The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) said it has secured the conviction of two staff members of the National Assembly, Mustapha Mohammed and Tijjani Adam Goni, for defrauding two victims of ₦4.8 million in a fake job scam involving the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
A statement by the Commission on X noted that their conviction followed a petition filed by the victims, Saifudeen Yakub and Aminu Abubakar.
Yakub and Abubakar had alleged that the convicts, alongside one Mustapha Mohammed (now at large), promised to secure employment slots at the CBN for ₦4 million each. The complainants paid an initial sum of ₦3 million into a Zenith Bank account belonging to the first defendant.
Further investigations revealed that the duo also demanded an additional ₦300,000 from each applicant for an alleged medical screening, which was transferred to an Access Bank account.
Following investigations, the defendants were arraigned before Justice B.M. Bassi of the FCT High Court in Asokoro on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery, and obtaining money under false pretence.
Prosecuting Counsel, Fatima Abdullahi Bardi, told the court that the defendants forged letters of employment purportedly issued by the CBN and FIRS to deceive their victims.
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The offences contravened sections 1(1)(a) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act, 2006, and sections 363 and 364 of the Penal Code.
However, in line with Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, both defendants entered a plea bargain and pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of making false statements under Section 25 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The Kebbi State Police Command has neutralised one suspected bandit and arrested three others in coordinated operations across Maiyama and Shanga Local Government Areas of the state.
According to a statement issued by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, CSP Nafiu Abubakar, the operations followed two separate attacks launched by armed bandits on residents in Botoro Gadi and Kwari communities.
Abubakar said that eight armed men invaded the residence of one Alhaji Sani in Botoro Gadi, Mungadi area of Maiyama LGA, abducting two residents identified as Muhafi Sani and Shamsiya Aliyu.
Upon receiving a distress call, the Divisional Police Officer in Maiyama led a combined team of police operatives and local vigilantes who pursued the attackers and engaged them in a gun battle.
“As a result, one of the suspected kidnappers was killed, while his dane gun and one empty cartridge shell were recovered,” the statement read.
The police spokesperson also revealed that another gang of bandits attacked Kwari village in the Giron Masa area of Shanga LGA, where two residents, identified as Suleiman and Yunwa Suleiman, were abducted.
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He said the Divisional Police Officer in Shanga, working with army personnel and vigilantes, quickly mobilised and confronted the attackers.
“During the encounter, the kidnappers abandoned their victims and fled into the forest with fatal gunshot injuries,” he stated.
In a related operation, police operatives arrested one Musa Muhammad at Takware village in Shanga for unlawful possession of ammunition. Recovered from him were three rounds of live ammunition and 20 empty shells of 7.62×39mm calibre.
Abubakar confirmed that all rescued victims have been medically examined and reunited with their families.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sly Ezeokonwa, has dismissed allegations that the party engaged in vote buying during the recent Anambra gubernatorial election.
Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme The Morning Brief on Wednesday, Ezeokonwa described the claims as “shocking,” arguing that APGA neither had the financial capacity nor the resources to influence voters through monetary inducement.
“The claim that the ruling party was involved in vote buying, I do not agree. I think the best way to describe it is shocking, shocking in the sense that I do not understand the deep pocket that APGA had to control the resources to generate the number of votes that we did,” he said.
Soludo (second-left) was declared the winner of the November 8, 2025, governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission.
Ezeokonwa questioned how APGA, without federal backing or vast financial resources, could be accused of vote buying when rival political parties had access to far greater funding.
He maintained that the party’s success was instead a reflection of the people’s appreciation of Governor Charles Soludo’s developmental policies across Anambra State.
“There is a hypothesis we tested in this election, and that was to see how much the politics of development can translate into what the governor calls political capital. From our campaign trajectory, we saw that when development is brought to the people, they, in turn, show ownership of the process,” he explained.
According to him, the campaigns across Anambra’s 179 communities and 326 wards were largely community-driven, with local residents organising, funding, and inviting the governor to engage them on his achievements.
“The communities organised themselves, rented canopies, stages, and invited the governor to come speak about his impact. At the end of the day, they gathered their legal resources and donated in aid of the campaign. That is what I call ownership. We have never witnessed such a thing in this country,” he said.
Ezeokonwa added that APGA’s performance reflected genuine public support rather than financial manipulation, insisting that the party’s victory was built on credibility and grassroots connection.
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The Anambra governorship election was held in the 21 councils of the state on November 8, 2025.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday issued a certificate of return to Governor Soludo, following his re-election.
This came two days after Soludo and his deputy were declared winners of the poll by the electoral body.
INEC said Soludo, the candidate of APGA, secured 422,664 votes, while Nicholas Ukachukwu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 99,445 votes.
Paul Chukwuma of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) came third with 37,753 votes, while John Nwosu of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) scored 8,208 votes.
George Moghalu of the Labour Party (LP) and Jude Ezenwafor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 10,576 votes and 1,401 votes, respectively.
The electoral umpire said that out of a total number of 2,788,864 registered voters, 598,229 were accredited for the election.
It also said that of the total number of 595,298 votes cast in the election, 584,054 were valid while 11,244 were rejected.
Former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili, has called for stricter penalties to curb electoral malpractice in Nigeria.
The economic policy expert, who spoke at an ADC Dialogue in Abuja on Tuesday, said existing sanctions are too lenient to discourage violations.
“Stronger penalties for electoral offences. Current punishments are too weak to deter violations. Increasing fines and jail terms for vote buying, result falsification, and violence would strengthen deterrence,” she said.
Ezekwesili also urged that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) be given full legal authority over security agencies during elections.
President Bola Tinubu has received security briefs from the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, on the security situation in the North-East region.
The meeting was the first official engagement between the President and the COAS since his appointment and subsequent decoration as an army chief.
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In a brief interview shortly after the meeting, Shaibu said he had visited the region for an on-the-spot assessment of the theatre of operation to ascertain the level of progress being made in the fight against terrorism.
He said he was at the Presidential Villa to brief President Tinubu on the situation in the region and the general security situation in the country.
“I just came to brief him on the outcome of my visit to the northeast region and look at other security situations across the country, which is satisfactory within the period,” he said.
Asked what Nigerians should expect aftermath of his visit, the COAS simply replied, “Improved security across the country.”
Shaibu is one of the new service chiefs appointed by President Bola Tinubu.
Others are General Olufemi Oluyede as Chief of Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas as Chief of Naval Staff, and Air Marshall Kelvin Aneke as Chief of Air Staff.
Tinubu had charged them to carry out their duties with patriotic zeal as Nigerians are in a hurry to celebrate peace and expect results, not excuses.
He also advised them to work together, deploying technology where necessary, and defeat the enemy once and for all.
Thirty-one years after the execution of environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others, the people of Ogoniland gathered to honour their memories and renew their demand for justice.
But beyond remembering the Ogoni Nine, this year’s commemoration also focused on the Ogoni Four — Edward Kobani, Theophilus Orage, Samuel Orage, and Albert Badey — whose murder in Gokana Local Government Area preceded the arrest and eventual execution of the nine activists in 1995.
Different groups across Ogoni held memorial events to mark the day. In Gokana, the Gokana Unity Forum, the Council of Chiefs, and families of the victims renewed their call for the retrieval of the remains of the four who were allegedly killed by a mob outside the palace of the then Gbemene of Gokana.
Ogoni indigenes gathered to honour the memories Ogoni Nine.
They insist that retrieving their remains and giving them a dignified burial will bring closure and true reconciliation to the land.
The Gokana Unity Forum expressed disappointment over what it described as MOSOP’s continued disregard for genuine reconciliation.
It accused the group of planning to lay wreaths on symbolic graves of the Ogoni Four instead of working with key stakeholders to recover their real remains as recommended by the Oputa Panel of 2001.
The forum said the failure to act on those recommendations has delayed true peace and reconciliation in Ogoniland for decades.
Chris Barigbon, speaking on behalf of the forum, said the people of Gokana have resolved to press forward to ensure that the remains of the Ogoni Four are recovered and given proper burial. He described it as the only path to lasting peace and justice in the area.
“We are saying today that the time has come for the remains of Chief Edward Kobani, Chief T.B. Orage, Chief S.N. Orage, and Chief A.T. Badey to be recovered and returned to their families for dignified burial. That is the true foundation of peace. Without truth and justice, reconciliation will remain a mirage,” he said.
The President of the Gokhana Unity Forum, Goodluck Gbara-Age, added that the younger generation would continue to seek justice until the truth of what happened is fully addressed.
The demand for justice was also echoed by a former Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Kenneth Kobani, a son of one of the Ogoni Four, who spoke with deep emotion about forgiveness, closure, and the need for honesty in the reconciliation process.
“It’s been 31 years since my father and others were brutally murdered here in Gokana. We had every reason to seek revenge, but we chose forgiveness,” Kobani said, stressing that true reconciliation must begin with truth.
He condemned what he described as “a continued denial of the obvious”, saying some groups were trying to rewrite history and downplay the suffering of the victims’ families.
“You cannot deny what happened. These men were killed in broad daylight, and the culprits were known. We have shown enough humility and faith in the Ogoni cause; it is time for those who know where their remains are to bring them out so that we can have closure.”
Kobani thanked President Bola Tinubu for renewed efforts at reconciliation but urged all stakeholders to stop using the Ogoni struggle for political and financial gain.
“Ogoni wants peace, unity, and progress. We’ve seen enough pain; we don’t hate anyone, but we must not be forced to bury our fathers with empty caskets again,” he said.
Clad in black attire and carrying placards, the crowd also paid courtesy visits to the King of Bodo and to the homes of the Badey and Kobani families to register their grief and renew prayers for unity and peace.
Elsewhere, the National Youth Council of Ogoni People held a separate memorial for Ken Saro-Wiwa and his colleagues, describing them as symbols of courage and sacrifice.
While thanking President Tinubu for the pardon granted earlier this year, the youth called for the case to be reopened for a formal court exoneration and for the full implementation of the Ogoni Bill of Rights.
They also demanded an end to what they described as political marginalisation, noting that despite having four local government areas, no Ogoni has ever served as Governor or deputy governor of Rivers State since its creation.
