News
Blackout: Corpses In Army Mortuaries Decomposing, COAS Laments

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, has appealed for the liquidation of the N42bn electricity debt of the Nigerian Army following the disconnection of various Army barracks and cantonments by power distribution companies.
Lagbaja also revealed that the blackouts in barracks had led to the decomposition of corpses in Army mortuaries, a development that had warranted protests by owners of the corpses.
The Army chief made the appeal when he visited the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, in Abuja, where the minister told him that the debt would be restructured and not written off.
Lagbaja, in a statement issued in Abuja by the media aide to the power minister, Bolaji Tunji, said the main reason for his visit was to discuss the consequences of the power outage in Army formations and the way forward.
He regretted that some barracks and cantonments had been in total blackout since January.
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He was quoted as saying, “Debt owed is loaded on the meter, so no matter the amount of credit we put, the meters pick it automatically. Corpses in the Army mortuaries are decomposing and the owners of the corpses are protesting.”
According to the statement, “he (Lagbaja) further stated that the army couldn’t raise funds to pay the entire debt, as he solicited liquidation as was done in 2005 by the then President.”
He also described blackouts in army barracks and cantonments as security threats.
Meanwhile, the Army chief assured the minister of the Army’s unflinching support towards developing intelligent strategies in curbing the menace of electricity infrastructure vandalism.
Responding, Adelabu assured the Nigerian Army of his readiness to dialogue with the power distribution companies to relieve the Nigerian Army of its electricity debt burden amounting to N42bn.
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He reiterated the importance of liquidity and funding in the power sector, adding that the debt could not be written off.
Adelabu told his guest that he would intervene to restructure the debt payment if there was assurance of regular payments by the Nigerian Army.
He further revealed that the debts owed by power distribution and generating companies were not the only challenges bedevilling the power sector.
According to the minister, the vandalism of power infrastructure, which often leads to national grid collapse, theft, inefficiency in billing and collection process, poor metering gap, liquidity, shortage in gas supply, transmission stations being blown up with explosives in volatile areas, were all part of the issues being experienced in the power sector.
“The fundamental issues in the power sector value chain could be traced back to the last 50 years and a government that is barely eight months old cannot use a magic wand to proffer a solution. There is a saying that you won’t know what is happening in Rome until you get to Rome,” he stated.
The minister said power outages were not peculiar to army barracks but a national issue, adding that the Discos and Gencos were profit-oriented organisations.
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“We can only plead with them to adopt a repayment plan monthly instead of embedding the whole debt in their meter,” Adelabu stated.
He charged the army to continue assisting the ministry in safeguarding power facilities across the country and pledged to seek collaboration for the army through any of the development partners for the installation of solar PVs and Battery Energy Storage Systems as alternative power supply sources in army barracks and cantonments.
A lot of government agencies and parastatals owe power distribution several billions of naira in electricity debts that have continued to drag on for years.
On February 20, 2024, The PUNCH reported that no fewer than 86 ministries, agencies, and departments of government were owing the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company to the tune of N47bn.
A public notice by the management of AEDC listed the Presidential Villa as owing the Disco the sum of N923.9m; National Security Adviser, N95.9m; Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory being supervised by Nyesom Wike, N7.57bn, while Adelabu’s Ministry of Power owed N78m.
In the notice, AEDC said it would be constrained to list the names of MDAs with “long outstanding unpaid bills for services rendered to them through the provision of electricity supply in that our previous attempts to make them honour their obligations have not been achieved the desired result.”
The power firm had threatened to disconnect the MDAs in 10 days should they fail to pay their debts.
News
Court Dissolves Petitioner’s Marriage Over Lack Of Love, Care

An Area Court sitting at Centre-Igboro, Ilorin in Kwara State, on Thursday, dissolved the four-year-old marriage between Aminat Mustapha and Wahab Adeshina, following the petitioner’s insistence.
The petitioner told the court that she was no longer interested in her marriage to her husband following claims of lack of love and care.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), while delivering ruling, the presiding judge, Mr Toyin Aluko, held that the respondent had written to the court, accepting the divorce application made by his wife.
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Aluko, consequently, dissolved the marriage between the parties, and ordered the woman to observe one month iddah (waiting period) before she could remarry.
Meanwhile, the court granted custody of the two children in the marriage, ages one and three, to their mother.
He ordered the father to pay a monthly sum of N20,000 for the children’s feeding and maintenance.
The court also held that the respondent will be responsible for their education and healthcare.
Again, the court held that the father has unrestricted access to his children, but at reasonable time adding that he should be notified before any decision is taken on his children.
The judge ordered the petitioner to get a copy of the judgment and send same to the respondent.
News
Tinubu Embarks On Three-state Visit

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja on Saturday on a working visit to Borno, Bauchi and Lagos.
This is contained in a statement issued by Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, on Friday in Abuja.
While in Borno, the President will commission projects executed by the Borno State Government under Gov. Babagana Zulum, in collaboration with the Federal Government.
He will also attend the wedding ceremony of Sadeeq Sheriff, son of former Borno Governor, Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff, and his bride, Hadiza Kam Salem.
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From Maiduguri, Tinubu will proceed to Bauchi State to condole with the state government and the family of Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, the renowned Islamic cleric and leader of the Tijjaniyya Muslim Brotherhood.
Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi died on Nov. 27.
After the condolence visit, the President will travel to Lagos, where he will spend the end-of-year holidays.
During his stay in Lagos, Tinubu is expected to attend several engagements, including the Eyo Festival scheduled for Dec. 27.
The festival, to be held at Tafawa Balewa Square, will honour notable personalities, including the President’s late mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, former Lagos State governors Alhaji Lateef Jakande and Chief Michael Otedola.
News
My Wife Dented My Image, Took Our Marital Crises To Radio Stations — Husband

…He ran away from home after I was delivered of twins —Wife
Grade A Customary Court sitting at Mapo, Ibadan, Oyo State, has ruled that a couple, Folaji and Ifedayo should go their different ways after it pronounced their marriage dissolved.
The court president, Mrs S.M Akintayo, who gave the judgment, stated that this was imperative to dissolve the marriage for peace to reign.
The plaintiff, Folaji, who dragged his wife to court, accused her of not loving him, always fighting him, and sometimes displaying violence.
Folaji explained that the root of their differences was Ifedayo’s bias for his mode of worship.
According to the plaintiff, he attends a white garment church, which mode of worship the defendant abhors and therefore refused to attend services with him.
Folaji also said that Ifedayo concealed from him the fact that she was suffering from a particular ailment, which he became aware of after she was advised at the hospital to carry out series of tests.
Folaji stated that the differences between him and his wife degenerated to the level that he became a regular face at the police station and also at radio stations, where his wife took their matters to.
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The plaintiff told the court that the defendant had done a lot of damage to his image, and thus prayed the court to put an end to their relationship so that he could pick up the pieces of his life.
The plaintiff sought easy access to their children and promised to give them feeding allowance weekly.
He further requested an order restraining his wife from threatening him and from interfering with his private life.
Ifedayo, in her response, agreed that their union be dissolved.
She stated that her husband was inhumane and that he packed out of their house before she was discharged from the hospital after she put to bed a set of twins.
The defendant further said that the plaintiff had never visited her and their children since he walked out of their marriage.
According to her, her husband sent her N20,000 through his counsel after he dragged her to court, but that she declined it because it was a ridiculous amount to feed a set of twins.
Folaji, in his testimony, said: “My lord, my wife, and I had a proper wedding, and I paid her bride price.
“I expected my wife to be submissive to me and do my binding, but the reverse is the case.
“My wife is stubborn and troublesome.
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“She swore never to attend my church because it’s a white garment church and that she loathes our way of worship.
“The more I encouraged her to attend, the more she kept her distance.
“She later reluctantly agreed to attend service once a month.
“My wife is secretive. She hid from me for years the fact that she was nursing an ailment. I only became aware of this when the doctor confirmed it after she went through a series of tests when she took ill.
“My wife, rather than being remorseful, decided to make life tough for me.
“She became troublesome and never ceased to fight me.
“She is violent and always hit and harmed me with any dangerous objects within her reach.
“We always dragged ourselves to the police station where we became a regular face.
“My wife, determined to dent my image, took our issues to radio stations where I was invited and our differences were aired.
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“I walked out of our marriage when I could no longer tolerate my wife’s misbehaviour.
“She reported me again at the welfare office and, after mediating in our differences, I was asked to provide her with foodstuff and not money, which I did on a regular basis.
“But she has insisted that I would not have rest of mind.
“I pray this court to dissolve our marriage and grant me free access to our children. I promise to make provision for their upkeep on a weekly basis.
“I further request an order restraining my wife from threatening and interfering with my private life.”
Ifedayo, in her response, said: “I agree that our marriage be dissolved. My husband is inhumane and has no conscience, which were the causes of the crisis we experienced in our marriage.
“I was admitted in the hospital to be delivered of our set of twins, but I returned to meet an empty house. My husband deserted me and our newborn children.
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“He never checked on them nor gave anything for their upkeep. He only gave them N20,000 of recent through his counsel after he came to court.
“I rejected the money because such an amount can not feed sufficiently two children of their age, not to mention other needs.
“I plead that the court grant me custody of our children and make my husband responsible for their upkeep.
“I want him to give attention to their feeding and pay their school fees as and when due.
“He should likewise be available any time they need medical attention.”
Giving her judgment, Mrs Akintayo said although both had a valid customary marriage and bride price was paid, the court had no choice than to grant their prayers of divorce since they now express their disinterest in it.
Akintayo ruled that they were no longer husband and wife.
She granted custody of their children to the defendant, stating that they were still minors in need of motherly care.
The defendant was granted access to their children on a weekly basis while he was ordered to be responsible for their welfare.
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