BBNaija All Stars: “My Boyfriend Dumped Me Because Of Neo” – CeeC

 

Former Big Brother Naija All Stars housemate, CeeC has stated that her boyfriend dumped her after she openly admitted her feelings for colleague, Neo Akpofure.

The reality star made this known in her latest interview with popular media personality, Toke Makinwa.

Recall that CeeC had during the reality show expressed her romantic interest in fellow housemate, Neo and disclosed that she slept with him in her dream.

When asked about her experience outside the Biggie’s house, she revealed that she’s now single after her boyfriend ended their relationship because of her confession to Neo.

Toke asked: “How did he do that, did he block you?”

CeeC responded: “No, he didn’t block me. He just sent me all the links to everything that I have said in the house.”

“My Dad Was Assassinated” – BBNaija Star, Cross

 

Former Big Brother Naija All Stars housemate, Ikechukwu Sunday Okonkwo, better known as Cross, has revealed that his father was assassinated.

He said losing his dad early in life and his mum raising him and his siblings with a lot of love taught him not to take things to heart.

Speaking in a recent interview with Arise TV, the reality TV star said he also knows that there’s an inevitable end for all so he doesn’t take life too seriously.

He said, “I don’t hold grudges. I got that part of love from my mum and siblings. After my dad got assassinated, it was more or less like we need to protect ourselves. So, right there, we became one another’s protectors. By sticking together and protecting ourselves, we realised that you shouldn’t take life too deep. You should put it on the surface, and what will happen will happen.”

Cross also disclosed during the interview that he thought Soma would win the just concluded Big Brother Naija All Stars season.

17-Year-Old Caught Burying Younger Brother Alive In Kogi

 

A 17-year-old boy, identified as Goodness Oshodi, has been arrested for allegedly burying his younger brother, Friday Oshodi alive in Kogi State.

It was gathered that Friday had stolen N1,000, hence his elder brother decided to punish him on their mother’s instruction.

According to the Daily Post, a resident confirmed that Friday is well known in the area for stealing, adding that, to punish his criminal act, his mother asked his elder brother, Goodness to punish him.

They added that rather than giving Friday tolerable punishment, Goodness led him to a nearby bush and buried him alive.

Our correspondent further gathered that luck, however, ran out of Goodness as he was caught in the heinous crime by some vigilante members in the area who exhumed the body of Friday alive and reported the case to the police.

The Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, SP. William Ovie Aya confirmed the incident on Wednesday afternoon, saying the Police had arrested Goodness, stressing that the Command had commenced an investigation into the case.

“The suspect has been arrested and taken into custody. The victim is seven years old. Information at our disposal revealed that the victim used to steal. When he stole money, he ran away from the house, but later came back.

“When he came back, he stole another money again. So, the mother instructed his elder brother who is a 17-year-old boy to punish him. So, the brother went ahead to dig the ground to punish him. So, they just want to deal with him, before some nearby neighbours discover what was happening and rescued him,” he said.

Court Convicts Pipeline Vandals Charged With Killing Seven DSS Officers

 

The Lagos State High Court sitting in the Ikeja area has convicted two members of a group of pipeline vandals for the 2015 murder of seven operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) in the Ishawo area of Ikorodu.

Justice Hakeem Oshodi in his judgment held that the prosecution proved the offence of conspiracy to commit murder, murder, and possession of firearms with intent to commit a felony against the first defendant, Clement Ododomu, while the second defendant, Tiwei Monday was convicted for conspiracy to commit murder and failure to report a felony.

The offences are contrary to Sections 223 and 298 (3) of the Criminal Law, Cap. C. A Vol. 3, laws of Lagos State 2015.

The court, however, adjourned the sentencing of the convicts to Nov. 14th.

The prosecution had told the court that in Sept. 2015, the DSS received a distress call about an alleged kidnap. They subsequently despatched a nine-man rescue team.

Saheed Adetunji, an investigation officer with the DSS told the court during the course of the trial that seven out of the nine-man rescue team were ambushed by the vandals in the Ishawo area and taken captive. The remaining two managed to escape.

“The first defendant said that they took the seven DSS personnel to their hideout, into the Ishawo Creeks, called Barracks,” Adetunji said.

The officer also identified the 2nd defendant, Monday, who confessed that he was a part of the group of vandals who used teargas and pepper spray on the DSS personnel.

“When they got to their Barracks, the first defendant said he personally shot two of the DSS personnel with a pump-action rifle, while one Agbala shot the remaining five with an AK-47.

“The dead bodies were buried in three separate graves. The first defendant said that the graves were dug by some Ijaw boys and three slim operatives were packed in one. And the bigger ones were put in twos into the other graves,” he stated.

And though the defendants pleaded guilty and denied committing the offence during their trial, Justice Oshodi in his judgment, held that the prosecution was able to prove part of the charge against the two convicts beyond all reasonable doubt.

The judge also rejected the alibi of the defendants, describing it as a ruse and an afterthought as there was no credible evidence to back up their claims of being at different places when the offence was committed.

He further held that their attempts to deny their confessional statement were not convincing and that evidence before the court confirmed that their statements were made voluntarily.

The Director of Public Prosecution, DPP has urged the court to impose the maximum sentence on the defendants to send a strong message that the state will not tolerate the killing of anyone particularly officers on lawful duty. He also used the opportunity to reiterate the call for the DSS to fish out one Agbala who was said to have shot five of their officers.

Release Nnamdi Kanu And Become A National Hero – Ohanaeze Begs Tinubu

 The Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has begged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

Ohanaeze also asked the Nigerian President to withdraw all charges against Kanu.

Ohanaeze, while appealing to the President, disclosed that doing that would make Tinubu a national hero.

The group made this known in a statement on Wednesday by its Secretary General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro in which it reacted to the release of the embattled Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Igboho from detention in Benin Republic after about two years.

Ohanaeze while commending Yoruba leaders for securing the release of Igboho, called on President Tinubu to emulate his counterpart in Benin, Patrice Talon and free Kanu from detention.

The statement reads: “Ohanaeze Ndigbo expresses its heartfelt appreciation for the unwavering contributions of Yoruba leaders such as former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Banji Akintoye, Prof. Wole Soyinka, and Pa Ayo Adebanjo towards the release of Sunday Igboho.

“The organisation recalls its October 1, 2023 Independence Day plea for the release of both Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho.

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo believes that this is an opportune time for President Bola Tinubu to demonstrate similar gestures and drop all charges against Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, allowing him to regain his freedom.”

“Ohanaeze Ndigbo firmly believes that President Tinubu will be hailed as a national hero if he seizes this opportunity to release Nnamdi Kanu.

“The organization acknowledges that Nigerians who felt denigrated by Kanu’s actions should find it in their hearts to forgive him, as his release will mark a significant step towards national unity and reconciliation.

Lagos Temporarily Suspends Blue Rail Line Operations This Weekend, To Resume Monday

 

The Lagos government, on Wednesday, has announced it will shut down the blue rail line on October 14 and 15, 2023.

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State, who made the disclosure via X, noted that the operations would resume Monday, October 16, 2023.

Recall that the Blue rail line started operations on September 4, ferrying passengers between Marina and Mile 2.

The decision to temporarily shut down the metro line, Sanwo-Olu noted, is to improve its operations and increase the rail services by introducing electricity.

“From Monday, October 16, 2023, we’re increasing train trips on the Lagos Rail Mass Transit (LRMT) Blue Line from 12 to 54, with plans for 74 trips by the end of November.

“To make this transition, we’ll need to shut down train services on Saturday, October 14 after the morning peak service and for the entire day on Sunday, October 15, for the switch to electricity.

“This momentary pause is to ensure that your safety is our top priority.

“I can assure you that suspending passenger operations is a global practice to effect major changes. This switch to electricity will help us introduce more trips and help us serve more passengers safely,” the Governor said.

Speaking on the success of the blue rail line, he said the first phase of the project, launched on September 4, 2023, has moved over 80,000 passengers.

“Our goal is to surpass 150,000 daily passengers between Marina and Mile 2 in the coming months,” he added.

Sanwo-Olu submitted that he is committed to improving the commuting experience of Lagosians and enhancing the public transportation system in the State.

Tinubu’s Certificate: ‘Will They Employ Someone With Drug Trafficking Record? One With Three DOBs, Two Genders?’ — Atiku’s Camp Faults BBC’s ‘Fact Check’

 

Phrank Shaibu, Special Assistant on Public Communications, to former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) failed woefully in its ‘fact-check’ report.

Recall that the BBC’s Disinformation Team alleged that there was no evidence that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu forged his Chicago State University certificate.

Reacting via a statement in Abuja, on Wednesday, Shaibu posited that the report was part of “a hatchet job,” aimed at turning the tide in Tinubu’s favour.

According to him “the outrage it had solicited from the generality of Nigerians was enough evidence to show that the BBC goofed.”

The aide said the BBC’s move was not surprising as it was in line with a previous statement he had issued where he had revealed that the Tinubu administration was set to unleash its full propaganda programme.

“Sometime last week when the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) issued a final warning to Arise News TV, we pointed out that the Tinubu administration was on the verge of launching a full-blown propaganda and also intimidating ‘uncooperative’ media houses into discrediting and downplaying the CSU scandal. Sadly, we never imagined that it would be the BBC that would become the willing tool.

“It is unconscionable, appalling and preposterous that in this current information age, a foreign medium of repute could try to bamboozle Nigerians with a jaundiced report when the details are clear for everyone to see. Thank God, young Nigerians have begun filing complaints against the hack writers who decided to soil their names for a bowl of porridge.

“We are not ignorant of the machinations of the BBC and its bias towards the current government. It is unfortunate that the BBC is not upholding the same standards as they would uphold in the UK where a Prime Minister was forced out of office for hosting a party during COVID-19. In 2009, columnist Mehdi Hasan wrote in the New Statesman that the BBC was biased ‘towards power and privilege, tradition and orthodoxy.’

“It is no wonder that in the last one year, the only news medium that was given exclusive access to interview Tinubu was the BBC. It is sickening that the BBC has decided to surrender its platform to a man who was accused of illegal drug trafficking in the United States.

“In the so-called fact-check report, the BBC decided to bury in the last paragraphs the fact that Tinubu claimed to have attended Government College, Lagos in 1970 when the school was established in 1974. Why didn’t these so-called fact-checkers reflect it on their headline?

“What is the essence of the report when it failed to uncover the most critical questions? If this report was aimed at fact-checking, it should have mentioned the year the certificate was obtained by Tinubu from the CSU and if the one he submitted to INEC is the same one he received from CSU.

“Tinubu said at Chatham House that he had received a replacement from CSU when the school said in unambiguous terms that he had not done so. What was the date he applied for his INEC replacement certificate from CSU, and when was it it issued to him?

“The investigation was clearly carried out with a predetermined goal, which was to clear Tinubu. But let us ask the BBC if they would employ anyone who has had a case of drug trafficking in the US before and if he had three dates of birth ( DOB’s) in his official records as well as two different genders as well as attending a secondary school before it was established,” the statement read.

Shaibu urged the BBC and other fact-checkers to be more circumspect, adding that their job was too sensitive to entertain errors.

He recalled that, “On November 28, 2022, Africa Check, one of the highly funded fact check organisations, claimed that the report by the opposition that Tinubu had lied that he attended Government College, Lagos was false.

“After Atiku Abubakar, through his daring court case, decided to blow open the lid, it turned out that the opposition was right all along. Till date, Africa Check has also not apologised for misleading the public. This is the new reality that we face. Who will fact-check the fact-checkers?”

He further advised media organisations to invest more in investigative journalism.

“If the BBC had invested in proper investigative journalism, it would have been the one uncovering some of Tinubu’s scandals instead of relying on Atiku for information on Tinubu’s certificates,” Shaibu added.

Meanwhile , Shaibu took a swipe at Tinubu for holding just one cabinet meeting since taking office 135 days ago.

He said it was ironic that Tinubu, who has the largest cabinet in Nigeria’s history, had decided not to meet with them.

His words, “Tinubu is obviously not ready for governance. After appointing 48 ministers – the highest in history – he has decided not to be meeting with them. This contravenes Section 148(2) of the 1999 Constitution, which expressly provides that the President shall hold regular meetings with the Vice President and ministers for the purposes of determining domestic and foreign policies of the government.

“It is bad enough that a man who claimed he would hit the ground running from day one took over 60 days to name all his ministers and took 84 days to inaugurate them.

“Even now, he has held only one cabinet meeting since the inauguration of the cabinet. For a man who has been gallivanting all over the place purportedly in search of foreign investors, it is laughable that he cannot even meet with his own team at home. Meanwhile, concerned Nigerians are asking #WhereIsTinubu?

“The reason is simple, though. His administration has brought nothing but untold hardship to Nigerians, including inflation, a very weak currency, and insecurity. He and his appointees are clueless. Hence, they have nothing to discuss.”

“Passport Home Delivery To Begin February 2024” – Interior Minister, Tunji-Ojo

 

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said Nigerians will have their passport delivered to their homes, offices, and other locations of their choice from February 2024.

The minister made this statement on Monday during the opening ceremony of the International Week of the University Of Lagos, titled, ‘Breaking the Borders of Partnership,’ Tunji-Ojo said that by January next year, Nigerians would be able to complete the application process online.

He said, “We have commenced the automation of our end-to-end passport application process, and we have given a timeline from which Nigerians will begin to experience the “sweet experience.”

“By implication, Nigerians will not need to wait longer than two weeks before they get their passport. By January next year, Nigerians will be able to complete this application process online, and by February next year, with collaboration and partnership with other relevant stakeholders, Nigerians will have their passports delivered to their homes, offices, and other locations of their choice.

“This, of course, would be extended to our visa application process. We are deploying technology throughout the entire process to make it as seamless as possible. To achieve this, we have set everything into motion to open 12 more visa application centres across the world. In this regard, we are also working on strengthening our visa-on-arrival policy. We are working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enforce the principle of reciprocity, and a committee has been set up in the ministry to achieve this.”

He lamented that there was a duplication of registration of identity numbers country including the BVN in the bank, the international passport, the NIN, and SIM card registration by telecos.

Tunji-Ojo revealed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had given the directive for the harmonisation of the various identity numbers in the country.

He added that the integrity of travel documents would be restored through the harmonisation of data.

“Identity is who we are, what we are, and what we live for. But today, what we have is a duplication of our registration. We have the BVN in the bank, the international passport, the NIN, SIM card registration by telecos, and so on, all of which request your data. The integrity of our travel documents must be restored through the harmonisation of our data.

“We have the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, to harmonise the country’s database. When we harmonise our data, there will be an exchange amongst agencies such that when our people need data for passport and visa applications, or BVN, with their NIN, their data can be pulled out. This will not only save us stress, cost, and energy but also help us optimise our processes and the country’s security architecture.”

99,985 Nigerians Left To Study In UK Within Five Years — Tunji-Ojo

 

Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, on Monday posited that no fewer than 99,985 Nigerians left the country to study at universities in the United Kingdom (UK) between 2017 and 2022.

The Minister who disclosed this at the opening ceremony of the 2023 University of Lagos International Week, quoted the data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), an organisation that collects, analyses, and disseminates quantitative information about higher education in the UK.

Tunji-Ojo said over 100 Nigerian students win scholarships for postgraduate and PhD degrees every year.

“And on our part, we must ensure that we play our part in the actualisation of their dreams. They carry our identity, one which not only aids their pursuit, but also defines them.

”According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), reports have shown that about 99,985 Nigerian students left this country to enrol in universities in the United Kingdom between 2017 and 2022.

“While many may contend that majority of these students have simply ‘JAPA’ for other reasons, we cannot also deny the fact that a larger chunk of these students have left with the purest intent to seek further knowledge for self advancement.

“Now, in going all through this, therefore, I may want to ask why our students should now suffer to acquire international passports, even when they have paid for it.

“Their pursuit of breaking new grounds across borders is one which gives us great joy, as through our children, we sustain the future,” he said.

According to him, the Ministry has commenced the automation of the end-to-end passport application process to aid Nigerian students seeking foreign universities’ admission.

His words: “By implication, Nigerians will not need to wait longer than two weeks before they get their passport.

“By January next year, Nigerians will be able to complete this application process online.

“And by February next year, with collaboration and partnership with other relevant stakeholders, Nigerians will have their passport delivered to their homes, offices and other locations of their choice.”

Tunji-Ojo said the technology would also be deployed to the visa application process to make it as seamless as possible.

He said his office has set everything into motion to open 12 more visa application centres across the world.

“In this regard, we are also working on strengthening our visa-on-arrival policy.

“We are working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enforce the principle of reciprocity and a committee has been set up in the ministry to achieve this,” he added.

Police Minister Leads Female Officers To Remi Tinubu In Aso Rock, Seeks More Partnership

 The Minister of State for police affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim on Monday, led senior female police officers on a courtesy visit to the wife of President Bola Tinubu, Oluremi at the State House.

The first lady, while addressing her visitors said that efforts to reshape Nigeria and address societal ills plaguing the female gender require the active participation of women.

She said: “It is the beginning of a new dawn for women in the country as the current administration will give women more room to contribute their quota.

“I am also looking for ways to contribute. We cannot have a Nigeria without people doing new and great things.”

Speaking on how the senior female police officers and other women can help forge a better Nigeria, the first lady charged them to lead the action in addressing some of the ills, such as rape, child abuse, human trafficking and the proliferation of baby factories.

Remi Tinubu said: “Women must thrive and be empowered in a safe environment. We want to see our children not abused through crimes and maltreatment, rape of minors and children. There must be a reduction in cases of human trafficking, organ harvesting and baby factories.”

She added that she is looking forward to a day when a woman will become the nation’s inspector general of police.

The minister in her remark noted that gender equality, safeguarding of human rights and empowerment of women are key anchors of a just and fair society.

The minister said: “We are working on a bold initiative aimed at not only addressing existing challenges but fundamentally reshaping the Nigeria police into a modern, responsive, intelligence-led and technology-driven institution.

“We recognise the limitations of past reforms and are now taking a more proactive and holistic transformation that permeates every facet of police operations.

“We are here today not just to discuss but to seek your collaboration, for we understand that the collective advancement of these crucial issues requires your esteemed support and partnership.”

‘There’s No Subsidy On Petrol, Full Cost On Imports Are Been Recovered’ — NNPC Insists

 

The Federal Government on Monday, disclosed it is not paying any form of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.

Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari, who spoke to journalists in Aso Rock, said the oil company was recovering its full cost from imported products.

“No subsidy whatsoever. We are recovering our full cost from the products that we import. We sell to the market.

“We understand why marketers are unable to import. We hope that they begin to do so very quickly and these are some of the interventions government is making. There is no subsidy,” Kyari said.

According to him, the recent pockets of queues witnessed across some states were caused by bad roads, forcing transporters to divert the product to alternative routes.

“We have seen in very few states pockets of very low queues. This is not unconnected with the road situation and that is why we are seeing some blockades on our roads.

“Moving the products from the southern depots into the northern part of the country takes them much longer time now than it used to.

“They have to re-route their trucks around many locations for them to be able to reach their destinations and that created delays and some supply gaps. But, that has been filled and we do not see any of such problems again.

“Secondly, because of the full deregulation that we have in this sector, marketers are now competing amongst themselves,” he added

The agency also said some of the queues were due to some customers’ preference for filling stations with low prices.

“You must have noticed that some fuel stations will reduce their prices by N2 or N3. So customers will naturally run to the places where you have that reduction in prices and probably create panic.

“This is because those who don’t know why they are doing it will think that there’s something happening or that there’s an ominous sign of scarcity,” he said.

The NNPC boss added that there is no cause for alarm since there are over 1.4 billion litres of petrol available for local consumption.

He said: “There are few issues we’re engaging them to resolve, alongside other agencies of government, particularly critical issues around access to foreign exchange.

“And as you all know, government is doing so much to ensure supply of forex into the market.

“We know that this FX markets will stabilise, the current I&E window is around 770.”

Kyari said the inputs from the government would soon crystalise and “they will come to an equilibrium position in the FX market.”