Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the Naija News roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Saturday, 25th January, 2025.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Thursday, issued an order proscribing the Lakurawa sect and other similar groups operating in Nigeria, particularly in the North-West and North Central regions.
Naija News reports that Justice James Omotosho delivered the ruling in response to an ex parte application filed by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
The application, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/41/2025, was presented by David Kaswe, an Assistant Director at the Federal Ministry of Justice, on behalf of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, M.B. Abubakar.
In an affidavit supporting the application, Michael Akawu, a litigation officer in the Department of Public Prosecutions, outlined the sect’s activities, which include: Cattle rustling, Kidnapping for ransom, Hostage-taking, Attacks on government officials and security personnel, Spreading radical ideology to local communities, Encouraging defiance of constituted authorities.
Akawu emphasized that these acts have caused significant harm, loss of lives, and destruction of properties, posing a grave threat to national security and public peace.
He argued that proscribing the sect and similar groups was essential for Nigeria’s safety and security.
The Edo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has officially communicated its move from Benin City to the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, without stating the reason yet.
Naija News reports that the relocation was announced in a statement issued on Friday, January 24, 2025, and signed by the Tribunal Secretary, Mu’azu Bagudu.
According to the statement, all parties involved in the case have been informed of this location change.
“I am directed to notify all parties that the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Benin City, Edo State, has been relocated to Abuja at the National Judicial Institute (NJI), Airport Road, Abuja, effective from Monday, 27th January 2025,” the notice according to The PUNCH, reads.
Notorious terrorist kingpin, Bello Turji, has reportedly declared readiness to surrender to the Nigerian military.
Naija News reports that the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, made this known on Friday in an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today.
Musa said that Bello Turji has been forced to discard most of those under him, after the military recently took out his second in command and other lieutenants.
Despite Turji’s reported willingness to surrender, the Defence Chief maintained that anybody who has engaged in killing innocent citizens, including the notorious terrorist, must not be spared.
The President of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, has appreciated the government of Finland for the arrest and detention of Biafra secessionist agitator, Simon Ekpa.
President Tinubu, in an audience on Friday with the newly deployed Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Sanna Selin, said Nigeria has witnessed turbulent times, and the government is not interested in promoting terrorism.
While appreciating the intervention of the Finnish government in the Simon Ekpa case, Tinubu said the government will not tolerate actions and statements that could lead to divisiveness among citizens.
President Tinubu, who spoke when he received the Letters of Credence from the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, said the timely intervention of Finnish authorities, safeguarded Nigeria’s integrity and mitigated an action that threatened peaceful coexistence.
Tinubu further noted that there is a difference between activism and divisiveness, stating the commitment of his administration to the promotion of national cohesiveness for national development.
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dele Momodu, has expressed worry that the main opposition party may not have a presidential candidate in the 2027 election.
Naija News reported that Momodu on Thursday accused President Bola Tinubu and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, of being responsible for his party’s crisis.
In an interview with Arise News, the former presidential aspirant of the PDP said the current crisis in the party may likely affect their chances in 2027.
He stated this while answering a question on the party’s reported plan to field a South-South politician as presidential candidate in 2027.
“I’m not worried about members that are adopted. That would be the decision of the members of the party, if the party survives till then. But from what I’m seeing right now, I don’t think they are ready, especially our NWC. They are not ready. I won’t be surprised if they announce that they are not interested in contesting the presidency in 2027,” he said.
The businessman clarified that his attack on President Tinubu‘s government was based on the calculated political scheme of crisis he has injected into opposition parties through his cronies.
The Senior Special Assistant to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, has taken a fresh jibe at the Bauch State Governor, Bala Mohammed.
Olayinka, in a short statement on Friday, submitted that Wike has done more for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) than Mohammed has done.
Wike’s aide also charged the handlers of the Governor to tell him to address his failure to provide leadership for the PDP just the way his principal did after the party lost the 2015 election.
Emphasizing what Wike has done for the PDP, Olayinka said the FCT Minister had taken bullets for the party in the past at a time when the Governor was probably hiding under the wrapper of his wives.
The Senator representing Edo North in the National Assembly, Adams Oshiomhole, has alleged that retired military generals are orchestrating illegal mining activities across Nigeria.
Oshiomhole, who also chairs the Senate Committee on Interior, made the claim on Friday during the presentation of the 2025 budget report by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development, Sampson Ekong, before the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
The former Governor of Edo State, speaking as a member of the Appropriations Committee, stated that these retired generals are well-known figures within the country.
He referenced a letter he had written to former President Muhammadu Buhari during his tenure, drawing attention to the issue of illegal mining and its implications.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured court approval to modify its charges against a former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye.
The EFCC is prosecuting Agunloye on behalf of the Federal Government in case number FCT/HC/CR/617/2023, which includes seven counts related to forgery, noncompliance with a presidential directive, and corruption associated with the Mambilla power plant project in Taraba State.
The commission has accused Agunloye of awarding a contract on May 22, 2003, for the “Construction of 3,960-megawatt Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station on a build, operate, and transfer basis” to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited, without any budgetary allocation, approval, or financial backing.
Additionally, the EFCC claims to have identified questionable payments made by Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited to the former minister’s accounts, who was part of the administration under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The defendant has, however, entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against him.
Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, has said the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is a liability in President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Naija News reports that Mohammed made the remark while reacting to Wike’s criticism of his opposition to Tinubu’s tax reform bills.
Recall that Mohammed, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, had frequently kicked against the tax bills, alleging that they favour one region.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his media adviser, Mukhtar Gidado, Mohammed said Wike’s attempt to question his position on the bill is hypocritical.
The Governor accused Wike of insincerity and ‘dual loyalty’ to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and PDP, stressing it is a dangerous precedent to Nigerian politics.
Bala Mohammed also stated that Wike ought to use his platform to unite and inspire Nigerians, but he has reduced public service to a theatre of absurdity, alienating stakeholders and creating unnecessary tensions.
The impeached Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa is scheduled to return to Lagos on Saturday following his removal from office earlier this month over allegations of gross misconduct and abuse of office.
Loyalists of the former Speaker have organized a lavish welcome party at his residence in Joel Ogunnaike, GRA Ikeja, SaharaReporters has learned.
“Deposed Speaker of Lagos House of Assembly will return to Lagos tomorrow and move to his house at Joel Ogunnaike, GRA Ikeja at 9.00 am prompt where a welcome party awaits him,” a source told SaharaReporters.
According to reports, Obasa is allegedly in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) making plans to meet with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Obasa was impeached on January 13, 2025, by more than two-thirds of the 40-member Lagos Assembly for misconduct and various offences.
His impeachment was followed by the election of Mojisola Lasbat Meranda as the new Speaker, making her the first female Speaker in Lagos State’s history.
The former Speaker, representing Agege Constituency I, first joined the Assembly in 2007 and became Speaker in June 2015. His removal ends nearly a decade of leadership marred by allegations of financial impropriety.
Obasa is reportedly under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the alleged misappropriation of ₦43.5 billion in state funds.
That’s the top Nigerian newspaper headlines for today. Read more Nigerian news on Naija News. See you again tomorrow.