General
Black Soot: Wike Declares 19 Illegal Refinery Operators Wanted
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Rivers State Government has declared 19 persons wanted for operating illegal crude oil refining sites allegedly responsible for the carcinogenic hydrocarbon soot prevalent in the state.
The state’s governor, Mr Nyesom Wike, in a statewide broadcast on Sunday reiterated the government’s resolve to tackle the soot pandemic by destroying and closing down operations of all identified illegal refinery operators in the state.
He also directed the Rivers State Head of Service to query one Mr Temple Amakiri, a Director in the Ministry of Energy, for abetting bunkering activities and hand him over to the police for investigation and possible prosecution.
He stated that following his 2022 New Year Message outlining measures to tackle the black soot menace, the state Task Force on Illegal Street Trading raided some illegal crude oil refining sites in Port Harcourt and arrested a number of recalcitrant persons.
“Furthermore, the following persons who have been identified as kingpins of bunkering and illegal crude oil refining activities in their communities have been declared wanted and directed to report themselves to the State Police Command, to whom we have already passed their details to:
“Mr Azubike Amadi, OSPAC Commander, Ogbogoro community and Chairman of Akpor Central OSPAC; Mr India, of Rumuolumeni community and Chairman of oil bunkering association in Akpor kingdom; Mr Okey who is in charge of oil bunkering in Rumupareli; Mr Anderson, who is in charge of oil bunkering activities in Ogbogoro community; Amadi Gift of Ogbogoro community; Azeruowa of Ogbogoro community; and Kingsley Egbula, also of Ogbogoro community.
“Also declared wanted are the following persons who are alleged to be in charge of oil bunkering activities in Isiokpo community: Mr Kemkom Azubike, Mr Mezu Wabali, Mr Chigozi Amadi, Mr Opurum Owhondah, Mr Bakasi Obodo, Mr Opus, Mr Galaxi Mas, Mr Chioma, Mr Ogondah, Mr Soldier, Mr Chefo, and Nkasi.
“We have also identified those behind illegal bunkering activities in Okrika communities, Port Harcourt Township, Rivers South-East and Rivers South-West Senatorial Districts and their names would be soon published and declared wanted if they fail to voluntarily report to the police,” he declared.
He urged residents of the state to report those involved in illegal crude oil refineries and other damnable activities to the Task Forces already set up at the state and local government levels for immediate action.
Governor Wike also reaffirmed the total ban on the use of motorcycles in Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt councils, which was necessitated by the collective threat they posed to the security of lives and property.
“Any person or corporate entity that requires the use of motorcycle for any lawful purposes must therefore first apply to the office of the Governor for permit and proper documentation of the operational details and particulars of both the motorcycle and designated rider(s).
“Against this background, we are hereby issuing the final warning to all those operation motorcycles shuttles and or hawking foreign exchange along Birabi Street, Hotel Presidential, GRA junction by Zenith Bank up to Tombia Street to immediately leave or be arrested and prosecuted,” the Governor said.
The governor then accused the traditional leadership, including members of Community Development Committees and youth leaders of Rumuola, Rumuogba and Okoro-nu-odo communities of collecting money from vendors and allowing street trading activities around and under the flyovers in these communities.
“Consequently, I hereby direct the traditional leadership of Rumuola, Rumuogba and Okoro-nu-odo communities to immediately stop all street trading activities around, in or under the flyovers in their respective domains or be deposed, arrested and prosecuted.
“Similarly, the traditional leadership of Rumuwoji Mgbuduku, Obiekwe, Nkpolu-Oroworokwo, Abali, Rebisi, Rumukalagbor-Oroworokwo and Ezimgbu communities are hereby directed to enforce the ban and ensure that no form of trading takes place around and under the flyovers located in their communities,” Mr Wike stated.
He also placed a total ban on the use of umbrella and table trading stands in the entire old and new GRAs of Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City, Eleme councils.
According to him, the government has credible evidence that most of these purported traders in front of houses are informants who monitor and pass on vital details and information on the daily movement of very important persons to their criminal collaborators.
Governor Wike frowned at the failure of the Rumuokurushe traditional leadership to honour the terms of their undertaking not to allow any form of street trading on the Rumuokurushe market.
“Unfortunately, the Rumuokurushe traditional leadership has apparently failed to comply with or enforce this condition in that market and the government will not hesitate to again shut it down if the ongoing breach continues unabated,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has sought an enhanced collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in areas including asset tracing, recovery, and management.
This was hinged on a recent visit by the chief executive of the corporation, Mr Thompson Oludare Sunday, to the chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mr Ola Olukoyede.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr Sunday stressed that the visit offered an opportunity for formal engagement with the EFCC for further collaboration between the two organizations.
“We aim to further strengthen our collaboration, deepen institutional synergy and explore additional avenues for mutual support in the pursuit of national financial system stability. The EFCC has been our partner and we want this to continue. We look forward to an expanded and more impactful partnership between our two esteemed institutions,” Mr Sunday said.
Further in his request, he stated that the NDIC sought to leverage on the EFCC’s technical expertise in asset tracing, recovery and management, particularly in cases involving debtors of banks in liquidation.
“Your experience has and will continue to greatly enhance our recovery efforts. Additionally, we have that strategic responsibility for prosecuting individuals whose actions contribute to the failure of banks. We therefore seek closer collaboration with the Commission in this critical area.”
On his part, Mr Olukoyede, remarked that both agencies of government have a longstanding record of collaboration, pledged to amplify the working relationship.
He emphasized that the NDIC and EFCC are like inseparable twins, working together for years. He reminded the NDIC’s boss that the EFCC had been supporting his agency in the area of investigation, while the NDIC had been supporting the EFCC in the area of training.
“So, there has been this mutually beneficial relationship between NDIC and EFCC and we never intend to stop. We’ll continue to take it to a higher level, and continue to strengthen it,” he said.
Mr Olukoyede reiterated that his policy directive was to stimulate the Nigerian economy with the anti-graft war, leverage productive entities and enhance the capacities of other government agencies through needful interventions.
“One of the things I promised when I resumed was to use the instrumentality of this work to stimulate the economy, not just to make noise all over the place; to strengthen and encourage the internal processes of entities that are doing well and design fraud risk assessment for them. That was what necessitated my establishing a new department called Fraud Risk Assessment and Control.
“We don’t have to always wait for money to be stolen. Let us work with you and stakeholders in the economy to fine tune our system and make sure that we clean our financial ecosystem. You’re a key player in that area, and we are always willing to collaborate with you,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s electricity grid collapsed again on Tuesday morning, cutting power supply nationwide after generation and load allocation dropped to zero across all distribution companies,.
The incident marks the second recorded collapse of the national power grid in 2026, the second as well in five days following last Friday’s inclident.
This also means the third time in one month after a similar failure on December 29, 2025.
The system failure occurred at about 10:50 a.m, when electricity allocation to all electricity distribution companies fell to zero. Data from the grid operator showed that power generation plunged to zero megawatts, triggering a total shutdown of supply across the country.
A review of the national distribution load profile at the time of the incident indicated that all distribution companies, including Abuja, Eko, Benin, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Yola, recorded zero load, confirming a nationwide outage.
All 23 power generation plants connected to the national grid reportedly lost output during the incident, resulting in zero power allocation to each of the 11 electricity distribution companies.
As of time of filing this report, no official confirmation has been provided by the government authorities.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Nigerian military on Monday, January 26, 2026, confirmed that some of its personnel actually attempted to overthrow the government of President Bola Tinubu in October 2025.
It was earlier speculated that the October 1 parade last year was abruptly cancelled due to an alleged attempt to remove Mr Tinubu from office by some members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), with 16 persons arrested over the issue.
Providing an update on the matter today, the Director of Information for the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, Major General Samaila Uba, said investigations have “identified a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government” and would be “formally arraigned before appropriate military judicial panel to face trial.”
“It would be recalled that the Defence Headquarters issued a press statement in October 2025 regarding the arrest of sixteen officers over acts of indiscipline and breaches of service regulations. The Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) wishes to inform the general public that investigations into the matter have been concluded and the report forwarded to appropriate superior authority in line with extant regulations.
“The comprehensive investigation process, conducted in accordance with established military procedures, has carefully examined all circumstances surrounding the conduct of the affected personnel. The findings have identified a number of the officers with allegations of plotting to overthrow the government which is inconsistent with the ethics, values and professional standards required of members of the AFN.
“Accordingly, those with cases to answer will be formally arraigned before appropriate military judicial panel to face trial in accordance with the Armed Forces Act and other applicable service regulations. This ensures accountability while upholding the principles of fairness and due process.
“The AFN reiterates that measures being taken are purely disciplinary and part of ongoing institutional mechanisms to preserve order, discipline and operational effectiveness within the ranks. The Armed Forces remain resolute in maintaining the highest standards of professionalism, loyalty and respect for constitutional authority,” the statement read.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism9 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn