Headlines
Oshiomhole Has No Powers to Stop Douye Diri’s Swearing-in, Says Wike
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Thursday launched a verbal attack on the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Adams Oshiomhole, and called on the Federal Government to warn him (Oshiomhole) to stop making inflammatory remarks capable of destabilising the country.
Wike also berated Oshiomhole for saying that there would be no swearing-in of the PDP candidate in Bayelsa State, maintaining that the APC national chairman has no such powers to stop the inauguration of the candidate of the People Democratic Party, Douye Diri.
Speaking in Port Harcourt, the governor said, “The Federal Government should warn Oshiomhole to stop making remarks that will destabilise Nigeria. What he is doing in Edo State is not proper and he should not bring it to the rest of the Niger Delta.”
He stated that Oshiomhole lacked the power to make pronouncements after the Supreme Court had ruled on the Bayelsa matter.
“Who is Oshiomhole to determine who has spread in a state? Supreme Court has made a ruling. It is unfortunate for Oshiomhole to come forward to say that nobody will be sworn in,” Wike added.
The Rivers governor observed that Oshiomhole was making unguarded statements because he had lost the support of APC governors, hence he wanted to curry favour through careless talks.
Wike further said, “It is most unfortunate what Oshiomhole is doing because he wants to retain his position as national chairman. APC governors have rejected him; that is why he is struggling to prove that he is fighting for the party.
“He (Oshiomhole) is making statements as if he owns the country. This is the same way he is carrying on in Edo State, fighting the governor. He believes that he has the forces to cause crisis. He is arrogating powers to himself, which is not good,”
The governor described Oshiomhole as a man, who preached one thing, but went ahead to practise a different thing, adding that the situation in Edo State has exposed Oshiomhole as a godfather, who once preached against godfathers.
He maintained that Oshiomhole would not be allowed to destroy the Niger Delta region, insisting that the rule of law must continue to prevail.
The Punch
The Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated Egypt 4-2 on penalties to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 third-place playoff on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali proved the hero of the night with two crucial saves during the shootout, including one from Egyptian star Mohamed Salah.
Ademola Lookman then calmly converted the decisive penalty to secure the bronze medal —Nigeria’s ninth third-place finish in AFCON history.
With neither side able to break the deadlock in a cagey second half, the game ended 0-0, sending the contest directly to penalties.
Despite Fisayo Dele-Bashiru missing Nigeria’s first kick, Nwabali’s immediate saved from Egypt’s first two attempts shifted the momentum.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal of the son of a former Jigawa State governor, challenging the decision of the trial court, which convicted him for failing to declare $40,000 at Kano airport.
In a unanimous decision, the apex court panel dismissed the appeal of Aminu Sule Lamido, the son of former governor Sule Lamido, for lack of merit.
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested Aminu on December 11, 2012, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport while preparing to travel to Cairo, Egypt.
The prosecution said Aminu declared $10,000 to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), but was found with an additional $40,000, which was not disclosed on his currency declaration form.
The EFCC charged him before the Federal High Court in Kano on a one-count offence of false declaration of foreign currency, contrary to provisions of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act.
On July 12, 2015, the court convicted Aminu and ordered him to forfeit 25 per cent of the undeclared sum to the Federal government.
Dissatisfied with the ruling, Aminu approached the Court of Appeal in Kaduna to overturn the conviction and set aside the forfeiture order.
In a judgment delivered on December 7, 2015, however, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has ordered that the trial of former governor Lamido, his two sons, and others, over alleged N1.35billion fraud, should continue before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
A five-member panel of the apex court issued the directive in two unanimous judgments, in the two appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the trial court, which dismissed the no-case submission filed by the Lamidos and held that the defendants had a case to answer.
Both appeals were against the July 25, 2023, judgments of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which upheld the no-case submission made by Lamido and others and struck out the 37-count charge on which they were being prosecuted, on the grounds that the Federal High Court in Abuja lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
In the lead judgments of the Supreme Court, Justice Abubakar Umar set aside the July 25, 2023 judgments of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the earlier decision by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which overruled the no-case submissions by Lamido and others and ordered them to enter their defence.
The EFCC, in the 37-count charge, among others, accused Lamido of abusing his position as a governor between 2007 and 2015, allegedly laundering sums of money received as kickbacks from companies that were awarded contracts by the Jigawa State Government under his leadership.
The other defendants charged alongside Lamido are his two sons – Aminu and Mustapha; Aminu Wada Abubakar and their companies – Bamaina Holdings Ltd and Speeds International Ltd.
