General
Rivers APC Vows to Tackle Soot Menace in Port Harcourt if Voted into Power
By Nwaorgu Faustinus
The Rivers State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has once again accused Governor Nyesom Wike of complicity on the soot which has continued to pollute the state, vowing that it would stop all illegal refineries and associated tools that cause soot within six months of assumption of power in 2019.
The opposition party in the state, in a statement by Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, the Media Consultant to Dr Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, the State Chairman of Rivers APC, said, “The other day, the Governor of Rivers state, Chief Nyesom Wike, in his dramatic pattern, accused the Federal Government of plotting to exterminate the Rivers population by encouraging activities that will sustain the dark, dangerous and mortal cloud on the state capital, which has become known as the dangerous soot.
“He backed his emotional hypocrisy with a lot of lies, but what is not lost on the free mind and those who are not caught in the politically motivated emotional blackmail is that the Governor knows more than he has told the world.
“Ask the governor how the Federal Government had been producing and sustaining the soot, his explanation would be the seldom practice of destruction of illegal refining sites, a practice that goes on in other parts of the region, where oil theft and illegal refining of crude oil into dangerous oil products.”
Dr Ikanya stated that it has come to the notice and understanding of the APC in Rivers state that the so-called crocodile tears of the Governor is just a decoy.
“Reliable discoveries have revealed that the Governor said all he said to buy cover for a well-organized illegal activity going on under his nose,” Mr Ikanya said.
The party said, “Governor Wike knows that the deadly cloud over Port Harcourt is undoubtedly from illegal oil refining, which has been termed as ‘kpo fire’. He knows the leaders of the groups involved in this dangerous illegality, he knows them from the race to the 2015 election and he very well knows what this is all about.
“The blame on the Federal Government was a mere façade. We call on Rivers State Governor, who happens to also be the Chief Security Officer of the state, to call his boys off so we can have a clean, soot-free environment.
“For the avoidance of doubts, the ‘producers’ of the dangerous cloud over Port Harcourt (soot) are Wike’s boys, whom they used to execute the 2015 elections and they have kept in a sort of security immunized zone so that they can make enough money to buy the arms and ammunition they will need to prosecute the 2019 bloodbath, since they won’t have the ‘federal might’ to fight personal wars as they used to.
“The APC in Rivers state, therefore, calls on the Governor of Rivers state to be compassionate and spare the innocent children, women, youths and men of the State capital, who do not have the sort of protection as he does, to call his agents of death off from their daily cooking of illegal crude. They should stop killing us all even before the elections come,” the party pleaded.
The party however commended the Federal Government for its concerted efforts in finding the causes of the soot and how to curtail its menace in Rivers State but reiterated that any effort without Governor Wike collaborating and assisting to call his boys to stop this evil act of operating illegal refineries will be an exercise in futility the party.
The party warned Wike to toe its line of plea for peace and sanity and avoid the plots to destroy the lives of Rivers State people because of elections as such plea should not be taken as the rattling from a disadvantaged body but as a wise counsel to prevent him from turning the State into a worse situation as he did before, during and after the 2015 general elections when he turned the State into a battle field were hundreds of innocent souls of Rivers State people were lost in the bid to install him (Wike) as the Governor of Rivers State.
The party also cautioned that the 2019 general elections will not be a repeat performance of 2015 general elections where he used the militants to execute his evil plots against democracy and good governance in Rivers State.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A former member of the House of Representatives, Mr Onamusi Onadeko, has been sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment with an option of a fine of N50,000.
The former lawmaker, who represented Ogun East Federal Constituency in the National Assembly from 1999 to 2003, was sentenced by Justice Chizoba Oji of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja on Thursday, July 30, 2026.
He was found guilty on count 11 and convicted for making inconsistent statements but discharged and acquitted on counts 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Mr Onadeko’s journey to the court started in 2017, when he was charged by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for his alleged involvement in the award and execution of a N68.7 million contract.
The politician, according to a statement from the ICPC, was accused of using his private companies, Stanton Engineering Limited and Haines and Baines Limited, to execute several constituency projects while working as a Senior Legislative Aide to late Senator Buruji Kashamu, who represented Ogun East Senatorial District between 2015 and 2019.
The commission, had in the course of the eight years trial told the court that several contracts like buying of ambulance vehicles, supply of hospital equipment and drugs for Primary Health Centres, as well as construction of classrooms for some selected schools in six communities of Ogun East Senatorial District, were awarded to both Stanton Engineering Limited and Haines and Baines, where the convict doubles as a Managing Director and nominal Director, respectively, an action that violates Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
ICPC also accused Mr Onadeko of making an inconsistent statement that contradicted the one previously made to the Commissioner for Oaths, where he stated that he is a Director of Haines and Baines Limited in an affidavit dated June 30, 20216, but subsequently wrote another statement while under investigation on May 5, 2017, that he is not a shareholder or Director of Haines and Baines Limited.
This action violates Section 25(1)(b) of the ICPC Act and, upon conviction, is liable to a fine not exceeding N100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.
However, Mr Onadeko, through his counsel, Mr Wahab Olatoyebi, argued in the course of the trial that his client was not a public officer as his appointment at that material time was on a short-term basis and non-pensionable, hence he, (Onadeko) did not fall within the category of those that could be tried under Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 which criminalize and punish abuse of office by public officers.
But this argument was rejected by Justice Oji, who stressed that based on the defendant’s letter of appointment as well as the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Federal Government of Nigeria v. Farouk Lawan, legislative aides are public officers and therefore could be prosecuted under the relevant provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, has inaugurated a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to investigate the abduction of students and teachers from Esinele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The governor formally inaugurated the commission at the Executive Council Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan.
Speaking at the event, Governor Makinde said that although the successful rescue of the victims brought relief to the state, it did not provide complete closure.
He explained that the decision to set up an independent commission was not intended to undermine the efforts of security agencies but to ensure that every question surrounding the incident is thoroughly addressed and lessons are learnt to prevent a recurrence.
He charged members of the commission to conduct a thorough, impartial, and evidence-based investigation, assuring them of the state government’s full support. He also called on individuals and relevant institutions to cooperate fully with the panel.
Speaking on behalf of the commission, its chairman, Professor Mojeed Owoade, pledged that members would carry out the assignment with integrity, professionalism, and fairness. He added that the panel would seek an extension if necessary to complete its work.
Governor Makinde gave the commission four weeks to submit its report.
Earlier this month, the pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State regained their freedom after 56 days in captivity.
According to the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, eight of the kidnappers had been arrested, but the Federal High Court in Abuja on July 23 sentenced three suspects in the abduction to life imprisonment.
According to the court, the sentencing of Mr Abdulrazak Umar, known under the alias Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid; Mr Yunusa Musa, alias Yunusa Bin Musa; and Mr Shamsu Adamu Sani, alias Abu Itisar, will start from the date of their arrest.
Before their sentencing by Justice Salim Ibrahim, counsel for the defendants pleaded with the court to sentence them on liberal terms, adding that they were first-time offenders and had pleaded guilty.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Two Chinese, Mr Zhang Hong Lin and Mr Gao Pei Hai, have been convicted and sentenced by Justice Akintayo Aluko of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, for conspiracy and the illegal mining of solid minerals.
They were both found guilty on all five counts levelled against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and sentenced each to five years’ imprisonment on each count, with an option of a N50 million fine covering all five counts.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of the mineral resources recovered from them to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
The defendants were arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on conspiracy and the unlawful possession of mineral resources intended for export without lawful authority.
“That you, Zhang Hong Lin, Gao Pei Hai, and Gao Pei Yu (currently at large), sometime in 2025 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this court, conspired among yourselves, with the intent to defraud the Federal Government of Nigeria of revenue accruing therefrom, and without the permission of the appropriate authority, engaged in the exportation of mica products, copper-bearing, and lithium-bearing mineral resources out of Nigeria, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 1(8)(a) of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, 1983, and punishable under Section 8 of the same Act,” one of the charges read.
The defendants pleaded guilty when the charges were read to them, with the prosecution counsel, H.U. Kofarnaisa, calling the investigating officer, Matthew Orogwu, who reviewed the facts of the case and tendered documentary evidence before the court.
After presenting the evidence, Kofarnaisa urged the court to convict and sentence the defendants in line with the charges.
