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Cameroon’s Constitutional Council declares Biya winner of presidential poll

Nanji Nandang VENLEY
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Cameroon’s Constitutional Council declares Biya winner of presidential poll

Cameroon’s Constitutional Council has announced President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, as the winner of the October 12 presidential poll in the East Africa country.

The council made the announcement of the official results on Monday, October 27, making Biya emerge as the president for the eight time.

Biya’s victory comes a week after the country’s opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, once a close ally and former minister under Biya, declared himself the winner, calling on Biya to concede defeat and “honour the truth of the ballot box”.

The ICIR reported that Bakary described the election results as “a clear rejection” of Biya’s administration and “the dawn of a new era.”

Hundreds of opposition supporters took to the streets of Cameroon’s commercial capital on Sunday, barricading roads and burning tyres as tensions escalated ahead of the official announcement of the election results, with supporters accusing the government of plotting to manipulate the outcome.

Reports indicated that the police used teargas and water cannons to disperse crowds backing opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma, and the unrest spread across several cities following partial results from local media indicating that Biya was leading.

The government had dismissed allegations of vote rigging and urged citizens to remain calm until the final results are released. Similar clashes were reported in other parts of Douala and in Tchiroma’s hometown, Garoua.

The ICIR reported in 2018, that Biya, won the election by a landslide to rule for seven years. He was 85 at the time.

The latest victory gives him another seven years in office and bolsters his place as one of Africa’s longest serving rulers after President Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea who is in his thirty-ninth year in office.

He won 71.3 per cent of the votes, but opposition candidates have said the election was marred by widespread fraud, a low turnout and violence.

Biya, who at 92 is the world’s oldest sitting president, has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and sought another seven-year mandate in the October 12 elections, even though his age, health and capacity to govern have become a subject of debate. Another seven-year term would extend his rule until he nears 100.

Kanu declines to enter defence, insists no case against him

Bankole ABE
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Kanu declines to enter defence, insists no case against him

THE detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has withdrawn his earlier plan to call witnesses in his ongoing terrorism trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja, insisting that the Federal Government has failed to establish any case against him.

Kanu, who faces a seven-count charge bordering on terrorism, treasonable felony, and incitement, told the trial judge, James Omotosho, that after reviewing his case file, he found no valid evidence to warrant a defence.

The development comes just days after he dismissed his legal team led by former Attorney-General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi, a senior advocate, opting instead to represent himself.

The court had adjourned on October 24 for Kanu to open his defence, following his earlier application indicating readiness to call witnesses and requesting witness summons.

However, at the resumed sitting on Monday, October 27, Kanu informed the court that he would not proceed with any defence, arguing that the charges were unlawful and unsupported by credible evidence.

The judge Omotosho advised Kanu to file a formal written address stating his position and serve the prosecution accordingly. The judge also urged him to consult criminal law experts to understand the implications of his decision, noting that the court would not revisit preliminary objections already determined in earlier proceedings.

The court adjourned the case to November 4, 5, and 6, for the adoption of final written addresses. The sessions will determine whether Kanu’s no-case submission will stand or if he will be required to enter his defence.

On October 23, Kanu dismissed his team of senior lawyers, including Agabi, a senior advocate and informed the court that he would personally handle his case. During that session, Agabi formally withdrew his appearance after Kanu announced in open court that he no longer required their services.

Omotosho had offered to assign a court-appointed lawyer to assist Kanu, but he declined, stating that he would represent himself “for now.” The judge then ordered him to open his defence on October 24, warning that failure to do so might be interpreted as a forfeiture of his right to defence.

In the same session, Kanu accused the Federal Government of contempt of court for failing to obey the Court of Appeal judgment of October 2022, which had discharged and acquitted him. He maintained that the government lacked both moral and legal standing to continue prosecuting him while disobeying subsisting court orders.

He also challenged the authenticity of a medical report used to certify him fit for trial, describing it as ‘forged’ because it was dated before the court’s order for a medical evaluation.

Kanu was first arrested in 2015 over allegations of treasonable felony, unlawful broadcasting, and incitement linked to his leadership of IPOB, which is agitating for the secession of Nigeria’s South-East region. After being granted bail in 2017, he fled the country when his home in Abia State was raided by the military.

He was re-arrested in Kenya in 2021 and extradited to Nigeria under circumstances later described by the Court of Appeal as a violation of international law. Although the court discharged him in October 2022, the Federal Government appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled in December 2023 that the trial could continue.

Since then, Kanu has remained in the custody of the State Security Service (SSS), despite several court rulings directing his release or improvement of his detention conditions.

Charges against Kanu include allegations of terrorism, treasonable acts, and incitement against Nigerian authorities through his broadcasts. His trial has been marked by repeated adjournments, disputes over a fair hearing, and questions about his health.

A report by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), which declared him fit to stand trial, has been a subject of contention after Kanu described it as falsified.

Falana slams Lagos gov’t over Oworonsoki demolition

Nanji Nandang VENLEY
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Falana slams Lagos gov’t over Oworonsoki demolition

HUMAN rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has accused the Lagos State Government of violating a court order by demolishing over 100 properties in the Oworonsoki area of the state.

In a statement on Sunday, Falana said the exercise displaced many families and accused the government of deploying armed policemen and thugs to intimidate residents.

Recall that Adegboyega Balogun, a judge of the Lagos State High Court had issued an interim order last Thursday, restraining the government from carrying out further demolitions in parts of Oworonsoki, after residents complained that they were not compensated for their demolished homes.

The order barred the government, its agents, and contractors from demolishing or creating third-party interests in properties located on Ojileru Street, Ososa Extension, and Toluwalase Street within the Itesiwaju Ajumoni Community Development Area (CDA).

Despite the order, the state went ahead with the demolition on Sunday, a move Falana condemned as a clear case of contempt of court.

“In flagrant breach and contempt of the subsisting court order and upon the service of the court order on them, the defendants mobilised over 50 armed policemen and thugs who fired teargas throughout the night to disperse those protesting the demolition and proceeded to commence a fresh demolition,” Falana said.

The lawyer added that the demolition, carried out “in the dead of night,” destroyed more than 100 properties and echoed a past case in which the Lagos State Government defied a court ruling.

“The action of the demolished squad is a sad reminder of the aggravated contempt committed by the Lagos State Government, 39 years ago, in the celebrated case of The Military Governor of Lagos State & Ors. v. Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu & Anor. (1986) 2 NWLR (PT 18) 621, where the Supreme Court set a precedent against disregard for due process and the rule of law. Notwithstanding that the country was then under a military junta, the Supreme Court deprecated the action of the Lagos State Government in defying a court order and resorting to self-help.

“Even under a military regime, the Supreme Court held that in a country governed by the rule of law, the use of force or self-help by government is unacceptable once a matter is before the court,” Falana recalled.

Meanwhile, the Association of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU) has petitioned the United Nations Human Rights Council, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the ECOWAS Court of Justice over what it described as the “targeted demolition” of shops and properties belonging to Igbo traders and investors in Lagos.

National President of ASITU, Emeka Diwe, who addressed journalists in Umuahia, Abia State, described the demolitions as “economic cleansing,” lamenting that Nigeria was “dying slowly from the cancer of ethnic discrimination and selective justice.”

“We have done this not because we lack faith in Nigerian institutions, but because those institutions have failed to address our documented grievances,” he said.

Diwe said the petition became necessary after repeated efforts to engage relevant Nigerian authorities yielded no response.

ASITU dismissed the Lagos State Government’s claim that the demolished structures were built on waterways, insisting that affected properties were legally acquired and duly approved. “They send a message to investors that property rights in Nigeria are not secure and that ethnic sentiments may influence government actions.

“This undermines investor confidence, economic growth, job creation, and Nigeria’s reputation as a country governed by the rule of law,” he added.

Diwa alleged that many demolition notices were issued too close to execution dates, preventing property owners from seeking legal redress. It also accused officials of ignoring valid documentation presented by affected persons. 

“Many of the demolished buildings had valid approvals from the same Lagos State Government that later destroyed them. This is not law enforcement; it is the erasure of livelihoods and the violation of constitutional guarantees meant to protect all Nigerians,” the ASITU declared.

He added that the group’s demand for justice was not about secession but about building economic resilience and promoting mutual respect, unity, and prosperity across Nigeria.

Reacting to the citizen’s outrage, the Lagos State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, defended the wave of demolitions across the state, insisting that the exercise targeted environmental contraventions and illegal developments, not legitimate homeowners.

Wahab dismissed claims that the government’s actions were politically motivated or aimed at displacing residents, stressing that enforcement was necessary to restore order and protect flood-prone areas.

Similarly, the Lagos State Police Command dismissed reports alleging that its officers attacked residents during a government-led demolition exercise in the Oworonshoki area of Lagos.

The spokesperson of the command, Abimbola Adebisi, said the command viewed the reports as “false and mischievous,” saying they were aimed at misrepresenting the facts and misleading the public.

Adebisi explained that the demolition was conducted by authorised department and task dorce, following due process.

15 rescued, others feared trapped as two-storey building collapses in Lagos

Bankole ABE
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15 rescued, others feared trapped as two-storey building collapses in Lagos

PANIC gripped residents of Oyingbo in Lagos State after a two-storey building collapsed in the early hours of Monday, October 27, trapping several occupants under the rubble.

The building, located at No. 54 Cole Street, near Cemetery Bus Stop, reportedly caved in around 12:20 a.m. while many of its residents were asleep. Officials of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS) said they received a distress call at the time of the incident and immediately dispatched firefighters from the Sari-Iganmu Fire Station to the site.

According to the LSFRS Director, Margaret Adeseye, at least 15 people have so far been rescued, including seven men, four women, and four children, all with varying degrees of injuries. The victims were taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Ebute Meta, and the General Hospital, Odan, Lagos Island, for treatment.

Adeseye confirmed that the building had earlier been marked as structurally distressed by safety officials, but occupants reportedly ignored evacuation notices before the structure eventually collapsed. She said search and rescue operations were ongoing as emergency teams continued to comb through the debris in search of those still missing.

“This is an ongoing rescue involving a two-storey building previously identified as distressed before collapsing on its occupants.

“Our teams, in collaboration with other emergency agencies, are on site to ensure all trapped persons are safely recovered,” she stated.

The collapse left the Oyingbo community in shock, with residents and sympathisers joining rescue workers in frantic efforts to save lives.

This latest incident adds to a long list of building collapses that have plagued Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, despite repeated government interventions.

An ICIR investigation earlier in 2025 revealed that Lagos accounted for over 55 per cent of all building collapses in Nigeria since 1974. Between October 1974 and January 2025, at least 640 incidents were recorded nationwide, with more than half occurring in Lagos.

Experts have consistently blamed weak regulation, corruption, poor enforcement of safety standards, and the use of substandard materials for the recurring tragedies.

In September 2025, a similar collapse occurred in the Yaba district of Lagos, where a three-storey building under construction gave way, killing one person and injuring several others. Earlier in May, a two-storey building in Ikorodu killed three members of the same family during the Oro traditional festival.

In 2021, the state recorded one of its deadliest building disasters when a 21-storey high-rise in Ikoyi collapsed, killing 46 people, including the developer. Investigations later revealed that the building had exceeded the approved number of floors.

The ICIR’s findings show that while the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) was created to monitor construction and enforce standards, weak enforcement and corruption within regulatory bodies have allowed unsafe structures to remain occupied.

Experts argue that most collapses could have been prevented if the government had enforced its own regulations. Ayo Ibaru, Chief Executive of North Court Real Estate, said the recurring collapses pointed to “systemic failure and lack of accountability” within the building control system.

Reacting to recurring collapses, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu launched the Certified Accreditors Programme (CAP) in March 2025 to involve private sector experts in building inspections. The state has also intensified enforcement operations, sealed several non-compliant buildings, and increased public awareness campaigns on construction safety.

Sanwo-Olu’s Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Gboyega Akosile, said the government was committed to ensuring strict adherence to building regulations and will continue to penalise those who flout the law.

Despite these measures, experts believe that without sustained political will, transparent enforcement, and public accountability, Lagos may continue to record preventable building disasters.

As of the time of filing this report, rescue operations were still ongoing at the Oyingbo site, with emergency teams working with the hope of saving more lives.

Police uncover baby factory in Ondo, rescue five pregnant teenagers

Nanji Nandang VENLEY
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Police uncover baby factory in Ondo, rescue five pregnant teenagers

THE Ondo State Police Command has announced the arrest of one Ada Clement for allegedly running a baby factory in Ore, the headquarters of Odigbo Local Government Area.

In a statement issued on Sunday, October 26, the Command’s Public Relations Officer, Olayinka Ayanlade, revealed that the suspect sold female babies for N400,000 and above, and male babies for N600,000 and above. He  added that one of the victims had already given birth to a baby boy at the facility.

“The incident came to light on the 21st of October, 2025, when one Vivian Peter, a 17-year-old girl from Ikot Ekpan, Akwa Ibom State, who is presently pregnant, reported at Ore Division that she had been trafficked from Akwa Ibom to Ore under the guise of being offered a job opportunity,” Ayanlade said.

The PRO said that the operatives of the command rescued five pregnant underage girls from the illegal facility.

“Upon her arrival in Ore, she was taken to a supposed clinic, which later turned out to be a baby factory, where she met other pregnant girls allegedly being held for exploitation.

“She further revealed that the owner of the facility, identified as one Ada Clement, later instructed that she be taken to another hospital in Ore for a medical scan.

“However, she managed to escape and sought refuge at Ore Division, where she reported the incident to the police,” he added. 

Ayanlade stated that operatives from the Ore Division, in collaboration with the Gender Unit, raided the facility, resulting in the successful rescue of the pregnant girls and a baby boy.

“It was discovered that one of the victims had already given birth and is presently receiving post-natal treatment at the General Hospital, Ore, while the remaining rescued victims are in safe protective custody of the police,” the PRO said. 

He further stated that preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, Ada Clement, and her accomplices had confessed to operating a baby factory where young pregnant girls were housed until delivery, after which their babies were sold to individuals seeking to buy children.

“It was further discovered that the babies were sold for N400,000 and above for female children, and N600,000 and above for male children,” he noted

The PPRO said the state Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, has ordered a thorough investigation into the case to ensure that all members of the trafficking syndicate are identified, arrested, and prosecuted.

 

Opposition protests erupt in Cameroon ahead election results

Nanji Nandang VENLEY
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Opposition protests erupt in Cameroon ahead election results

HUNDREDS of opposition supporters took to the streets of Cameroon’s commercial capital on Sunday, barricading roads and burning tyres as tensions escalated ahead of the official announcement of presidential election results, with supporters accusing the government of plotting to manipulate the outcome.

The ICIR reported that Cameroon’s electoral law allows polling station results to be publicly displayed, the outcome must be validated by the Constitutional Council, which has until October 26 to make the official announcement.

According to Reuters, police used teargas and water cannons to disperse crowds backing opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma, who claims to have defeated long-serving President Paul Biya in the October 12 vote. 

The report revealed that the unrest has spread across several cities following partial results from local media indicating that Biya, 92, was leading but the government has dismissed allegations of vote rigging and urged citizens to remain calm until the final results are released.

Reuters correspondents witnessed police detaining at least four demonstrators. Similar clashes were reported in other parts of Douala and in Tchiroma’s hometown, Garoua.

The ICIR reported that the country’s opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, once a close ally and former minister under Biya, declared himself the winner of the October 12 presidential election, calling on President Paul Biya to concede defeat and “honour the truth of the ballot box”.

He described the election results as “a clear rejection” of Biya’s administration and “the dawn of a new era.”

However, the government cautioned earlier in the week that only results declared by the Constitutional Council are valid, noting that the council has up to two weeks to announce the official outcome.

Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji recently cautioned that only the Constitutional Council is authorised to declare the winner, adding that any unilateral announcement of results would amount to “high treason.”

Earlier, 76-year-old Tchiroma’s campaign team claimed that around 30 politicians and activists had been arrested for supporting his candidacy, including Maniden party leader Anicet Ekane and Union for Change movement figure Djeukam Tchameni.

Interior Minister Paul Atanga Nji confirmed on Saturday that arrests had been made in connection with what he described as an “insurrectional movement,” but did not specify the number or identities of those detained.

The ICIR reported that Biya, who at 92 is the world’s oldest sitting president, has ruled Cameroon since 1982 and sought another seven-year mandate in the October 12 elections, even though his age, health and capacity to govern have become a subject of debate. Another seven-year term would extend his rule until he nears 100.

NECO opens UK exam centre for Nigerians in diaspora

Nanji Nandang VENLEY
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NECO opens UK exam centre for Nigerians in diaspora

THE National Examinations Council (NECO) has announced the  launch of its new examination centre in London, United Kingdom, as part of its global expansion drive to provide credible assessment opportunities for Nigerians in the diaspora.

This was revealed in a statement issued on Sunday by NECO’s Acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani, who said that NECO Registrar and Chief Executive, Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, announced that the initiative was launched in collaboration with Barnfield Education Ltd at the unveiling the centre at the 2025 Education Matters Conference in the UK.

“The initiative aims to provide opportunities for Nigerian students and adult learners in the UK who, for various reasons, have been unable to complete secondary education or obtain equivalent qualifications.

“Our objective is to provide credible and accessible examination opportunities for Nigerians residing abroad in line with the Federal Government’s education policy on inclusivity and global engagement,” Wushishi said in a statement.

Wushishi described the new Senior School Certificate Examination centre as a strategic move to expand NECO’s global presence, noting that the Council now conducts examinations in seven countries, including Saudi Arabia, with additional centres in Egypt and Burkina Faso awaiting accreditation.

The NECO Chief Executive stated that the London centre would empower Nigerians in the diaspora, foster national pride, and enhance the global recognition of NECO certificates, already accepted by several UK universities such as Birmingham City University and Leeds Trinity University, as well as institutions in the United States, Canada, India, China, and Russia.

The statement added that the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, praised NECO for the initiative, calling it a vital effort to ensure that “no Nigerian child, at home or abroad, is left behind.”

Alausa said the move aligns with the Ministry’s goal of leveraging the diaspora as a vital educational resource.

The statement also explained that during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian High Commission in London, the Registrar briefed the Mission on the establishment and accreditation of the new centre, emphasizing that the UK remains a key hub for expanding educational opportunities for Nigerians in the diaspora.

Ese Oruru: The inspiring triumph of a survivor

Editorial
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Ese Oruru: The inspiring triumph of a survivor
By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu
IN April 2020, then governor of Kano State in North-West Nigeria, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, took time off his expensive preoccupation with denying the ravages of the coronavirus on his state to preside over the ‘conversion’ to Islam of two adolescent females.
Governor Ganduje, who later became the Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was not famous for his learning or piety. Instead, he was infamous for having been caught on camera stuffing what appeared to be wads of foreign currency into the capacious pockets of his traditional gowns.
Instead of making an effort to clear his name, Ganduje procured a court order four years later in March 2024 to preclude an investigation into these scandalous allegations. Why he felt qualified to become the vulgar face of ostentatious proselytizing in the conversion of the girls may, therefore, remain a mystery. Following the conversion ceremony, however, there were suggestions that the young girls were then married off to men in Kano.
One month after Ganduje’s venture into “Conversion TV”, on 21 May, at the opposite end of the country, Jane Iyang, a judge of the Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa, capital of Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta, convicted Yunusa Dahiru (also known as Yunusa Yellow) for the crimes of trafficking in and rape of Ese Oruru, a child. The court sentenced Dahiru to 26 years in prison. The Court of Appeal subsequently reduced the jail sentence to seven years and, in June 2023, Dahiru regained his freedom from the prison in Kano at the end of his abbreviated jail sentence.
While the country was caught in the maelstrom of the misadventures of Ganduje and Yunusa Dahiru respectively, most forgot about the girls who were their victims.
In August 2015, Yunusa had taken school girl, Ese Oruru, from the family home in Opolo, Yenagoa, without the consent of her parents to his home state in Kano, where he claimed to have converted her to Islam before “marrying” her. She was not more than 14 years old, and some reports suggested that she was in fact younger. Thereafter, he impregnated the teenager. In May 2016, she gave birth to a baby girl. For many girls, this would have been the end of their ambitions.
At the trial, the state charged Yunusa Dahiru with five counts of criminal abduction by means of coercion, transporting and harbouring Ese in Kano, illicit intercourse, sexual exploitation and rape of a child. When he took Ese from her family, Yunusa was 22.
At its beginning in 2015, the Ese Oruru case degenerated quickly into the usual Nigerian polarities of north against south and Christians against Muslims, which did profound injustice to the facts.
In September 2015, the Kano Emirate Council issued a statement detailing the steps taken by the Emir, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on the matter. At the request of the Emir, an investigation by the Shariah Commission in the State had concluded that the girl was not yet of “the age where she could take the decisions attributed to her without the approval of her parents.”
These were the decisions reportedly to change her faith and to get married. As a result, the Emir directed that she should be handed over to the police “for return to her family.” In March 2016, Ese finally returned to her family in Bayelsa.
On all sides of the advocacy and the debate that ensued, the full panoply of Nigerian inartfulness was on display with religious, ethnic and other epithets freely traded. Conveniently, much of this noise was designed deliberately to avoid the issues or wield disgraceful trumps to mask over them.
The case of Ese Oruru clearly raised profound policy issues of social, legal and moral significance that go to the heart of Nigeria’s coexistence.
Let’s begin with the social. Marriage is at the foundation of the family as a basic unit of society. However, the parties to a marriage must be people with the capacity to consent to it. In Ese’s case, she was not more than14 when she was taken from her state, Bayelsa, which defines the age of consent as 18.
It should be clear to all but a pervert that a 14-year-old is hardly a position to consent to marriage nor to bear the physiological, emotional or psychological burdens that come with it. To avoid these strictures of social policy, Yunusa decided to relocate Ese in three ways. First physically, he removed the child from her family and from her state to Kano where there was no Child Rights Law at the time.
The State adopted a Child Rights Law only in 2023. Second, he re-located her in terms of her civic rights from a statutory regime to a theological one. Third, to complete her metamorphosis for the purposes of his carnal pursuits, Yunusa purported to relocate Ese’s faith identity from Christianity to Islam.
So, to avoid a clear legal prohibition against child marriage, he willfully undertook the crime of trafficking in a child in order to facilitate the invention of a theological trump that excuses child marriage. But this scheme ran into a problem: Ese was a minor. She did not have capacity in theology, physiology, and psychology to change her faith identity.
If she could not, then the invented trump was fantasy. Yunusa’s response to this was to claim Ese was above her real age in order to confer on her a legal capacity that she could not have. For the people invested in this sequence of bizarre contortions, their plea was that they were on a mission to win souls for the Almighty with what must have been a holy phallus.
Yet, nowhere in the Holy Books of any of the great faiths is there any support for a project of genital conversion of minors or, indeed, of anyone. What happened in Ese Oruru’s case was quite plainly the trafficking of a child for the purpose of sexual exploitation under the artifice of faith.
Every person of true faith should have
been appalled at this counterfeiting of theology for child abuse. Religion is not supposed to be a defence to child abuse and cannot be.
In Nigeria, however, otherwise enlightened people appeared willing to be corralled into this debasement of faith. The day after the conviction of Yunusa Yellow, on 22 May, 2020, presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, promised an admirer on a social media platform that he would “try to contact those” who could help to change the verdict of the court against Yunusa. The response of the Presidency to this was eloquent silence.
Ahmad’s foray into the realm of rigging the courts ranked second in infamy only behind what must be taken as his confession of support at the highest levels of power in Nigeria for a notion of child abuse in the name of the Almighty.
The conviction of Yunusa Yellow was, therefore, a signal moment for legal and social policy and for the protection of coexistence in the enjoyment of the right to freedom of conscience and religion in Nigeria. It confirmed what should have been evident to everyone: that the Almighty is not a child molester.
The sequel to all this has been nothing short of inspirational. This month, Ese Oruru graduated with a second class upper division degree from the Department of Education Technology at the University of Ilorin. This attainment attests to her intellect and resilience. It is a remarkable story of what is possible when a country guarantees for its young girls equal opportunities in the pursuit of their fullest potentials.
A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu

Anambra police nab seven suspected cultists over election violence plot

Mustapha USMAN
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Anambra police nab seven suspected cultists over election violence plot

THE Anambra State Police Command has arrested seven suspected members of the Black Axe Confraternity allegedly being prepared for political thuggery ahead of the state’s governorship election slated for November 8, 2025.

In a statement on Sunday, October 26, the Police Public Relations Officer, Tochukwu Ikenga, said the suspects were rounded up during an initiation ceremony in a bush at Obinagu, Abagana, Njikoka Local Government Area.

Ikenga explained that operatives of the Special Anti-Cult Squad, Enugu-Ukwu, working with the Agunechemba Vigilante Group, stormed the area in the early hours of Sunday following credible intelligence about a planned cult initiation.

During the operation, the police recovered a 25-litre keg containing a red liquid substance, red ritual cloth, two wooden drums, and footwear belonging to the suspects and other fleeing accomplices.

The arrested suspects include Ugorji Emmanuel (29), Ogamba Chinuike Anthony (22), Chibuzor Agudiegu (25), Destiny Okasi (22), Udewulu Nzube (19), Ifeanyi Anikpe (21), and Sunday Akuma (20).

“Preliminary information revealed that the initiation activities were part of their evil ceremony and grooming for election thuggery in Njikoka and Anaocha Local Government areas.

“The suspects, on sighting the operatives, attempted to flee, but were successfully apprehended after a swift chase,” the statement read.

Ikenga said the suspects tried to escape on sighting the security operatives but were subdued after a short chase.

He added that investigations are ongoing to track down other members of the group and dismantle linked cult networks within the state.

The Commissioner of Police, Ikioye Orutugu, in the statement, warned that the police will deal decisively with anyone involved in acts capable of threatening the peace of the state, especially in the build-up to the election.

He urged parents, community leaders, and youth organisations to intensify efforts in discouraging cultism and political violence.

The ICIR reports that on November 8, 2025, the people of Anambra State will head to the polls to elect a new governor.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cleared 16 candidates from different political parties to contest the election.

Genocide exists in Nigeria but not targeted at Christians alone-Vatican, PFN

Nanji Nandang VENLEY
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Genocide exists in Nigeria but not targeted at Christians alone-Vatican, PFN

THE Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, and the National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Wale Oke, have acknowledged that genocide exists in Nigeria, but clarified that the killings are not targeted at Christians alone.

The comments from the PFN and the Vatican come amid ongoing debates over allegations of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, raised chiefly by several high-profile figures in the United States.

The ICIR reported that several US lawmakers had urged Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take firm diplomatic action against the Nigerian government over what they described as the “systematic persecution and killing of Christians.”

US Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill aimed at protecting “persecuted” Christians in Nigeria.

However, former senior adviser to US President Donald Trump on Arab and African affairs, Massad Boulos, dismissed the allegations after meeting with President Bola Tinubu on the sidelines of the Aqaba Process meeting in Rome earlier this month.

He stated that terrorists have killed more Muslims than Christians in Nigeria and reaffirmed that the United States would continue to collaborate with the country to comprehensively address insecurity.

In an interview with the PUNCH on Sunday, October 26, Oke urged the government to end the killings of both Muslims and Christians, stressing that no Nigerian deserves to lose their life for any reason.

“Our position is that genocide exists, but it is not just about Christians. Our concern is that whether Muslim or Christian, stop the killing, that is our priority. We don’t want Muslims to die, and we don’t want Christians to die,” the cleric said.

Explaining that the government exists for the welfare of its people as a primary responsibility, Oke said that PFN wants to speak truth to those in power to make leaders, whether in the political or any other sector, understand that the welfare of the people is important.

“The government should stop the killings. No innocent Nigerian should lose his or her life for any reason.

“We don’t want a situation where there is genocide against Christians today and then it stops, only for there to be genocide against Muslims tomorrow. What we want is a situation where genocide is stopped entirely — whether among Muslims or Christians,” he added.

Similarly, reacting to growing reports of Christian persecution in Nigeria, the Vatican Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, said that many Muslims in Nigeria are victims of Nigeria’s insecurity.

He made this remark on Tuesday in Rome during the presentation of a report on religious freedom compiled by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

The cardinal pointed to clashes between herders and farmers in Nigeria’s north-central region as an example of the social roots of the violence, emphasizing that the situation should not be viewed as a religious conflict.

“These are extremist groups that make no distinctions in pursuing their goals. They use violence against anyone they see as an opponent.”

At a separate launch of the ACN report in the UK Parliament on the same day, John Bakeni, the Bishop of the Diocese of Maiduguri, noted that some attacks had clear religious undertones, as gunmen targeted churches, priests, and other symbols of Christianity “with impunity.”

Bakeni said that the remarks of the Catholic leaders, come amid growing concern from international lawmakers who have described the situation in Nigeria as a form of Christian genocide.

Bakeni explained that the roots of violence in Nigeria are multifaceted, linking them to issues such as poverty, climate change, and competition over land.

The federal government has consistently dismissed the genocide allegations, insisting that no religious group is being specifically targeted.

The ICIR reported that the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has maintained that Christian communities, particularly in northern Nigeria, have faced intense attacks, resulting in loss of lives and the destruction of churches and other places of worship.

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