Author: Drum Africa Correspondent

Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, CP Ajao S. Adewale has directed all Area Commanders, DPOs, and HODs to immediately review and release suspects held for minor, bailable offences across the nation’s capital. The CP ordered that the release should be done upon proper documentation and surety verification of the suspects. A statement by the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, Josephine Adeh said the CP also issued a firm directive to all officers, warning them against illegal detention; meddling in civil matters, especially land disputes; and extortion. She said the warning followed reports of unlawful detention for bailable offences,…

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Adewole Adebayo, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for not visiting Yelewata town in Benue State where scores of residents were killed by vicious marauders last Friday. Tinubu visited Benue on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, to sympathise with the people of the state over the killings of innocent residents by suspected killer herdsmen. “I aborted my visit to Yelewata town because of the rain, flood and bad roads,” Tinubu had said during his visit to Makurdi, the state capital. SDP’s Adebayo said the president’s excuse was not tenable. “He (the president)…

The 36 state governors in Nigeria have agreed to dismantle illegal road blocks and multiple taxes across the country. They made the resolution after a meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) in Abuja which ended early Thursday. The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who read the communique at the end of the meeting, said the governors resolved to dismantle illegal road blocks and multiple taxes which they say was responsible for food inflation in the country. The communique was signed by NGF Chairman and Governor of Kwara State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq. “The Forum received a briefing from the National…

Senior pastor of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Paul Enenche, rejected a N30 million cash donation from Kebbi State Governor Nasir Idris during a recent crusade. The incident occurred at a two-day healing and deliverance crusade hosted by the pastor in Birnin Kebbi, the state capital, between June 17 and 18. During the programme, an aide to Governor Idris presented the money on behalf of the state government, addressing the crowd with praise for the governor. “Our Governor, His Excellency, Doctor Nasir Idris Abdullahi, a people and comrade governor, has graciously approved the donation of the sum of N30 million to…

The Nigerian Senate has vowed to closely monitor the disbursement and implementation of the N1.48 trillion budget submitted by the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), as part of its oversight responsibility under the current emergency rule in the state. Speaking during a budget defence session at the National Assembly on Thursday, the Chairman of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on the Oversight of Emergency Governance in Rivers, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, assured Nigerians that the legislature will ensure that every naira allocated in the 2025 Appropriation Bill delivers tangible results. “This is not just about reviewing figures…

A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Maitama has granted bail to the suspended Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, in the sum of N50 million. Delivering the ruling, Justice Chizoba Orji dismissed the Federal Government’s request to have the lawmaker remanded in prison custody while her trial proceeds on a three-count charge. The judge ruled that there was no valid reason to deny the defendant bail, noting that there was sufficient indication she is prepared to face trial. In addition to the N50 million bail, the court ordered that Akpoti-Uduaghan must produce one surety, described as a person…

The United States has announced that it is resuming the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but will now require monitoring of the social media activities of the applicants. The U.S. Department of State said all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for review in an attempt to expand screening and vetting for visa applicants. The government had, in May, temporarily halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the U.S. The department’s spokesperson, in a statement, said a U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right.…

Human rights activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi has stated that it would have been better if President Bola Tinubu had not visited Benue State than to visit the state and remain unfeeling towards the plight of its people. Farotimi said the only person who said anything of note during the president’s visit to Makurdi, the Benue State capital on Wednesday, was the Tor Tiv V, James Ayatse, who described the attacks as a “calculated, well-planned, full-scale genocidal invasion and land grabbing campaign by herder terrorists and bandits”. “I must say very quickly that it would have been better if the…

Abia State Civil Service Commission has suspended employment in the health sector, as earlier advertised by the Abia State Ministry of health. A statement signed by the Chairman of Abia State Civil Service Commission, Eno Jerry Eze, said that the public will be communicated about when the employment exercise will resume. Similarly, Abia State Ministry of Health has announced that it has recalled the recent advertisement it placed online for employment of healthcare workers in the State. This was disclosed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Ifeyinwa Blossom Uma-Kalu, who said that the Ministry does not recruit staff…

Former Head of State General Yakubu Gowon has said he wishes to be remembered as a patriotic leader who deeply loved Nigeria and consistently prayed for its unity and progress. Speaking in an interview with Arise Television, the 90-year-old elder statesman reflected on his years in office from 1966 to 1975, particularly addressing the causes of the Nigerian Civil War, which broke out in July 1967 and lasted for 30 months. Gowon revealed that efforts to prevent the conflict failed largely due to irreconcilable differences that surfaced during the January 1967 Aburi summit held in Ghana. He noted that Eastern…