Category Nigeria News

Gideon Saar, the foreign minister of Israel, claimed on Sunday that he had ordered the removal of a senior UN humanitarian official’s residency visa and that he had been spreading lies about the Gaza conflict.

Saar wrote on X: “I have instructed the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Jonathan Whittall, not to extend his residence permit.”

Whittall, a South African who resides in Jerusalem and frequently travels to the Gaza Strip, has repeatedly criticized the humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory’s more than two million residents.

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He claimed in April that Israel’s war against Hamas militants was “slowly dying” Gazans.

Saar’s decision is the most recent abuse of senior UN officials, according to him, comes after “biased and hostile conduct against Israel that distorted reality” and violated UN neutrality rules.

The Nigeria Police Force’s Inspector-General, Kayode Egbetokun, has reiterated its commitment to combating all forms of violent crimes, particularly those committed by kidnapping, in the country.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, stated in a statement that this assurance is in line with the successful outcomes of well-planned and intelligence-driven operations carried out by police operatives in Enugu and the Ogun States.

The operations resulted in the rescue of four kidnapped victims, the release of three armed suspects, the arrest of several others, and the recovery of ransom money, weapons, and other incriminating evidence.

“On July 16, 2025, police officers working in concert with local security forces in Enugu State responded to a distress call from the Okpuje-Ani community in Nsukka LGA a report of armed kidnappers being seen in a forest area. One of the armed suspects was neutralized after the operatives engaged them, while others escaped into the bush with various gunshot wounds.

An AK-47 rifle with two live rounds of ammunition was recovered at the scene. According to reliable information, members of the Anti-Kidnapping Tactical Squad detained one Aliyu Adamu, age 23, along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway that day. The suspect admitted being asked by Awka, Anambra State, to carry out criminal operations in Enugu and confessed to participating in several kidnappings during interrogation, the statement read in part.

According to the Command’s operatives, on July 15, 2025, two female suspects, Juliet Chukwu (aged 39) and Nancy Chukwu (aged 40), were detained in a related development. They were apprehended after agreeing to pay a $10 million ransom to their kinsman, who they had initially asked to kidnap for $ 50 million. The male victim’s male victim was unharmed while their Toyota Corolla vehicle and the alleged ransom were found.

Meanwhile, the police PRO in Ogun State reported a rapid deployment of tactical teams in response to a reported kidnapping incident involving three people on July 16, 2025, around the Ajebo axis of the Owode Egba Division.

“Today, the Anti-Kidnapping team used technology to locate the kidnappers, engage them in a shootout along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway, in which two suspects were neutralized in the ensuing gun battle, and successfully rescue all three kidnapped victims unhurt,” according to the team’s statement.

One AK-47 rifle, 139 rounds of ammunition, one magazine, one cutlass, a chain and padlock, as well as several mobile phones used for negotiations, are among the items that were recovered from the operation.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has urged calm and clarified its position in response to ongoing public discussions about the planned peaceful protest by retired police officers over pension-related issues.

The Force reiterated its commitment to the welfare of its retired personnel in a statement issued by the Force’s Public Relations Officer, ACP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police, while cautioning against the protest’s politicisation.

The statement acknowledged the need to withdraw from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and the legitimacy of the protests.

It noted that because of legal and administrative constraints, which are beyond the inspector general’s purview, the issue has persisted for more than ten years and is still unresolved.

According to the statement, the agitation for better police pensions, and particularly the call for exit from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), is not recent. It has lasted for more than ten years. Since 2014, successive Inspectors-General of Police have shown empathy, engaged key stakeholders, and provided institutional support for this cause.

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“Despite these sincere efforts, the desired outcome has remained elusive, not as a result of a lack of will, but as a result of enshrined legal laws, fiscal restrictions, and administrative bottlenecks. The underlying truth is that any Inspector-General’s responsibility to leave the CPS is far beyond its purview, as the issue is intricately intertwined with a web of interagency protocols, statutory mandates, and policy inertia. ‎ “

However, the police force criticized some groups and individuals for allegedly using the protest to advance political goals, accusing them of disseminating false information and defaming facts to denigrate the government and undermine the institution.

The Force criticized the actors’ choice to politicize a sensitive welfare issue while using ostensible tactics to undermine our retired colleagues’ legitimate grievances.

Despite this, the current police leadership proposed a two-pronged plan that would support the need for reform and propose alternative solutions to meet retirees’ immediate needs. In order to improve pension benefits, measures include tapping into internally generated revenue and leveraging private sector partnerships.

The IGP has directed all commissioners of police to ensure peaceful conduct and provide adequate security coverage as the protest is scheduled for Monday, July 21, 2025, primarily in the Federal Capital Territory and other states with formal notification.

The Force instructed officers to treat retired colleagues with the utmost respect and pledged to defend the rights of retired employees who could protest peacefully. Despite this, efforts will be made to stop political agitators from stealing the demonstration.

The statement urges serving officers to uphold professionalism and use the occasion as a test of the Force’s values and discipline. “The protest must not only be peaceful, it must be exemplary,” it said.

Following his recent trip to the South-South state, the governor of Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, has denied making any threats to Peter Obi, the party’s 2020 presidential candidate.

On July 7, 2025, Obi traveled to Benin and gave $11.5 million to St. Philomena Hospital School of Nursing Sciences as a result of her donation.

The governor of Edo, however, criticized Obi’s visit, claiming that it occurred as the state’s violence was resuming.

He had warned the former governor of Anambra State to not return without giving prior notice or facing consequences.

Some well-known Nigerians and social media commentators have voiced their disapproval of Okpebholo’s statements.

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However, the governor claimed that his remarks were misinterpreted in a statement signed by his chief press secretary, Fred Itua, on Sunday.

The Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, made a number of misinterpretations regarding the recent remarks made by His Excellency regarding Mr. Okpebholo’s visit. To the State, Peter Obi.

It is crucial to state with absolute certainty that Mr. the Governor never threatened him in any way. Obi, but instead emphasised that prominent people, particularly those who are politically exposed, must obtain the Governor’s consent before engaging in any public speaking engagements within the State.

The Governor has a constitutional obligation to protect the lives and property of all residents and visitors, according to the governor.

During events or public appearances that may draw large crowds or the media’s attention, this obligation includes making sure that appropriate security measures are in place.

When these protocols are ignored, they become serious security risks for both visitors and residents who could face avoidable threats, according to the statement’s excerpt.

In light of the increasing number of religious leaders’ abductions and attacks, particularly Catholic priests and Christian clerics, Okpebholo’s position is added, “.

This wisdom cannot be overstated in today’s volatile security environment. Peter Obi, the governor of Anambra State, who detained Nasir El-Rufai when he visited, is not the governor of Okpebholo.

Additionally, individuals who want to use their concerns to gain political advantage shouldn’t use them as leverage.

The State Government won’t give up supporting its citizens in favor of politically motivated endeavors. No matter how well-placed they may be, we expect leaders to follow the security and protocols of their visits.

A wanted 60-year-old drug kingpin has been detained by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), ending a six-year spree of law-evasion.

Femi Babafemi, the director of media and advocacy for NDLEA, made this known in a statement on Sunday.

He claimed that the suspect had been caught trying to transport large amounts of cocaine and meth to the South-East and other regions of the nation.

The suspect, who has been wanted by NDLEA since 2019, was eventually apprehended on July 13 at his hideout in the Isheri neighborhood of Lagos.

Babafemi claimed this came after some of his consignments at 5:45 a.m. at Ilasamaja on the Apapa-Oshodi expressway were intercepted.

According to him, a team of NDLEA officers were using credible information to detain one of the kingpin’s couriers traveling in a white Toyota Sienna.

Babafemi claims that the agency’s sniffer dogs were later used to search the vehicle.

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He claimed that the vehicle’s body compartments contained 900 grams of methamphetamine and 7.6 kg of cocaine.

He claimed that the kingpin’s hideout in Isheri was immediately the site of a follow-up procedure.

He claimed that his home had recovered an additional 1. 8 kg of cocaine and 1. 3 kg of methamphetamine.

Babafemi added that 7, 790 tramadol and rhizonol pills were recovered by the NDLEA agents in a joint operation with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria’s aviation security personnel.

Babafemi claimed on Wednesday that the drugs, which were in a passenger traveling from Italy, were intercepted at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

He claimed the suspect, who was taking the drugs on a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to Italy, allegedly purchased them himself and planned to sell them there for higher prices.

According to Babafemi, NDLEA agents at the export shed intercepted 17 parcels of the cannabis strain skunk on Thursday in a further arrest at the Lagos airport.

The drugs, which weighed 1.70 kg, were hidden in cereal packs that were being shipped to Pakistan as a consolidated cargo, according to the anti-narcotics agency.

He claimed that in connection with the incident, a suspect had been detained.

On Wednesday, Babafemi reported that 45, 000 tramadol pills were seized from a 30-year-old suspect on the Onitsha-Enugu expressway in another development.

Babafemi remarked that two suspects with illegal drugs were apprehended by Taraba command officers the same day.

Due to its similarity with the audit, tax, and consulting firm KPMG Nigeria, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to remove the business name “KPMG Professional Services” from its register.

Additionally, Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, who read the panel’s unanimous decision, authorized KPMG Professional Services to cease operating under that name in the future.

According to Section 662 (1)(d) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990, which is now Section 852 of CAMA 2020, the appellate court determined that the second respondent’s name registration was improper and misleading.

KPMG Nigeria, which includes its audit, tax, and consulting divisions, challenged the CAC’s registration of a new company called “KPMG Professional Services” in a 2003 originating summons, alleging that it resembled its long-established name in some ways.

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The Federal High Court, however, rejected KPMG Nigeria’s lawsuit in its 2005 decision, arguing that the plaintiff could no longer assert rights under the name because of an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte.

The lower court also upheld the second Respondent’s counterclaim and ruled that KPMG Nigeria’s name should be removed from the CAC register.

The Court of Appeal, however, rejected this ruling, citing “inadequate and unsubstantiated” evidence of a merger.

The lower court’s newspaper articles did not adequately demonstrate that KPMG Nigeria had ceased to exist or had lost its rights, according to the appellate court.

The nature and scope of the purported merger can only be determined by a merger agreement, according to Justice Bayero. What is most likely a functional collaboration or partial merger of KPMG Audit, and even that cannot be demonstrated by binding legal documents.

KPMG Audit (1969), KPMG Tax Consultants (1990), and KPMG Consulting were the first business entities to register with the court, according to the ruling.

Further, it was determined that the CAC had violated the CAMA by allowing registration of a similar name without first removing the previously registered names.