Nelson Ugwuagbo

The Lagos State High Court has ordered Martin Otse, known as VeryDarkMan, to take down defamatory comments and videos about Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer, and his son, Folarin, also known as Falz.

This ruling was delivered by Justice M. O. Dawodu in suit number ID/8584/GCM/2024 on Monday.

On September 24, 2024, VeryDarkMan posted defamatory content on his social media accounts, linking Bobrisky to Falz and his father. Justice Dawodu deemed these publications harmful to the Falana’s reputation, stating that VeryDarkMan knowingly shared false information to damage their image.

According to the judge, the defamatory statements remain online, causing ongoing harm to the Falana’s reputation.

This prompted Falz and Femi Falana to file an ex-parte application for pre-emptive measures to prevent further damage.

Justice Dawodu ruled that VeryDarkMan, his agents, and associates must refrain from publishing or circulating defamatory content about the Falana’s.

Additionally, VeryDarkMan must remove the offending posts from his social media platforms, as ordered by the court.

A former governor of Oyo State and the Otun Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rasidi Adewolu Ladoja has lost one of his wives, Tinuade Ladoja.

The deceased died on Monday.

The deceased resided in Lagos State until her death.

She died at the age of 71 after a brief illness.

Until her death, Tinuade was an influential member of the Pastor-in-Council of the Celestial Church of Christ, the highest decision-making body of the church.

The burial arrangements for the deceased have not been announced by the family.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that a total of 295,603 permanent voter cards were yet to be collected in the state.

The commission also stated that a total of 17,705 ad hoc staff and 11, 799 security personnel would be engaged for the poll, which is coming up on November 16.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner for INEC in the state, Mrs Oluwatoyin Babalola, disclosed this at a press briefing at the headquarters of the commission in Akure, the state capital on Monday.

The REC reiterated that the commission was fully prepared to ensure that the forthcoming governorship election is free, fair and credible.

She said, “A total of 295,603 Permanent Voter Cards are yet to be collected, but the owners can still come to collect them because there is still opportunity for them now.

“Also, for the election, we are recruiting 17,705 ad hoc staff at all levels. We have a total of 11,799 security personnel who would be administered the oath of neutrality before the election.”

The REC also stated that another round of distribution of PVCs would commence on Thursday, October 17, 2024.

Human rights activist and former presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has once again been detained by Nigerian immigration officers at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos upon his return from Accra, Ghana.

This marks yet another incident in an ongoing series of confrontations between Sowore and Nigerian authorities.

The #RevolutionNow movement convener was initially stopped by immigration officers on Friday while leaving Nigeria for Accra.

On his return to Lagos on Sunday, he was stopped again but eventually allowed to go after several minutes of confusion among the officials, who reportedly referenced his name being on a government watchlist.

This incident follows a pattern of what Sowore has repeatedly described as targeted harassment by Nigerian authorities.

On his X (formerly Twitter) account, Sowore detailed how he was also harassed while leaving the country.

“The Nigerian Immigration Service continues to subject me to unwarranted harassment and abuse, violating my rights repeatedly,” he tweeted, adding that officials again cited the watchlist as the reason for the delays.

Sowore, a fierce critic of the Nigerian government, has faced numerous attempts by authorities to curtail his activism.

This latest detention is seen by Sowore as another attempt by the government to intimidate him.

A two-storey building located on Amusu Street in the Orile Iganmu area of Lagos State has collapsed.

This tragic incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, causing nearby residents to scramble for safety as the building caved in.

Fortunately, according to Mr. Nosa Okunbor, Head of Public Affairs Unit at LASEMA, no casualties have been reported from the building collapse, as confirmed by the News Agency of Nigeria.

LASEMA’s response teams were swiftly deployed to the scene for search and rescue operations.

As of the latest update, Mr. Okunbor stated that the building collapsed on its own at approximately 8:45 am, and reassuringly, there were no casualties.

The situation is being closely monitored, with further updates expected to follow.

According to a recent report citing calculations by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), minimum wage earners typically allocate at least 57.3% of their monthly salaries to electricity bills when using just seven essential appliances.

The FIJ report noted that while the wage increase was a good development for workers, the cost of living has rendered the wage increase almost insignificant.

The report spotlights the cost of electricity alone and its impact on workers’ wages.

According to a National Income, Salaries and Wages Commission (NISWC) document, civil servants under the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure would earn N930,000 per annum. This means that a minimum wage earner would go home with a salary of about N77, 500.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced a 300 percent increase in electricity tariff for those in the B and A service category in April.

According to the Vice Chairman of the NERC, Musliu Oseni, the tariff hike meant that customers who formerly paid N66 per kilowatt per hour would now pay N225 for the same unit of electricity.

In the announcement, the NERC also said that only users in the band A service category, about 15 percent of the entire customer population, would be affected.

A faction of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, have disowned Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as party leader.

Leading the anti-Kwankwasiya campaign at the party secretariat in Minna, Niger State, the factional National Chairman of the party, Dr. Gilbert Agbo, said Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya group were threats to the progress and existence of the party.

Agbo emphasized that Kwankwaso’s suspension by the National Working Committee in Lagos effectively ended his membership and involvement in the party.

The factional National Chairman, who also supervised the burning of the Kwankwasiya group’s iconic red caps at the state secretariat of the party in the state, said the move signified a clear statement to dissociate themselves from Kwankwaso’s faction.

He said that Governor Kabir Yusuf of Kano State was expected to appear before the party’s disciplinary committee for failing to comply with the party’s principles and supremacy.

Reacting to the development, Mallam Danladi Umar Abdulhamid, leader of the Kwankwasiya Movement in Niger State, said Dr. Agbo’s national chairman was illegal, saying that the move was meant to serve his interests rather than the interest of people.

Abdulhamid said Kwankwaso remained the national leader of the party under Dr. Ahmed Ajuji’s leadership.

The United States Police has thwarted a third assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, after arresting a Las Vegas man with multiple guns and fake entry passes outside Trump’s rally in Coachella, California.

A man driving a black SUV was stopped around a kilometre from the rally venue at a police checkpoint.

When stopped, police noticed his access pass was fraudulent, sparking concern.

Police then discovered the man had a loaded shotgun, a handgun, and a high-capacity magazine in his possession.

Police did not initially release the information. Instead waiting until late Sunday local time to share the news.

“We probably stopped another assassination attempt,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

“I am extremely proud of the mental and physical effort our deputies showed all day.”

“This incident did not impact the safety of former President Trump or attendees of the event,” Mr Bianco said.

Mr Miller is scheduled to appear in court in early 2025, according to online records.

Recall that Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt in July when a gunman’s bullet grazed his ear during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

In September, another man was charged with trying to assassinate Mr Trump after Secret Service agents discovered him hiding with a rifle near the former president’s Palm Beach golf course. He pleaded not guilty.

Former Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku has been granted bail to the tune of N150 million by the Federal Capital Territory High Court, following allegations of N27 billion fraud brought by the Federal Government.

Justice Sylvanus Oriji presided over the case, mandating two sureties of the same amount, with one required to be a Federal Government employee holding the rank of Director.

The sureties must be residents of the Federal Capital Territory, with their addresses verified by the Court Registrar.

Furthermore, Justice Oriji imposed a travel restriction on Ishaku and his co-defendant, Bello Hero, barring them from leaving the country without court permission.

Notably, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by counsel Rotimi Jacobs, did not contest the bail.

This development comes after Ishaku’s arraignment by the EFCC on Monday, September 30, 2024.

The Katsina State High Court has dismissed a suit seeking to remove Umar Iliya Damagum as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The suit, filed by Ibrahim Musa, a member of the PDP, challenged Damagum’s appointment, arguing that the replacement of former National Chairman Dr Iyorchia Ayu was unconstitutional.

Musa contended that Ayu’s successor should have been chosen from the North-Central geopolitical zone, the region where Ayu hails from.

But, Justice Abdullahi Bawa-Faskari dismissed the case, ruling that the matter falls under the internal affairs of the party.

The judge held that the matter is beyond the court’s jurisdiction.

In his ruling, he upheld the preliminary objection raised by the first and second defendants, declaring the case “not justiciable” as it pertains solely to party matters.

“The matter is not justiciable being one which falls entirely within the internal affairs of the party, and the court has no jurisdiction,” Justice Bawa-Faskari said.