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13 Prominent Nigerians That Died In 2022 [PHOTOS]

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Nigeria is endowed with great people across all fields – home and abroad – promoting the image of the country as the most populous African nation.

Some of these prominent Nigerians in politics, entertainment, commerce and others died in the course of the year 2022.

Recall some of these deaths that shook the nation.

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The Olubadan

Barely 24 hours after breathing the new air of the year 2022, His Royal Majesty, the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji died at the age of 93.

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Olubadan

The monarch died on January 2, 2022, as the 41st traditional ruler of the ancient city of Ibadan at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State.

Former President Ernest Sonekan

Former President and the Head of the National Interim Government (ING), Chief Ernest Shonekan died on January 11, 2022, aged 85.

Former President Ernest Sonekan

Shonekan who succeeded former Military President Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida to govern Nigeria for only three months from August 26 – November 17, 1993, died of natural causes in his residence at Lekki, Lagos.

Chinedu Nwadike

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Nigerian gospel singer, Chinedu Nwadike died on March 27, 2022, at the age of 38.


Chinedu Nwadike

The artiste known for his popular song ‘God of Vengeance’ died in Abuja, the country’s capital after recovering from a kidney problem.

Osinachi Nwachukwu

Another popular Nigerian gospel artiste, Osinachi Nwachukwu died on April 8, 2022, at the age of 43, after a brief illness in her residence in Abuja.

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Late Osinachi Nwachukwu

The ‘Ekwueme’ crooner’s death was filled with controversy after her family came out to say she died of domestic violence at the hand of her husband.

READ ALSO: PDP Candidate Wants INEC Chairman, PDP Chair, Ayu Jailed

Alaafin of Oyo

Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi
Another first-class monarch that died was the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III on April 22, 2022, at the age of 83.

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Late Alaafin

The king passed on at the Afe Babalola University Teaching Hospital in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti to meet his ancestors having reigned on the throne for 53 years.

Arthur Nzeribe

Ace politician and businessman, Arthur Nzeribe died at the age of 83 on May 8, 2022, in Oguta, Imo State.

Arthur Nzeribe

The former senator was known for his effort to stop the June 12, 1993, presidential election, but the accomplished lawyer also left indelible marks for his astuteness in politics.

Ada Ameh

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Nollywood actress, comedian and on-air-personality, Ada Ameh died at the age of 48 in Warri, Delta State on July 17, 2022.

Ada Ameh

Ameh, despite being loved for putting smiles on peoples’ faces through her performances on the screen allegedly died of depression which attracted the sympathy of her fans and many Nigerians.

Vincent Ogbulafor

Former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Vincent Ogbulafor died on October 6, 2022, in Canada at the age of 73.

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Vincent Ogbulafor

Ogbulafor who hailed from Olokoro, Umuahia South local government of Abia State, would be remembered for his statement that PDP would uninterruptedly rule the country for 40 years.

Rico Swavey

Former Big Brother Naija reality star, Patrick Fakoya, popularly known as Rico Swavey died on October 13, 2022, after sustaining multiple injuries from a ghastly car accident.

Rico

Swavey, a singer, actor and lawyer had an auto crash two days earlier around Sangotedo/Ajah road of Lagos and was rushed to the hospital but he did not survive it.

Chief Mbazulike Amechi

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Chief Mbazulike Amechi, a former First Republic Minister of Aviation and elder statesman died on November 1, 2022, at the age of 93 years.

Chief Mbazulike Amechi

The nonagenarian who was known and respected for seeking peace in the Nigerian state led a delegation of Igbo elders to President Muhammadu Buhari to plead for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra.

Sammie Okposo

Multiple award-winning gospel singer, Sammie Okposo died on 25 November, 2022, at the age of 51 in his Lagos home.

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Sammie Okposo

Okposo, who had ministered in songs on local and global stages set the internet abuzz early this year, following his public apology to his wife over infidelity, begging for forgiveness.

Paul Unongo

Chief Paul Iorpuu Unongo, the former leader of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) died on November 29, 2022, at the age of 87.

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The former Minister of Power and Steel died in Jos, Plateau State, and tributes were paid for his selfless service to the nation, making Ohanaeze Ndigbo describe him as an “apostle of excellence.”

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Demola Seriki

Nigeria’s ambassador to Spain, Demola Seriki died at the age of 63 on November 15, 2022, in the Spanish capital, Madrid.

Demola Seriki

Seriki was a Lagos politician and public administrator who until his death enjoyed the accreditation of Nigeria’s permanent envoy to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.

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Eswatini Jails 10 Africans Deported From US

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The African kingdom of Eswatini said it received and jailed 10 more deportees from the United States on Monday as part of a US scheme to expel undocumented migrants.

Eswatini took in a first group of five men in July, with Ghana, Rwanda, and South Sudan also accepting US deportees in recent months in a programme criticised by rights groups.

The tiny southern African nation agreed in May to accept up to 160 deportees in exchange for $5.1 million to “build its border and migration management capacity”, according to a deal signed with the United States and seen by AFP.

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Its correctional services department said in a statement Monday it “confirms the arrival of ten (10) third country nationals from the United States of America”.

It did not give details but said they had been “securely accommodated in one of the country’s correctional facilities” and the government would “facilitate their orderly repatriation”.

A US-based attorney representing some of the deportees said the new group included “three Vietnamese, one Filipino, one Cambodian”.

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READ ALSO:US Deports Six Nigerians For Various Offences

The lawyer, Tin Thanh Nguyen, represents two of the Vietnamese nationals who arrived Monday.

“One of my clients … tried to assert a reasonable fear of harm being deported to Eswatini, but ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) ignored him and put him on the plane anyways,” he told AFP.

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He also represents a Vietnamese and a Laotian who were part of the first group which also included nationals from Cuba, Jamaica and Yemen.

– ‘Legal black hole’ –

The deal that Eswatini signed with the United States on May 14 says that the US deportees may include third country nationals “with criminal backgrounds and/or who are designated suspected terrorists”.

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Washington said the first group of men had been convicted of crimes in the United States, including child rape and murder, but their lawyers told AFP that all five had long finished serving their sentences.

READ ALSO:Venezuelan Deportees: US Embassy Gives Reason For Reducing Visa Validity For Nigerians

Eswatini jailed them in its maximum security Matsapha Correctional Centre which is notorious for holding political prisoners and for overcrowding.

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One of them, a 62-year-old Jamaican who had reportedly completed a sentence for murder in the United States, was sent back to his country around two weeks ago.

Nguyen said Eswatini was a “legal black hole” and the deportees were denied legal counsel.

His two clients had been detained since mid-July without a charge, he said.

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“I cannot call them. I cannot email them. I cannot communicate through local counsel because the Eswatini government blocks all attorney access,” he told AFP.

Lawyers and civil society groups in Eswatini have gone to court to challenge the legality of the detentions.

READ ALSO:Judge Halts US Govt Effort To Detain Student For Deportation

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A local lawyer on Friday won a court ruling allowing him to visit the four men still detained, but the government immediately appealed, suspending the ruling.

US President Donald Trump has overseen a drastic expansion of the practice of deporting people to countries other than their nation of origin, notably by sending hundreds to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

But rights experts have warned the deportations risk breaking international law by sending people to nations where they face the risk of torture, abduction and other abuses.

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Human Rights Watch last month urged African governments to refuse to accept US deportees and to terminate deals already in effect, saying they violated global rights law.

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland and landlocked by neighbours South Africa and Mozambique, has been led by King Mswati III since 1986 and his government has been accused of human rights violations.

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Russian Strikes Kill Five In Ukraine, Cause Power Outages

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Russian strikes Sunday on Ukraine killed five people and badly damaged energy infrastructure, temporarily severing power supplies to tens of thousands and prompting neighbouring Poland put ground defence on high alert.

Russia has stepped up strikes on energy networks, increasing fears Moscow would resume its widespread campaign of attacks on power facilities, which have plunged millions into darkness in past winters.

Russian forces fired 496 drones and 53 missiles at Ukraine, the majority of which were shot down, according to the Ukrainian air force.

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“Sadly, five people were killed. My sincere condolences to everyone who lost loved ones to this terror,” Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Strikes killed four people near Lviv, which lies in western Ukraine and is hundreds of kilometers from the front line, and has been largely spared the attacks that have hit cities further east.

“Near Lviv, an entire family of four was killed in their home, including a teenage girl,” Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said.

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Emergency services released photos showing firefighters battling flames in a destroyed building, and helping elderly residents to safety.
Attacks also killed one person in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and wounded people near the eastern front, local authorities said.
“Russians once again targeted our infrastructure -– everything that ensures normal life for our people,” Zelensky said.

The strikes cut power to over 110,000 subscribers across several regions, Ukraine’s emergency services said, with the hardest hit being Zaporizhzhia.

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– ‘Gas, heat and light’ –
Overnight, more than 73,000 people in Zaporizhzhia were left without electricity, regional head Ivan Fedorov said, though power had been partially restored by the afternoon.

Ukraine’s state-run gas company Naftogaz network also reported damage to its network.
These maniacal terrorist strikes are aimed solely at one thing — depriving Ukrainians of gas, heat, and light,” Naftogaz CEO Sergii Koretskyi said in a statement.

READ ALSO:Badenoch Unveils Strict UK Immigration Plan, Targets 150,000 Yearly Deportations

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The Russian army said it launched an attack “against enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine and gas and energy infrastructure facilities that ensured their operation.”

Russian attacks have also rattled Ukraine’s European allies after a spate of alleged Russian airspace violations into Europe.

NATO boosted its defences along its eastern borders throughout the month as it accused Moscow of testing the alliance’s air defences with drone incursions into several members and by flying military jets in Estonian airspace.

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Overnight Poland’s armed forces said on X that they had mobilised planes and put ground defences on high alert to secure the country’s airspace, especially in areas close to Ukraine.

Ukraine also said Russia was intensifying a campaign of air strikes on its railway network in an attempt to isolate frontline communities ahead of winter.

Russia launched drones at two passenger trains in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region on Saturday, killing one person and wounding dozens, according to Ukrainian officials.

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Badenoch Unveils Strict UK Immigration Plan, Targets 150,000 Yearly Deportations

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Kemi Badenoch, leader of the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, has unveiled an aggressive immigration reform plan aimed at detaining and deporting 150,000 illegal migrants annually, in what she described as the “toughest reforms Britain has ever seen” in border policy. The announcement was made in a video message posted on her X account on Sunday.

The plan, dubbed the Radical Borders Plan, envisages the establishment of a new Removals Force modelled after the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which would replace the current Home Office Immigration Enforcement unit. According to Badenoch, the Removals Force will have a mandate to remove all illegal entrants, foreign criminals, and undocumented migrants, while also monitoring illegal work. She stated, “My message is clear: if you’re here illegally, you will be detained and deported.”

Badenoch sharply criticised previous administrations, accusing both Conservative and Labour governments of failing to manage the migration crisis effectively. “Successive governments have failed on immigration. Labour promised to smash the gangs. Instead, in just a year, they delivered record small boat crossings, over 50,000 illegal arrivals, 32,000 people in asylum hotels, billions wasted. It’s pure weakness. Britain needs a serious, credible plan and the backbone to deliver it,” she said.

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The proposed plan includes several controversial measures. Asylum claims from illegal entrants would be banned, the Human Rights Act repealed, and the United Kingdom withdrawn from the European Convention on Human Rights. Badenoch added that all new illegal arrivals would be deported within a week, with legal obstacles to mass removals removed and visa sanctions imposed on countries that refuse to repatriate their citizens. She also pledged to “shut down the asylum hotel racket,” which she said would save taxpayers billions and restore public confidence in the UK’s border controls.

The Removals Force, if approved, will operate with an annual budget of £1.6 billion, double that of the current Immigration Enforcement unit, funded by savings from the closure of asylum hotels and other measures within the asylum system. The force will have sweeping powers, including the use of facial recognition technology without prior warning, and will integrate closely with the police. Priority for removals will include new illegal entrants, foreign criminals, failed asylum seekers, visa over-stayers, and others identified as residing in the UK illegally.

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In an interview on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Badenoch faced criticism for her refusal to specify the destinations to which deported migrants would be sent. She responded, “I’m tired of all of these irrelevant questions about where they should go. They will go back to where they should be or another country, but they should not be here.” When pressed further, she added, “They will go back to where they came from.”

READ ALSO:Badenoch Slams UK PM For Cutting Defence Funding Amid Global Threats

According to the Conservative Party document detailing the plan, the proposed measures are intended to increase removals from the current 34,000 per year to approximately 150,000, marking a five-fold increase in enforcement activity. The party argues that the reforms are necessary to address what it describes as uncontrolled migration and to strengthen public trust in the country’s border system.

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Badenoch’s announcement has intensified the ongoing debate in the UK over immigration policy, balancing border security with human rights considerations. Critics have expressed concern over the repeal of the Human Rights Act and the use of facial recognition technology without oversight, while supporters have welcomed the proposed measures as a decisive step in tackling illegal immigration.

The Radical Borders Plan is expected to be submitted for parliamentary consideration in the coming months, with its implementation contingent on legislative approval and coordination with existing law enforcement structures.

 

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