News

Oshiomole, Retired Generals Trade Tackles Over Illegal Mining

Published

8 months ago

January 25, 2025

Editor

A former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomole, on Friday, accused some unnamed retired military generals of complicity in illegal mining activities going on across the country.

Oshiomole, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Interior, made the allegation when the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development, Sampson Ekong, submitted his report before the Senate Committee on Appropriation.

He lamented that steps being taken by President Bola Tinubu-led government to diversify the economy would remain a mirage if the incessant cases of illegal mining in the country were not addressed.

Oshiomhole, who is a member of the appropriation panel, said no amount of funds appropriated to the solid minerals sub-sector would achieve any meaningful results until illegal miners are taken out of business.

He said, “The ongoing illegal mining across the country is being carried out by retired generals and we know them. Yes, we know them. (There’s) nobody in Africa who doesn’t know them. I wrote a letter to former President Muhammadu Buhari on the matter when he was in office.

“This is because a team that I sent to go and conduct a primary election somewhere reported back to me, the challenge of conducting primary elections in Zamfara because of the illegal miners.The team told me that those illegal miners procure arms the same way the military is doing in South Sudan.

“Whereas the Federal Government is ruthless with people who are doing illegal oil bunkering by deploying the Joint Military Task Force to deal with them when it comes to illegal mining of solid minerals, the Federal Government changes. It’s like using different standards and I am very angry about that.

“If we have to fight this menace, we need to deploy the army even to kill anyone who is involved in the illegal pumping of oil. We should also deploy JTFs, comprising the Army, Police, and Air Force, against them.”

Oshiomhole added that those behind illegal miners equip their men to perpetrate the crime against the Nigerian state.

“They give them arms. They use choppers to come and cart away the gold and they take them out of this country and make billions of US dollars.

“Unfortunately, the Federal Government is not doing what it should be doing. I took this letter to the former president, when I was the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress and I said, call the general to give you more briefing.

“What is happening or what is supposed to happen in that part of the country was exactly what the general told me was going to happen,” he added.

He continued, “These guys have been weaponised by the illegal big men who deployed a secure territory. The weaponry was made to protect the Chinese and other foreigners and that’s why they are going to carry out the mining. Retired military officers, and army officers, are involved in it.

“My position is that we shouldn’t be lamenting. We should fix the problem. We should tell the executive. You must deploy the same force that you deployed against illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta.

“That same force should be deployed to deal with criminals who have money. When I say criminal, it can be a retired general, it can be a retired permanent secretary, it can be a retired trade unionist or a retired labour leader.”

The panel agreed with Oshiomhole’s submissions and urged the various security agencies to swing into action and bring the matter under control.

However, some retired military generals kicked against Oshiomole’s allegation, describing it as baseless and a deliberate attempt to tarnish their reputation.

Speaking with The PUNCH, a former Commander of 1 Division, Nigerian Army, Brig. Gen. John Sura (retd.), described Oshiomole’s statement as the highest level of falsehood that anybody can ever peddle.

He stated that no retired general would engage in any activity that undermines Nigeria’s sovereignty, emphasising their commitment to national unity and development.

“As a retired general, your priority is Nigeria. Mining is not meant for just an ordinary person who does not have the resources and licenses to engage in it. Therefore, any allegation that any person is bringing up is just a falsehood and just to paint a dog black in order to kill it,” he said.

Sura argued that most retired generals, aside from those involved in politics, lived a quiet life, relying on their pensions and taking care of their families.

He condemned the allegations as “the highest level of disrespect to the esteemed nature of a general,” adding that both serving and retired officers are trained to prioritise Nigeria’s economic and political stability over personal gains.”

Similarly, Gen. Bashir Adewinbi (retd.) rejected Oshiomole’s claim, stating that he was unaware of any retired general involved in illegal mining.

“As far as I am concerned, I am not aware of any retired general behind illegal mining in Nigeria. There is no reason for that. That is misinformation,” he said.

News

NAFDAC Gives Nigerian Food Companies 18 Months To Cut Trans Fats

Published

31 minutes ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has set an 18-month grace period, effectively giving food companies until early 2026 before facing full enforcement of regulations to eliminate industrially produced Trans-Fatty Acids (TFA).

The initiative, launched as a comprehensive strategy and roadmap for TFA regulation, moves Nigeria from simply having the policy to enforcing its world-class standard: a regulatory limit of no more than two grams of industrially produced trans fat per 100 grams of total fat or oil.

The Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye, emphasised that the roadmap moves the country beyond policy creation to aggressive enforcement and implementation.

This was contained in the NAFDAC DG’s keynote speech posted on the agency’s official X (formerly Twitter) on Friday.

Adeyeye stressed the moral imperative of the Agency’s mission.

“The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.

“Eliminating industrially produced trans fats is possible, achievable, necessary, and urgent,” Adeyeye stated, calling for national collaboration.

The moratorium period is designed to allow manufacturers to exhaust existing stock with outdated labels and reformulate their products to comply with the legal limit.

NAFDAC’s action targets a dangerous dietary risk factor strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, stroke, and premature death globally.

Adeyeye emphasised the significance of the move beyond technical compliance, noting, “The removal of industrially produced trans fats from the food chain is not only a technical achievement, but a moral imperative.”

This aggressive step builds upon Nigeria’s existing reputation; the country was recognised by the World Health Organisation in 2023 for adopting best-practice TFA elimination policies.

The new roadmap is key to securing WHO validation of Nigeria’s full TFA elimination programme, establishing the nation as a regional leader in public health interventions.

News

Mohbad’s Father Urges Lagos AG To Prosecute Wife, Nurse, Others

Published

54 minutes ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Joseph Aloba, the father of late singer Mohbad, has urged the Lagos State government to initiate criminal proceedings against individuals named in the coroner’s inquest into his son’s death.

Mohbad passed away on September 12, 2023, following an injection administered by auxiliary nurse Feyisayo Ogedengbe.

Despite being buried the next day, public outcry and ongoing investigations led to the exhumation of his body on September 21, 2023, for an autopsy.

In a letter dated October 3 and addressed to the attorney general of Lagos State through his lawyers, Aloba demanded that criminal charges be filed against those indicted within 14 days.

“Specifically, we refer to persons indicted by the coroner’s verdict hereunder: Miss Ogedengbe Fisayo, indicted for unlawful medical practice and gross medical negligence; and Mrs. Omowunmi Aloba, indicted for negligence,” the letter reads.

“This includes Ibrahim Owodunni, a.k.a. Prime Boy, and others who either facilitated the invitation of the auxiliary nurse or refused to take him promptly to a recognised medical facility for treatment.”

Mohbad’s father said he was concerned that despite the coroner’s clear verdict, no prosecutorial steps had been taken against those indicted nearly three months after the judgment.

He asked the attorney general to exercise prosecutorial powers within the 14 days, or, in the alternative, grant him and his legal team a fiat to prosecute the matter on behalf of the state.

“Our Client, as a bereaved father desirous of ensuring that justice is done and seen to be done, is deeply concerned that notwithstanding the clear indictments contained in the Coroner’s Verdict, no prosecutorial steps have been taken against the aforementioned persons since the delivery of the Verdict on 11th July, 2025,” the letter reads.

“The judicial observations amount to clear indictments warranting the prosecution of the said individuals in order to give full effect to the Coroner’s findings and recommendations, and to ensure that justice is manifestly and adequately served in this matter.

“We request that you exercise your prosecutorial power on the above subject matter within 14 Days Next, in view of the high sensitivity of this matter and the public attention and outrage it has generated.”

In October 2023, Naira Marley and Sam Larry were arrested over allegations linking them to Mohbad’s death, but were released on bail after five weeks in detention.

By February 2025, a magistrate court cleared them of any involvement in the singer’s demise.

News

Boko Haram Once Nominated Muhammadu Buhari As Negotiator – Jonathan Revealed

Published

6 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday, disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as their negotiator.

Jonathan said Boko Haram chose Buhari to negotiate with the Nigerian government on their behalf.

He made the disclosure while speaking at the public presentation of Scars, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja.

Jonathan said the insurgents named Buhari after his then-administration set up several committees to explore dialogue with the group.

Jonathan said: “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government.

“So I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and had a discussion with the government committee, then when Buhari took over, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them and they would have handed over their guns. But it was still there till today.”

Jonathan noted that the inability of Buhari to eradicate Boko Haram terrorists showed that the crisis was more complex than often portrayed.