The Catholic Diocese of Makurdi has confirmed the killing of two of its priests, Joseph Gor and Felix Tyolaha, both reverend fathers, in an early hour attack on St Ignatius Quasi Parish, Ukpor, Mbalom in Gwer West Local Government Council of Benue, PREMIUM TIMES reports. A spokesman Spokesman for the diocese, Fr. Mose Lorapuu confirmed […]
Tear-gas chokes, causes the nose to run and hurts the eyes. It is usually a last resort used by law enforcement to disperse crowds that are manifestly violent. After tear-gas comes guns. As they have done everyday for four years, members of the #BringBackOurGirls group gathered at the Unity Fountain in Abuja to continue their […]
Illegality and authoritarianism have one thing in common: disregard for laws that require involving other people in decision making. The latter is more easily identified as the more repugnant when mentioned but in a nation of laws, the former, when condoned, presents a stumbling block to true progress. President Muhammadu Buhari has paid $469 million […]
We should be talking about investigating and finding out the Lagos big media man who sought to violate a 17 year old Chimamanda Adichie as price for publishing her first book. Instead, a bullet has been gifted to those who hate her guts. The subject is the question (and by the way it was asked, […]
“Gani Fawehinmi, Nigeria’s conscience, dies at 71”, read The Guardian’s apt front-page headline. In less than a decade after his death, Gani’s legacy has crumbled: Mike Ozekhome grew fat defending government thieves; Femi Falana tactically withdrew from popular advocacies; Festus Keyamo, from embracing political foolery, finally came to be defined by it. On the surface […]
A report by leading online news website, PREMIUM TIMES, has alleged that Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, in collusion with the Accountant-General of the federation, Ahmed Idris, “arbitrarily and illegally” facilitated a N10 billion wire to Nigeria’s Senate and House of Representatives. Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker Yakubu Dogara played active roles in seeking the […]
Have you heard that Nigeria’s foreign reserves are the highest they have been since 2014? That is already one of the points being cited by supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari as the 2019 general elections, just 300 days, away draws near. The rise in oil prices to a three-year high has further buoyed pro-Buharists as […]
Eleven weeks of twenty four-hour reality TV featuring adult strangers sharing a comfortable physical space, competing in suffer-head-ism, quarrelling about dislikes, and hooking up randomly, comes to an end on Sunday. Until the house is trimmed down to five finalists, housemates are (rightly) judged by their standing with the viewing public. But when it comes […]
Recently, I changed the profile pictures across my social media accounts to one I took at a popular Lagos rooftop the February before last. That photo’s date is genuinely one of the most depressing of my life. I and my team of strangers performed so badly at a hackathon we were the only one of […]
Thursday was Groundhog Day for President Buhari’s media team. It took more than half the day, when #LazyNigerianYouths had already notched up north of 50,000 tweets, for the first response to come. They were shook! Rather impressively, the ‘go and peep’ was assigned to Bashir Ahmad, the 27 year-old personal assistant to the president on […]
The time has come when a well-articulated agricultural policy should be implemented in Imo State to liberate the people from the scourge of poverty and the lingering underdevelopment now ravaging the state. The policy, which will be tagged “Agricultural Revolution” should also include the opening up of the rural areas for vibrant economic activities that […]
I was 21 when I read Wole Soyinka’s “The Man Died”, my most impactful book of all time. Michel de Montaigne may have shaped my art and philosophy, but Soyinka forged my purpose and drive for justice. At 21, he was already assertive and brave, a budding irritation to power. I was going to reject […]
The Red Card movement, the group aiming to spur citizens around the country to vote out the APC and PDP in the next general elections, was launched officially on Wednesday at Abuja. Led by the ideals of Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, the former Minister of Education, former Vice President of the World and founding member of […]
The value of a day or a thousand depends on what it is achieved with. Long life is relative; all we ever want is a good life, lived in liberty and in pursuit of happiness. This 14th day of April is a sad day. At least 112 girls arose, for the fourth year in succession, […]
After at least four years in a Nigerian University, a student makes the best grade possible: a First Class. The joy of that achievement is sufficient, knowing that one has made herself or himself proud, and has justified all fees and pocket monies given by parents, relatives, or even, in some cases, personal hustle combined […]
There was a mini ruckus on the Senate floor Thursday and, unsurprisingly, it had much to do with money. It was about the familiar argument between states on the ownership of oil, still significantly esteemed as the ultimate ticket to state wealth because of the derivation it demands. Add to that the rise of oil […]
For N13.5 million a month, you would expect Nigeria to be run by legislators of the highest moral, policy and educational standards. There are heads in the red chamber who are seasoned professionals in their fields of endeavour, but it appears millions of taxpayer funds also go to funding phonies who have obtained qualifications that […]
This Saturday, April 14 2018, will mark the 4th anniversary of the abduction of 276 girls from Government Secondary School Chibok, barring a miracle or delayed surprise. To commemorate, certainly not to celebrate it, the Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) movement will hold a second lecture in honour of the 112 still captive girls on […]
The following is just one more convincing evidence to end SARS, the notorious unit of the Nigerian Police Force whose name ‘Special Anti-Robbery Squad’ amounts to nothing but official deception that gives state license to a vicious bullying and torture gang. It’s a narration by Immanuel Ibe-Anyanwu, a Lagos-based writer, freelance journalist and interior design […]
By Pius Adesanmi Two Buharideens, two separate threads far apart, going on simultaneously. Unbeknownst to the other, each make exactly the same case for Buhari. I decide to be a quiet monitoring spirit, following with interest. They make what on the surface is a perfectly logical and sensible submission for another four years for Buhari. […]
President Muhammadu Buhari has formally declared his intention to seek a second term, according to information posted on the presidency’s handle on twitter today. Mr Buhari departed Nigeria on Monday, for the UK where he is expected to meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May as part of preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government […]
Of all permanent voters cards collected by registered voters across Nigeria, sixty-six percent are in states President Buhari won in 2015. This was revealed by Channels TV data analyst, Babajide Ogunsanwo while speaking on the station’s News at 10 on Sunday night on the coming elections in Ekiti and other states. By his account, 57.5 […]
On Sunday, Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spent his first night in jail after being found guilty of corruption charges. Two days earlier, South Korea’s ousted president, Park Geun-hye, got sentenced to 24 years on a conviction for 18 charges including bribery, coercion and abuse of power. Ms Park was the first […]
At the inaugural ‘Diplomatic dialogue’ organized by civic accountability organisation BudgIT held over the weekend, British deputy high commissioner to Nigeria, Laure Beaufils, related the commitments and intentions of the British government in Nigeria. Ms Beaufils was the lone special guest of the dialogue which, according to the organizers, is aimed at engaging organisations, high […]
Every morning, for the best part of the past 20 or so months, the clouds take their time to make way for a bright sun shine day. You would think the day was about to be blessed by early precipitation or that the night was cold and misty, giving off some dew. That would have […]
How did a robbery gang storm Offa, Kwara state, killing policemen and residents, while executing a robbery of banks, all in broad daylight? The casualty figures are as high as 41, reflecting a carnage that should not be expected in any part of the country where security and anti-robbery squads are usually touted with pride. […]
After weeks of reports in the media revealing the significant deficit in capacity of Visionscape, the Lagos state government has revised the Cleaner Lagos Initiative. The PSPs had been confined to the collection of commercial waste while Visionscape handled all residential waste. In simple words, this has not worked. Lagos was becoming dirtier with potential […]
Years of study and observation have shown me that there is no such thing as “foreign aid”. Countries help when it is aligned with their strategic future objectives. Most foreign aid doesn’t enrich the country. Of course it enriches the people at the top who collect the money, but overall, the country is made worse […]
Times have changed in Nigeria and investigative journalism, once the talisman that freed truth from darkness, is now hardly at work. But Andy Briggs is bringing hope. Astute journalist and publisher, Briggs has dug into the unlit corporate depths of Jim Ovia, powerful businessman and founder of Zenith Bank. From the investigation, he has published […]
A new report has highlighted the lengths to which the Akinwunmi Ambode government went to secure the services of Visionscape to prosecute its Cleaner Lagos Initiative. Nicholas Ibekwe, in a Premium Times investigation, documents that Visionscape was a previously unknown and inexperienced company before it was awarded the waste management responsibility by the Lagos state […]