Today's Headlines: Ohanaeze To Tinubu: Release Kanu To Shut Ekpa Up, Gbakara wins Nigerian Idol

Ohanaeze To Tinubu: Release Kanu To Shut Ekpa Up

Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex Igbo socio-cultural group, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to release Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to shut Simon Ekpa up.

This, they claim, will relieve the tension in the South-East.

This comes just a few days after Kanu’s fundamental rights enforcement complaint against the Department of State Security Services was dismissed.

Kanu has been detained for over two years, while the region has been threatened by gunmen identified as IPOB members commanded by Simon Ekpa.

Ekpa is the self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the Biafra Republic Government in Exile. He recently declared a two-week sit-at-home order in the South East, all the way from Lahti, Finland.

Speaking on the issue, Ohanaeze spokesperson Alex Ogbonnia said Kanu’s continued arrest led to the agitation in the region, adding that the situation is a manifestation of the region’s social inequality.

“We have been consistent on the release of Nnamdi Kanu. We believe that the problem of what happened to Nnamdi Kanu has contributed to the agitation. What is happening in the South-East now is the manifestation of the social injustices meted on the South-East.

Victory Gbakara wins Nigerian Idol season 8

Nigerian singer, Victory Gbakara has emerged winner of the season eight edition of the Nigerian Idol.

His emergence as the winner was announced on the show on Sunday.

The victory closed off the season with a performance of Blessed by Wizkid.

The season eight edition of the show started Sunday, April 23, 2023.

Voters In Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory Not More Special Than Those In Other States, Tinubu Tells Tribunal Over Failure To Get 25% Votes In FCT

President Bola Tinubu has warned the Presidential Election Tribunal not to annul the 2023 election on the grounds that obtaining 25 per cent of the votes in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja is a constitutional requirement for being elected as the country’s president.

Atiku and Obi alongside their parties subsequently challenged the outcome of the presidential election by filing petitions to the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal in Abuja.

One of their arguments is that Tinubu failed to secure 25 per cent of the valid votes cast in the Federal Capital Territory, as stipulated by the Nigerian Constitution.

Tinubu only secured 19 per cent of the valid votes cast in the FCT.

But Tinubu, through his lead counsel, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), argued that there is no superiority between the votes from voters secured in either Lagos or Kano, which are the most populous states and Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Ekiti, which are the least populous states, THISDAY reports.

Olanipekun further argued that, while Section 3(1) of the Constitution specifically lists the 36 States by their respective names, the sidenote reads thus: “States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”

19-Year-Old Nigerian Student Going To Cyprus Arrested At Abuja Airport With Drugs Concealed In Crayfish Packages

A 19-year-old student identified as Benjamin Nnamani Daberechi has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for attempting to export 7.2 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in crayfish to Europe where he was going for undergraduate studies.

It was learnt that the Daberechi who was on his way to Cyprus for studies was arrested at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja by the narcotic agency.

Femi Babafemi, Director of Media and Advocacy for NDLEA in a statement on Sunday, said the teenage suspect was intercepted on Wednesday, July 12, during an outward clearance of passengers on Turkish Airlines flight TK 0624.

The statement reads in part, “The teenage suspect was intercepted on Wednesday 12th July, during an outward clearance of passengers on Turkish Airlines flight TK 0624.

“While being interviewed by operatives, Daberechi claimed he was a student on his way to Cyprus for studies, but upon a thorough search of his luggage, he was found in possession of 7.2kg of whitish substance neatly concealed inside a sack of crayfish. A field test of the substance however proved positive to Methamphetamine.

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