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Tragic Accident on Abuja-Kaduna Highway Results in 18 Fatalities, 27 Injured Federal Road Safety Corps has urged transport unions in Kaduna State to prevent actions that could lead to road accidents. The Sector Commander, CC Kabir Yusuf Nadabo stated this while reacting to a ghastly motor accident that occurred at Audu Jangon on the Abuja Kaduna express way.  Kabir Yusuf Nadabo confirmed that the accident, which took place at approximately 5:20 AM, involved 65 passengers, resulting in 18 fatalities and 27 individuals sustaining injuries of varying degrees. According to the sector commander, investigation has revealed that over speeding was responsible for the accident. He challenged transport Unions to always enlighten their members on the need to avoid actions that could lead to loss of lives and properties. Yusuf Nadabo further commended corps Marshalls for establishing more formations across the country to ensure prompt response to road crashes especially on major corridors in t...

External reserves fall by $520m in five weeks – CBN The country’s external reserves fell by $520.22 in five weeks, figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria revealed. According to CBN’s data on movement in reserves, the figures which stood at $33.396bn as of October 31, 2023 fell to $33.004bn as of December 7, 2023. The CBN had earlier revealed that the reserves which commenced January 3, 2023, at $37.07bn fell to $33.237bn as of September 29, 2023. Speaking recently at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s 58th Annual Bankers’ Dinner and Grand Finale of the Institute’s 60th anniversary in Lagos, the Governor, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, said, in recent years, the continuous decline in Nigeria’s crude oil production had further weakened the already inadequate economic diversification. He said, “This has led to a decline in government revenue and foreign exchange inflows, while simultaneously witnessing a growth in public expenditures and a deterioration in macroeconomic ind...

Renowned Yoruba poet, playwright Olanrewaju Adepoju, is dead Renowned Yoruba poet, playwright and author, Olanrewaju Adepoju has died at the age of 83. He died around 7.00pm on Sunday in his home in Ibadan, Oyo State, Southwest Nigeria. His demise was announced by his son, Adejare Adepoju on Sunday evening. Adepoju was a Yoruba poet, playwright, author and social crusader who used the power of his poetry to influence successive government policies. He wrote Sagba Dewe, Ironu Akewi, Orirun Yoruba, among others. In the dark days of the Military regime, Adepoju was a force to be reckoned with as many of his songs centered on correcting societal ills and unfavorable government policies. His genre of Ewi warned, criticized and also entertained his followers. Adepoju, a native of Oyo State lost his sight few years ago before finally succumbing to the cold hands of death today. The output of his deep imagination and vision of poetry with the development of his creative consciousness are alre...

Ondo ex-convict allegedly kills father’s tenant, dismembers victim’s body The Ondo State Police Command on Sunday said it arrested a man, Fatai Bakare, for allegedly killing a 42-year-old woman, Onyimi Grace, at Ore town in Odigbo Local Government Area of the state. As contained in a statement issued by the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs Funmilayo Odunlami, the suspect was an ex-convict and he committed the dastardly act on December 8, 2023. The statement read, “On the 8th of December, 2023, at Ore Division in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State, it was reported that one Onyimi Grace, aged 42 years, was found dead and concealed in a Ghana must-go bag in an uncompleted building close to the house and the landlord’s son, Fatai Bakare age: 28years, was strongly suspected because he had blood stains on his leg. “The Police swiftly visited the scene but the suspect had absconded. The suspect was later arrested the next day on his way to Ode Irele town in Irele Local Gover...

Now that the draft UNSC resolution on Gaza has collapsed By Femi Mimiko With the United States veto of the United Arab Emirate (UAE) draft resolution on humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, it has become clear that the solution to the current conflict in the territory may not lie with the UN. This is not a surprise, though, as it had become evident soon after the world body was created in 1945 that it would only be effective in resolving conflict situations when the five veto-holding member-states – US, USSR (now Russia), UK, France, and China – were in agreement. The implication of the US veto of the UAE draft resolution is that the carnage in Gaza, which started October 7, may continue unabated.  Lest we forget, the primary objective of the Israeli government in invading Gaza is the complete annihilation of Hamas. But the truth is that Hamas is not just a mere organisation, which can be so easily isolated and taken out by force of arms. It is also an idea, which has context. It draws ...

Six months on, Tinubu’s net worth unknown, CSOs kick • CCB keeps mum on Tinubu’s record • Only Yar’Adua, Buhari publicly declared assets as Obasanjo, Jonathan derided rule • Asset declaration, transparency are anti-corruption moral demands on public office holders – civil societies   President Bola Tinubu has reneged on one of the legal and moral demands on public office holders to declare their assets upon the assumption of office, for transparency purposes. More than six months after assumption of office, taking oath of office and swearing allegiance to State and the rule of law, President Tinubu has no known record of assets in the public or in the coffers of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). Following the failure of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act to sift Mr Tinubu’s asset declaration from the CCB, if any exist, officials of the Bureau have told The Guardian that “expecting such a record from us is like Waiting For Godot”. Stakeholders, among whom are Civil Society Or...

Falana to FG: Compensate victims of accidental airstrikes or risk legal action Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to compensate the victims of military airstrikes in the past seven years. Falana gave the warning in a statement on Sunday, adding that the Federal Government will be sued before a Federal High Court if the demand is not met. In the past few years, over 300 civilians, including children and women, have died in accidental bombings initiated by the Nigerian military. The most recent one occured on December 3 when many residents of Tudun Biri in Igabi LGA of Kaduna were killed in airstrikes said to be targeted at terrorists. The death toll from the miscalculated airstrike in Kaduna has now reportedly surpassed 120. Falana, in his reaction to the incident, said there has been no justice for victims of these bombings across the years. The human rights lawyer said after the Rann bombing of Jan...