News

Trouble Looms As Ijaw Youths Threaten To Shut Oil Exploration In Niger Delta

Published

1 year ago

July 28, 2024

Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Western Zone, has threatened to shutdown oil and gas exploration and exploitation in the Niger Delta over alleged exclusion of interested Ijaw sons and daughters by the Shell Petroleum Development Company Nigeria Ltd, SPDC, in the onshore assets biddings.

A statement jointly signed by the zonal Chairman, Comrade Nicholas Igarama, the Secretary, Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo, Esq and the Information Officer, Tare Magbei, the umbrella body of Ijaw youths warned against SPDC’s persistent demonstration of hatred to the progress and development of their host Ijaw nation.

The IYC, while warning the SPDC “dangers ahead if they do not review the controversial bidding processes for Ijaw sons and daughters to fully participate in the onshore assets biddings of the company,” added: “As a group, we will not condone SPDC’s pattern of exploitative practices, environmental degradation and neglect of our people.”

The statement reads in part: “The disregard for our people who are clearly qualified to partake in the biddings for these onshore assets that have massively contributed to the high-level environmental degradation in the Niger Delta, clearly substantiates the fact that SPDC deliberately spikes the hazards that have engulfed our region.

“As a group, we will not condone SPDC’s pattern of exploitative practices, environmental degradation and neglect of our people.

There is no gainsaying to the fact that as Ijaw people, we have suffered immensely due to the activities of SPDC in our region. We warn against SPDC’s persistent demonstration of hatred to the progress and development of Ijaw nation, it is unacceptable.

“Our lands, rivers and ecosystems have been polluted, resulting in the loss of livelihood for our people who rely on fishing and farming. The health and well-being of our communities have also been severely affected by the constant flaring of gas and oil spills.

“This non-inclusion of interested Ijaws in the onshore assets biddings is another level of injustice mete out on us by SPDC, particularly with the fact that Ijaw sons and daughters who applied for it were promised to expect response but to no avail.

“We have our facts and evidence against SPDC to reiterate that Ijaws have the manpower and capacity to fully participate in this process.

“The IYC will not accept the deliberate gimmicks of SPDC to deprive Ijaw sons and daughters in the oil and gas industry their right to partake in the bidding process of these assets.

“We reject and condemn the gimmicks in the strongest terms and we declared SPDC as an enemy to Ijaw nation.

“In view of the above, as a Council, we have agreed to occupy all SPDC facilities and a subsequent shutdown of oil and gas exploration activities in our region because what is happening here cannot happen anywhere in the world. SPDC cannot reap Peter to pay Paul, and we say enough is enough of this hatred.

“In conclusion, we call on President Bola Armed Tinubu, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to take appropriate action and call the management of SPDC to order”.

News

JUST IN: Court Orders IGP To Arrest Mahmood Yakubu, Ex-INEC Chairman

Published

2 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

Despite his exit as the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, has again ordered the Inspector General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, to arrest the former INEC chairman, Prof Mahmoud Yakubu, for an offence relating to contempt of court.

The Court order came a few hours after Yakubu left office as the INEC chairman.

The Action Alliance, AA, had instituted a case before the court challenging INEC and its former chairman, Prof Yakubu, over their non-compliance with the judgment of the Court delivered by Justice Funmilola Demi-Ajayi in suit number FHC/OS/CS/194/2024.

In the said judgment, the court ordered INEC to put the names of the National Chairman of the Action Alliance, Adekunle Rufai Omoaje, and other members of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, on the INEC portal.

The Court also held that the names of all the state chairmen of the party be uploaded on the INEC portal.

The court held that the elective convention of the party held on the 7th of October, 2023 which produced Omoaje as the national chairman of the party and other NEC members of the party was authentic as it was properly monitored and supervised by officials of INEC in accordance with the party’s constitution and the electoral acts.

However, INEC claimed to have complied with the court judgment, but the party disagreed with the commission, as the name of Omoaje was yet to be uploaded on the commission’s website despite the orders of the Court.

Although the names of the state chairmen of the party under the leadership of Omoaje and those of the NEC members are already on the INEC portal, Omoaje’s name is yet to be uploaded as of press time, a development that the court frowned at.

The court order obtained by our correspondent dated 7th October, 2025, and signed by Mr O.M. Kilani on behalf of the Court Registrar reads in part, “it is hereby ordered that the Inspector General of Police shall cause the arrest and shall charge the defendant/judgment debtors for contempt and committal proceedings within seven days of this ruling.”

The court also awarded a cost of #100,000 against the judgment creditors.

News

Lagos Closes Adeniji Adele–CMS Lane For Six Weeks Of Repairs

Published

4 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has announced a partial closure of the Adeniji Adele Interchange Junction to CMS for six weeks to allow for rehabilitation works by the Federal Government.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, the repair works will run daily between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., starting Sunday, October 12, and ending Sunday, November 23, 2025.

Osiyemi explained that only one lane of the road will be closed during the period, while the remaining lanes will remain open to traffic to minimize disruptions.

He assured motorists that traffic management officers will be stationed along the corridor to ensure smooth vehicular movement and reduce inconvenience during the rehabilitation.

“Motorists are implored to be patient, as the lane diversion is part of the traffic management plan for the rehabilitation of the road by the Federal Ministry of Works,” the commissioner said.

He also urged drivers to comply with the directives of traffic officials on duty to ensure safety and efficient traffic flow throughout the repair period.

News

JUST IN: Tinted Permit Enforcement Placed On Hold Due To Court Order – Police

Published

4 hours ago

October 8, 2025

Editor

The Nigeria Police Force said on Wednesday that the enforcement of the vehicle tinted glass permit has been suspended following a court order halting the exercise.

Spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, SP Josephine Adeh, disclosed this during an interview on Africa Independent Television, AIT.

She said the decision to halt the enforcement came after the police officially received the court order.

Adeh said, “Information reaching me from the office of the PRO is that the order has been received and the enforcement of the tinted permit is now on hold pending the court’s verdict”.

Disclosing that the directive to suspend enforcement would remain in place pending the outcome of the ongoing legal process, Adeh said, “We are waiting for the verdict. We are not against the courts, and we will continue to wait until we get a verdict”.

Speaking on public concerns about the purpose of the tinted glass regulation, Adeh explained that it was introduced for security reasons, noting that some criminal activities had been carried out using vehicles with darkened windows.

“The law was not made by us. We are enforcers. The policy was purely security-driven. Some criminals were using tinted vehicles to commit offences, making it difficult for law enforcement to identify suspects,” she said.

She dismissed claims that the policy was designed for financial gain, noting that all payments related to tinted permits are made directly into the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA), not to the police.