NEWS
Civil Servants Get Feb. 17 Deadline For Verification
Following the move to weed out ghost workers the federal civil servants have been given a February 17, 2025, deadline for identity verification. This was contained in a memo by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and sighted by our correspondent on Saturday. Civil servants are expected to verify their identities on the portal of the Integrated Payroll and...
“Snake, Monkey Mustn’t Swallow $1.07bn Health Funds” – Atiku Warns FG
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has cautioned the Federal Government that “claims of animals swallowing public funds must never be the fate of the funds budgeted for the critical sector of health in the 2025 budget.” In a statement on Sunday, Atiku urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to provide transparency on how the intervention fund would be allocated. The former Vice...
Falana Sues Meta For $5m Over Alleged Privacy Invasion
The Nigerian human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has filed a $5m lawsuit against Meta Platforms Inc. over an alleged invasion of his privacy. Falana claims that Meta wrongfully used his name, image, and voice in a false advertisement for a health product on its platform, portraying him as suffering from prostatitis—a condition he insists he has never had. In his...
States’ Salaries Increased By 90% To N3.8tn
The amount budgeted for personnel costs, including salaries and allowances to state civil servants, has increased from N2.036tn spent in 2024 to N3.87tn in the approved 2025 budget. Although the 36 sub-national allocated a total sum of N2.8tn as salaries costs, it only paid out a total of N2.036tn within the 12 months of 2024, a reduction of N764bn, according...
Anambra Govt Under Fire For Arresting Popular Native Doctor ‘Akwa Okuko’
.....Legal Expert Condemns Detention as a Violation of Fundamental Rights Anambra State is currently embroiled in controversy following the arrest of Chief Chidozie Nwangwu, popularly known as Akwa Okuko Tiwara Aki. The arrest, reportedly carried out by the state government, has sparked widespread condemnation, with legal experts and concerned citizens decrying it as a violation of his constitutionally guaranteed rights...
Police ASP Commits Suicide In Niger
An Assistant Superintendent of Police in Niger State, Shafi’u Bawa, reportedly committed suicide on Saturday afternoon. The incident occurred in Kontagora Local Government Area, where authorities revealed that his father, Usman Bawa, a resident of the Rigasa area in Kontagora, reported the matter to the police command. PUNCH learnt that Officer Bawa was found hanging from the ceiling when his father...
SERAP Sues Tinubu Over Unexecuted N167bn Projects
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has taken legal action against President Bola Tinubu over his alleged failure to prosecute defaulting contractors. These contractors received over N167bn from 31 ministries, departments, and agencies for projects that were never executed. The lawsuit, filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos (suit number FHC/L/MISC/121/2025), also listed the Attorney General of the...
Sir Chikwe Udensi Gets VIP Treatment At Emirates Royal Palace (Photos)
Renowned Interpol systems consultant and security expert, Sir Chikwe Udensi, was hosted to a private meeting at the Emirates Royal Palace by a Prince of the Emirates. ABN TV reports that the exclusive engagement highlighted the strong ties between Sir Udensi and key figures in the United Arab Emirates. As part of the visit, Sir Udensi was taken on a two-hour...
Kidnappers Set N250 Million Ransom For Ex-NYSC DG’s Release
A N250 million ransom has been demanded by the kidnappers of retired Brigadier-General Maharazu Tsiga, a former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in order to free him. General Tsiga was abducted late Wednesday night when a group of heavily armed men stormed his residence in Katsina State. The assailants surrounded the premises, forcefully broke into the property, and...
‘Free Me By Law, Not By Favor’ – Nnamdi Kanu Tells FG
'The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has reiterated that his release should be based strictly on adherence to the rule of law and not as an act of mercy or pardon. In a statement issued by his legal counsel, Aloy Ejimakor, following a visit to Kanu, he emphasized that his continued detention is...
