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Court Clears Way For UI Students To Resume As CAPPA Demands End To ‘Persecution’

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The Federal High Court in Ibadan has struck out an application by the University of Ibadan seeking to stop three student activists from attending classes pending the determination of an appeal over their disciplinary sanctions. The development has prompted the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) to call on the university management to end what it described as the continued persecution of the students and comply with an earlier judgment ordering their reinstatement. The case, Suit No. FHC/IB/CS/87/2025, involves students Ayodele Aduwo, Mide Gbadegesin and Linus Adaoma, who faced disciplinary action following a 2024 protest against an increase in university fees. On April 15, 2026, Justice N. E. Maha of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, quashed the university’s action against the students and ordered their immediate reinstatement. The university subsequently appealed the judgment and applied for a stay of execution, seeking an order that would prevent the stude...

Kidnapping Economy: How Ransom Became Nigeria’s Largest Informal Industry

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Dr. Victor Adoji By Victor Adoji Kidnapping has evolved into one of Nigeria’s most lucrative criminal enterprises, with ransom payments running into enormous sums and a growing network of financiers, informants, negotiators, logistics providers and other facilitators sustaining the illegal trade. The development has transformed kidnapping from isolated acts of criminality into what increasingly resembles an underground economy, where human beings are turned into commodities and families are forced to pay for the freedom and survival of their loved ones. Available estimates indicate that Nigerians were asked to pay or paid extraordinary sums in ransom in recent years. One estimate linked to National Bureau of Statistics-related reporting put ransom payments between May 2023 and April 2024 at about ₦2.23 trillion. Although the exact amount actually paid remains difficult to independently establish, the figure highlights the enormous financial burden imposed on households and communities ...

Delta Police Raid Criminal Hideouts, Arrest Two Suspects, Recover Guns, Ammunition, Daggers, Battle Axe

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The Delta State Police Command has intensified its crackdown on illegal firearms and violent crime following the arrest of two suspects and the recovery of two pump-action guns, 18 live cartridges and other dangerous items in separate intelligence-led operations. The operations, carried out by operatives of the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU) and Command Anti-Cult Unit (CACU), were conducted in Obiaruku and Ndokwa West Local Government Area of the state. According to a statement by the State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe, in the first operation on September 12, operatives of the VCRU stormed a residence in Obiaruku following credible intelligence that the occupant was in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Joel Iwomi of Umuebu, Obiaruku, allegedly resisted the operatives' attempt to gain access to the premises. The police eventually gained entry and conducted a search, recovering one pump-action gun and 18 live cartri...

Political Tension: Two Injured As Gunmen Attack NDC Meeting, PDP Rally Hit In Enugu

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CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa Political tension heightened in Enugu State on Saturday as suspected hoodlums allegedly disrupted two separate political gatherings in Nkanu West Local Government Area, leaving two people injured and property damaged. The incidents, which occurred at Ndiuno-Obuoffia community and Agbani, prompted the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, to order a thorough investigation and warn political actors against acts capable of threatening peace and the electoral process, according to a statement by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Daniel Ndukwe. At Ndiuno-Obuoffia, armed hoodlums allegedly stormed an NDC ward meeting and opened fire sporadically, injuring two attendees. In a separate incident at St. Joseph Primary School, Agbani, another group of hoodlums allegedly disrupted preparations for a PDP rally, destroying canopies and chairs arranged for the gathering. Police operatives were immediately deployed to both locations following ...

OPINION: Ultra-processed Foods Fortification: Public Health Solution or Health Risk?

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By Humphrey Ukeaja Over the past few years, a growing number of food manufacturers, health advocates, and sections of the media have increasingly presented the fortification of ultra-processed products such as bouillon cubes, noodles, sugary beverages, and pre-packaged snacks as a public health response to curb the hidden hunger crisis.  Fortification is the practice of adding essential vitamins and minerals to staple foods during production to prevent health problems caused by nutrient deficiencies and the health problems they cause.  Advocates now propose extending this intervention to industrially produced, ultra-processed foods that are often high in sodium, sugar, unhealthy fats and contain numerous chemical additives. They argue that these products should serve as vehicles for delivering micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, zinc, folic acid, vitamin B12 and iodine, thereby leaving consumers confused about whether to avoid these unhealthy products or consume them to ob...

FCID, Akwa Ibom Seek Stronger Institutional Ties for Security, Public Safety

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The Akwa Ibom State Government has moved to strengthen its relationship with the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Lagos, following the appointment of an indigene of the state, AIG Simeon Akpanudom, as head of the formation. The Akwa Ibom State Liaison Officer in Lagos, Mr Anthony Isonguyo, highlighted the significance of the appointment during a courtesy visit to Akpanudom at the FCID Annex on Tuesday. Isonguyo, who recently assumed office as the state’s liaison officer in Lagos, described Akpanudom’s appointment as a source of pride for Akwa Ibom, noting that he is the first indigene of the state to head the FCID Annex since its establishment. He also commended the AIG’s achievements and expressed his willingness to build stronger ties between the Akwa Ibom State Government’s Liaison Office and the police formation. Isonguyo explained that the liaison office serves as a vital bridge between the state government and Akwa Ibom indigenes living in Lagos, making close...

AIG Akpanudom warns PSFU, SWAT officers against unlawful arrests, detention

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The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) Annex, Lagos, AIG Simeon Akpanudom, has warned police officers against unlawful arrests, detention and other practices capable of undermining public confidence in the Nigeria Police Force. Akpanudom gave the warning on Monday during a working visit to the Police Special Fraud Unit (PSFU) and the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), where he charged officers to uphold professionalism, discipline, accountability and strict adherence to the rule of law. Addressing investigators at the PSFU, the AIG stressed the need for thorough and professional investigations, urging officers to understand every case assigned to them, including actions already taken, outstanding investigative steps and the appropriate direction for concluding each case. He specifically cautioned against unlawful detention, arrest by proxy and other illegal practices, stressing that the rights of persons involved in in...