Author: TheLagosianMagazine

By Peter Omopo  Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that ignoring poverty in Africa is akin to sitting on a “gunpowder keg,” urging leaders across the continent to prioritize education, security, and effective governance in the fight against hunger and poverty. Speaking in Lagos on Friday at the Dele Momodu Leadership Lecture titled “How to End Hunger and Poverty in Africa”, Obasanjo pointed to China’s achievement in lifting over 700 million people out of poverty as a model worth emulating. “Before we talk about food, security is key,” the former president said, stressing that without peace and safety, efforts to…

By Peter Omopo  The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Gombe Branch, has condemned the recent closure of the Gombe Division of the Court of Appeal and the transfer of all pending cases to the newly established Maiduguri Division in Borno State, citing heightened security risks in the region. In a resolution issued after an emergency virtual meeting held on Friday, the branch described the move as “unjust and illogical,” warning that it endangers legal practitioners and litigants who must now travel through volatile areas. The resolution, jointly signed by NBA Gombe Chairman, Benjamin Sati, and Secretary, Abdulmutallib Babawuro, noted that the…

By Peter Omopo  Nigeria’s electronic Mining Cadastre Plus (eMC+) system has received high praise from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which described it as a model for regional integration, transparency, and digital innovation in the extractive sector. A delegation of ECOWAS technical experts made the commendation on Friday during a high-level visit to the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) in Abuja. The team lauded Nigeria’s web-based mineral title management system as an exemplary platform that could be replicated across the West African region. Leader of the delegation and regional mining systems coordinator, William Badieo, said Nigeria’s digitised approach…

By Peter Omopo  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday presented two key witnesses in the ongoing trial of a former Deputy Director of Highways at the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing, Augustine Olowoniyan, and a surveyor, Sulaiman Muhammed, over the alleged diversion of N1.9 billion in public funds. The trial, which is before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja, involves a three-count charge bordering on the misappropriation of N1,936,961,649.00 allocated for acquiring land titles for federal roads between March 4, 2019, and July 17, 2020. The EFCC, in a statement…

By Peter Omopo  Political economist and former presidential candidate, Professor Pat Utomi, said on Friday that a group of Nigerians is mobilising 500 lawyers to defend him in court following a suit filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) over his alleged plans to form a “shadow government.” Utomi made the disclosure in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “It’s energising (that) some want to put together 500 lawyers to defend me against the DSS.” The DSS had earlier filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking a declaration that Utomi’s proposed shadow government was…

By Peter Omopo  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a former contractor with the Kaduna State Government, Bashir Bello Ibrahim, over an alleged N30 billion fraud involving multiple fictitious contracts and impersonation. In a statement released on Friday via its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the EFCC said Ibrahim, the Chief Executive Officer of Formal Act Legacy Limited, was apprehended by operatives from the Kaduna Zonal Directorate following the receipt of no fewer than 251 petitions from victims. The petitions accuse Ibrahim of impersonating a consultant for all 23 local government areas of Kaduna State, as well…

By Peter Omopo  The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, has announced that the College of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Kaduna (CPESK), owned by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), is nearing full completion and will soon be inaugurated. Ekpo gave the update on Friday during an inspection tour of the college located along the Kaduna–Zaria Expressway, behind the Kaduna International Trade Fair Complex. He noted that the facility has reached 90 percent completion, with final touches expected to be concluded in the coming days. “This project was at about 60 percent completion when this administration came…

By Peter Omopo The Executive Chairman of Agege Local Government Area, Ganiyu Egunjobi, has declared support for Abdulganiyu Obasa, son of Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmanship candidate in the forthcoming local government elections. Egunjobi, speaking to journalists on Friday, defended the outcome of the May 10 APC primaries, which has sparked allegations of imposition, particularly in Agege and Orile-Agege, where party members protested against perceived favoritism in the selection of candidates. “The young man deserves to succeed me,” Egunjobi stated, brushing aside accusations that Speaker Obasa was planting loyalists and…

By Peter Omopo  Two members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The lawmakers—Kabiru Usman Rurum (Rano/Bunkure/Kibiya) and Abdullahi Sani Rano (Karaye/Rogo), both representing constituencies in Kano State—announced their defection during Thursday’s plenary session. Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, read their separate letters of defection on the floor, where both lawmakers cited internal crises within the NNPP as the reason for their decision to join the APC. Their departure further underscores the ongoing turmoil within the NNPP and bolsters the APC’s…

By Peter Omopo  Panic spread across Agulu and Nanka communities in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State on Thursday following the brutal killing of a lawyer and his client by unidentified gunmen shortly after a court session. According to eyewitness accounts, the victims were trailed from the courtroom before being ambushed and shot at the boundary between Nanka and Agulu, along the Amawbia-Agulu-Nanka-Ekwulobia-Uga-Akokwa highway. Sources said the lawyer was handling a high-profile case for the client, which may have drawn the attention of the assailants. “The lawyer was shot first, and as the client tried to flee from the…