News

Oyedepo’s Deputies, Abioye, Aremu To Step Down

Published

12 months ago

October 11, 2024

The two Vice Presidents of Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church (Winners Chapel) will retire next after serving for over four and three decades.

Multiple sources in the church, including a pastor in the church, who requested anonymity due to a lack of authorisation to speak to the press, confirmed the planned retirement of Bishops David Abioye and Thomas Aremu to The PUNCH on Thursday.

According to the sources, the retirement aligned with Winners Chapel’s operational manual, The Mandate, which recently revised the retirement age from 60 to 55.

A member who attends the headquarters church in Ota, Ogun State, said, “We have heard that Bishop Abioye and the other Bishop Aremu in Ibadan will leave during the Bishop Oyedepo birthday celebration. That is the new law in the church; only Bishop Oyedepo can remain in his position for life. One of the two bishops has even been considering leaving for a while, so this is not news to some of us in the church.”

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Efforts by our correspondent to verify the development with the church’s media officials were unsuccessful, as they did not answer calls or respond to messages sent via WhatsApp.

Bishop Abioye is currently 63, while Bishop Aremu is 67.

Only the church’s founder will be allowed to serve beyond this new age limit, with future leaders permitted to serve one or two terms of seven years each, subject to the Board of Trustees’ approval.

According to Church Times, valedictory services will be held for the two Bishops at their respective churches.

Bishop Abioye’s farewell service is set for Friday, October 18, 2024, in Durumi, Abuja, while Bishop Aremu’s service will take place at LFC Basorun in Ibadan, Oyo State, on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.

Bishop Abioye, currently the Senior Pastor of Living Faith Church, Goshen City, Abuja, first met Bishop David Oyedepo in 1979.

He led one of the church’s five pioneer branches in 1987 and was consecrated in 1993 at the age of 32.

Bishop Aremu, who transitioned to full-time ministry after a successful accounting career, was one of the seven bishops consecrated in November 1999 at Garden of Faith, Kaduna.

News

Boko Haram Once Nominated Muhammadu Buhari As Negotiator – Jonathan Revealed

Published

4 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.

News

Edo: Pandemonium As NDLEA Operatives Chase Escaping Driver With Shooting

Published

6 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

There was pandemonium at Oka Market, Upper Sakponba Road, Benin City, Friday, as operatives of the State Command of Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) shot sporadically in chase of an escaping driver.

In the course of the commotion, traders and residents took to their heels, probably to avoid being hit by stray bullets, while others were confused, not sure of what caused the sporadic gunshots.

The sporadic gunshots which lasted more than five minutes at the gate of the NDLEA Head Office, by Oka Market, followed a hot chase of an articulated vehicle driver who was said to have brushed their (NDLEA) vehicle.

The driver, who reportedly brushed the NDLEA vehicle refused to stop for negation, which prompted officers at the scene to alert their colleagues who waited at the alert.

According to eyewitnesses, as the escaping articulated driver approached the NDLEA office, officers who were said to have been alerted by their colleagues pursuing the trailer began to shoot.

Seven of the tyres of the trailer were deflated by bullets of the NDLEA operatives yet the driver refused to stop.

The officers continued to shoot while pursuing him, until he was caught.

A source said that the driver brushed their vehicle on the way, and that every effort by the officers to stop him so they could settle the matter proved abortive; hence the gunshots and deflation of the tires.

“It was a simple thing; they jammed our men, but the officers tried to stop him so that they could settle, but the driver refused to stop. That is why the men have been shooting to stop him. Even after bursting about seven tires, he was still running, but we caught him and they are bringing him back to our office,” he concluded.

Calls and messages sent to the commander, Edo State NDLEA Command, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, were not responded to as at when filing this.

News

JUST IN: Court Bars Police From Enforcing Tinted Glass Regulation

Published

8 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The Federal High Court sitting in Warri has issued an order directing the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police to maintain the status quo in the ongoing case concerning the controversial tinted glass permit.

The case, Suit No. FHC/WR/CS/103/2025: John Aikpokpo-Martins v. Inspector-General of Police & Nigeria Police Force, came up for hearing today.

Delivering the interim order, the Court directed the police authorities to respect judicial processes pending further proceedings in the matter.

Confirming the development, Kunle Edun, SAN, who led the legal team, noted that the directive is a major step in ensuring that the rule of law is upheld while the substantive issues in the case are being determined.

Details of the ruling and the next adjourned date are expected shortly.

Further updates coming soon…