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2023 Election: Nigerian Govt Told To Respect Media Freedom

The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID, has advised the Nigerian government to respect and uphold media freedom so that journalists can work freely without molestation before, during and after the 2023 elections.
The centre added that government should ensure journalists are not assaulted or intimidated while covering the elections as was the case in the previous elections.
Head of Political Affairs at the High Commission of Canada in Nigeria, Andy Web made the call during his remarks at a media symposium tagged “Elections 2023: Security, Media and Safety,” over the weekend.
The High Commissioner while noting that some Nigerian government officials resort to authoritarian tendencies in the resolution of media-state conflicts, assured of the Canadian government’s willingness to support media freedom in Nigeria at all times.
READ ALSO: 2023: ‘Element’ Against Tinubu In The Presidency Revealed
He said: “We call on government to respect media freedom so that journalists can work freely without being molested.
“The symposium is to commemorate the international day to end impunity for crimes against journalists and is a response to the continued threats to the safety of journalists, and fears of what could emerge in the wake of the 2023 elections in the country.”
The keynote speaker, Prof Umaru Pate, the Vice Chancellor, Federal University Kashere, noted that elections in Nigeria are highly competitive and tense, regretting that journalists are always the worst hit.
He recalled that in the 2019 elections, some journalists were assaulted and detained, with 20 websites blocked amid intimidations, without any attempt to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“This will make media organisations to have self-censorship which weakens investigative journalism,” he noted.
The Vice-Chancellor regretted that most journalists are on the watchlist of security operatives during elections adding that hostile regulations, the use of DSS operatives to threaten journalists and digital surveillance should stop.
In her remarks, CJID Deputy Director, Busola Ajibola called for the review and repeal of all oppressive laws against journalists even as she said that journalists’ violation registers should be kept.
READ ALSO: 2023 Polls: How Division In APC Threatens Tinubu’s Victory
“Election periods are typically notorious for attacks on journalists and for stifling the media ecosystem in the hope of constraining the spaces of democratic accountability, human freedom and citizen’s liberties. The 2023 elections are already showing promises to that effect,” she said.
The high point of the symposium was the signing of the pact by relevant stakeholders to protect journalists ahead of and during the elections.
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JUST IN: Ooni Visits Olubadan-designate Ladoja In Ibadan

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, on Sunday, paid a visit to the Olubadan designate, Rashidi Ladoja, at his Bodija private residence in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The PUNCH reports that Oba Ladoja will be installed as the 44th Olubadan on Friday, September 26, 2025, following the demise of the 43rd Olubadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin, who joined his ancestors on Monday, July 7, 2025, at the age of 90 years.
READ ALSO:Ladoja Coronation Date As 44th Olubadan Revealed
The two paramount rulers are currently exchanging pleasantries.
Details later…
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JUST IN: FG Revokes 1,263 Mineral Licenses Over Unpaid Fees

The Federal Government through the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development has announced a fresh revocation of not less than 1,263 mineral licenses.
These licenses, which will now be deleted from the Electronic Mining Cadastral System portal of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, include 584 exploration licenses, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases.
The minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, gave the revocation announcement in a statement issued by his special assistant on Media, Segun Tomori, on Sunday in Abuja.
The minister explained that the directive was issued due to the companies’ failure to comply with the requirement of paying their annual service fees.
The latest revocation brings the total mineral titles revoked under the current administration to 3, 794 including,619 mineral titles revoked for defaulting in paying annual service fees and 912 for dormancy last year.
READ ALSO:FG Introduces Chinese Language Into School Curriculum
By opening up the areas formerly covered by these licenses, the revocation is expected to spur fresh applications by investors looking for fresh opportunities.
The statement read, “Not less than 1,263 mineral licenses will be deleted from the portal of the Electronic Mining Cadastral system of the Nigerian Mining Cadastral Office, MCO, following their revocation by the Federal Government.
“These include 584 exploration licenses, 65 mining leases, 144 quarry licenses, and 470 small-scale mining leases.”
Approving the revocation following the recommendation of the MCO, the Minister said applying the law to keep speculators and unserious investors away from the mining sector would make way for diligent investors and grow the sector.
“The era of obtaining licences and keeping them in drawers for the highest bidder, while financially capable and industrious businessmen are complaining of access to good sites, is over.
READ ALSO:FG Gives Mining Firms Deadline For Community Agreements
“The annual service fee is the minimum evidence that you are interested in mining. You don’t have to wait for us to revoke the license because the law allows you to return the license if you change your mind,” the minister said.
He warned that the revocation does not mean the Federal Government has pardoned the annual service debt owed by licensees, adding that the list will be forwarded to the Economic & Financial Crimes Commission to ensure that debtors pay or face the wrath of the law.
“This is to encourage due diligence and emphasise the consequences of inundating the license application processes with speculative activities.”
In the recommendation to the minister, the Director-General of the MCO, Simon Nkom, disclosed that there were 1,957 initial defaulters when the MCO published the intention to revoke licences in the Federal Government Gazette on June 19, 2025.
He informed the minister that the gazette was distributed to MCO offices nationwide to sensitise licencees and encourage them to comply within 30 days in compliance with the Minerals and Mining Act 2007 and relevant regulations.
READ ALSO:FG Gazettes New Tax Reform Laws
He observed that the delay in the final recommendation was due to complaints of several licensees who claimed to have paid to the Federal Government through Remita and had to be reconciled.
Earlier this month, the DG MCO had hinted that more mining licences would be revoked as part of ongoing efforts to sanitise the solid minerals sector and protect investors from fraudsters.
According to Nkom, the clean-up exercise, which covers expired, speculative, and inactive titles, is necessary to make room for genuine investors and ensure compliance with the law.
This is part of ongoing efforts at sanitising the sector since the inception of the Tinubu administration, and the salutary effects of the reforms are massive and manifest despite the attempts to push back by defaulters and their agents.
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