There are no short cuts to take to greatness, but there also is no reason that we cannot attain that greatness. Our new government offers the country its best chance. Thus, we must dedicate ourselves to creating a more perfect nation, one built on justice, peace, unity and prosperity. We must join hands in common purpose to defeat insecurity, poverty and corruption and bring back prosperity.  Let us pledge never again to fall victim to these scourges. Let us pledge this year to walk together in strong unity.  May 2016 go down in history as the year Nigeria reached  a higher plain by conquering those things that for so long had set us back. May this nation rise and become the standard for Africa and the black race that God intends it to be

Mr Adeolu Ogunbanjo, President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), has called for the adoption of 700MHz to enhance the nation’s broadband and data service. He made the call in a statement made available in Lagos on Friday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 700MHz band is an important swathe of spectrum available for both commercial wireless and public safety communications. The band consists of 108 megahertz of spectrum running from 698-806 MHz and was freed up as a result of the Digital Television transition. Ogunbanjo, therefore, urged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Ministry of Communications to do the needful to get the 700MHz allotted for telecommunications services. He stated that the ITU, a UN specialised agency for information and communication technologies, had said that the utilisation of the 700MHz communication spectrum would address “digital divide.’’ He explained that such a move was in line with th

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel, has proposed a total budgetary outlay of 426 billion Naira for the 2016 financial year. The Governor made the presentation of the financial plan to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on Tuesday in Uyo, the capital of the Nigerian southeast state. While a breakdown of the budget, which was titled “Budget of Sustainable Development” showed that the 2016 estimate was 62 billion Naira less than the 2015 proposal, Governor Emmanuel said the reduction was in line with global economic realities. Of the total budget, 92.964 billion Naira was meant for recurrent expenditure, 245 billion Naira was planned for capital expenditure while consolidated revenue charges was allotted 88.036 billion Naira. He said the budget which was based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), was to rapidly industrialise the state and create opportunities for growth and advancement of the people through his Five-point Agenda of job creation; po

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday presented a 2016 budget proposal of 6.07 trillion Naira. Nigeria’s 2016 Budget is based on a crude oil benchmark price of $38 per barrel and a production estimate of 2.2 million barrels per day for 2016. GDP Growth Rate Projection 4.37% Revenue Projection 3.86 Naira Deficit 2.22 trillion Naira (equivalent to 2.16% of Nigeria’s GDP) Oil Related Revenues 820 billion Naira Non-oil Revenues 1.45 trillion Naira  Projected Independent Revenues 1.51 trillion Naira Capital Expenditure 1.8 trillion Naira (30%  of total budget) Works, Power and Housing 433.4 billion Naira Transport 202.0 billion Naira Interior 53.1 billion Naira Special Intervention Programs 300 billion Naira Education 369.6 billion Naira Defence 294.5 billion Naira Health 221.7 billion Naira Ministry of Interior 145.3 billion Naira Foreign and Domestic Debt Service 1.36 trillion Naira Sinking Fund towards the retirement of maturing loans 113 billion Naira

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, has affirmed that the Federal Government is willing to collaborate with Abia State in areas that would boost trade and investment in order to enhance the economy. The Minister made the affirmation during a visit to the State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, at the executive chambers of the Government House, Umuahia, the capital of Abia State on Monday. Governor Ikpeazu had disclosed that the state government has put together strategies and initiatives that would intensify industrialization of some key sectors of the economy but hinted that funding, amongst others, is one of the major impending challenges. Some of the strategies of the state government include massive drive in public private partnership, industry policy that would encourage conducive business environment, building lasting infrastructures, mechanized shoe making and leather clusters, boosting agriculture, private sector involvement in seaport infrast

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has presented the 2016 appropriation bill before state legislators amounting to N155,7,345,180. The bill is tagged “Budget of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement” in line with the reconstruction programme the state government has embarked upon. This budget is less than the 2015 budget that stood at N175,968,75,525:59 with a supplementary budget of N36,798,322,482. The deficit, according to Governor Shettima, was due to the unstable global oil price and security challenges in the state. The Governor gave the assurance that the return of Internally Displaced Persons to their homes would be government’s priority in 2016. The Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan, extolled the courage of the Governor in the face of the challenges of insurgency, saying the House identifies with the rebuilding project.

The Director, Monetary Policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Moses Tule, has been speaking on the recent restrictions on the use of naira debit cards and dollar transactions in the country. At an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, Mr Tule said that naira debit cards can no longer be used outside the country due to the abuse it has suffered in the hands of some persons who use it to transfer foreign currencies illegally. He said that the nation’s foreign reserves has been heavily depleted due to the fall in the price of oil and as such, the apex bank had to place some restrictions on the use of naira debit cards in addition to banning the use of the United States dollar as a substitute for the naira.

  In the spirit of Christmas, top Nigerian comedian, Seyi Law, has surprised his wife, Ebere Stacy, with an overwhelming gift. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Seyi Law and Wife The stand-up comedian took to his Instagram page, yesterday, December 23, to showcase that he bought his wife a Honda Crosstour. The car which is said to worth a whooping N7m. He posted the message, saying: “No wonder, God made it clear in His words, that when they say there is a casting down, we will say there is a lifting up. I just hope this is a perfect gift for the most beautiful woman in the world, my wife and confidant, Ebere Stacy @hautestacy. Thanks for standing with and by me in my trying time. Thank God for the grace to do this now. Merry Christmas my love.” See the photo below: Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Seyi Law needs no introduction in the Nigerian entertainment circle today. He started professionally in 2005 and, though initially an unsteady ride,