News
[OPINION]Petrol War: Let The Prince Walk Naked
By Suyi Ayodele
Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ehengbuda reigned as Benin monarch between 1578 and 1606. Benin throne, as we all know, is purely patriarchal and primogeniture; a system of royal succession that passes the baton from the father to the first son. By practice, every Omo N’Oba is expected to have a son, the Crown Prince, who will succeed him after joining his ancestors.
The Benin crown prince, known as Edaiken, is always trained in royal virtues and carriage. He is the oba-in-waiting. Oba Ehengbuda was no exception to the Benin culture. He had a son named Odogbo. According to the legend, Odogbo, rather than being handsome like any male child, was beautiful like a girl. He was a damsel! The prince was said to have had all the attributes of a girl such that the people then believed that their king was trying to deceive them by presenting a female child as the crown prince.
The people were worried, and their worries were not misplaced. Immediately Oba Ehengbuda, through the traditional means, announced to the people that he had a son, their future king, all rights due for such an announcement were performed. So, it was a great embarrassment for the people to discover their future king was a woman. Benin would not have such!
While the trepidation was on about the sex of Prince Odogbo, the Omo N’Oba, Oba Ehengbuda insisted that his child was indeed a male irrespective of the feminine features he exhibited; and or, his beauty. There appeared to be a stalemate. The Omo N’Oba, as the throne was in ancient times, and even now, is the deity of the Benin people. Nobody questions him; nobody disputes his claims. But there must be a solution to the riddle of Odogbo’s gender.
One day, the people summoned up courage and confronted their Oba. The Benin asked Oba Ehengbuda to prove to them that their future king was a man and not a woman. The monarch knew that there would be a problem if he failed to accede to the demand of the people. Besides, he knew that he had nothing to hide because he had a son and not a woman in Odogbo. He asked his people what they wanted him to do to convince them that he had given them an Edaiken.
The response from the Benin to their oba was shocking. They told the Omo N’Oba that if indeed Odogbo was a man and not a woman, the oba should ask his child to walk naked from the palace to Uselu, the ancestral home where every Oba of Benin is first crowned Edaiken N’Uselu before moving to the palace as the Omo N’Oba. What an outrageous demand!
Oba Ehengbuda was equally shocked like his palace courtiers. But the monarch knew that once one is sure of the potency of one’s Ogun (god of iron and object of oath), using it to strike one’s forehead while taking an oath should not be a problem. He agreed to do what his people wanted. Oba Ehengbuda knew that he remained an Omo N’Oba only to the extent that he had a peaceful kingdom to preside over. He chose a date for the traditional ‘catwalk’ from the palace to Uselu.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: el-Rufai, Bedwetter And Cost Of Dye
On the appointed date, the monarch asked his son and some of his agemates to be in their birthday suits. The order was obeyed. Then, the monarch asked the boys to file out of the inner recesses of the palace to the full glare of the public and embark on the walk to Uselu.
The Benin emptied to the streets. Many climbed trees, walls and other elevated platforms to see their future king and his sex. Odogbo led the train, displaying his genitals. Satisfied that indeed the heir apparent was a man, Prince Odogbo was proclaimed the Edaiken N’Uselu. And at the passing of Oba Ehengbuda in 1606, Odogbo was crowned the Omo N’Oba with the name Oba Ohuan.
To commemorate the historic event of the naked walk from the Oba’s Palace to Uselu, Oba Ehengbuda instituted the Benin Ifieto group and recorded the event by causing statues of three naked lads to be carved and kept in the palace.
In the New Year controversy between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the status of the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries, I think the ideal thing the NNPC should do is what Omo N’Oba Ehengbuda did centuries ago. That is ancient wisdom
If the Port Harcourt and the Warri refineries are working, the Corporation should just make the prince walk naked. We don’t need a private visit of Obasanjo on a guided tour of the refineries to prove that whatever the government had expended fixing the refineries is not another fraud.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: Yuletide Horror
The Benin legend stated above settles the issue of public trust, accountability and truthfulness from those in authority. Known as Ifieto, the Benin people long established that when the subjects doubt the sex of the heir apparent, all the king needs to do is to strip the prince for his would-be subjects to see his genitals and be convinced about his sexuality.
President Obasanjo courts controversy the way a young man goes after a damsel. But the man is not necessarily controversial. Don’t mind the seeming contrast here. The problem with the retired General is the fact that, like a typical Owu man, he does not know how to keep quiet in the face of perfidy. The Yoruba say the Owu man may not fight you, but he will not keep quiet (Ará Òwu kii raánró, àwíi ménu kúrò ni t’Òwu). Besides, he is bold and pathologically confrontational.
The man called Ebora Owu, (the deity of Owu) started the new year with the refinery controversy. Speaking during an interview with Channels Television last Wednesday, Obasanjo hit the perennially non-performing NNPCL below the belt. The former president accused the NNPCL of misleading Nigerians about the operational status of the Port Harcourt and Warri Refineries.
According to him, contrary to the claims by the NNPCL that it had rehabilitated the said refineries and put them in good stead, the Corporation merely wasted public funds. He was logical in his presentation which he supported with the antecedents of the refineries. Here is how he put it:
“I was told not too long ago that since that time, more than two billion dollars have been squandered on the refineries, and they still will not work. If anyone tells you now that it is working, why are they still with Aliko? Aliko will not only make his refinery work but also make it deliver.”
Take it or leave it, if there is any Nigerian who is in a better position to talk about the refineries, it is Obasanjo. The old Owu man did not only establish the refineries during his stint as Head of State between 1976 and 1979, but he also came back 20 years later in 1999 to inherit a moribund refinery that did not undergo a single Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) in two decades.
MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: OPINION: Portable, Queens And Badenoch Badmouth Matters
His first reaction when he became President in 1999 was to give out the refineries to the private sector to manage. During the interview, Obasanjo said that when approached to manage the refineries, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) declined on the ground that corruption had ruined the refineries. The advice was that the structures should be sold off as scraps.
Again, Obasanjo listed another litany of woes that had been the lot of the refineries to include the $750 million offered by Aliko Dangote to manage both the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries which the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), as it was then known, rejected. Putting everything together, Obasanjo concluded that the NNPCL was merely playing to the gallery with its claims that the refineries were working.
The response from the NNPCL has confirmed the dearth of the communication strategy at the Corporation. The best the NNPCL felt it could do with the dismissal of its claims by Obasanjo was, according to the Corporation’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, to “warmly invite President Obasanjo to tour the rehabilitated refineries.”
That response from the NNPCL is not just too base and terse, but it is most inappropriate. What Obasanjo said during the Channels Television interview is in the public domain. In the last 19 months, or even from the time of the immediate administration of General Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerians have been serenaded with the news of Port Harcourt Refinery coming on board.
At a time, the same NNPCL lined up dignitaries to commission the refinery and did photo ops with tankers laden with nothing! Days after the official commissioning of the refinery, not a single filling station in Port Harcourt and its environs had a drop of petrol from the refinery to sell. So, adding Warri refinery to the list of “rehabilitated” refineries by the NNPCL raises suspicion of not just President Obasanjo, but all Nigerians of good conscience. Nobody trusts this government which tells itself lies every minute and wants Nigerians to swallow those shallow lies
And, in case the NNPCL is confused about what to do to shut all the doubting Thomases like the Obasanjos of this world up over the functionality of its refineries, I leave the Corporation with the wisdom of the ancient Bini Ifieto legend as narrated above. Omo N’Oba Ehengbuda, demonstrated through the legend that matters of public doubt should not be legislated about but must be demonstrated by empirical evidence.
Refineries are established to perform one function: refining crude oil. All the NNPCL needs to do in this circumstance is to put the products of the two refineries in the filling stations across Nigeria for the citizens to buy. Nobody needs the turenchi of how highly the NNPCL holds Obasanjo. No! Nigerians need petrol at affordable prices, not the prevailing cut-throat price, and nothing more! When the people doubt the gender of the Crown Prince, the monarch should make him walk naked. Is that too much for the NNPCL to do?
News
Oba Of Benin Suspends Palace Chiefs
The Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, has suspended two of his chiefs for falling for dereliction of duties.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the Benin Traditional Council (BTC), Frank Irabor and made available to journalists in Benin City.
He said their suspension was as a result of their long absence from the palace, resulting in their failure to carry out their palace responsibilities.
The suspended persons are: Chief John Igiehon, the Izuwako of Benin and chief Aimiukpomonyako Oghogho (Ebengho), the Oyenmwensoba of Benin.
READ ALSO: Oba Of Benin Suspends 67 Dukes
“The under-mentioned two (2) chiefs have been suspended from the Palace of the Oba of Benin.
“This is as a result of their long absence from the Palace, resulting in their failure to carry out their Palace responsibilities.
“The public is advised to be wary of unscrupulous chiefs that are no longer functioning in the Palace. His Royal Majesty has approved their _ Suspension and directed the public be duly informed.
“The names of the chiefs are: – ; 1. CHIEF JOHN IGIEHON, THE IZUWAKO OF BENIN and, _ 2 CHIEF AIMIUKPOMONYAKO OGHOGHO (EBENGHO), THE OYENMWENSOBA OF BENIN”, the statement said.
News
Lawyers Fault EFCC Statement, Say It’s Misleading
Some legal practitioners in Bauchi state have faulted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) official statement about their client on Wednesday, adding that it was erroneous, false and misleading.
It could be recalled that EFCC posted on its official Facebook handle that a Bauchi State High Court has cleared the commission to proceed with its investigation of a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Bauchi State, Hamza Koshe, and his company, Pentech Engineering Nigeria Ltd.
According to the EFCC statement, the commission said Justice Aliyu Baba, in a judgment delivered on July 30, 2025, dismissed an application by Koshe seeking to restrain the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission from probing him.
However, in a statement jointly signed and made available to newsmen in Bauchi on Thursday by Jibrin S. Jibrin Esq, M.M. Usman Esq, H.B. Pali Esq, Abbas Ibrahim Esq, I.G. Agwam Esq and Salome Audu Esq all counsel to Pentech Engineering Nigeria Ltd & Anor as well as Koshe insisted that the statement was misleading.
READ ALSO: EFCC Orders Arrest Of Dismissed Officer On Lege Miami’s Show
According to them, the EFCC owed the public the duty of relating only the truth of what the courts decided as regards the contract financing agreement in the issues their clients were parties.
“Our attention as the legal representatives of Pentech Engineering Nigeria Ltd & Alhaji Hamza Koshe in respect of suit No. BA/271/2024 has been drawn to the statement posted on the official page of the EFCC on Wednesday, where the Commission supposedly rendered an analysis of the judgement delivered by the High Court of Justice No. 4 Bauchi Presided by Justice Aliyu Usman on the 30th July 2025.
“Now against the background of the erroneous, false and misleading publication by the EFCC on the matter, we deem it necessary to set the records straight by stating what actually is the truth of the matter in terms of the enrolled judgment Order of the Court to which this press release is attached.
“It is proper to state as a fact that in an earlier judgement relating to the subject of this release, the verdict of the High Court of Justice No. 10 Bauchi presided by Justice M. M. Abubakar delivered on the 19th December, 2024 is to the effect that the Contract Financing Agreement the subject matter of the suit having been found to be valid and not contravening any law remains enforceable hence, Pentech Engineering Nigeria Ltd is accorded the applicable injunctive reliefs as regards the activities of the Commission.
READ ALSO: Things To Know About Procurement Fraud As A Nigerian – EFCC
“We state as a fact that the main question of law determined in Justice Aliyu Baba Usman’s judgment is to the effect that the Contract Financing Agreement the subject of the suit is valid.
“The EFCC failed to state in its statement in reference the fact that many parties and contractors concerned or involved in the Contract Financing Agreement in the issue have been invited by the Commission with virtually all of them responding, honoring its invitation on the matter and thereby discharging their legal obligation speak volumes of ‘the bidding of some’ which the publication seeks to achieve ab initio,” said the lawyers.
The counsel added that the mischief and deliberate misrepresentation in EFCC’s statement could be seen when not only did it make no mention of this fact but also created the impression that their clients went to Court to evade investigation on the matter.
They said that Koshe was a guest of the Commission having honored its invitation in September 2024 which he was released on administrative bail, the terms and conditions applicable to which he has been observing.
READ ALSO: EFCC Recovers Funds Lost To CBEX Fraud, Forfeiture Process Underway — Olukoyede
“It is also important to clarify as a fact that there is no truth at all in the Commission’s statement to the effect that our client sought a perpetual injunction of general nature against the Commission’s activities.
“The truth about the reliefs sought by our clients is as contained in the Court’s processes filed in the suit in reference.
“We challenge the Commission to provide evidence of where our client ever sought a perpetual injunction at large or of general nature against it or any other body duly established by law.
“We urge members of the public to disregard in its entirety EFCC’s statement on the subject and be guided in its stead by the facts as contained in the relevant court processes to which this release is attached,” he said.
News
Tricycle Riders Sentenced To Five Years Over WhatsApp Group Mobilising Protest Against Nigerian Gov
Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum has been accused of being power-drunk following allegations that he ordered the arrest and conviction of two members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and tricycle operators for creating a WhatsApp group to mobilize a protest against his administration.
Crack police operatives carried out the arrests in Maiduguri before the scheduled End Bad Governance protest.
The two men, identified as Mohammed Bukar (alias Awana) and Ibrahim Mohammed (alias Babayo), were convicted on June 30, 2025, by Hon. Justice A.M. Ali and handed a five-year prison sentence.
Court documents with reference number BOHC/MG/CR/2150/CT10/2024 revealed that the men were accused of creating a WhatsApp group called “Zanga Zanga Group”—translated as Protest Group—to mobilize Keke Napep (tricycle) operators for a planned demonstration against the Borno State Government.
Mohammed Bukar and Ibrahim Mohammed were the 6th and 7th defendants in the case in which Governor Zulum accused them of using videos on the WhatsApp group to instigate Keke Napep (tricycle) operators in Borno State to join the protest against the government.
READ ALSO:Zulum Calls For Prayers As Over 35,000 Boko Haram, ISWAP Terrorists Surrender
They were also accused of producing videos in Kanuri and Hausa languages, urging tricycle riders to come out en masse, declaring “no going back” on the planned protest against the Borno State Government.
On June 30, 2025, Hon. Justice A.M. Ali sentenced the duo to five years’ imprisonment for allegedly planning the protest on WhatsApp.
Meanwhile, the seven defendants were charged with two counts: Count 1. That the defendants conspired to form a group named Zanga Zanga group (or protest group) on WhatsApp social media platform wherein they agreed to take up arms, to wit; guns, knives, bows and arrows and all forms of dangerous weapon against the Government thereby committing an offence contrary to Sections 60 and punishable under Section 79 of the Penal Code Laws of Borno State 2023.
Count 2. That the defendants formed a group named Zanga Zanga group (or. protest group) on WhatsApp social media platform and agreed to take up arms, to wit; guns, knives, bows and arrows and all forms of dangerous weapon against the Government thereby committing an offence punishable under Section 79 of the Penal Code Laws of Borno State 2023 All the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against them at their arraignment on April 11, 2024. The prosecution called four witnesses to prove their case.
However, all defendants pleaded not guilty when arraigned on April 11, 2024.
The prosecution called four witnesses, including Sgt. Isa Abubakar, an investigating police officer attached to the Crime Squad of the Nigerian Police, Borno State Command.
READ ALSO:Zulum Tasks Nigerian Military To Take War To Boko Haram’s Enclaves
Sgt. Abubakar testified that on July 21, 2024, the 6th defendant used one of the videos as his WhatsApp status to mobilize tricycle riders for the End Bad Governance protest.
He added that the 6th and 7th defendants also made another video in Hausa, saying, “Allah Yaisa Zulum two Billion Namu,” roughly translating to “May God punish Zulum for our two billion.”
He further testified that he downloaded the videos and arrested the two suspects on July 23, 2024, before handing them over to the Crime Squad office in Maiduguri.
Justice Ali said, “I have considered the pleas for leniency made by each of the convicts and the pleas made on their behalf by their counsel. The 5th convict is 17 years old, the 2nd convict is 14 years old, and the 3rd convict is 15 years old.
“The 5th, 2nd, and 3rd convicts are therefore young persons within the meaning of the Children and Young Persons Law of Borno State.
READ ALSO:Explosion Rocks Borno Military Barracks
“It was held by the Apex court in the case of Aminu Tanko VS the State 2009 Legalpedia SC 61216 that where the sentence prescribed upon conviction in criminal charge is term of imprisonment then some extenuating factors, such as the age of the convict and whether he is a first offender can be taken into consideration in passing the sentence.
“It is in this regard that, on the 1st count charge, I sentence the 5th, 2nd, and 3rd defendants to community service specifically washing the toilets of General Hospital Maiduguri, for 3 months. Make an order that they be given 20 strokes of the cane each.
“On the 2nd count charge, the 5th, 2nd, and 3rd convicts are sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment. The 2nd and 3rd convicts are to be held at the children’s remand home, while the 5th defendant is to be remanded at the Maiduguri correctional centre. The period of imprisonment should commence today.”
“Regarding the first convict, who is also a young man, he is hereby sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment. The first convict is sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment. The 6th convict is sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment. The 7th convict is sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment. All sentences should commence today, the 30/6/2025,” Justice Ali added.
READ ALSO:Merson Reveals One Game That Will Determine If Arsenal Win Trophy This Season
Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that the families of two commercial tricycle operators had accused the state government, led by Governor Babagana Zulum, of ordering their arrest and prolonged detention after they allegedly planned a peaceful protest over the alleged mismanagement of funds contributed by riders.
The detained operators, identified as Muhammed Bukar and Ibrahim Muhammed—both members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)—were arrested by the Police Crack Squad on the alleged orders of Borno State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Saina Buba.
According to relatives, the riders were detained for three months and two weeks at a police facility before spending an additional two months in prison custody while facing trial.
At the centre of the dispute is a daily N100 ticket fee collected from tricycle operators, supposedly serving as insurance to provide financial support to any operator facing emergencies.
However, the riders alleged that officials managing the fund embezzled the money and failed to assist operators in need, prompting plans for the protest before their arrest.
-
News5 days agoDSS Issues Warning, Arrests Man For Circulating Fake Recruitment Materials
-
Politics4 days ago[BREAKING] Edo: APC Suspends Ex-senatorial Aspirant Of Party
-
Politics5 days ago2027: You Will Lose 80% Of Northern Muslim Votes If…, APC Forum Warns Tinubu
-
News3 days agoNAFDAC Warns Of Fake Postinor-2 In Circulation
-
Politics5 days agoPrimate Ayodele Releases Fresh Prophecies On FIRS, FAAN, Others
-
Headline4 days agoUS Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi
-
Metro4 days agoUNIZIK Suspends Doctors, Nurses, Security Personnel Over 100-level Student’s Death
-
News5 days ago‘Na Only People You Gave Work Love You,’ Singer Speed Darlington Tells Tinubu
-
Headline4 days agoUS Defends New Social Media Vetting For Nigerian Visa Applicants
-
Politics3 days agoPDP Zones 2027 Presidential Ticket To South
