Category Nigeria News

The Yenagoa Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held a symbolic court boycott throughout Bayelsa State on Monday to protest the disappearance of Justice Ebiyerin Omukoro, a high court judge currently serving in the state.

The association called on security forces to make more efforts to secure his safe and immediate release and described the action as a “solemn yet powerful demonstration of solidarity with the abducted jurist.”

At Kilimanjaro Eatery, which is located opposite the bustling Ekeki Park in Yenagoa, on Saturday evening, June 21, 2025, masked gunmen kidnapped Justice Omukoro.

When the attackers struck and whisked him away to an unknown location, he reportedly had just left an engagement in Warri, Delta State. His whereabouts are unknown as of the time of writing this report.

In a statement signed by Barr, the chairman of the NBA Yenagoa Branch. The association’s Somina Johnbull described the incident as a direct assault on the judiciary and a serious threat to the rule of law.

“This is not just an attack on Justice Omukoro as a person,” he continued. It attacks both the judiciary’s independence and the entire justice system. We are “deeply concerned” about the rising tide of insecurity, particularly judicial officer targeted attacks, the statement read.

Read more about the NBA’s investigation into the Bayelsa High Court judge’s kidnapping.

The association chose to hold a solemn court closure and press briefing instead of a protest march to security agencies, keeping the focus on the judge’s safe return and avoiding side effects.

In a coordinated show of unity, lawyers from across the state gathered at the High Court Headquarters on Monday morning, refusing to appear in court. Yenagoa residents gathered there in full regulation attire, including bibs and collars, in a unified show of opposition.

The Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police and the State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS) were formally informed of the association’s request for immediate and decisive action in the case.

Johnbull made it clear that the boycott was a professional duty rather than a punitive measure.

Our actions today are intended to defend the sanctity of the legal system rather than disrupt it. The judiciary must be safeguarded. Judges must be able to carry out their constitutional duties without fear of being abducted or hurt, he added.

In a robbery incident in Lapai, Niger State, a student from Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University was killed, causing outrage and protest.

The incident occurred on June 23rd, 2025, when unidentified assailants attacked a student lodge in the Ndakitabu area on the outskirts of Lapai, according to the Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, in a statement on Monday.

He claimed that they received a distress call at around 3 a.m., which prompted the Lapai Division to dispatch an emergency response. Before officers could arrive, the attackers had already fled the scene.

One of the students, simply identified as Jafar, was discovered with a neck-stab wound, according to the police. He was taken to Lapai General Hospital, where he later died.

Students who barred the Agaie–Lapai Road in protest of the attack erupted in protests and demanded justice.

Read more about one saved as police launch a manhunt after the abduction of a passenger in Benue.

Before police teams were dispatched to restore order, the demonstration halted vehicular traffic for hours.

The attack was condemned by CP Adamu Elleman, the police commissioner, and the search was launched for the killers.

He promised that those responsible would be brought to justice and that a thorough investigation was being conducted.

On Monday, President Bola Tinubu stated that the Federal Government was working with international partners to give young Nigerians the tools they need to become financially independent and ensure the security of their food.

Tinubu made the announcement at the beginning of the Renewed Hope Agricultural Mechanization Programme in Abuja on Monday, when he also inaugurated 2,000 cutting-edge tractors and over 9,000 specialized farm implements.

He claimed that his administration’s reforms were intended to improve the appeal of farming to young Nigerians.

INCLUDE   Tinubu claims that we are making farming more sexy for young people.

We have more than 2,000 modern tractors, 50 bulldozers for preparing land for industrial use, 12 fully equipped mobile workshops, and 9,000 plus specialized farming equipment.

When used, this equipment will give our young people more opportunities for employment, employment, and sexiness in farming.

A 21st-century agricultural farming implement doesn’t need to be produced using an 18th-century method, he said.

He explained that the strategy of his administration included year-round cultivation, significantly reducing Nigeria’s seasonal shortages.

We have friends all over the world, Tinubu once said. Belarus has pledged to work with us to empower our youths, teach them how to do things, get them off the streets, educate them in technology, review mechanization, and train them in making repairs and fabrications.
The country will benefit greatly from the distribution of this equipment. We must make the most of the opportunity to become completely independent of agriculture and ensure food sovereignty given our country’s arable land and favorable climate. ”

He urged everyone who received this equipment to make the most of it.

We’ll collaborate with you, promise; We’ll keep you accountable and keep you accountable at various locations.

Let history record this day as the start of Nigeria’s agricultural revival, where modern technology and our farmers’ legendary resilience combine to achieve unmatched prosperity, he continued.

Senator Abubakar Kyari, the minister of agriculture and food security, claimed the plan was in line with the president’s call for urgent and creative action, putting agriculture firmly in the spotlight of the renewed hope agenda initiative’s goal of economic revival, job creation, and social stability.

He claimed that the machinery would transform the agricultural landscape of Nigeria.

Mr. Food security is national security, according to President Obama.

It is heartening to acknowledge Mr. Under this administration, four ambitious mechanization initiatives were instituted in response to President Obama’s renewed hope agenda on mechanization. The John Deere Tractorization Programme, Greener Hope Project, Green Imperative Program, and the Belarus Project, which we are launching today, are just a few examples.

Aliyu Abdullahi, the agriculture minister, stated that the 0. He claimed that the current mechanization level in the nation, which was 27 horsepower per hectre, would be almost 2 . With the mechanized scheme, the horsepower per hectre is 5 horsepower.

The minister remarked, ”  This particular program stands out because it was created with the intention of lowering the country’s low mechanization rate.

Goodluck Iheanachor, the administrator’s chief security officer, Ahoada-East Local Government Area, Goodluck Iheanachor, has denied any involvement in the attack on the administrator.

Ekakita addressed the audience on Monday’s episode of The Morning Brief on Channels Television.

How would I go about doing that as the chief security officer? How would I go about attacking the man I’m working with by carrying hoodlums? He claimed that the video never contained me.

He claimed he was in his office when he heard a carousel and saw what was happening but was instructed not to interfere.

READ MORE: &nbsp, Controversy Trails Rivers Council Administrator Resignation

Ekakita remarked, “When I heard the noise of the political appointees that the sole administrator did not pay for the month of May when I barged in, I was told to shut the door, that it was between him and those political appointees.”

I never uploaded any videos or carried any hoodlums to attack him. Where did the chief of staff and I enter then?

Ihemnacho’s reported resignation was the result of controversy following a troubling video that emerged online that showed him being beaten by some people.

He was repeatedly struck with canes while voices off-camera yelled at him to “sign that thing” and put your signature as he was seen sitting on the floor, clearly distressed.

He appeared to be holding a pen while he was sat in front of him, a chair that contained two documents.

Mr. Alabi Umegbewe, the council secretary, was also dragged into the room and assaulted, later identified as the second man.

The Rivers State Police Command, therefore, criticized the violent attack and called it “heinous” and “reprehensible” in the aftermath.

A group of about 30 hoodlums stormed the council secretariat on June 20, 2025, according to a police statement that was made public on Sunday.

A group of about 30 hoodlums led by Mr. Hector Ekakita, the Chief Security Officer (CSO), and the Chief of Staff (COS), stormed the council secretariat and attacked him, according to the police statement, which read “in part”

Rivers State Police Command “rejects this repugnant act with impunity and has taken appropriate action.” After visiting the scene of the attack with the heads of other state-sponsored sister security organizations, the police commissioner, CP Olugbenga A. Adepoju, has directed the CSO, COS, and all those involved in this action to report to the Police State Headquarters, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, for questioning.

The Benue State Police Command has launched a manhunt for suspected kidnappers following the abduction of passengers from a commercial vehicle in the Okpokwu Local Government Area of the state.

Gunmen reportedly attacked a Hummer bus with registration number 14B-143BN along the Eke axis at about 6: 30 pm on Sunday.

The assailants were said to have ambushed the vehicle, robbed the occupants, and whisked several passengers into the nearby bush.

Confirming the incident in a terse statement on Monday to Channels Television, the Benue State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Udeme Edet, said one of the abducted passengers, identified as Paul Terns, was rescued during a joint security operation.

“We are investigating a suspected kidnapping where a Hummer bus with registration number 14B-43BN was parked by the road in Inugbokolo.

” On receipt of the information, police tactical teams, the military, and Benue State Community Volunteer Guards arrived at the scene, combed the bush, and rescued one Paul Terns, who escaped from the hands of the suspected kidnappers.

“Additional reinforcement has been sent to the location to locate the other passengers as soon as possible”, Edet stated.

READ ALSO: Gunmen Kidnap Passengers In Benue

The attack occurred amid renewed calls for peace following a spate of killings in Benue, which have prompted protests and public outcry across the state.

The rising death toll and destruction of property in the ‘ Food Basket of the Nation ‘ state have also drawn national and international condemnation, with many attributing the violence to suspected armed herdsmen.

Following mounting pressure, President Bola Tinubu visited the state last Wednesday, where he met with victims and inaugurated a peace committee.