News
Army foils assassination attempt on Kogi INEC REC (UPDATED)
Armed men believed to be assassins stormed the residence of the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kogi State, Dr. Gabriel Longpet in Lokoja Thursday night apparently to assassinate him and other occupants of the house.
The REC whose residence is located near the Kogi State Government House at GRA Lokoja, was, however, escaped the plot as he was not in the premises when the gunmen arrived and tried to force their way into the apartment.
His whereabouts could not be ascertained by by press time as his telephone line was switched off.
The electoral umpire said the incident occurred around 3.30 am.“The armed men engaged the security personnel in a gun battle for over 30 minutes until reinforcement arrived,” INEC said in a statement posted on X Friday morning.
“While no lives were lost, property was destroyed in the ensuing gun battle.”
Sources told The Advocate that soldiers deployed to guard his residence were said to have repelled the armed men but they succeeded in setting one vehicle ablaze right in front of the REC’s residence.
“But for the stiff resistance put up by the soldiers and some policemen guarding the premises the gunmen would have had their way. They were prevented after exchange of gunfire between them and the vigilant security operatives but a vehicle was burnt. I am yet to confirm the owner of the burnt vehicle but as I speak with you many security operatives are around the place and there is serious tension,” the source, who preferred anonymity, said.
The reason for the attack could not be immediately ascertained but a source close to the REC’s office said it might not be unconnected with Longpet’s decision to grant the legal team of the Social Democratic Party, SDP governorship candidate, Murtala Ajaka, access to inspect critical materials relating to the conduct of the November 11 2023 election in the state.
The Advocate reports that tension heightened in Lokoja on Wednesday when a mob said to be loyal to the All Progressives Congress, APC laid siege to the INEC Headquarters in the state capital to prevent any access to the commission’s office.
The SDP legal team could not get into the office to inspect the election materials as ordered by the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, a development that compelled the court to adjourn sitting.
The Tribunal sitting in Lokoja had on Saturday granted counsels to the SDP candidate the leave of the Court compelling INEC to allow access to materials and all documents used in conducting the election.
The Presiding Tribunal Judge, Justice Yusuf Ado Birnin-Kudu, compelled INEC to also grant access to Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and other electronic materials used within 48 hours.
The INEC REC confirmed in a statement her personally signed that the state headquarters in Lokoja was besieged by a mob on Wednesday morning explaining that “the siege prevented attorneys representing political parties involved in the recent off-cycle governorship election from inspecting documents/materials used in the election.
Longpet said that the mob barricaded all entrances to the INEC office and prevented access to staff to carry out routine duties. “It took the intervention of the Nigerian Army to calm the situation down at the State Headquarters. The security agencies have assured us that they will maintain normalcy on our premises.
“We assure all parties and litigants that the Kogi State office is committed to granting unimpeded access to all materials needed to prosecute their petitions,” the REC said.
The SDP had accused the APC of sponsoring hoodlums to barricade the INEC office to prevent its legal team from accessing the INEC office but it was learnt that following the deployment of soldiers to the premises, the commission was able to comply with the court order on Thursday.
The APC, on its part, denied the allegation accusing the SDP as the sponsors of the siege on INEC’s office.
The REC, as learnt by our correspondent, must have incurred the wrath of the ruling party for complying with the order of the tribunal by granting the opposition party and their legal team access to the controversial election materials.
The United States has announced that routine visa services at its embassy in Abuja and 24 other diplomatic missions across Africa will cease from August 1, 2026, as part of a regional restructuring of its visa operations.
The US Department of State disclosed this in a statement, saying the realignment was aimed at strengthening national security, reducing government spending and ensuring more consistent screening, vetting and adjudication standards.
According to the department, the move forms part of President Donald Trump’s administration’s efforts to align overseas operations with US national interests.
“The Department of State is constantly evaluating its overseas operations in order to advance America’s priorities as efficiently and effectively as possible. This includes a visa process that maintains rigorous standards of security screening and vetting and aligns resources and operational capacity with America’s national interests.
“The Trump administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans, and the State Department will continue to provide Americans with appropriate consular services and assistance at diplomatic posts around the world,” the statement read.
The diplomatic posts affected by the change include Abuja, Asmara, Bamako, Banjul, Brazzaville, Bujumbura, Conakry, Cotonou, Durban, Freetown, Gaborone, Harare, Juba, Libreville, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Maseru, Mbabane, N’Djamena, Niamey, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou and Windhoek.
The State Department stressed that the realignment would not affect the operating status of the embassies and consulates or alter the consular services they continue to provide on behalf of the United States.
It also clarified that the policy would not affect visas that are already valid.
According to the department, the immigrant visa categories affected by the restructuring include immediate relative visas, family preference visas, employment-based visas, fiancée and fiancé visas, adoption cases, diversity visas, and follow-to-join asylee and refugee (V92/V93) cases.
It added that similar regional hub arrangements had already been implemented successfully in several African countries and parts of Europe.
The department, however, said routine visa services would continue at US embassies and consulates in Lagos, Abidjan, Accra, Addis Ababa, Cape Town, Dakar, Dar-es-Salaam, Djibouti, Johannesburg, Kampala, Kigali, Kinshasa, Lomé, Luanda, Malabo, Monrovia, Nairobi, Port Louis, Praia and Yaoundé.
These designated hubs will continue to process all routine non-immigrant visas, including tourist, business and petition-based visas, as well as immigrant visas.
The State Department also stated that visa suspensions imposed under Presidential Proclamation 10998, visa bond requirements and immigrant visa pauses for certain nationalities would remain in effect.
It advised citizens and residents of the affected countries seeking US visas from August 1, 2026, to book appointments and pay the required visa fees at the designated non-immigrant or immigrant visa processing hubs.
The new arrangement is expected to affect thousands of Nigerian applicants who currently process visas at the US Embassy in Abuja, requiring many to complete their applications in Lagos or other designated regional centres.
Nigeria records one of the highest volumes of US visa applications in Africa, with the US Embassy in Abuja and the US Consulate in Lagos serving as the country’s two principal visa processing centres.
National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has dismissed Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi’s suggestion that President Bola Tinubu is “tired” and should step aside ahead of the 2027 elections.
The national chairman, who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, questioned the basis for describing the president as exhausted, insisting that Tinubu continues to work tirelessly while delivering key projects across the country.
“Let me put it this way, epecially to Obi, who claimed that Tinubu is tired—is he (Tinubu) going for boxing or 400 metres?” Yilwatda said. “Are you telling me that the President who stays and works from morning till night is tired? These are the issues we are talking about.”
Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, APC National Chairman
He argued that millions of Nigerians benefiting from the administration’s policies would not support calls for Tinubu to retire from office.
“Are you telling me that over a million students and mothers who depend heavily on and celebrate NELFUND would be praying that the President be retired?” he asked.
Yilwatda also pointed to ongoing infrastructure projects, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the development of new seaports in Calabar, Akwa Ibom, Port Harcourt, Ondo and Lagos, as evidence of the administration’s commitment to national development.
“Are you telling me that over a million students and mothers who depend heavily on and celebrate NELFUND would have prayers that the President be retired?” he asked.
Yilwatda also cited several infrastructure projects as evidence that the administration remains focused on delivering its agenda, pointing to the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as well as new seaport developments across the country.
“Are you telling me that people who have the coastal road from Lagos to Calabar, to Akwa Ibom and Port Harcourt, or the five seaports in Calabar, Akwa Ibom, Port Harcourt, Ondo and Lagos, are those who wish that the President be retired?” he said.
The APC chairman further referenced the ongoing modernization of Nigeria’s aviation sector, saying the extensive airport upgrade projects supervised by the Minister of Aviation reflect a government actively investing in critical infrastructure.
“I am sure you watched the renewal of airports being upgraded by the Minister of Aviation. This and many others, even in the North,” he added.
According to Yilwatda, the administration’s investments in education, transportation, maritime infrastructure and aviation demonstrate that President Tinubu remains fully engaged in governing the country, contrary to claims that he is too tired to continue in office.
Yilwatda’s comments follow remarks of former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi who, in a sit-down interview with Channels TV interview, stated that President Bola Tinubu is “tired” and lacks the capacity to lead Nigeria, calling for him to step aside and retire ahead of the 2027 general election.
The Enugu State Government has suspended Igwe Christopher Nyia, the traditional ruler of Obeagu Ugwuaji Autonomous Community in Enugu South Local Government Area, following a prolonged leadership crisis in the community.
Handing over the letter of suspension to the monarch, the state commissioner for chieftaincy matters, Dr. Charles Egumgbe, said an administrative panel of inquiry had been constituted to investigate both the immediate and underlying causes of the crisis, as well as the allegations made against the traditional ruler.
The commissioner said the suspension was approved by Governor Peter Mbah in the interest of peace, public order and good governance.
The government’s action followed events of July 16, 2026, when residents of Obeagu Ugwuaji staged a peaceful protest to the Enugu State Secretariat Complex, the Enugu State House of Assembly and the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs, where they demanded the immediate dethronement of the traditional ruler over allegations of land grabbing and financial impropriety.
Obeagu Ugwuaji natives demand dethronement of Monarch
Some natives of Obeagu Ugwuaji community had on Thursday, July 16, 2026 demanded the dethronement of the embattled traditional ruler over alleged land-grabbing and administrative high-handedness.
The protesters gathered at the front of the Government House, Enugu, to lodge their complaints. They were led by their Town Union President, Chukwunonso Obi.
After making a brief appearance at the Government House, bearing placards with different inscriptions, they thereafter marched to the Enugu State House of Assembly complex and the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs.
They were received at the assembly complex by the member representing Nkanu East State Constituency, Honourable Anthony Okoye, who commended them for being peaceful.
Okoye said the House of Assembly has the constitutional mandate to oversee matters relating to local government administration and chieftaincy affairs in the state.
According to him, “The House of Assembly oversights both the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs, including the town union government in all the local governments and localities of the state. We are going to activate the power of our oversight over their complaints.”
-
News1 day agoBody of fresh Graduate recovered from collapsed Hostel building in Anambra
-
News3 days ago
Many feared trapped as three-storey hostel collapses in Anambra
-
News3 days ago
Tinubu snubs South African President’s Envoy; delegation stranded in Abuja
-
News2 days ago
Appeal court nullifies order for deregistration of ADC, four others
-
Politics3 days ago
Tinubu is tired, should be allowed to retire in peace and go home, says Peter Obi
-
News22 hours ago
Military intelligence officer Colonel Ude killed after resisting abduction in Abuja
-
News2 days ago
HURIWA defends former minister Uche Nnaji over salary payments, faults fraud allegation
-
Politics1 day ago
ADC: Appeal Court judgement has reaffirmed supremacy of rule of law, says Atiku
