Editorial 7704 posts

Celebrating Wole Soyinka at 86

Editorial Jul 13, 2020

By Kayode Fayemi AFRICA’s most iconic literary maestro and one of the world’s most influential citizens is 86 today. With his ageless physique, it is almost difficult to acknowledge that our own Oluwole Akinwande Soyinka, affectionately…
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Covid-19: Weak laws, poverty worsen gender-based violence in Bauchi during lockdown (PART 2)

Editorial Jul 12, 2020

The application of western and Islamic laws concurrently in Bauchi State has given room for suspected rapists and paedophiles to evade justice, aided by a seemingly overzealous governmental agency which the perpetrators always run to for…
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COVID-19: Weak laws, poverty worsen gender-based violence in Bauchi during lockdown (PART 1)

Editorial Jul 11, 2020

MONDAY June 15 was a dark day for Habiba Auwalu (not real name) who hawks awara (a local cake produced from soya beans) at the Staff Quarters of the Federal Medical Centre Azare, in the North Eastern State of Bauchi. Habiba, 13, abandoned…
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Nigerians urged to utilize govt’s financial portals in holding officials accountable

Editorial Jul 10, 2020

IN a bid to ensure transparency and accountability by government ministries, agencies and departments, Nigerians have been charged to take full advantage of the different data platforms provided by government and civil society…
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Bauchi Assembly uncovers contracts racketeering, sharp practices at SUBEB, summons Chairman

Editorial Jul 9, 2020

By HARUNA Mohammed  THE Bauchi State House of Assembly Committee on Education has uncovered sharp practices and contracts racketeering at the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, The ICIR can authoritatively report. The…
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FG seeks World Bank help to reduce the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria

Editorial Jul 8, 2020

By Vincent Ufuoma THE Federal Government has called on the World Bank to assist Nigeria in reducing the number of out-of-school children from 10 to 5 million by the year 2023. Adamu Adamu, Minister of Education during a visit by a World…
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Kwara loses Chief of Staff to COVID-19 complications

Editorial Jul 7, 2020

By Abiodun Jamiu KWARA State Government has announced the death of Aminu Adisa Logun, the Chief of Staff to AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the Governor of the state to complications aggravated by COVID-19 on Tuesday evening.  In a statement…
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Conflict between herders and farmers: Nigeria needs to accept there are victims on both sides

Editorial Jul 7, 2020

By Oludayo Tade, University of Ibadan BETWEEN  2010 and 2015, Nigeria lost 6,500 citizens and 62,000 others were displaced from their homelands in 850 recorded violent clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the Middle Belt region of the…
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INVESTIGATION: COVID-19 response projects worth N534.98 million awarded to unverified contractors

Editorial Jul 7, 2020

By Aderemi OJEKUNLE  According to the Dataphyte investigation, COVID-19 emergency procurements worth ₦451.18 million have been awarded to unverifiable contractors or suppliers. Some of the companies do not have records on the…
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INEC reacts to half payment allegations by Ad-hoc Staff, asks for details of affected persons

Editorial Jul 6, 2020

Vincent UFUOMA THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reacted to The ICIR's report on the allegation by some ad-hoc staff engaged by the Commission in the conduct of 2019 General Elections. Press Secretary to the INEC…
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Ad-hoc staff who served in the 2019 General Elections accuse INEC of withholding half payment

Editorial Jul 5, 2020

Vincent UFUOMA SOME of the ad-hoc staff who served during the 2019 General Elections in Enugu State have accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of refusing to pay balances of their allowances since the election…
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Making the best of the public anger on Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

Editorial Jul 4, 2020

Udo Jude ILO Vera Uwaila Omozuwa, a 22-year-old microbiology student of the University of Benin was brutally raped and murdered in May 2020. The horror of her attack sent the whole country into an outrage. The images of her battered body…
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Bauchi Gov suspends First Class Emir over communal clashes

Editorial Jul 3, 2020

By Haruna Mohammed SALISU BAUCHI State Governor Bala Mohammed has suspended the emir of Misau Alhaji Ahmad Suleiman over communal clashes between farmers and herders that resulted in the death of nine people and injury of any others.…
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Women farmers still waiting for COVID-19 palliatives, months after president’s promise

Editorial Jun 30, 2020

Farmers have been affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and require assistance to prevent food shortage. EMMA ELEKWA reports that the palliatives promised by the government are yet to get to many of them.  Uche Ileka, an indigene of…
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COVID-19 effects threaten food security, increase vulnerability, women farmers raise alarm

Editorial Jun 27, 2020

COVID-19 effects threaten food security, increase vulnerability, women farmers raise alarm. A Survey by Ibukun Emiola, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). Mrs Motunrayo Ajagbe, 55, is a smallholder farmer in Ibadan. She has a farm at Oluyole…
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Thanks to COVID -19, we can get our schools working again

Editorial Jun 26, 2020

By Yinka Adeosun IN preparation for the re-opening of educational institutions across the country, the federal government through the Minister of State for Education, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, had listed some conditions that every…
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Electronic banking fraud in Nigeria: how it’s done, and what can be done to stop it

Editorial Jun 26, 2020

By Oludayo Tade, University of Ibadan Six years ago, a cashless policy became fully operational in Nigeria. The aim was to encourage electronic transactions with a view to reducing the amount of physical cash in the economy. The logic…
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Federal Ministry of Health records first case of Coronavirus, more personnel may be infected 

Editorial Jun 26, 2020

By Joshua OLUFEMI THE Federal Ministry of Health has recorded its first case of Coronavirus. An anonymous source who attended the National Council on Health meeting held during the week confirmed the information to DATAPHYTE.  According…
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Smallholder women farmers and challenges of attaining food security in Nigeria

Editorial Jun 26, 2020

Nigerian women farmers are known for their active involvement in agriculture, which has contributed a lot to ensuring food security in the country. However, these women, particularly the smallholder farmers, are now being confronted by…
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A young executive’s prescription for COVID-19 depression

Editorial Jun 26, 2020

By Hamzat Lawal IF there is anything like being immunized for the rainy day, that was exactly what happened to me last year when I went through a period of depression. In hindsight, I can now say that, perhaps, The Almighty, being aware…
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Ghana apologises for the demolition of Nigerian diplomatic building, promises investigation

Editorial Jun 24, 2020

By Vincent UFUOMA THE President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, has tendered an apology over the attack and demolition of Nigeria's High Commission building in Accra, Ghana. This was revealed on Tuesday night by presidential…
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COVID-19: Bayelsa Govt moves to end resident doctors’ strike

Editorial Jun 23, 2020

By Nathan Nwakamma THE Bayelsa State Government has taken steps to end ongoing strike by Resident Doctors at the state government owned Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), Okolobiri, the resident doctors' association said.…
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Website of Gombe state government contains inaccurate, outdated information

Editorial Jun 23, 2020

By Muhammad Auwal IBRAHIM THE Gombe State government's website (www.gombestate.gov.ng), is filled with outdated and inaccurate information, long after many changes occur, as findings show. Despite Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahya recently…
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‘Our ugly encounter with trigger-happy cops’

Editorial Jun 20, 2020

For some Nigerians the COVID-19 pandemic is not only about the virus that is killing people in thousands all over the world, it is also a season of brutality by the police and other security agents tasked with implementing the consequent…
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Presidency replies UK Parliament report on religious genocide in Nigeria

Editorial Jun 19, 2020

By Vincent UFUOMA THE presidency has reacted to a report by the United Kingdom All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief, that cited instances of persecution and genocides of Christians in Nigeria.…
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PDP postpones Edo governorship primaries

Editorial Jun 18, 2020

By Vincent UFUOMA THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said it has postponed its Edo State governorship election which was scheduled to hold tomorrow till Tuesday, 23rd June 2020. This is contained and announced in a statement signed by…
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‘I believe I have the skills to lead the World Trade Organization’ – Okonjo-Iweala

Editorial Jun 18, 2020

By Vincent UFUOMA Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has expressed her optimism to lead the World Trade Organisation (WTO), citing her skills and experiences for the past 30 years as qualification. In an interview with Manuela Saragosa of BBC…
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Obaseki says he is yet to move to another party

Editorial Jun 17, 2020

 By Vincent UFUOMA The embattled governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, said he is yet to move to another party for his re-election bid. But there is an indication that he may fly the flag of the opposition PDP in the governorship…
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Man gets help from UBA after public outcry on Twitter

Editorial Jun 16, 2020

By Vincent UFUOMA A PAINTER, Adeyemi Olarewaju, who was almost electrocuted by transformer near a branch of the United Bank for Africa in Ado Ekiti has received a cash gift of N1 million to cover his hospital bill six months after the…
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COVID-19: For pregnant women, it’s a tougher battle

Editorial Jun 16, 2020

Adie Vanessa Offiong  Accessing healthcare on a normal day is difficult for many pregnant women in Nigeria. COVID-19 has made it a tougher battle for them to stay healthy and alive, even as they struggle to keep their babies safe. And…
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Trump team attempts to block world court from investigating possible U.S war crimes

Editorial Jun 16, 2020

A WORLD court designed to investigate allegations of human rights violations has found itself in the crosshairs of the President of the United States. A new Trump executive order threatening the court’s operations has been condemned by…
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South African leader condemns latest violence against women

Editorial Jun 16, 2020

CALLING it a “dark and shameful week,” South African president Cyril Ramaphosa denounced the latest surge in violence against women, including the murder of a woman eight months pregnant. "Gender-based violence thrives in a climate of…
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Struggle seen in Belgium over racist historical statues

Editorial Jun 16, 2020

SOME of the largest anti-racism protests in Europe have taken place in Belgium, the birthplace of King Léopold II, whose brutal rule of Congo from 1885 to 1908 caused an estimated 10 million Congolese deaths through murder, starvation and…
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Fear of hunger mounts: How Covid-19 is ravaging farmers’ efforts

Editorial Jun 14, 2020

The restriction of movements by federal and state governments in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in the country appears to have hampered progress in the agriculture sector, thereby constituting a veritable threat to the nation's food…
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COVID-19: Women farmers in Anambra recount negative impacts on businesses

Editorial Jun 14, 2020

By Alfred AJAYI The global health challenge, COVID-19, which affected every sphere of life in Nigeria and across the globe, has not spared the agricultural sector. And among the worst it are smallholder women farmers across the country.…
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Nigerians mourn victims of mass atrocities

Editorial Jun 12, 2020

Not fewer than  356 Nigerians were reported killed in 27 states of the country in the month of May 2020 alone, a new report has shown. NigeriaMourns, a Non-governmental Organisation that released "Violence Incidents Report: May 2020" on…
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Violence Against People Prohibition bill passes second reading at Bauchi Assembly

Editorial Jun 11, 2020

By Haruna Mohammed Salisu THE Violence Against People Prohibition (VAPP) Bill has passed second reading at the Bauchi State House of Assembly. The bill seeks to eliminate violence in private and public life; prohibit all forms of…
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Rights groups blame Bauchi police for COVID-19 spread among Inmates

Editorial Jun 11, 2020

By Haruna MOHAMMED from Bauchi A HUMAN rights group, Prison Inmate Development Initiative (PIDI-Nigeria) in partnership with Centre for Applied Human Rights (CAHR), has blamed the Nigerian Police for the current increase in positive…
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Covid-19: How a major industrial unrest was averted at NAUTH, Nnewi

Editorial Jun 10, 2020

By Chukwuma NNAMDI THE management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) Nnewi, Anambra State, recently averted industrial unrest after reaching an agreement with members of the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and…
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FCT women farmers worry about insecurity, resources

Editorial Jun 10, 2020

With the havoc caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdown that left the world at a standstill, GRACE OBIKE, with support from the International Budget Partnership (IBP), had a chat with smallholder women farmers in the Federal…
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CSOs march against sexual, gender based violence in Bauchi, urge govt  to declare state of emergency

Editorial Jun 5, 2020

By Haruna Mohammed Salisu A COALITION of  Non-Governmental and Civil Society Organisations in  Bauchi State has on Friday protested against what the group described as persistent gender-based violence against women in different parts of…
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Women farmers’ fear over food insecurity

Editorial Jun 4, 2020

This is not the first time fear over food insecurity has been expressed as a result of insurgency, banditry and the prevailing Coronavirus pandemic and the resultant lockdown which was aimed at curbing its spread. This time round, it is the…
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Honourable mention for Nigeria’s Soyombo in 2020 Anthony Lewis Journalism prize

Editorial Jun 3, 2020

‘FISAYO Soyombo, an investigative journalist and former Editor of the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), has received an honourable mention in this year’s Anthony Lewis Prize for Exceptional Rule of Law Journalism.…
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 Bauchi Deputy Gov, Baba Tela tests positive for Covid-19

Editorial Jun 3, 2020

By Haruna Mohammed Salisu BABA Tela, Deputy Governor of Bauchi State Deputy Governor,  has tested positive for Coroavirus. Muktar Gidado, Senior Special Assistant on Media to  Governor of the state disclosed this in a statement made…
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Budget Cut: Ex-militants get nearly as much as NDDC and NEDC in federal allocation

Editorial Jun 2, 2020

By, Paul Adeyeye DESPITE a downward budget review that affected the allocations to education and health ministries, the Presidential Amnesty Program PAP, has retained its initial ₦65 billion budgetary appropriations for 2020. This is…
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FG slashes health budget, leaves legislature’s library and constituency projects intact

Editorial May 31, 2020

Aderemi Ojekunle THE Federal government has cut the budget of the Ministry of Health and other key ministries such as education, power, and agriculture. This is amidst the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic and inadequate health infrastructure…
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With 55 per cent slash in Education, 42 percent in Health, Executive undercuts development…

Editorial May 31, 2020

By, Paul ADEYEYE A REVIEW of the Revised 2020 Budget exclusively obtained by DATAPHYTE indicates that the Federal Government has reduced the total budget size by only ₦84.71 billion. Against the background that the government initially …
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610 personnel earn more than the President as DPR paid ₦8 billion salary upfront in January

Editorial May 27, 2020

By, Paul Adeyeye DATA analysis by Dataphyte has shown the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) paid over 8 billion as salary upfront in January 2020. This is according to the daily payment data published on the open treasury portal.…
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Nigeria was once an indisputable leader in Africa: What happened?

Editorial May 26, 2020

By Sheriff Folarin, Covenant University The traditional leadership and redeemer posture of Nigeria in Africa has, in recent years, been put into question. Issues like corruption and infrastructural decay have held the country down from…
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COVID-19: The silent killer and threat to the existence of elderly persons

Editorial May 22, 2020

By Ms. Nneka Acholonu EGBUNA MANY  elderly persons in rural communities are not fully informed about the pandemic or how to protect themselves from it. “I thought it was a curse from God to destroy everybody” – says one of the elderly…
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INVESTIGATION: With just N1000, I “smuggled” foreign rice from Benin Republic to Nigeria despite…

Editorial May 22, 2020

In August 2019, the Nigerian Government led by President Muhammadu Buhari declared a partial land border closure in order to halt the importation of food among other goods. The smuggling of rice - Nigeria’s staple food - remains business as…
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The burden of unpaid care work amidst Covid-19 and the expansion of gender inequality

Editorial May 21, 2020

Busola AJIBOLA IN response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments around the world adopted lockdowns and social distancing as parts of measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. One of the after-effects of this is a rise in the…
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COVID-19: Bauchi Gov suspends lockdown, open worship centres, Eid- ground

Editorial May 20, 2020

By, Haruna Mohammed Salisu Bauchi State Governor says the State has resolved to suspend the partial lockdown initially put in place to tame the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus. The governor stated this during a stakeholders’ meeting…
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Does Nigeria care more about its debt profile than its citizens?

Editorial May 20, 2020

By, Paul Adeyeye A recent DATAPHYTE occasional paper revealed that budgetary provision to some of the top five most critical sector’s of Nigeria’s economy accounted for only 17 percent of the initial 2020 budget. While these five key…
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Covid-19, our lives and the big questions that matter

Editorial May 19, 2020

By ‘Yinka ADEOSUN FORTY years ago, smallpox became the only human disease to be eradicated globally, as the World Health Organisation certified its eradication in 1980. Caused by one of two variants of the virus, the last case was…
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Guinness Nigeria cuts workforce by almost 600 as directors’ paychecks rocket in five years

Editorial May 19, 2020

By Jennifer UGWA THE Directors of Guinness Nigeria significantly increased their pay in the last five years, even as the drink company’s profit margin was virtually halved, its accounts revealed. Guinness Nigeria which is among the top…
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Coalition of 116 countries back Australia’s push for independent coronavirus inquiry

Editorial May 19, 2020

MORE than 110 countries have backed Australia's push for an independent coronavirus inquiry that may put China in the eye of the storm. The African Group's 54 member states will co-sponsor the motion, joining 62 other countries including…
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COVID-19: Caring for children with special needs, a challenge now more chronic

Editorial May 19, 2020

One in 10 children is a child with disability and according to UNICEF, COVID-19 will likely “disproportionally affect those children with pre-existing vulnerabilities.” Adie Vanessa OFFIONG looks at what it has been like for families and…
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COVID19: We cannot mobilise NYSC members now – Brig Shuaibu, DG

Editorial May 18, 2020

THE National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) has said that it has no intention to mobilise prospective corps members anytime soon, especially as the country is still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic. The Director-General of the…
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COVID-19: No succour in sight as IDPs wait in vain for promised palliatives

Editorial May 17, 2020

By Titilope Fadare and Majeed Bakare The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought drastic changes to the lives of peoples and nations across the world as they are forced to adapt, creating various forms of safety nets for the poor and…
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Lagos denies spike in infection rate in Amuwo Odofin, to deal with official who made claim in viral…

Editorial May 16, 2020

By Bankole Shakirudeen Adeshina FAITH Anyanwu, medical practitioner and official of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, who blew the whistle on the alleged alarming cases of COVID -19 infections in Amuwo Odofin, Lagos, in an…
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COVID-19: Bauchi lawmakers insist churches, mosques be reopened, lament rights violation by security…

Editorial May 14, 2020

By Haruna Mohammed SALISU SOME members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly have insisted that the state government has to open churches and mosques to enable people worship since markets are also open from time to time. A member…
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How Nigeria’s ICIR Pushes for Accountability in the COVID-19 Response

Editorial May 14, 2020

Benon Herbert OLUKA AN investigative journalism nonprofit based in Nigeria, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), has pushed the envelope with its approach to investigating the country’s response to the…
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UDUS produces ventilator to ease scarcity of supply

Editorial May 13, 2020

By Abiodun JAMIU THE management of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto has announced that it has designed and produced ventilator required for the treatment  of people infected with Coronavirus. In a statement signed by the…
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COVID-19: Salary payment, new measures in 17 media houses

Editorial May 12, 2020

BEFORE the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, some media organisations regularly default in payment of salaries and allowances of their staff. Now the situation has become worse as nearly all the major media houses are unable to meet their…
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Rivers police arrest pharmacist rendering essential service, demand N100,000 bribe for release

Editorial May 12, 2020

By Kanayo WIGWE OFFICERS of the Rivers State Police Command last Friday arrested a pharmacist for opening his pharmacy during lockdown and collected N20,000 before he was released, a lawyer has alleged. The pharmacist, Lucky Nwidu,…
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Covid-19: Bauchi Gov declares total lockdown On 3 LGAs as positive cases hit 181

Editorial May 10, 2020

By Haruna Mohammed SALISU BAUCHI  State governor Bala Mohammed has enforced a total lockdown on Katagum, Giade and Zaki local government areas of Bauchi State were rumours of massive deaths and community transmission were reported to…
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What Nigerians should know about the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill

Editorial May 10, 2020

By, Kingsley Ogundu CHINDA I should start this analysis by commending the sponsors of the Bill for the idea that there is need to review and update our public health laws as they relate to infectious diseases to meet the changing times.…
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Over 300 people ‘mysteriously’ died in Azare within 14 days

Editorial May 10, 2020

By Haruna Mohammed Salisu About 310 people have reportedly died of undisclosed ailments in Azare, the headquarters of Katagum local government area of Bauchi State. In a letter written to President Muhammadu Buhari by Hon. Ibrahim Baba,…
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Eleven ways to appropriately report on COVID-19

Editorial May 9, 2020

WHEN  it comes to reporting on COVID-19, language and images matter. Here are the reasons why, and how we can report appropriately to prevent stigma and discrimination. In the nineties, many reports around HIV on the news media were…
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I have no apology recommending Chroloquine as cure for COVID-19—Bauchi Gov

Editorial May 6, 2020

By Haruna Mohammed Salisu Bala Mohammed, Bauchi State Governor said he has no apology recommending Chroloquine, Zithromax, Zinc and vitamin C to patients of Coronavirus disease. The governor made this disclosure while responding to…
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Coronavirus: Corruption in health care could get in the way of Nigeria’s response

Editorial May 6, 2020

By Obinna Onwujekwe, Charles Orjiakor, Prince Agwu  Since President Muhammadu Buhari came to power in Nigeria in 2015, anti-corruption has been at the heart of his administration. However, a lot of effort is focused on grand corruption…
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INTERVIEW: I’ve no regrets paying tribute to Abba Kyari, says Simon Kolawole

Editorial May 6, 2020

TheCable, Nigeria’s independent online newspaper, marked its sixth anniversary on April 29, 2020. In this interview with eelive.ng, Simon Kolawole, Founder and CEO of Cable Newspaper Ltd, speaks on the journey so far, the challenges facing…
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Reading God into COVID-19

Editorial May 4, 2020

By, Prof. Wale Olajide This will only concern those who believe in the existence of God, be they Muslims or Christians or traditionalists. They need not be monotheists either since African traditional religion skin-deep is essentially…
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COVID-19: Experts optimistic on oil price rise but warn that reforms must happen

Editorial May 4, 2020

Despite the current crisis in the petroleum sector occasioned by a slide in crude oil prices, industry experts and policy analysts foresee that there will be stabilisation of crude oil price. They, however, warn stridently that Nigeria…
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Some serious soul searching on World Press Freedom Day

Editorial May 4, 2020

By, Yinka Adeosun ESTABLISHED by the General Assembly of the United Nations in December 1993, May 3 is dedicated and celebrated as World Press Freedom Day. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation…
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World Press Freedom Day: Checking Gov. Umahi’s mad impulses!

Editorial May 3, 2020

By Charles Otu FEW days before the celebration of the World Press Freedom Day, marked globally on May 3rd every year, the Governor of Ebonyi State, Engr. David Umahi had been in the news sadly for deliberately and habitually misfiring…
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Workers Day: Youths Digest trains campus journalists on career development, investigative reporting…

Editorial May 2, 2020

YOUTHS  Digest, the organiser of annual Campus Journalism Awards & Dialogue, has trained young journalists on developmental journalism and investigating reporting, especially on the Covid-19 pandemic.‬ ‪The training, which was…
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NOSDRA concludes probe of oil spill from Shell’s facility at Angiama in Bayelsa   

Editorial May 1, 2020

THE National Oil Spills Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) says it has concluded investigations on a spill from Well 13 at Angiama in Bayelsa. The oil well located at Angiama a coastline settlement by the bank of River Nun,…
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COVID-19 and your eyes: What you should know

Editorial Apr 29, 2020

OUR eyes are one of nature’s complex wonders, no wonder they are regarded as the lamp of the body and window to the soul. While we are all sheltering in our homes amid the COVID-19 outbreak, we are being bombarded with different arguments,…
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REPORT: Mixed reactions trail distribution of palliatives in Kwara

Editorial Apr 28, 2020

By Abiodun Jamiu CITIZENS of Kwara State have complained about the recent distribution of palliatives by the government to cushion the effect of the lockdown declared in the state, as a way of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Many…
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How Ile-ife residents are coping with the lockdown against all odds

Editorial Apr 28, 2020

By, Peter OYEBANJI ORLANDO, "the modern tailor" as he calls himself, violated the Osun state government directive when he opened his shop to sew a cloth for a customer he described as 'promising'.   Orlando, who has his shop located in…
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COVID 19: Official cover-up, poor testing may spiral COVID-19 infections in Akwa Ibom (Part 1)

Editorial Apr 27, 2020

BY Yakubu AHMED and Ekemini SIMON THE Akwa Ibom State Government is not only covering up cases of COVID-19 infections but also blocking moves to test persons with symptoms of the disease, our team of investigative reporters has…
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Psychology behind the unexpected beatification of Abba Kyari

Editorial Apr 25, 2020

By Farooq A. Kperogi, Ph.D. Many people are troubled by what appears to be a carefully coordinated cascade of cloying, revisionist, and, in some cases, outright mendacious posthumous rhetorical rehabilitation of Abba Kyari by people who…
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COVID 19: How hunger, deaths and threat of community infections haunt IDP camps

Editorial Apr 24, 2020

By, Titilope Fadare "I left the camp since morning. We (children) went to pluck cashew nuts from the bush. We roast and eat because there is no other food. I go everyday." Those were the words of Mary Nuhu,14, living in an Internal…
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FACT CHECK: Was Abba Kyari flown to UK for treatment and cremated?

Editorial Apr 22, 2020

By ‘Kunle Adebajo On Sunday, April 19, two days after the death of Nigeria’s former Chief of Staff Abba Kyari was announced, a Twitter user claimed, among other things, that prior to his death, Kyari was flown to the United Kingdom for…
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If Well Managed, N500 billion FG intervention could provide 9 ventilators, 9 laboratories for each…

Editorial Apr 21, 2020

JUST  like many other countries, Nigeria is currently in a difficult situation with the rise in cases of Coronavirus disease pandemic. The virus, spread across the world has infected over a million people and more than 60,000 have died.…
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COVID-19 lockdown: The rising threat of armed robbers in Lagos, Ogun

Editorial Apr 14, 2020

By Alao ABIODUN Lagos, Ogun residents are no doubt celebrating this Easter season with caution and trepidation. At any time of the day since  the lock down became effective, fear has continued to rule the hearts of many people — it is…
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AFRICMIL calls on NBET boss to comply with court order on payment of salary of whistleblower

Editorial Apr 14, 2020

The African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) has called on Dr. Marilyn Amobi, MD/CEO of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, to comply with the judgment of the National Industrial Court in Abuja which…
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Environmentalist seeks probe into cause of dead fishes on Bayelsa shoreline

Editorial Apr 12, 2020

A RENOWN Environmentalist Rev Nnimmo Bassey has urged governments and oil industry regulators to investigate the cause of dead fishes littering the Atlantic coastline in Delta and Bayelsa. Bassey who made the call in a reaction to reports…
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African countries could hit coronavirus peak soon— WHO warns

Editorial Apr 12, 2020

THE WORLD Health Organization (WHO) has said that some African countries could see a peak in coronavirus cases in the coming weeks, calling that testing should be urgently increased in the region. "During the last four days we can see that…
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REPORT: Untold deaths, tears trail the closure of Abuja’s Arts and Craft village

Editorial Apr 10, 2020

Kunle ADEBAJO OVER 500 traders at Abuja’s Arts and Craft Village were sent packing from their stalls in February 2018, with their goods locked up and no alternatives provided. Having lost their livelihood, at least half a dozen of them…
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Nigeria’s unhealthy healthcare in the eye of Coronavirus 

Editorial Apr 10, 2020

By Runcie C.W. CHIDEBE  CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) is here to teach us a lesson; I hope we learn. Nigeria’s healthcare is unhealthy. But instead of fixing it our rulers have been busy flying up and down to benefit from other country's…
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[My Covid-19 Diary] Day 6: Fuel price jerked up as more than 500 Africans die

Editorial Apr 10, 2020

By Theophilus ABBAH As I started my car engine this evening to ride out of boredom into the locked down world, I noticed that my fuel had drained. The red sign on the gauge jeered at me as if to say it would certainly draw some cash from…
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Ayade’s Olimpotic Mask Theory is a recipe for confusion

Editorial Apr 7, 2020

Jonathan ABANG-UGBAL As the SARS - CoV-2 pandemic ravages every nation of the world, you can think of the Governor of Cross River state in southern Nigeria, Benedict Ayade who has drawn up the perfect recipe for confusion amidst the…
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[My Covid-19 Diary]: Day 5 – Coronavirus infects the flesh and heart of media

Editorial Apr 7, 2020

LIKE Israelites who lost appetite for Manna and panted for flesh in the desert, I began to thirst and hunger after news in the print format. My hankering for news online dwindled and faded as the borders among social media platforms blurred…
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The biggest threats to Nigeria managing COVID-19: panic, politics and indecision

Editorial Apr 7, 2020

Doyin Odubanjo, Nigerian Academy of Science Cases of COVID-19 are rising in Nigeria. Although the federal government hasn’t announced a firm plan to lock down, individual states have started to take steps such as closing markets, schools…
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How to keep your smartphone Corona-free, Security firm shares tips

Editorial Apr 7, 2020

THE lockdown that countries all over the world are currently experiencing is putting a renewed focus on personal hygiene. But despite people being advised to wash their hands often, how many apply the same rigour to their smartphones?…
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Lockdown without palliatives puts disabled persons at risk in Lagos, group cries out

Editorial Apr 7, 2020

By benga Ogundare THE Nigeria Association of the Blind (NAB), Lagos State Chapter, has raised alarm that more than 500,000 persons living with disabilities (PWLD) in the state are at risk of avoidable health crises and needless deaths as…
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From Government to COVID-Security: Kill Them Before the Virus Does

Editorial Apr 5, 2020

Chidi Anselm ODINKALU When he reluctantly addressed the country on Sunday, 29 March, 2020 concerning the crisis of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic (COVID-19), Nigeria’s elected President,…
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Where exactly is Chief Of Staff Abba Kyari?

Editorial Apr 3, 2020

THE whereabouts of Abba Kyari, President Muhammadu Buhari’s powerful Chief of Staff, remains unknown, days after he announced that he had tested positive to the Coronavirus. Very few people appear to have been able to speak to…
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[My Covid-19 Diary] Day 3 – Breakfast without bread in a blackout

Editorial Apr 3, 2020

By Theophilus ABBAH BLANKET blackout, darkness, sweats and fatigue ruled and ruined the night before Tuesday, March 31, when life would grind to a halt and the curse, we, Abuja residents, feared most would be unleashed to drench and…
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[Covid-19: My Lockdown Diary] Day 2: It’s like the end of the world has come

Editorial Apr 1, 2020

By Theophilus Abbah Though I announced, on Day 1, that, for me, the lockdown for coronavirus started on Sunday, March 29, Nigeria’s strict social distancing, a preventive measure, officially took effect from Monday, March 30. It would be…
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‘An attempt to gag the media’: Journalists on Nigeria’s proposed social media bill

Editorial Apr 1, 2020

Jonathan Rozen/CPJ Senior Africa Researcher AT a public hearing on Nigeria’s social media bill held in Abuja last month, the voice of Chris Isiguzo, president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), rang clearly across the room:…
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[Covid-19: My lockdown diary] Day 1: A ghostly spectacle after unusual Sunday worship

Editorial Apr 1, 2020

By Theophilus ABBAH PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s much-delayed and anxiously-awaited authoritative speech on Covid-19, delivered on Sunday, March 29, locked down Abuja, Lagos and Ogun from Monday, March 30. That’s for millions who wake up…
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REPORT: Insecurity, poor equipment, controversy dot Akwa Ibom’s preparedness for Covid-19

Editorial Mar 31, 2020

As the Federal and state governments make efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, measures being taken by Akwa Ibom State Government seem to be hindered by insecurity, inadequate medical personnel and appropriate medical equipment for…
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COVID19: The legality and limits of the President’s emergency powers

Editorial Mar 30, 2020

Victoria Ibezim-Ohaeri YESTERDAY, Sunday, March 29, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari addressed Nigerians on the COVID-19 pandemic, detailing some of the stringent measures and restrictions the Nigerian government would implement to…
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COVID-19: Human Rights and civic space in Nigeria

Editorial Mar 29, 2020

Victoria IBEZIM-OHAERI  LOCKDOWN, social distancing, contact-tracing, self-isolation, quarantine, testing, face-masks, sanitizers: these are the buzzwords of the moment, triggered by the massive spread of Corona virus, popularly known as…
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As Covid-19 makes landfall in Nigeria

Editorial Mar 29, 2020

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu  When it fully makes landfall in Nigeria, the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Pandemic (COVID-19) will discover a country already at the mercy of pandemic-level hunger and chronic…
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Revisiting a national political debate

Editorial Mar 27, 2020

Edwin MADUNAGU  ONE of the first definitive steps taken by General Ibrahim Babangida on displacing General Muhammadu Buhari in a “palace coup” and coming to power in Nigeria in August 1985 was to set up, four months later, a 17-member…
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Poems written in the time of Corona

Editorial Mar 27, 2020

By Obemata X farther away from home, nearer home, the news gallops like the speed of light and arrives at the continents' shut doors - the world is hiding. between the keyholes, eyes press up against time, spying; bodies want to love,…
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Covid-19: Obasanjo donates former residence for Isolation Centre

Editorial Mar 27, 2020

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday announced that his former residence at the Presidential Hilltop, Abeokuta, Ogun state should be converted to Isolation Centre for the treatment of victims of the novel Coronavirus. In a press…
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Silent killer: Oil pollution continues to kill Nigerians in Delta region

Editorial Mar 26, 2020

A six-month investigation unravels how frequent oil spill in Ogoniland, Rivers State contaminates the environment, silently killing the people, and how the slow pace of the cleanup exercise worsens the living condition of the community…
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How journalists can deal with trauma while reporting on COVID-19

Editorial Mar 25, 2020

Olga Simanovych When journalists cover crises, tragedies, and disasters, and interview people affected by them, they face a complicated task: to not cause additional harm to the victims, while at the same time taking care of their own…
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Over a dozen churches in FCT disregard warning against large religious gathering, hold Sunday…

Editorial Mar 22, 2020

By The ICIR reporters DESPITE directive by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) against religious gatherings of not more than 50 persons, not fewer than 20 churches in the FCT, Abuja held church service, opening gates to…
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NigComSat: Nigeria’s satellite company still not profitable 14 years after launch

Editorial Mar 20, 2020

Kunle ADEBAJO WHEN the Nigerian Communication Satellite company, NigComSat, was incorporated in 2006, the government had ambitious plans to make it world-class. The country’s excitement overflowed the following year with the launch of…
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Justice for Sale (III): N5,000 to ‘receive’ release order, N3,000 for visitation,…

Editorial Mar 16, 2020

Damilola BANJO AT every point in the Nigerian justice system, there is a corrupt government official ripping innocent Nigerians off and doing it so brazenly. The prison wardens, like the police and the judicial officers, also weave an…
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Corps Marshal orders clampdown on overloaded school buses

Editorial Mar 16, 2020

By Amina Mahmud THE Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Boboye Oyeyemi has ordered a nationwide clampdown on overloaded private school vehicles in order to reduce road crashes involving school children. In a series of…
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Justice for Sale (II) : Extortion, Injustice prevail in Lagos State Courts 

Editorial Mar 13, 2020

By, Damilola BANJO VARIOUS corruption indexes have rated the Nigeria Police Force and the judiciary among the top five most corrupt institutions in Nigeria. The Transparency International TI) in its 10th edition of Global Corruption…
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Time to silence the guns

Editorial Mar 12, 2020

By Ayodele AKINKUOTU  Last month, in Addis Ababa, the Heads of State and Governments of the Africa Union, AU, held their annual meeting. The theme of this year’s summit was, ‘Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s…
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REPORT: The forgotten roads of Ojo, home to Nigeria’s largest electronics market

Editorial Mar 11, 2020

Mujeeb Abdulwasiu (Student Reporter) FOR Abdulwasiu Hassan, a phone repairman, going to and fro his workplace at Alaba International Market each day is a nightmare. Though the distance to cover to his destination should not be more than…
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FCMB extorts money from Bauchi workers undergoing BVN verification

Editorial Mar 10, 2020

By Haruna Mohammed Salisu  IN what appears to be a move to make undue gains from 41,000 Bauchi state civil servants undergoing verification exercise, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc is extorting money from the government workers in…
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Danfodiyo students lament late issuance of Identity Card

Editorial Mar 8, 2020

Abiodun Jamiu, (Student journalist) THERE is a growing disquiet among students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, over the failure of the authorities of the university to issue student’s identity (ID) card to current 200 level…
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Policing voices in present-day Nigeria

Editorial Mar 5, 2020

Osai OJIGHO  In recent times, Nigeria is battling with an information crisis where disinformation, misinformation and dangerous speech contribute to a communication dilemma in determining truth from fiction, accurate information…
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Adamawa university sacks two lecturers for sexually harassing students

Editorial Mar 4, 2020

The Governing Council of the Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola in Adamawa State has terminated the appointment of two senior lecturers following their alleged involvement in sexual harassment. The decision was contained in a…
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Justice for sale (I): Inside the Lagos Anti-Cultism ‘illegal’ Detention Centre

Editorial Mar 3, 2020

By: Damilola BANJO A young man leapt out of the Anti-Cultism Unit of the Nigeria Police Force in Gbagada, Lagos, as his mother hurtled towards him. Emaciated, and having his face twisted by glaring discomfort, he had just broken loose…
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In Search of Succour for Nigerian pilgrims

Editorial Feb 29, 2020

Mousa UBANDAWAKI The narrative of this year's Hajj has started to be written with the inauguration of the 4th Board of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), on the 13th February 2020. Paradoxically the event steeped…
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Lawan’s Senate and the 1999 Constitution

Editorial Feb 26, 2020

By Ayodele AKINKUOTU When Ahmad Lawan, president of the Senate, set up a 58-member team to propose amendments to the nation’s 1999 Constitution recently, not many Nigerians would wonder what was there to amend again. In the almost 21…
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ICIR sues Foreign Affairs Ministry, Immigration Service over denial of access to visa information

Editorial Feb 20, 2020

THE International Centre for Investigation, ICIR, has instituted two separate suits against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, for denying information about payments made by visa applicants in the…
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Is terrorism here for the long haul?

Editorial Feb 19, 2020

By Ayodele AKINKUOTU GENERAL Tukur Yusuf Buratai, chief of army staff, is likely to answer the above question in the affirmative. That is considering his explanations in a recent interview with the Cable, an online newspaper. The…
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As the Supreme Court reviews its decision on Imo state governorship election

Editorial Feb 16, 2020

By Chidi Anselm ODINKALU WHEN it sits on Tuesday, 18 February 2020, to consider the application to review its judgment of 14 January in the matter of the petition on the outcome of the March 2019 governorship election in Imo State,…
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This Valentine’s Day: Follow your heart & avoid trans fat

Editorial Feb 14, 2020

Dr. Jerome MAFENI  VALENTINE’S Day revolves around sweet treats. While boxes of chocolate and fancy dinners may be on your mind, listen to your heart! Your dietary decisions can affect your heart health – and many of the…
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Celebrating Kole Shettima and Amina Saliu on their birthdays

Editorial Feb 13, 2020

By Tunde Akanni, PhD FOR my former colleague at Concord Press, now a young grandma, Patience Akpan, every child or grandchild of hers is her favourite. The scintillatingly beauteous and fashionable professor at Arizona State University…
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Buhari and the aches in the heart of democracy

Editorial Feb 13, 2020

By Ayodele AKINKUOTU IF President Muhammadu Buhari is abreast of the recent restrictions imposed by the Lagos State government on the operations of both motorcycle and tricycle commercial transportation, he must sure see his name writ…
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Sowore’s trial: Court orders FG to pay fine of N200,000

Editorial Feb 12, 2020

By Seun DUROJAIYE and Nneoma BENSON AGAIN, the Federal Government stalled the hearing of the case involving Omoyele Sowore/Olawale Bakare when the court sat on Wednesday at the Federal High Court, Abuja.  As early as 8 o'clock in the…
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This is how ancient Rome’s republic died – a classicist sees troubling parallels at…

Editorial Feb 6, 2020

Timothy JOSEPH, College of the Holy Cross THE U.S. Senate has made its judgment in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, acquitting the president. Fifty two of 53 senators in the Republican majority voted to acquit the president…
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Fifty years hence, the Nigeria on my mind

Editorial Feb 5, 2020

BY Ayodele AKINKUOTU MANY Nigerians think President Muhammadu Buhari is the leader the nation needs at a time like this. On January 15, 2020, however, he uniquely failed to live up to that expectation. For, that day was the 50th…
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If Britain could exit Europe…

Editorial Feb 5, 2020

By Bola BOLAWOLE IF Britain could exit Europe, as it did close to the midnight of 31st January 2020; if Eritrea could exit Ethiopia; if Southern Sudan could exit Sudan, then, there is nothing that says nations cannot exit nations. To say…
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Nigeria and disease outbreaks. Better prepared, but still weak spots

Editorial Feb 3, 2020

By Folasade OGUNSOLA, University of Lagos EARLY this year, China confirmed the first case of a new strain of coronavirus (2019nCoV) isolated from a cluster of people with a respiratory syndrome in Wuhan. Within weeks it had spread to 11…
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The fears after Governor Sanwoolu’s fiat

Editorial Feb 2, 2020

By Gbenga OGUNDARE Twice in 2019, I had the misfortune of traveling with airlines that insisted I had to sit in a wheelchair while they wheeled me through the crowd of other passengers gawking as a visually challenges traveler board the…
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Ayaga: The story of a child beggar at Usmanu Danfodio University

Editorial Jan 31, 2020

By: Emelife Uchenna (Student Journalist) THE SAPPHIRE eyes of Ahmad Yusuf who is a second-year student of Literature were completely dimmed the minute they beheld the questions for an examination, held at PTF Hall sometimes ago. The…
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Nigeria has given a new GM cowpea variety the go ahead. Why it matters

Editorial Jan 31, 2020

By Jose Maria BARRERO, CSIRO and TJ HIGGINS, CSIRO LATE last year the world’s first genetically modified (GM) cowpea was registered and approved for release to smallholder farmers in Nigeria. The new variety carries a microbial…
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Security meeting didn’t discuss fate of service chiefs – National Security Adviser

Editorial Jan 30, 2020

THE National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, has denied that Thursday’s meeting of the National Security Council discussed the fate of the country’s service chiefs. President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday presided over the…
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How the Nigerian and Kenyan media handled Cambridge Analytica

Editorial Jan 29, 2020

There’s a growing awareness that Cambridge Analytica harnessed social media and personal data to influence elections. Shutterstock Brian EKDALE, University of Iowa and Melissa TULLY, University of Iowa KENYAN President Uhuru…
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Women inclusion in politics is a sure path to development

Editorial Jan 29, 2020

By Busola AJIBOLA BETWEEN 1999, the year of return to democracy and the last election held in 2019, the highest number of women representation recorded in the Senate was 9 out of 109. That was in 2007. The number came down to 7 in 2011…
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Steps Nigeria is taking to prepare for cases of coronavirus

Editorial Jan 28, 2020

By Chikwe IHEKWEAZU, UCL The number of reported cases and deaths of coronavirus is doubling every couple of days, and patients have now been reported from many Asian countries, as well as the Middle East, Europe, Australia and the US. The…
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UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION: How Enugu state internal revenue officers steal tax money

Editorial Jan 27, 2020

Investigative journalist, KELECHUKWU IRUOMA, presented himself as an unemployed Nigerian youth to expose corruption at the headquarters of the Enugu State Internal Revenue Service (ESIRS). To undertake this investigation, Iruoma adopted the…
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Operation Amotekun: A no confidence vote

Editorial Jan 27, 2020

By Ayodele AKINKUOTU  NEVER  in recent times has breaking news been more confusing. That was what happened in the evening of Thursday, January 23. As the six Southwest governors rose from their meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo,…
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Amotekun: Some inconvenient lessons and truths

Editorial Jan 26, 2020

By Martins OLOJA ‘NO force on earth can stop an idea whose time has come’. ‘Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come’. ‘No army can stop an idea whose time has come’. ‘Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come’.…
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UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION (II): Staff shortage, ghost workers, principalities and powers… Many things…

Editorial Jan 24, 2020

After altering his looks and taking psychiatric lessons every day for one week, investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO went undercover for three weeks in November, including 10 straight days onward admission, as a patient of the Federal…
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UK-Africa trade and investment: who benefits?

Editorial Jan 24, 2020

By Ian SCOONES, University of Sussex THERE has been much hype about a major Africa investment summit being hosted by the UK. Attended by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and an array of royals, a great deal of hopeful win-win-win rhetoric…
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For our departed revolutionary idealists

Editorial Jan 24, 2020

By Edwin MADUNAGU LET me begin by saying that the term “idealist” is not used in this article in the philosophical sense. Were this the case, departed comrades to whom the piece is dedicated would not be considered as Marxists at all. But…
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UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION (I): Bed-space corruption, terrible food, well-fed rats… Many things not…

Editorial Jan 22, 2020

After altering his looks and taking psychiatric lessons every day for one week, investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO went undercover for three weeks in November, including 10 straight days onward admission, as a patient of the Federal…
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SPECIAL REPORT: Why Nigeria’s electricity woes will remain despite Siemens’ 23,000MW target

Editorial Jan 21, 2020

By Taiwo HASSAN IN Nigeria, July of this year, the national mood was livened up, then some fresh hope followed. President Muhammadu Buhari had just announced a new plan with German tech giant Siemens AG to reverse the hex that is…
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Abandoned to fate: Strife-filled lives of visually impaired pupils in Nigeria’s South-East (Part 1)

Editorial Jan 21, 2020

Life for many of Nigeria’s visually impaired persons is often laced with sorrow and heart-breaking tales. For children, it is a worrying mix. In this report, KELECHUKWU OGU, a skilled and unsighted journalist, visits a handful of states in…
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AFDB to invest $250m on water,sanitation in FCT

Editorial Jan 19, 2020

THE African Development Bank (AfDB), says it plans to invest 250 million dollars in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to improve water supply and sanitation in satellite towns. AfDB Senior Director, Ebrima Faal, made the disclosure when…
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Shrinking rivers, wilting lives

Editorial Jan 17, 2020

 In the first of a two-part report, our correspondent Terkula IGIDI travels across Nigeria to find out how Nigeria’s drying up rivers have caused fish species to disappear, while fishermen and their families suffer SEVENTY-two-year-old…
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Nigerians, foreign nationals residing in Northern Cape Province of South Africa get 12 hours…

Editorial Jan 9, 2020

NIGERIANS and other foreign nationals resident in South Africa’s Keimoes and Upington areas of Northern Cape Province were on Thursday morning were given 12 hours to vacate by the indigenes. The President of Nigeria Union in South Africa,…
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Oil prices rise beyond Nigeria’s 2020 budget benchmark as Iran, Trump trade threats

Editorial Jan 6, 2020

OIL prices rose a further two per cent on Monday, pushing Brent above 70 dollars a barrel, as rhetoric from the United States, Iran and Iraq fanned tensions in the Middle East after a US airstrike which killed a top Iranian military…
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Inside Abia school for the blind where pupils are abandoned and forgotten (Part 2)

Editorial Jan 3, 2020

In this concluding part of his special report, skilled and unsighted journalist, Kelechukwu Ogu, exposes how the society continues to fail blind pupils in Nigeria’s South-East region Abia School for the Blind serves both Abia and Imo…
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Investigation: Honey products with NAFDAC number impure, compromise health

Editorial Dec 30, 2019

There is a proliferation of impure  honey in major  malls and shops in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city. The spread of low quality honey products compromises the health of Abuja residents, Amos ABBA and Rebecca AKINREMI examine five popular…
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INVESTIGATION: How DESOPADEC awarded contracts to fictitious firms, littering oil-producing…

Editorial Dec 29, 2019

In 2006, the Delta State government established the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (DESOPADEC) to address the issues of lack of development in its oil-producing communities. Thirteen years later, many…
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Horror of Nigeria’s dysfunctional emergency medical services (PART 2)

Editorial Dec 28, 2019

Almost sixty years after attaining independence, Nigeria does not have a coordinated emergency medical services (EMS) system. After a tour of some top public hospitals in the country, Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF in the part of this…
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Horror of Nigeria’s dysfunctional emergency medical services (PART 1)

Editorial Dec 27, 2019

Almost sixty years after attaining independence, Nigeria does not have a coordinated emergency medical services (EMS) system. After a tour of some top public hospitals in the country, Associate Editor ADEKUNLE YUSUF reports that many…
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The anti-politics of Buhari administration

Editorial Dec 26, 2019

By Sylvester ODION AKHAINE  I AM pleased to deliver this keynote address at this 2nd summit of the Nigerian pro-democracy movement. This summit is taking place in the context of deepening national contradictions and a clearly sinister…
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‘An educated person is a clown’: A tale of Sokoto varsity host communities

Editorial Dec 23, 2019

In communities hosting Usmanu Danfodiyo University, an ivory tower in the outskirt of Sokoto State, girl child education is rejected and boy child education is neglected. Despite the free education scheme in the state, children of school…
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CODE commends Taraba gov for passing WASH bill into law

Editorial Dec 23, 2019

By Seun DUROJAIYE DARIUS Ishaku, Governor of Taraba State, has passed the State Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) bill into law. The bill, which has been delayed since October, was signed on Thursday, December 19, beating the…
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Bayelsa lawyer raises alarm over death threats by armed ‘ex-militants’

Editorial Dec 23, 2019

A YENAGOA-based lawyer Edna Ndubuisi has raised alarm over persistent threats by armed men who claimed to be ex-militants. The militants are plaintiffs in a lawsuit on their stipends with commercial banks reportedly on Nov. 19, 2019, armed…
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How to spot a fascist

Editorial Dec 21, 2019

By Abdul MAHMUD IF the Savoyard philosopher, Joseph de Maistre, lent himself as the philosophical inspirator of fascists, Mussolini remains the poster-boy of an ideology that appeals to dirty men and women, who crave power to wreak…
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Displaced pupils back to the street as school feeding program grinds to halt in n’east

Editorial Dec 21, 2019

By Femi Owolabi Story Highlights  School feeding lasted a few weeks in most schools   school enrolment and attendance have dropped There is poor supervision  Government claims it is not aware of any problem with the…
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Sex work is no crime, Abuja court rules

Editorial Dec 20, 2019

By seun DUROJAIYE A FEDERAL  high court judge in the FCT, Binta Nyako, has ruled that sex work is not a crime. Nyako also condemned the arrest of women alleged to be sex workers in Abuja by law enforcement agents. While passing…
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No more N100m subvention for states -JAMB

Editorial Dec 19, 2019

Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, Registrar, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), on Wednesday, said that the board would no longer give the usual N100 million to its state offices. Oloyede made the disclosure at the opening of a two-day…
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A breakdown of Europe’s €1.5bn migration spending in Nigeria

Editorial Dec 19, 2019

Maite Vermeulen, Reinier Tromp, Giacomo Zandonini and Ajibola Amzat After months of research, we attempted to map the migration projects Europe finances in Nigeria. Where does the money go? Border control and sending migrants back seem…
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Europe spends billions stopping migration. Good luck figuring out where the money actually goes

Editorial Dec 18, 2019

Maite Vermeulen, Ajibola Amzat and Giacomo Zandonini How much money exactly does Europe spend trying to curb migration from Nigeria? And what’s it used for? We tried to find out, but Europe certainly doesn’t make it easy. These flashy…
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INVESTIGATION: How lecturers fleece Offa Poly students through sale of sub-standard, unregistered…

Editorial Dec 18, 2019

Even though the school authorities claimed that handouts have been banned in the school and that lecturers can only sell recommended textbooks, an investigation by this newspaper shows that many of the so-called textbooks are without…
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End of discussion: Deathly ban on free expression and the rise of fascism

Editorial Dec 16, 2019

By Chido Onumah At a time Nigeria requires a robust conversation about its politics, economy, ethnic relations, unity, and indeed, future, the country’s over-indulged lawmakers, egged on by a president who is anything but a democrat, are…
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INVESTIGATION: Millions down the drain as contractors abandon constituency projects in Oyo State

Editorial Dec 14, 2019

Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari slammed the National Assembly for having little to show for over one trillion naira budgeted for constituency projects of the members in the last 10 years. INNOCENT DURU, who visited sites of some…
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The secret prosecution of Nigerian journalist, Jones Abiri

Editorial Dec 11, 2019

By Jonathan Rozen A familiar secrecy is set to dominate the renewed prosecution of Nigerian journalist Jones Abiri. On December 12, Abiri is scheduled to appear again in federal court where he is charged with terrorism, sabotage and…
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OPINION: The open society endangered

Editorial Dec 9, 2019

(Being a talk delivered at the UN World Anti-Corruption Day, Abuja, Dec. 9. 2019)                By Wole SOYINKA PRESENT here, I fully expect, is the Youth contingent of this undertaking. We are still within the United Nations…
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INVESTIGATION: Offa Poly students groan as school officials, associations impose illegal fees (1)

Editorial Dec 8, 2019

Alfred Olufemi In a recent interview, the spokesperson of Federal Polytechnic Offa, Olayinka Iroye, announced that the school authorities had eradicated all forms of corruption and that no one sells handouts to students no matter the…
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United States, Iran exchange prisoners in rare act of cooperation

Editorial Dec 8, 2019

THE United States and Iran each freed a prisoner at the weekend in a rare act of cooperation between two longtime foes whose ties have worsened since President Donald Trump took office. Tensions have risen between Iran and the US since…
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Lessons from the African wild dog (Lycaeon Pictus)

Editorial Dec 6, 2019

By Wole SOYINKA A FEW years ago, I watched the video of a pack of the famed African wild dogs hunt, eventually bring down, and proceed to devour a quarry. It was an impala, antelope family. The pack isolated the most vulnerable looking…
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Ekiti Varsity lecturer sacked over sexual harassment

Editorial Dec 6, 2019

By Vincent UFUOMA THE Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, has dismissed and terminated the appointment of Mr. Olola Olaleye Aduwo, a lecturer from the Department of Accounting of the institution, for sexually harassing female students of…
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Recalling Tai Solarin’s prediction

Editorial Dec 5, 2019

By Edwin MADUNAGU NIGERIA'S 2019 elections, particularly the recent governorship contests in Kogi and Bayelsa states, have forcefully brought back a prediction which the late Tai Solarin made about 40 years ago in the aftermath of the…
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Between thuggery and state disobedience

Editorial Dec 5, 2019

By Wole  SOYINKA I HAVE no hesitation in admitting that I have a personal, formative interest in the health of the Nigerian judiciary, deeper perhaps than the average Nigerian.  At a critical junction in the life of this writer, a judge…
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The economy of loss

Editorial Dec 5, 2019

By Abdul Mahmud Reading Homer’s epic poem, ‘The Iliad’, in my Advanced Level class many years ago, I was confronted with the human condition. The evil that men do, evil that withers good and destroys humanity, so easily recognizable in…
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INVESTIGATION: How child labour boosts milk production at FrieslandCampina in Nigeria

Editorial Dec 3, 2019

Taiwo-Hassan Adebayo Six-year-old Yusufa Isah shares a makeshift wooden sleeping platform with Tijani Abubakar, 13, on this isolated cattle farm, about 40 minutes’ walk from their family settlement in Osomo Village in Iseyin, Oyo State,…
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Why the blind beg in Nigeria

Editorial Dec 1, 2019

By Gbenga OGUNDARE NIGERIA’s ineffective inclusive education policy, aggravated by widespread fraud and infrastructure dearth, is driving more of its blind population to beg for a living A quick fact-check: Presenting the 2019 budget…
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SPECIAL REPORT: Inside Oyo’s garri-producing community that lacks basic amenities

Editorial Dec 1, 2019

By Adejumo KABIR IN the 1960s, before oil became a major source of revenue, Nigeria used to be one of the most promising agricultural producers in the world. Cocoa, oil palm, and groundnut were some of the agricultural produce that fetched…
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Oil spill: Bayelsa Community rejects ‘paltry’ compensation by Shell

Editorial Nov 30, 2019

MEMBERS of Aghoro 1, community, Ekeremor Local Government Area in Bayelsa on Friday berated the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) for short-changing them. They criticised the oil firm for arbitrarily determining the…
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School children in Abuja still defecate openly because there are no toilets

Editorial Nov 30, 2019

School children in Abuja, the federal capital territory of Nigeria, still defecate in the open field because there are no functional toilet facilities within the school premises. Seun DUROJAIYE visited some of the schools in the Abuja…
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Varsity magt denies expelling student for impregnating lecturer

Editorial Nov 29, 2019

 By Vincent Ufuoma THE management of the Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa has denied the expulsion of a male student for impregnating his lecturer, claiming there was no student that impregnated a lecturer. It was reported that one…
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Of cancers and media reportage

Editorial Nov 28, 2019

By Wole SOYINKA HERE we go again! I have not seen the final presentation of a BBC feature programme on Health Awareness in which my 2014 experience with cancer was featured, but have been bombarded by narratives of the most disquieting…
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Why Nigerians should swap laughter for anger

Editorial Nov 28, 2019

By Michael Buraimoh AT first, it will seem rather strange and even wrong to call on a happy people to stop being happy and instead be angry, particularly in a country like Nigeria, where religion and faith are often substitutes for…
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ICIR premiers documentary on missing persons in Northeast, affected families call for justice

Editorial Nov 28, 2019

By Jennifer Ugwa & Nneoma Benson  THE International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR on Wednesday in Abuja premiered a documentary on missing persons in the Northeastern Nigeria since the beginning of Boko Haram insurgency in…
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In praise of the soft vengeance Busola Dakolo

Editorial Nov 26, 2019

By Chidi Anselm ODINKALU At the end of June 2019, #MeToo became #ChurchToo in Nigeria. BUSOLA Dakolo, a mother of three who grew up a gifted child was the unlikely heroine in this script. She first laid bare her claims in an interview…
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There are still huge gaps in Nigeria’s efforts to protect children

Editorial Nov 26, 2019

By Daniel Ogunniyi, University of Nottingham IT is 30 years since countries across the world adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child . Yet, to date, the terms it sets out to protect children remain far from reality in many…
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Welfare of 47 Million Nigerians hangs in the balance due to NDDC’s mismanagement of N1.53 trillion

Editorial Nov 25, 2019

AT least N1.534 trillion has been received by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) since its inception in 2001. This amount was allocated to the NDDC for expenditures on projects to reverse the huge infrastructural deficit in the…
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CONTROVERSY: Questions trail execution of TETFund projects in UNILAG, FUTA (2)

Editorial Nov 24, 2019

This is the second and concluding part of INNOCENT DURU’s investigation into what public varsities in the South West are doing with the funds received for the implementation of TETFund projects in their respective institutions. The…
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Senate’s Anti-Social Media Bill is an act of inter-generational warfare

Editorial Nov 23, 2019

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu Senator Mohammed Sani Musa’s Anti-Social Media Bill now making its way through Nigeria’s upper legislative chamber is worse than a throwback to the worst years of Nigeria’s experience of military rule. It is a…
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African Union orders Britain to withdraw from Chagos Islands, end ‘colonial…

Editorial Nov 22, 2019

The African Union ordered Britain on Friday to withdraw from the Chagos Islands and end its “continued colonial administration” after a United Nations deadline for it to do so expired. The Chagos Islands belong to the Indian Ocean island…
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Varsities and TETFund contractors in unholy alliance

Editorial Nov 21, 2019

 Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is the backbone of infrastructural development, training and equipment procurement in public tertiary institutions.  However, JUSTINA ASISHANA reports that contractors’ failings, poor project…
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WSCIJ appoints Motunrayo Alaka as Executive Director

Editorial Nov 19, 2019

THE Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ), has appointed Motunrayo Alaka as Executive Director of the organisation. In a statement signed by the Board Chairman, Ropo Sekoni, he disclosed that the appointement was as a…
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After acquiring $1.3bn DisCos, investors leave meter, transformer burdens to consumers

Editorial Nov 19, 2019

Six years ago, the Federal Government unbundled the power Holding Company of Nigerian (PHCN) and handed over 18 utility firms to private investors. Government raked in $2.5 billion (about N916.575bn) from the transaction involving six…
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Bayelsa polls: Voters say election is peaceful, despite episodes of violence, vote-buying, flooding

Editorial Nov 17, 2019

From: Olugbenga ADANIKIN and Jennifer UGWA, Yenagoa IN SPITE of pockets of violence and vote-buying observed by The ICIR during the Saturday, November 16 election held in Bayelsa State, the electorate has described the poll as relatively…
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FACT CHECK: Fake photos shared during Kogi/Bayelsa elections

Editorial Nov 16, 2019

By Seun DUROJAIYE DESPITE public outcry against the rise of information disorder in Nigeria,   partisan groups and social media trolls still circulated images that turned out to be misleading during the governorship elections held on…
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CONTROVERSY: Questions trail execution of multi-billion naira TETFUND projects in public varsities…

Editorial Nov 16, 2019

There are disturbing signals about how public universities are managing or mismanaging huge sums of money allocated to them annually to execute Tertiary Institution Trust Fund (TETFUND) projects. Investigation revealed that many of the…
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ICPC set to monitor Bayelsa, Kogi governorship elections

Editorial Nov 15, 2019

ARRANGEMENT has been concluded for operatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to monitor the upcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States on 16th November 2019 for vote buying…
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Kogi Election: CDD raises alarm over vote buying in Lokoja, Koton Karfe LGAs

Editorial Nov 15, 2019

LESS than 24 hours to the commencement of 2019 Kogi State governorship election, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a not-for-profit advocacy organisation has raised alarm about the incident of vote buying in Kogi State. In a…
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LIVE UPDATE: Kogi and Bayelsa State elections 2019

Editorial Nov 15, 2019

Kogi and Bayelsa state gubernatorial elections scheduled to hold on Saturday 16, November 2019. The ICIR brings you live update as the election unfolds in both states. Follow the hashtags below to stay updated #CDDAnalysisCentre…
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We are still in Bayelsa guber race, says APC, heads to Appeal Court

Editorial Nov 15, 2019

By Olugbenga Adanikin and Jennifer Ugwa The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa says it remains in the race for the Nov.16 governorship election. The party insisted on Thursday that in spite of a Federal High Court judgment that…
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CDD tasks stakeholders on credible elections, as voters go to polls in Kogi, Bayelsa

Editorial Nov 14, 2019

LESS than 48 hours to the November 16, 2019 Governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has tasked political actors and the security agencies to do more to stem the tide of political…
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Anxiety brews in Bayelsa   

Editorial Nov 14, 2019

From: Jennifer UGWA and Olugbenga ADANIKIN (Reporting from Yenagoa) THERE is rising tension in Bayelsa State ahead of Saturday – November 16 Governorship election scheduled to hold in eight local government areas (LGAs) of the state.…
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Clearing the path for good journalism

Editorial Nov 13, 2019

By Godwin ONYEACHOLEM TIME and again, there are desperate calls not just by veterans but also by younger and discriminating practitioners about the compelling need to rescue journalism practice in Nigeria from obvious dereliction,…
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Do not dump PDP, Gov Dickson begs Bayelsa people ahead guber polls

Editorial Nov 11, 2019

GOV Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa has urged the people of Bayelsa to keep faith with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as they go to the polls on Nov 16 to elect his successor. Dickson who made the call in a radio broadcast on Sunday night…
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CAC set to de-list companies over annual returns

Editorial Nov 11, 2019

CORPORATE Affairs Commission (CAC) on Monday in Abuja urged companies operating in the country to file in their annual returns as provided by the law or risk being de-listed from its register. Moses Adaguusu, Head Public Affairs, CAC,…
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Banditry, malnutrition killing thousands of children in Zamfara

Editorial Nov 11, 2019

ACCORDING to the United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, an estimated two million children in Nigeria suffer from Severe Acute Malnutrition, SAM. Grace Obike, with the aid of a grant from Ford Foundation and the International Centre for…
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Confession of Yahoo Plus boys

Editorial Nov 8, 2019

IN their desperation to join the ranks of their compatriots who have been making millions of dollars out of online-scams, young Nigeria- based wannabe scammers known as ‘yahoo boys’ are resorting to the use of traditional charms and…
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Nigeria budgets N2,000 for the healthcare of each citizen in 2020

Editorial Nov 7, 2019

By Dataphyte THE federal government has deemed it fit that two thousand naira (N2,000) would be enough in the year 2020 to provide for the healthcare of each of the estimated 200 million Nigerians. This is according to the meager 427.3…
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Over 70-year-old Abuja community with no water, school, electricity

Editorial Nov 7, 2019

By Pius Samuel FOR over 70 years or so, Gosa Kpai Kpai, an indigenous Gbagy community along airport road in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja has not felt the presence of the government. The Gbagys in the community who are among other…
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NIPOST: Minister orders PoS service, charges agency on efficiency 

Editorial Nov 7, 2019

By Vincent UFUOMA  The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) has ordered the Postmaster-General (PMG) of the Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST) to halt all existing cash payment plans within its…
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SERAP threatens to sue FUNAAB if expelled student is not reinstated within 72 hours 

Editorial Nov 6, 2019

By Vincent Ufuoma THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has threatened to sue the management of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) if it fails to reinstate Ifemosu Michael Adewale within 72…
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Edo govt demands apology over attack on Obaseki, Akiolu at Oshiomhole’s residence

Editorial Nov 6, 2019

By Vincent Ufuoma THE Edo State Government has called on the APC National Chairman, Mr. Adams Oshiomole to apologise for the attack on Gov. Godwin Obaseki, the Oba of Lagos, and other guests at his house last Saturday. It said the attack…
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UN Secretary-General has ‘no plans’ for proposals on journalist safety

Editorial Nov 5, 2019

THE United Nations Secretary-General, Antonío Guterres has ‘no plans’ to effect proposals submitted by 72 media groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs)to name a representative for the safety of journalists across the globe. A…
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Market grows in Africa for weaponised spyware aimed at activists, journalists

Editorial Nov 5, 2019

By Lisa Vives IF you’re worried about robocalls offering a dubious sale of bitcoins, a new technology aimed at political dissidents will chill you to the bone. Pegasus, an all-seeing spyware, worms its way into phones and starts…
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Putting the PSC Act amendment in perspective

Editorial Nov 5, 2019

By Waziri ADIO ON Tuesday, 29th October 2019, the House of Representatives concurred with the Senate in amending the law governing the Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) in Nigeria’s oil sector. The amendment, which was initiated by the…
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PDP dismisses speculation on the zoning of 2023 presidential election

Editorial Nov 3, 2019

By Vincent Ufuoma THE People's Democratic Party has called upon its members to disregard the report making rounds the media that the party will retain the zoning of the 2023 Presidential election in the North East and South East…
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Journalists, CSOs raise alarm about media censorship in Nigeria

Editorial Nov 2, 2019

 THE Coalition for Whistleblowers Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF) has raised alarm about  rising trend of media censorship by the Nigerian government. In a statement released to mark the 2019 International Day to End Impunity for…
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Court of Appeal strikes out Ajimobi’s petition against Balogun’s victory

Editorial Nov 1, 2019

THE COURT of Appeal sitting in Ibadan has dismissed the petition filed by immediate past governor of Oyo State, Abiola Ajimobi  challenging the decision of the Oyo State National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal on…
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FUOYE resumes 11 Nov, announces new Deputy VC

Editorial Oct 30, 2019

By Vincent UFUOMA (Student  reporter) THE Federal University of Oye-Ekiti(FUOYE), Ekiti State is resuming academic activities on November 11 after several weeks of being shut down over a protest on irregular power supply in the…
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Kogi’s paradox of six and half-a-dozen

Editorial Oct 28, 2019

By Bolanle Bolawole THAT which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered. – Ecclesiastes 1: 15 “A friend of my friend is my friend. A friend of my enemy is my enemy. An enemy of my friend is my…
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 Stash or Trash: Does Africa have a taste for the World’s e-waste?

Editorial Oct 28, 2019

By Kolawole Talabi HIS name, Victor, could have been given fortuitously almost three decades ago but beyond chance, Victor Amienwanlan, 28, is an Edo State native of Esan origin who has had to fight to claim his place in this…
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‘Fisayo Soyombo and the legal propriety of prosecuting an undercover journalist: A dialogue

Editorial Oct 28, 2019

By Timothy Ola Bamgboye Prelude ‘FISAYO Soyombo, a multiple award-winning journalist, in a three-part article, chronicles with the aid of pictorial and filmic pieces of evidence, how he got himself arrested, detained in police cell, and…
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‘Stop the payment of Dariye’s salary,’ SERAP tells Senate President

Editorial Oct 26, 2019

By Vincent UFUOMA THE Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called upon the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan to halt the salary payment of the Senator representing Plateau Central in the National Assembly, Mr.…
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Kellu: The female activist who died fighting for justice

Editorial Oct 26, 2019

By Hauwa Ismail For more than two years, Kellu Haruna, a brave 35 years old internally displaced woman who became an activist, led more than 2,000 women in a campaign that took on both the federal government and the all-powerful…
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Group petitions EFCC over bullion van seen at Tinubu’s house

Editorial Oct 24, 2019

By Vincent Ufuoma (Student Reporter) A GROUP known as "Concerned Nigeria" on Twitter has sent a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over bullion vans seen at Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s house in Ikoyi, Lagos, on the…
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INVESTIGATION: How women in Rivers State suffer from AGIP’s nonstop gas flaring & oil pollution

Editorial Oct 24, 2019

In this investigation, ELFREDAH KEVIN-ALERECHI, a freelance Journalist, reports on how women in several communities in Rivers State suffer from 24 hour-non-stop gas flaring and regular oil spills from Nigerian Agip Oil Company…
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Women can no longer walk freely at night in Abuja, and the law does not protect their right to do so

Editorial Oct 23, 2019

By Seun DUROJAIYE AMAKA Enemo retreated when the camera was pointed in her direction. Her bold, bright face was filled with dismay as she requested the device to be put away. Once that was done, she flashed a quick smile and proceeded to…
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REPORTER’S DIARY: Living With A ‘Mad’ Cell Mate, Set Up By Warders, Abducted By The Police (3)

Editorial Oct 23, 2019

In the third and final part of a three – part undercover investigative series, FISAYO SOYOMBO documents the soft side of his time in police cell and prison, and how prison, police and court officials conspired to abduct him after…
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EFCC records 882 convictions in 10 months, budgets N30.9bn for 2020

Editorial Oct 23, 2019

THE Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) Ibrahim Magu on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 disclosed that the agency earned a record of 882 convictions between January and October this year. Magu made the…
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Nigerian military targeted journalists’ phones, computers with “forensic search” for sources

Editorial Oct 22, 2019

By Jonathan ROZEN HAMZA Idris, an editor with the Nigerian Daily Trust, was at the newspaper’s central office on January 6 when the military arrived looking for him. Soldiers with AK47s walked between the newsroom desks repeating his…
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Onoja sworn-in as Kogi Deputy Governor barely a month to election

Editorial Oct 21, 2019

Nneoma Benson and Lukman Abolade EDWARD  Onoja, former Chief of Staff to Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, on Monday has been sworn-in as deputy governor of the state. Governor Bello sent Onoja’s name as a replacement after the…
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UNDERCOVER: Drug Abuse, Sodomy, Bribery, Pimping… The Cash- And-Carry Operations Of Ikoyi Prisons 2

Editorial Oct 21, 2019

In the second report of a three – part undercover investigative series, FISAYO SOYOMBO exposes how the courts short-change the law, and the prisons are themselves a cesspool of the exact reasons for which they hold inmates. TOO many…
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Nigeria’s power grid records 206 collapses in 9 years as foreign funded investment hits N715bn 

Editorial Oct 20, 2019

By Fidelis Mac-Leva & Simon Echewofun Sunday NIGERIAN woke up on Wednesday, May 8, to a nationwide power outage that cut off power from many homes and factories leading to reduced load allocations to the distribution companies…
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FUOYE students disagree with management claim of 16-hour daily power supply

Editorial Oct 18, 2019

By Ayobami Olutaiwo (Student reporter) Students of Federal University of Oye Ekiti (FUOYE) have disagreed with management of the institution over a claim that the campus community enjoys electricity supply from generators between 6 am and…
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Fayemi signs bill that will prevent govt from abandoning projects initiated by past administration

Editorial Oct 16, 2019

By Vincent UFUOMA (Student reporter) AS part of the activities to mark his one year in office, the governor of Ekiti State, Gov. John Kayode Fayemi has signed the Ekiti State Transition Bill into law. The Transition Law which is the…
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Insecurity: Why peace efforts in Northwest Nigeria are not sustainable

Editorial Oct 16, 2019

Jibia, a border community in the North West of Nigeria, sits precariously on the road cutting through Katsina town into Niger Republic. The fierce desert wind frequently blazes through, triggering a storm of dusty earth over the market…
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Public libraries in Nigeria risk extinction, need urgent reform – student group

Editorial Oct 15, 2019

–By Vincent Ufuoma (Student Reporter) THE Nigerian Library and Information Science Students Association (N-LISSA) has condemned the sorry state of public libraries in Nigeria. Azeez Elijah Olawale, the association's national president,…
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AfDB, others to develop Green financing instruments for Africa

Editorial Oct 14, 2019

THE African Development Bank, (AfDB) in partnership with the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), has commissioned the Coalition for Green Capital (CGC)  to prepare a study on the creation of national climate change funds and green banks in…
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UNDERCOVER: Bribery, Bail For Sale… Lagos Police Station Where Innocent Civilians Are Jailed And…

Editorial Oct 14, 2019

Investigative journalist ‘FISAYO SOYOMBO spent two weeks in detention — five days in a Police cell and eight as an inmate in Ikoyi Prison — to track corruption in Nigeria’s criminal justice system, beginning from the moment of…
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Counselling combats mental, sexual related challenges on Nigerian campuses- experts

Editorial Oct 11, 2019

By Daniel Whyte (Student reporter) MENTAL health advocates have claimed that the prevalence of depression, substance abuse, molestation and sexual harassment —all which sometimes drive the victim to commit suicide— in Nigerian societies…
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Chido Onumah:Yes, all Nigerians have become Biafrans

Editorial Oct 9, 2019

By SKC Ogbonnia THE recent harassment or detention of human rights activist, Dr. Chido Onumah, by state agents is not only a sign that Nigeria is drifting towards full-blown dictatorship, the incident also goes to expose the hypocrisy of…
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INVESTIGATION: Pedophiles on the prowl in FCT

Editorial Oct 8, 2019

Reports of abuse of minors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja are on the increase. Experts say many more cases are unreported. In this report, Emiene ERAMEH reveals the reasons for the rising trend and factors responsible.…
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Sex-for-grades scandal: Atiku kicks, SERAP sues for Justice

Editorial Oct 7, 2019

By Vincent UFUOMA BARELY 24 hours after the release of a videotape by BBC Africa of how a lecturer in UNILAG was trying to harass a female admission for sex, the People Democratic Party Presidential candidate in the 2019 elections,…
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Asaba massacre: A note of warning

Editorial Oct 7, 2019

By Cheta NWANZE THERE is an Igbo saying about when you wake up is your morning. It simply means that it is never too late to start. This is, in my view, a good thing as it engenders an attitude that does not allow people to give up on…
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Attorney-General Adoke and the Burden of Memory

Editorial Oct 6, 2019

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu SENIOR Nigerian public officers are notoriously parsimonious with their recall once out of office. From among their club memoirs are unusual, especially, from those with any sense of lingering shelf-life. It’s easy…
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Sambo Abdullahi vs NBET: Court denies govt. company’s application for stay of proceedings

Editorial Oct 4, 2019

THE National Industrial Court, Abuja, on Friday maintained its ground by again rejecting an application filed by the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trade PLC (NBET) to stay proceedings in a case brought before it by one of the company's embattled…
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FUOYE protest: NANS releases findings, demands compensation for families of late, injured students

Editorial Oct 3, 2019

By Vincent UFUOMA THREE weeks after a violent clash between students and security agents claimed the lives of two students and left others injured at Federal University Oye-Ekiti, FUOYE, the National Association of Nigerian Students…
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‘All passengers sweating like Christmas goat’… man laments Dana Air’s poor…

Editorial Oct 3, 2019

By Vincent UFUOMA A PASSENGER who flew using Dana Airline, on Wednesday, expressed his dissatisfaction with the management and staff's customer relation service on Twitter. Ayo Bankole, the convener of Lagos SME Bootcamp, and other…
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Meet Chukwuedo, corps member who transformed Ekiti library

Editorial Oct 3, 2019

By Daniel Whyte MEMBER of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Favour Chukwuedo, 25, commemorated the completion of his Community Development Service with the digitisation and renovation of the Ekiti State public library. …
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Let there be light: Nigeria’s dawns of dashed hopes on electricity

Editorial Oct 1, 2019

By Adebayo HASSAN and Jayne AUGOYE OILFIELDS across Nigeria's resource-abundant Niger Delta spew high flames that blur the difference between day and night in the so-called host communities, like Ebedei in Delta State. The oil industry…
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Contractors complete abandoned projects after investigation commissioned by The ICIR

Editorial Sep 29, 2019

By Chinwe AGBEZE ONE of the series of investigations commissioned by The ICIR with MacArthur funds has yielded an immediate impact as the contractors featured in the report have returned to complete the abandoned projects. Earlier in…
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Peace restored at FUTMinna following clash between students, truck drivers — Police  

Editorial Sep 28, 2019

By VINCENT  Ufuoma THE Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Danila, has assured the people of the state that peace has been restored to the community where students of the Federal University of Technology, Minna…
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MRA hails European Court ruling on Right to be Forgotten

Editorial Sep 27, 2019

THE Media Rights Agenda, MRA, today commended the landmark judgement of the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU, which on September 24, resolved the dispute over Google's responsibility to remove information…
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Revolutions that “fired” young Leftists

Editorial Sep 27, 2019

By Edwin Madunagu I FEEL the need to begin with some clarifications on the title that has been constructed for this piece: “Revolutions that ‘fired’ young Leftists.” This need will be more than adequately met if a specific meaning can be…
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GIJN 2019: If autocrats thought we were going away, they’re in for a surprise

Editorial Sep 26, 2019

AS more than 1,500 investigative journalists from over 130 countries converge in Hamburg, Germany for the 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference 2019, discussions on high stakes for an effective and sustainability investigative…
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FUOYE shooting victim urges govt to set up investigative panel, bring culprits to book

Editorial Sep 26, 2019

By Vincent Ufuoma ONE of the students injured during a police shooting on September 10 at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, FUOYE, Azeez Elijah Olawale, has called on civil rights organisations to put pressure on the government to…
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Fake scholarship scheme pulls down website after TETFund’s disclaimer

Editorial Sep 23, 2019

By DANIEL Whyte A FAKE scholarship scheme that claimed affiliation with Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, and described itself as the first online intervention of the government agency has pulled down its website after TETFund…
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OPINION: On journalism and patriotism

Editorial Sep 22, 2019

By Simon Kolawole WHAT is patriotism? The definition should be fairly straightforward: loving your country. One of my favourite all-time tunes is the 1988 song, “Nation and the People”, by The Mandators, with the refrain: “Love your…
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OPINION: Now that SA has apologised…

Editorial Sep 20, 2019

By Bola BOLAWOLE NOW South Africa has apologised for the xenophobic attacks that saw to the death of many African compatriots in the hands of South African mobs, have we seen the end of a sad chapter in the history of Black Africa?…
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‘We’ll deal decisively with troublemakers’… Ekiti police warns ahead of…

Editorial Sep 15, 2019

By DANIEL Whyte THE Ekiti State Police Command has warned the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), against its planned mass action scheduled for this week in reaction to the killing of two students of the Federal University,…
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After ICIR report, Kwara State Govt inaugurates panel on waste management

Editorial Sep 15, 2019

By Abiodun JAMIU Barely four days after The ICIR reported how residents of Dada and other communities in Ilorin, Kwara State, live in perpetual fear of an epidemic outbreak owing to poor sanitation, governor of the state,…
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OPINION: Where are Sowore, Ohimai, Dadiyata?

Editorial Sep 15, 2019

By: Fredrick Nwabufo DEMOCRACY is freedom; freedom to exist and to exercise the full catalogue of natural rights. The quality of democracy in an ordered system is assessed by the quantity and level of freedom the citizens enjoy. Any…
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Ekiti Assembly vows to investigate death of students, Govt delegates visit victims’ parents

Editorial Sep 14, 2019

By DANIEL Whyte Speaker of the Ekiti State  House of Assembly,  Funminiyi Afuye has spoken over the protest of students of Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) and the subsequent shooting by men of Nigeria Police on Tuesday, which led to…
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INVESTIGATION: The sad tale of Nigeria’s child prisoners

Editorial Sep 14, 2019

The Nigerian Prisons Service recently changed its name to the Nigerian Correctional Service; however, the name change has not taken away the reality of the overcrowded prisons, long list of awaiting trial inmates as well as child…
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Justice for FUOYE: SERAP, Eleka, others condemn killing of students by Nigeria police, demand…

Editorial Sep 13, 2019

By DANIEL Whyte NIGERIANS have taken to Twitter to condemn the arbitrary shooting and extrajudicial killing of students of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, by security operatives attached to the wife of Ekiti state…
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FUOYE students lament harassment, extortion by policemen while traveling home

Editorial Sep 13, 2019

By Vincent UFUOMA STUDENTS of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State, who were traveling along the Ado-Ikere road on Thursday have accused operatives of the Nigeria Police in Ekiti State of harassment and extortion. The students…
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AFROPHOBIA: The lies, data and undercurrent

Editorial Sep 12, 2019

By THEOPHILUS Abbah OUTRAGE spread with fire and blood across Africa as the demon of xenophobia took control of the mind and conscience of hundreds of South African youths. Thirsty for blood and destruction, they struck their…
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FUOYE sets up panel to investigate causes of students’ ‘misdemeanor’ after death…

Editorial Sep 12, 2019

By DANIEL Whyte THE management of Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti State, constituted a 12-member investigation panel, in reacting to the death of two students of the university during  protest against power outage in the…
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‘I did not encounter any students or order their shooting,’ replies Ekiti First Lady

Editorial Sep 11, 2019

By DANIEL Whyte WIFE of the Governor of Ekiti State, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, has denied allegations that she ordered the shooting of students at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) on Tuesday. Pandemonium erupted as disagreement between…
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Another undergrad confirmed dead in Oye Ekiti Varsity

Editorial Sep 11, 2019

By Daniel Whyte A SECOND student of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, FUOYE, Joseph Okonofua, has been confirmed to have died at the Federal Medical Center, Ido, Ekiti state. Okonofua, fondly called Joseph Icon by friends, is a…
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FUOYE shuts indefinitely after student’s protest against poor power supply

Editorial Sep 11, 2019

By Daniel Whyte THE Management of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ekiti, has announced the shutdown of the university indefinitely. This follows the violent attack that erupted at Oye-Ekiti, the university's host community, on…
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One shot dead, three injured as violence erupts after students’ protest in Oye-Ekiti

Editorial Sep 11, 2019

By DANIEL Whyte A STUDENT of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti, Oluwaseyi Kehinde, has been shot dead during a disagreement that turned violent on Tuesday. Kehinde was a new intake at the Department of Crop Science and…
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Four months after first demonstration, FUOYE students protest again over lack of power

Editorial Sep 10, 2019

By DANIEL Whyte STUDENTS of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), in Ekiti State on Tuesday again took to the street to protest the continuous lack of power supply which plagues the institution's host communities, Oye-Ekiti and Ikole…
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U.S court discharges NNPC of $2.7b debt to Shell, ESSO

Editorial Sep 8, 2019

U.S. Southern District Court of New York has delivered judgment in favour of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) against ESSO Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and Shell Nigerian Exploration and Production Company…
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OPINION: Gov. Makinde’s 100 Days score-card….

Editorial Sep 8, 2019

By Bolanle BOLAWOLE I religiously read Gov. (Engr.) Seyi Makinde’s “100 Days: Restoring glory to Oyo state” published to mark his first 100 days in office, a rite that came with the introduction into Nigeria of the America-styled…
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ELEBELE: Residents of Bayelsa’s oil community cry out over collapsed bridge

Editorial Sep 6, 2019

RESIDENTS of Elebele community in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State on Friday appealed for the speedy repair of Elebele bridge which collapsed on Thursday. JOHN Jacobs, a Community leader  in the oil producing community…
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Kwara communities face threat of epidemics from filthy environment  

Editorial Sep 4, 2019

Residents of Dada and other communities in Ilorin, Kwara State engage in indiscriminate dumping of refuse and open defecation due to the failure of the state government to provide dumpsters in public places and therefore live in perpetual…
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OPINION: Like Buhari, I love cartoons!

Editorial Sep 4, 2019

By BOLA Bolawole RENO Omokri, one of the most virulent and partisan – even if forthright – critics of President Muhammadu Buhari, his administration and party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), took the president to the cleaners on…
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OPINION: Who will take over in Nigeria?

Editorial Sep 3, 2019

By Cheta Nwanze GEOPOLITICS is the study of the effects of geography on politics and human relations, mainly the relationships between nations. To most people, the word “nation” refers to countries, but the study of geopolitics may also…
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Who do ‘Magu boys’ work for, EFCC or an emperor?

Editorial Aug 31, 2019

By Fredrick Nwabufo A SCATHING detraction to professionalism in Nigeria is the customisation of public offices. Institutions are built around personalities rather than on principles and service. The corrugation of Nigeria's public offices…
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WaterWide Commemorates World Water Week: How pure is our water? 

Editorial Aug 29, 2019

By Winifred Obam WATERWIDE, a non-profit organisation that tracks government spending and international aids for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in rural communities in Nigeria joins to commemorate World Water Week organized by SIWI …
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Ugly Lagos and the Urgent need for Redemption

Editorial Aug 29, 2019

By Anthony Akaeze AS is typically the case, United States President, Donald Trump, was again in the news recently for what he wrote about Baltimore, Maryland's main city. Following Congressman Elijah Cummings’ reprimand of American…
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This man stole from Nigeria. Today, he’s minister in Buhari’s cabinet

Editorial Aug 28, 2019

The PREMIUM TIMES has reported that retired Major General Bashir Magashi who has just been appointed as the minister of defence by President Muhammadu Buhari was once caught in a corruption scandal involving deals worth $550,00(about…
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N1.7bn Fraud: ICPC asks Court to remand head of Disability Cooperative Society in Prison Custody

Editorial Aug 28, 2019

THE Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has requested a Senior Magistrate Court, Wuse Zone 2, Abuja, to grant an order for the remand of the National Coordinator, Federal Civil Service Staff with…
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Education ministry officials collude with principals to sabotage FG’s Safe School Program

Editorial Aug 26, 2019

While Unity Schools principals budget millions yearly for perimeter fencing they are building in the sky, their supervising department remains the pillar behind the imaginary walls. By Elijah Olusegun Last November, former Education…
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Africa’s history shows the perils of degrading the rule of law

Editorial Aug 25, 2019

By Chidi Anselm ODINKALU THE rule of law is undergoing chastening times in many African countries as rulers and their parties - struggling to hang on to power - look for convenient devices to eliminate the uncertainties associated with…
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Journalist decries spate of abandoned projects in Nigeria

Editorial Aug 23, 2019

By Adedeji Egbebi AN investigative journalist at the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), Yekeen Akinwale says Federal Government should do more to monitor various projects awarded across the country. Sharing his…
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Sudan Generals, protest leaders sign transition deal to civilian rule

Editorial Aug 18, 2019

SUDAN's constitutional declaration which was signed on Sunday, August 17, 2019, paves the way for a transition to civilian rule in the African nation and comes months after the ouster of autocratic President Omar al-Bashir Sudan's military…
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NITDA, TETFUND sign MoU to promote IT in tertiary institutions

Editorial Aug 16, 2019

THE National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deploy emerging technologies and ensure digital inclusion in tertiary…
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Nearly 4.7 million graduates have participated in NYSC since inception — DG

Editorial Aug 15, 2019

THE National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has said more than 4.6 million graduates have participated in the scheme since inception in 1973. The director-general of the scheme, Shuaibu Ibrahim, said this on Thursday in Abuja while giving the…
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Preliminary notes on #RevolutionNow

Editorial Aug 15, 2019

By Edwin MADUNAGU For the Nigerian Left, the strongest lesson of what may now be called Nigeria’s #RevolutionNow—that is, the August 5 mass protests organized by some young fragments of the movement—may be formulated as a warning: If…
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British Police freezes $121M in bank accounts linked to bribery from foreign countries

Editorial Aug 15, 2019

BRITISH police have frozen eight bank accounts containing a total of more than 100 million pounds ($121 million), which is suspected to have derived from bribery and corruption overseas. Reuters reported that the National Crime Agency…
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Dozens of child sex abuse victims sue Catholic Church in New York after change in law

Editorial Aug 14, 2019

OVER 70 persons in New York State who were victims of sexual abuse as children have sued the Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday under a new law. The Child Victim Act which came into effect today temporarily enabled victims to file lawsuits…
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South Africa pharm to pay UK NHS eight million pounds over illegal market competition

Editorial Aug 14, 2019

SOUTH African drug firm Aspen has offered to pay the National Health Service £8m, as part of a wider package, to resolve competition concerns over the supply of a fludrocortisone acetate 0.1 mg tablets. The offering comes off the back of…
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Boko Haram: Bama celebrates first Sallah in 5 years

Editorial Aug 13, 2019

The Shehu of Bama Kingdom of Borno State, Kyari Ibn Umar El-Kanemi, has expressed delight after his people joined the rest of the world to mark the first Eid-el-Kabir celebration in his domains. According to the monarch, this was the first…
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El-Zakzaky, wife spotted at Abuja airport leaving for India

Editorial Aug 12, 2019

IBRAHIM El-Zakzaky, leader of the banned Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and his wife, Zeenat, have been spotted at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The couple would leave the country on Monday for India, where they would…
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