Commissioner of Police, Abayomi Shogunle, has been deployed to oversee Saturday’s governorship election in Anambra State.
The Inspector-General of Police, (IGP) Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, approved the posting as part of strategic measures to ensure hitch free exercise during the off circle election.
The posting, according to the Anambra State Police Command, aligns with the IGP’s operational framework to ensure a peaceful, credible, and transparent electoral process across the State.
Upon assumption of duty, CP Shogunle immediately activated the IGP’s Enforcement Protocol against electoral offences, pledging zero tolerance for ballot snatching, vote-buying, political thuggery, and voter intimidation.
He also strengthened the Electoral Offences Desk to monitor online spaces for cyber-related electoral crimes.
The new police chief announced the deployment of over 60,000 security personnel drawn from agencies under the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to secure all 5,720 polling units, inter-LGA boundaries, and collation centres.
Also, the Police Service Commission (PSC) deployed staff monitors across the State’s three senatorial zones to oversee police conduct during the poll, underscoring its commitment to professionalism and accountability in election security management.
The National Coordinator and Chairman of the Commission, DIG Hashimu Argungu (rtd), issued a stern warning to police officers on election duty to remain impartial, disciplined, and focused on protecting both electoral officers and materials.
He stressed that officers must create an enabling environment for voters to exercise their franchise freely, cautioning that any act of compromise or misconduct will attract immediate sanctions.
According to Argungu, the Anambra election will serve as a crucial test for the Nigeria Police Force ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He commended the preparedness of the Anambra State Police Command under CP Ikioye Orutugu, noting his proactive tours of area commands and flashpoints as part of efforts to guarantee a peaceful and credible process.
The PSC Chairman added that while officers who demonstrate professionalism will be duly recognised, those who fall short will face disciplinary measures.
The Commission’s monitors are expected to operate from the State capital and the three senatorial districts to ensure comprehensive oversight.
To promote traditional justice and constitutional fidelity, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo has assented to the Customary Court of Appeal (Re-establishment) Law, 2025.
The legislation, passed by the Edo State House of Assembly, formally reconstitutes the state’s Customary Court of Appeal as a superior court of record, aligning it with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
The re-establishment revives a key judicial institution that had lapsed under previous frameworks, empowering it to handle appellate and supervisory oversight of civil cases rooted in customary law.
It will also assume original jurisdiction over chieftaincy disputes and matters concerning traditional stools across Edo State, ensuring faster resolution of culturally sensitive conflicts that often underpin community stability.
Under the new law, appointments to the court emphasize expertise and merit. The President of the Customary Court of Appeal will be nominated by the National Judicial Council (NJC) and appointed by the Governor, pending confirmation by the House of Assembly.
Complementing this role, six additional judges will be selected, each requiring at least 10 years of post-call experience and proven proficiency in customary law.
A cornerstone of the legislation is its safeguard for judicial autonomy: the salaries and allowances for the President and judges will be drawn directly from the state’s Consolidated Revenue Fund, insulating them from budgetary manipulations and affirming the court’s independence from executive whims.
Governor Okpebholo, speaking at the signing ceremony in Benin City, framed the assent as more than procedural, it’s a cultural and governance imperative.
”This is a reaffirmation of Edo’s commitment to accessible justice, respect for traditional values, and fidelity to the Constitution.
“It underscores our administration’s belief that a functional justice system is indispensable to good governance, stability, and investor confidence.”
The Governor’s remarks come amid broader reforms, including the simultaneous signing of the Edo State Public Property Protection Law, 2025, which imposes up to 10 years imprisonment for violent encroachments on state assets.
The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice echoed this enthusiasm, praising the Governor’s “foresight” in advancing “a new era in asset governance and judicial integrity.”
He described the laws as “critical instruments for institutional renewal and the protection of Edo’s moral and material heritage,” signaling their potential to deter disputes over land, inheritance, and leadership that have long plagued the state’s rural communities.
The bill’s journey through the legislature was swift and consensus-driven.
The law, introduced in late October, passed third reading on October 22, 2025, after committee reviews highlighted its alignment with national standards for customary courts.
With the assent Edo joins a growing list of states, including Delta, Imo, and Abia with active Customary Courts of Appeal, fulfilling constitutional mandates under Section 280 of the 1999 Constitution.
President Bola Tinubu has requested the National Assembly to approve N1.15 trillion borrowing from the domestic debt market to help finance the deficit in the 2025 budget.
The President’s conveyed his request in a letter read on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Tuesday.
According to the letter, the proposed borrowing is intended to bridge the funding gap and ensure full implementation of government programs and projects under the 2025 fiscal plan.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has referred the request to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debt to report back within one week for further legislative action.
Meanwhile, the request comes on the heels of last week’s Emir of Kano Muhammadu Sanusi criticism on the Tinubu’s administration rationale to borrow more funds despite the removal of fuel subsidy.
According to the former CBN Governor, the removal of petrol subsidy was expected to free more funds for the government, wondering why the borrowing has persisted.
Sanusi while speaking in Abuja, the nation’s capital at the Oxford Global Think Tank Leadership Conference and Book Launch, said the removal of fuel subsidy had led to increased revenue for the government, saying the government is creating new problem for the country after ending the fuel subsidy problem.
“If you stop paying subsidies but continue borrowing more, it means you’ve filled one hole only to dig another. The real challenge now is the quality of government spending and the management of the revenues saved,” he said.
Controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has appealed to the United States, US President Donald Trump not to attack terrorists and bandits in the country, describing the criminals as very reasonable.
The Kaduna-based cleric who has advocated for amnesty for the terrorists spoke during an interview with VOP TV, saying the terrorists are ready to listen because they are “reasonable human beings.”
Gumi spoke amid fears caused by US President Donald Trump threats to send military forces to attack Nigeria following his allegation that Christians in the country are being systematically wiped out.
The US leader who also threatened to impose economic sanctions and end aids had earlier designated Nigeria as country of Particular Concern, CPC.
The federal government has denied any genocide against Christians in the country, saying terrorists kill without considering religious affiliation of victims.
According to Gumi, the situation could get worse if Trump sent military forces to attack the terrorists, instead of pursuing dialogue with the criminals, noting that the US may find it difficult to exterminate the terrorists the same way it failed in Afghanistan and Syria.
“If they (the U.S. army) can cure and eliminate the terrorists, I will welcome them. But I know they cannot. They have fought for 20 years in Afghanistan, but they could not finish them. In Syria now, it is the same thing,” Gumi said.
“These terrorists you see, it is not easy to come and drop bombs here and there and think you will finish them, because they have infiltrated the society. It is going to cause more damage. More Muslims and Christians will be killed if America drops a bomb in Nigeria.”
Gumi, the magazine earlier reported had urged the Tinubu administration to severe diplomatic ties with the US if President trump proceeded to order military attack against the country.
Thank goodness some form of help is coming for hapless Nigerians, ( especially Christians) at long last.
Apparently not many remember a certain Gideon Akaluka. It’s exactly 30 years ago today, but the pain won’t heal. On November 2nd, 1995, Akaluka, an indigene of Imo State who was a trader in Kano was killed in a most bestial manner.
He was said to have had a quarrel with a neighbour in the market over a stall. He was later accused of blasphemy for using sheets of the Qur’an to wrap stuff. The matter escalated, police intervened to prise Akaluka from a killer mob. But the mob regrouped, invaded the police station, extracted Akaluka from the Nigeria Police, took him away, beheaded him, burnt his body, stuck the head to a stick and paraded it all over town.
That was probably the first known victory for Islamic mob justice in Nigeria. Nobody was arrested, nobody was prosecuted and the barbarians killing in the name of Allah got emboldened. Since then, there have been dozens of such cases in Nigeria. They all follow the same pattern. Government and security officials have become too impotent to act.
Since then, Islam has increasingly become an instrument of terror and mass destruction in Nigeria. Islam has continued to defy our sovereignty, our constitution, our military/security, our judiciary and every good thing in our country.
In no other country on earth has Islam become so asinine and uncontrollable!
*TINUBU OVERWHELMED, TOO WEAK TO ACT: We therefore, applaud the designation of Nigeria as a COUNTRY of PARTICULAR CONCERN (CPC) by the United States.
If only for the humbling effect it has brought on Nigeria’s bumbling federal government and her current dumb leadership at all levels.
President Donald Trump
Did you notice the sobbering effect already? The absence of the usual blustery and braggadocio this government would usually push out in responding to issues like this? The fear of Donald Trump must be the beginning of wisdom for the Bola Tinubu administration.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga would have gone off the handle boasting about Nigeria’s so-called sovereignty and her ability to defend her territory and respond to any foreign attacks.
But this time, Onanuga barely made a whimper in response to Trump’s open, unambiguous warning (not a threat) to apply force on Nigeria if Tinubu fails to act against marauding Fulani militias.
IT’S IMPUNITY MORE THAN GENOCIDE: Yours truly is a diehard patriot and would have naturally taken umbrage at President Trump’s slap not only of our president, but all Nigerians.
Ordinarily, every true Nigerian should have risen up to defend Nigeria following that most offensive tweet by the president of another country to our president. We ought to have stood up and dared Trump to send his army.
But we cannot do that because our dear country has been made a total mess of by our president and his party. Particularly so in the last 10 years.
President Tinubu has proved that he has no answers to Nigeria’s problems, especially the violence and insecurity ravaging the lives of the citizenry. The situation has gotten worse in the last two years and it’s apparent he has no clue whatsoever what can be done.
President Trump’s brash intervention is most salutary not because of genocide against Christians or non thereof as the silly argument goes back and forth. The more pressing issue here is to curb the murderous impunity of so-called Muslims in Nigeria. Many of them have made a sport of killing and maiming fellow citizens, especially Christians and destroying Christian worship places in the north. How many mosques have been razed against hundreds of churches?
And since they face no consequences whatsoever, it has become a whole pastime of terrorising Christians.
*DEBORAH MURDERED BY FELLOW STUDENTS:
In May, 2022, Deborah Samuel, a female student of Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto, North West of Nigeria was stoned to death, then set ablaze by fellow students who accused her of committing blasphemy in a voice message on a class WhatsApp platform… In broad daylight!
This case stirred the soul of peoples around the world for its particular gruesomeness: classmates becoming cold-blooded murderers against their member.
But more troubling is that not a word from Nigeria’s government.
Then President Muhammadu Buhari, an arch-Islamist, made only a tepid statement. His police chief looked the other way. Sokoto, the seat of Nigeria’s Islamic religion and the Sultan o acquiesced to evil with passive words.
Atiku Abubakar, a presidential candidate who tweeted to condemn the vile act was quick to pull down the tweet preferring to protect his votes in the election ahead.
Though the culprits were known, being classmates to the victim, nobody was prosecuted. None was brought to justice.
*AMAYE AS TINUBU’S LITMUS TEST: Barely two months ago, a food vendor in Kasuwan Garba village, in Mariga LGA of Niger State was given the mob Justice.
As the story went, she had refused the overtures of a cousin who proposed marriage. The suitor apparently cited a portion of the Qur’an which Amaye pooh-poohed. The young man was said to have relayed her answer to his friends who deemed it blasphemy. Thereupon, they dragged her out, stoned her to death and set the body ablaze.
Not the village head, not even the police officer who held her in custody, pending reinforcement could save her. The mob prised her from the arms of the law and meted jungle justice.
Again not a whimper from any quarter. Not the IG, not the state police chief, not the state governor made nary a public rebuke.
One would have expected President Tinubu to seize the moment and make a national broadcast, to make a statement and to show the world that some untutored mob had not stolen his mandate and Nigeria’s sovereignty.
Tinubu said no word. He didn’t see the outrage of a citizen of Nigeria being stoned and barbecued like a ram in broad daylight in 2025! He pretended it didn’t happen. He failed to see the moment; he failed to act because he lacked the balls to confront Muslim caucuses who have taken bloody impunity for privilege and licence to kill. They had stoned and roasted fellow citizens in this manner for too long it had become their right to do so. Thanks to President Trump. This Muslim madness would cease henceforth!
*STUDENTS KILL TEACHER : In March 2007, Mrs Christiana Oluwatosin OLUWASESIN, mother of two, was conducting invigilation for her students in a Gombe secondary school.
According to the story, she had collected bags from the students in the exam hall and kept them aside on the floor as it’s the practice during exams.
One of the students who supposedly had a Qur’an in her bag reportedly raised the alarm that the teacher had desecrated the holy book.
The students immediately surrounded her, shouting Alahu Akbar! She was stabbed mercilessly, her throat slit and body set ablaze. No prosecution, No arrest, no consequence for these young terrorists!
November 2016, Mrs Bridget AGBAHIME, 74, was dragged to the front of her shop, stoned and burnt to death on the allegation of insulting the prophet. Her killers were acquitted even before trial commenced.
Pastor Eunice OLAWALE was murdered in cold blood on the streets of Abuja as she preached one March morning in 2016.
Grace USHANG, a serving National Youth Service Corps member, was raped and murdered in 2009, in Maiduguri, Borno State for wearing her NYSC khaki trousers.
In 2002, what is now known as MISS WORLD RIOTS put Nigeria in bad lights as Muslim fundamentalist insisted that Nigeria hosting the global spectacle was amoral. The ensuing riots claimed about 250 lives with over 25,000 houses razed.
*THE CARTOON RIOTS: Another case of Muslim malady in Nigeria in which a supposedly offensive cartoon in a Danish newspaper sparked serious riots in northern Nigeria which left over 100 Nigerians dead. Shops owned by Christians were destroyed and looted in some parts of the north. Why would a cartoon in Denmark bring Armageddon upon Nigeria? That’s what this column calls MUSLIM MADNESS in Nigeria.
*GENOCIDAL ATTACKS: While what we have detailed above are cases of brazen terrorist acts against Christians, there are outright genocidal cases in the last decade. Only two examples will suffice:
*BLACK CHRISTMAS: On Christmas Day of 2025, about four coordinated bombings went off in Abuja and some cities in the north of Nigeria.
In Abuja, a car bomb at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church targeting the morning mass, killed over 40 worshippers and left dozens injured.
The key suspect, Kabiru Sokoto was arrested by the police but reportedly escaped the following. He was later to be rearrested , tried and given life sentence, (for mass murder and destruction)!
On the same day, the Evangelical Christian Church, in Jos Plateau State, was bombed.
Another Catholic Church in Gadaka, Yobe; while in Damaturu Yobe, another bomb went off near secret police headquarters.
For all these synchronised attacks, only one person was arrested.
It was however, obvious to all that there were cover ups in high places.
*HYPOCRISY, COLLUSION AND DENIAL: There is no doubt that Christians are the first and easy targets in the protracted terror war in Nigeria since 2009. Though Boko Haram and latterly, bandits would kill indiscriminately, killing Christians and destruction of their churches would be icing on the cake for any Islamist. Is exterminating the infidel no longer the divine calling of jihadists!
It stands to reason therefore, that in the path of battle, no church or worshipper would be spared. This is why what is happening is a sustained genocide.
*UNMITIGATED GENOCIDE IN THE MIDDLEBELT NIGERIA: What is going on in Plateau, Benue, Taraba, Zamfara and Southern Kaduna is genocide, pure and simple.
Yelemata killings in Benue state last June is the height of it. Killers gave notices, invaded for two days and walked away coolly. Hundreds of Nigerians, mainly Christians were murdered. No reprisals, no consequences. There are dozens of stories like this in the last couple of decades.
Federal government under serial presidents remain prostrate and cowardly, preferring to politicise the deathly situation. For instance, the US presented a list of terror financiers but the FG never acted on it; never revealed the culprits till today.
*POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: Those claiming that there’s no coordinated genocide in Nigeria are only being politically corrupt.
Father Matthew Kukah, Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese doesn’t want to be seen to be unpatriotic.
Way back in 2010, he made a monument in memory of nearly 600 Christians killed in Jos.
*WHERE IS LEAH SHARIBU? Most of us know her story. It may be said that Buhari’s government declined to have her rescued because she boldly asserted her Christianity.
*FANI-KAYODE, ROGUE ANALYST: Femi Fani-Kayode who has been raving against Trump since the sanctions were announced calls it mischaracterisation of the issue. Toeing the government’s line, he says Christians are not singled out for massacre. But how many mosques have been razed compared to over 160 churches.
Besides, during the era of President Buhari, FFK had been the raging champion against Islamisation of Nigeria and ongoing genocide against Christians.
Fani-Kayode is on record to have said in 2018 that: “Nigeria has had more Christians murdered, more churches bombed and burnt and more clerics slaughtered than any other country over the last 58 years.”
He’s also on record to have said that Fulani herdsmen were killing hundreds of thousands of Christians in an orgy of ethnic cleansing, mass murders and genocide that is worse today than in the 1804 (Jihad).
What has changed? Fani-Kayode is now in the ruling party and being a rogue analyst and a mercenary, he is always quick to trade away the truth for instant pecuniary gains.
*FINAL ANALYSIS: AGAIN THANKS TRUMP: The obdurate leadership in Nigeria and her limp presidency would rather
live in denial rather than solve problems.
Now that Nigeria is designated a CPC, in league with such countries as Iran, Eritrea, North Korea, Nicaragua, Pakistan, among others, the exactions of her witch gets worse!
*RECOMMENDATIONS: Tinubu must sit up and do the following immediately:
ONE, outlaw Sharia law and declare it unconstitutional; bar States from operating it and ban such agents as Hisbah etc. We either have one country or not.
Two, outlaw open grazing in Nigeria giving one year moratorium for those in livestock businesses to build ranches or do other businesses. The Livestock Ministry could be structured to achieve this.
Three, open a six-month window for amnesty and order all bandits, terrorists and insurgents to sheathe their swords and dialogue or be crushed.
Four, arising from banning Sharia law, outlaw any form of extra judicial killings and jungle justice.
Five, these are tough decisions but high level collaboration with the US would help would come in handy in achieving these.
Yes, we are aware that the Americans may have a territorial agenda in Nigeria, but we shall cross that bridge when we get there.
>>Osuji was editor at The Guardian, THISDAY, among *other national newspapers.
Investigative journalist Jaafar Jaafar has linked the recent threat by President Donald Trump of the United States of America to militarily attack Nigeria over alleged genocide against Christians to President Bola Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Jaafar claimed that the targeting of Tinubu’s Government by Trump reflect a “karmic payback” because religion was used as a political tool during Nigeria’s 2023 elections.
Jaafar spoke while reacting to Trump’s decision to designate Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.
In classifying Nigeria as such, Trump cited what he sees as ongoing violence against Christians and the government’s alleged failure to protect religious minorities, an allegation the Federal Government vehemently denies.
However, Jaafar noted that though the “Muslim-Muslim ticket was politically correct, it was wrong for Nigeria’s stability as a nation.”
In a post on his X page Monday, Jaafar wrote: “Trump’s selective outbursts over killings under the Tinubu administration is a karmic payback for using religion to gain political advantage.
“Trump too is unfairly using religion to stoke anger and divide us.
“Even if the Muslim-Muslim ticket is politically correct, it is wrong for our stability as a nation.
“Politics is not just a game of numbers, but a game of inclusivity and give-and-take. Numbers can produce votes but not political stability and unity.”
A new Cannabis Variant called ‘California Loud’ has been discovered by anti drug agency, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, in Lagos.
The Agency stated it discovered a secret Laboratory used for the production of Colorado — a potent synthetic variant of cannabis — inside a residential building in Ajao Estate, Isolo, Lagos.
The NDLEA stated that investigations and operation led to the arrest of a 30-year-old suspect, Stephen Imoh, after months of surveillance and intelligence gathering.
Femi Babafemi, NDLEA spokesperson, spoke about the emergence of the Cannabis Variant, California Loud, when he featured on TVC News Programme, This Morning.
Babafemi added that, “Loud is another strain of cannabis. It is a potent one that is stronger than what we have here. That’s the attraction. The taste is usually stronger and more potent. That’s why young people go for these two.
“Recently in Lagos, we have also discovered a new variant coming in, which is called ‘California Loud’.
“It is really a big challenge on our hands. This is why everyone needs to get involved—whether at the family level, community, or society at large,” he added.
He explained the dangers of the synthetic drug and its impact on those involved in its production.
“The THC comes from the cannabis itself. Then they bring some other chemicals and mix them with the THC. That’s what makes it synthetic, meaning it’s not just one substance, which makes it very dangerous,” he said.
He further revealed that the suspect had already begun suffering the physical consequences of exposure to the chemicals used in the process.
“If you look at the skin of the young man, he’s already suffering from skin pigmentation. His skin is peeling off as a result of the effects of the chemicals he came in contact with during production,” Babafemi noted.
Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, a Peoples Democratic Party Chieftain and a former Presidential Aspirant has said that the Foreign Policy recklessness of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was responsible for the ongoing diplomatic crisis between Nigeria and the United States over alleged Christian Genocide.
He added that it was squarely the alleged inept and corrupt administration of President Bola Tinubu, that has led to the accusation, adding that not the United States of America, USA, President Donald Trump, is also facing mounting pressure from his political base.
The Human Rights Activist and 2009 recipient of the prestigious Lord Max Beloff Prize in Global Affairs from the University of Buckingham, United Kingdom, said the diplomatic standoff reflects the Tinubu government’s “reckless and self serving foreign policy,” which prioritizes personal, political, and pecuniary interests over Nigeria’s national security and global reputation.
Hashim-Olawepo stated, “It is deeply troubling that, as we speak, Nigeria does not have Ambassadors in many key countries. The bi-national and bilateral Commissions established to address pressing concerns on security and trade have collapsed for over a decade”.
Speaking further, he
lamented that after paralyzing institutional mechanisms for diplomacy, the ruling APC government has resorted to using “a motley crowd of poorly informed operatives and international outlaws pushing shady interests incoherently and dangerously.”
He described this as “a Janjaweed foreign policy, which he said was truly disgraceful and embarrassing”.
He also recalled Nigeria’s proud legacy as a stabilizing force in Africa, noting that the country once stood tall as a reliable partner that brought peace to West Africa through ECOMOG and played leading roles in peacekeeping operations in Congo, Darfur, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
“Our current predicament is both tragic and disgraceful,” he lamented.
He faulted attempts to downplay reports of targeted killings, saying such arguments were “fundamentally faulty.”
“Which categories of Nigerians need to die in the staggering numbers we see before we acknowledge the evidence of complicity and failure to protect citizens?” he asked.
He further alleged that grave human rights violations are being committed daily by supporters of the ruling APC while the administration looks away.
He warned that open threats by party loyalists against groups of voters suspected of not supporting Tinubu in 2027 amount to international crimes under the Rome Statute, which Nigeria has domesticated.
“These threats are directed at an ethnic group that predominantly practices one faith,” he said. “Such acts cannot be dismissed as internal affairs when Nigeria is a signatory to many international human rights conventions.”
He however called for an urgent national dialogue to chart a new course for Nigeria’s post-Tinubu national security and foreign policy architecture.
“Genuine patriots must begin consultations to rebuild a framework that ensures peace, stability, and the preservation of Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“If the American initiative has become a catalyst for this necessary national reawakening, then it is a most welcome development.”
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, has dismissed the (now) factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ambassador Ilya Umar Damagum as a “very corrupt man, and a complete tax collector.”
Wike made the allegation against Damagum, a former political ally for whom he fought to keep in office during an interview Monday with Channels Television.
“Damagum is a
complete political tax collector, very, very corrupt” Wike said. He also called Damagum a betrayer, and asked him to sue for defamation
In an “exchange” with Seun Okinbaloye, the host of Politics Today, Wike dismissed the PDP as a party riddled with “impunity” and financial impropriety.
When asked why he fought for the elevation of Damagum from an acting position to a substantive, Wike said it was to honor a zoning agreement among PDP governors.
However, Wike turned round to accuse Damagum of alleged betrayal and greed.
Wike: “You see, as a tax collector he will always be.
“He doesn’t need to work with FIRS; complete political tax collector. “Very, very corrup. Let him go to court and sue me and say, ‘Look, this is what he said about me.’ He knows he cannot.”
The Minister said he has evidence of Damagum’s misconduct, including taking “money in Lagos” and ignoring legal advice on party procedure. He was, however, not specific, and took refuge by saying:
“We are not a court of law. I know what I’m saying is correct. Nobody can dispute it.”
Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central Senatorial District, has been handed back her international passport hours after it was seized by officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS at an undisclosed airport.
The magazine reports that the Senator had protested at the airport on Tuesday after her passport was seized by the officials who did not give a concrete explanation for their action.
Challenging the officials in a viral video cited by the magazine, Senator Natasha said she’s not a flight risk and had committed no crime to warrant the seizure of her passport, saying this is not the first time such treatment had been meted out to her, wondering why her movement in and outside the country is now being restricted.
The Senator was seen in the video demanding an official explanations to the NIS action, threatening to sue the Service if her passport was not released immediately.
The visibly angry senator blamed Senate President Godswill Akpabio for her predicament, lamenting that her life was being frustrated.
“I have committed no offence and there is no order from the court to withhold my passport and deny me travelling. The last time this happened, the officer in charge told us that the Senate President, Godswin Akpabio instructed them to withhold my passport and prevent me from travelling because he said each time I travel out of the country, I spoil the country’s image by granting interviews out in international media,” she said.
“Please, can you tell them to release my passport and this embarrassment should stop? You have no right to withhold my passport.
“You have no right to deny me exit and entrance into my country. I have not committed any offence and this must stop. No, this must stop.
“As a matter of fact, I think I have to sue you for continuously embarrassing me. No, don’t tell me sorry. Can I please have my passport? You can’t keep doing this to me all the time,” she said.
She explained that he passport has been previously seized, to be released later to her after she sought the help of an influential person in the country.
According to her, “I’ve been standing here for the past 20 minutes. Why are you doing this? What have I committed? The last time it had to take someone influential to call you to release my passport. That was what allowed me travel.
“Now again, you’re withholding my passport while I’m making calls. Is Godswin Akpabio so important? Why is he overruling boundaries? Godswin Akpabio, the Senate President, has instructed the Comptroller General of Customs to deny me exit, to withhold my passport. This is wrong.
“Yes, I know I have two federal government cases against me, of which the president of Nigeria instructed the AGF to cancel the cases, to withdraw the cases.
“This president, Bola Tinubu, actually spoke with Godwin Akpabio to terminate all the cases against me because he admitted, he agreed that they were politically witch-hunting cases. So there is no reason why my passport should be withheld at the international airport.
“There is no reason why. You have no right to do that, madam. You have no right. You are taking laws into your hands. There is no court order. I have not missed any of my court appearances.
“I have attended all my court sessions. I am not a flight risk. I am not a risk to my country. So why are you treating me like a criminal? Can I have my passport, please? Thank you very much. Sometimes I think you just have to be a rebel to get things right. Then you keep asking Nigerians to be good citizens.”
Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan returned to the Senate last month after serving six months suspension, due to the clash she had with Akpabio on the floor of the Assembly in March this year.
