Category: Featured

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwoolu has signed 2025 budget into law. This is was contained in a statement made available by the Governor via his X handle as read in part:

“Today, I signed the Year 2025 Appropriation Bill into law, marking a pivotal step in our mission to deliver sustainable development across Lagos State.

The ‘Budget of Sustainability’ with a total budget size of ₦3.37 trillion, is a strategic blueprint for solidifying past gains while preparing for the future.

A significant portion is dedicated to capital expenditure, ensuring we continue investing in transformative projects that drive economic growth and improve lives. This reflects our focus on infrastructure, innovation, and sustainable development.

The recurrent expenditure of ₦1.30 trillion is carefully planned to sustain the efficient running of government operations while supporting critical sectors such as education, healthcare, and security. This balance underscores our commitment to fiscal responsibility and service delivery.

The ‘Budget of Sustainability’ is more than numbers; it is a commitment to building a Lagos that works for everyone. From infrastructure and housing to youth empowerment and social interventions, every allocation is tied to our vision for a Greater Lagos that thrives now and in the future.

I thank the Lagos State House of Assembly for their collaboration and Lagosians for their trust. Together, we will implement this budget to deliver a lasting impact.

Stella Nwadigo, a staff of Christ-Mitots School, Isawo Road, Ikorodu, Lagos, has been arrested after she was filmed brutalising Michael Abayomi, her three-year-old pupil.

FIJ gathered that Nwadigo was first arrested by the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Agency (LNSC) on Wednesday after a video of her hitting the toddler in her class went viral.

Nwadigo had hit the child repeatedly during her number-writing lessons.

“It is like this. Write. Write six for me. Write. Six. Six. Like this, six like this. Like this. Now your one. Six. One. Sixty-one. Write,” she said at intervals while also hitting him.

In one of the videos of her arrest which has made it to the internet, a voice behind the camera announced her arrest.

“Under the president of Nigeria and the governor of Lagos State and the Commissioner of Police, you are under arrest,” the voice said to which she responded, “Yes, sir.”

In another video, Nwadigo was seen in a police station. There, a woman identified by social media users as Adetoun confronted her.

“Just leave her for us. Leave her for us,” she said in a mixture of Yoruba and English.

“The child is my child,” Nwadigo responded.

“The child is your child and you caused the whole chaos in the country. I am listening. Do you know what this woman has caused the whole country as a whole?” Nwadigo was asked.

“Please help me,” Nwadigo pleaded.

“Me I will help you? Me? I don’t help people. You and who? You beat up a child and you asked me to help you. I will help you to go to jail,” Adetoun responded.

When FIJ called the LNSC, they said they were yet to confirm Nwadigo’s arrest. However, Benjamin Hundeyin, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, confirmed that the police had her instead.

“Thank you for the update. She is currently in our custody for further necessary actions,” Hundeyin said on Wednesday.

Tragedy struck at the popular Eleyele Market in Ibadan North Local Government Area on Wednesday as a DAF model truck, loaded with granite, lost control and rammed into the market.

The accident, reportedly caused by brake failure, claimed the lives of two people and left several others injured.

Two people reportedly dead, while several others sustained injuries after a truck loaded with granite rammed into street traders at Eleyele Roundabout in Ibadan.

The incident, which occurred in the morning, primarily affected traders operating along the street. The Oyo State Command of Federal Road Safety Corps FRSC confirmed the incident.

Four people, including a mother, her baby, and a prominent APC leader, Fisayo Oladipo (Fissey Ehin Ogbe), were killed during a violent cult clash in Owo, Ondo State, on Monday, January 6, 2025.

The mother and child were reportedly struck by stray bullets during the gunfire exchange between rival cultists. Eyewitnesses described sporadic gunshots that terrorized parts of the town for hours, leaving the community in shock.

The victims’ bodies have been deposited at the Federal Medical Centre in Owo, while the Ondo State Police Command, through its spokesperson, Mrs. Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the incident and assured ongoing investigations

The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde has alleged that there is a growing migration of bandits into his state from the Northwest region of the country.

The governor while speaking at the 2025 yearly inter-faith church service for workers in the Agodi area of Ibadan, Oyo State, said he received security reports about the bandits’ migration.

According to Makinde, the suspected criminals were moving into the state following an onslaught from the military in the North West.

He said intelligence report confirmed that during his birthday, some of the bandits were camped less than two kilometers away from where he lodged to celebrate his birthday.

Makinde said, “During a security briefing this morning, I learned that some bad elements from the North-West are relocating here due to military heat in their zones. But we will find and deal with them.

“During my birthday retreat, bandits had camped less than two kilometers from where I was staying. This underscores the seriousness of the situation,” he said.

He further stated that while he can acknowledge that the past year was quite challenging for the state, his administration is focused on ensuring that the people get the best of what they deserve.

He urged residents of Oyo to work fervently with traditional leaders and security agencies in the state to rid every nook and cranny of criminal elements.

“For us in Oyo, bandits will have no foothold. I will not sleep until every inch of this state is safe,” the governor stated.

The Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has raised concerns over threats to his family following a New Year’s Day media chat in which he criticized the policies of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Obi made the allegations in a post shared on his Facebook page on Monday night.

He wrote, “Have I really crossed the line? I ask this question because my New Year message has now led to threats against my life, my family, and those around me.”

The former governor of Anambra State also criticized APC’s publicity secretary, Mr. Felix Morka, accusing him of issuing veiled threats. According to Obi, Morka accused him of “crossing the line” and warned that he would face the consequences.

Obi called on Nigerians to point out where he may have erred, saying, “If I have truly crossed the line, I invite anyone to point it out, as I remain committed to upholding decorum. However, I will not be silenced in my resolve to speak truthfully, especially as our nation continues to drift toward undemocratic practices.”

Furthermore, Obi accused the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of stifling freedom of speech and becoming increasingly authoritarian and repressive.

The Governor of Oyo State, Mr Oluseyi Makinde, has said that the organizers of the Children’s funfair that led to the death of 35 innocent children in a stampede on December 18,2024, will face trial.

The organisers, included an ex-wife of the Ooni of Ife, Prophetess Naomi Silekunola Ogunseyi; the owner of Agidigbo FM, Oriyomi Hamzat; and the Principal of Islamic High School, Bashorun, Ibadan, Fasasi Abdullahi Babatunde, Re remanded at the Agodi Custodial Centre.

Makinde further stressed that he has been receiving calls from different people questioning why the organisers should not be allowed to go free.

He said,”Quite a number of people have been reaching out to me, saying this thing happened in Anambra State and FCT, nobody went to jail. “Why is it in Oyo State that some people are going to jail? I told them that Oyo State is not Anambra State, and no matter how highly placed you are, justice must be done.

“The judiciary is here, it is in their court, if you think they can be granted bail pending the trial, I don’t have anything against it, but the people must face trial.”

Operatives of the Odeda Division of the Ogun State Police Command have arrested Akintoye Waris for allegedly stealing and slaughtering a Savannah he-goat valued at N200,000 for his child’s naming.

The spokesperson for the command, Omolola Odutola, on Saturday, revealed that Waris was arrested on January 2, 2024, in the Odeda Area of the state, along with his accomplice, Ajayi Yusuf.

The suspects had allegedly invaded a farm in the area to steal the goat, having ensured that the farm owner, simply known as Mark, had taken the cattle for grazing on December 25.

Odutola stated that after discovering one of the goats was missing upon his return, a search was conducted in the community.

During the search, the police said some villagers confirmed seeing the two suspects with the missing goat on a motorcycle, heading toward Olodo town.

The command noted that while acting on the tip-off, detectives were immediately dispatched, leading to the arrest of the suspects in the early hours of January 2, 2025.

Odutola stated, “During interrogation, the suspects confessed to the crime, explaining how they stole, transported, and later slaughtered the he-goat on December 27, 2024.

“They disclosed that the goat was used to prepare food for the naming ceremony of Akintoye Warris’s daughter, which was held at Olodo.

“The suspects are currently in custody and undergoing further investigation at the Divisional Crime Branch.”

She assured the concerned residents that the suspects would be prosecuted in court once the investigation is concluded and added that any further developments in the case would be communicated in due course.

Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, started the new year with the arrest of a wanted drug kingpin and Lagos socialite, 61-year-old Alhaja Aishat Feyisara Ajoke Elediye on Wednesday 1st January 2025 in her mansion at Okota area of Lagos following the interception of a truckload illicit drug consignment from her staff same day.

Known in the drug underworld as “Iya Ruka”, Alhaja Ajoke as she is fondly called in social circle, has her true identity shrouded in mystery for years while she remained on the wanted list of NDLEA for leading one of the drug cartels operating from Mushin area of Lagos. The lid was however blown off her invincibility on Wednesday 1st January 2025 when NDLEA operatives acting on intelligence intercepted a white Izuzu truck carrying 44 jumbo sacks containing 1,540 kilograms of imported cannabis and driven by one of her staff, 41-year-old Abideen Adio. Thereafter, the operatives stormed her hideout at 33 Adebayo Oyewole street, off Ago Palace way, Okota, where they arrested her.

On the surface, Alhaja Ajoke is a businesswoman who imports fabrics and shoes from China but beneath is a massive illicit drug trade. She is also recognized as the Iyalaje of Blessing Sisters, an influential club of society women in Lagos.

In another major operation, NDLEA officers on Friday 27th December 2024 arrested a US-trained Hollywood and Nollywood filmmaker, Emeka Emmanuel Mbadiwe, who is also a motivational speaker at his Lekki Hotel room following the arrest of his partner, Uzoekwe Ugochukwu James, earlier same day at a warehouse in Ajao estate Ikeja, where he was sent by Mbadiwe to collect a shipment of 33 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis weighing 17.30 kilograms, which arrived the Import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA Ikeja on 24th December 2024 from the United States on a Delta Airline flight, concealed in large wooden boxes.

An ex-convict, Sodade Sunday Eniola, who was arrested by operatives of the Tincan Command of NDLEA in June, 2024, for drug trafficking, prosecuted and sentenced to four years in prison has been arrested again by officers of the MMIA Strategic Command of the Agency for passport racketeering. When he was convicted by a Federal High Court in Lagos on 14th June 2024, the trial judge gave him an option of paying N750,000 fine, which he paid and was let go.

However, in series of operations in December 2024, NDLEA operatives at the export shed of the Lagos airport intercepted no fewer than 52 passports of different countries from shipments going to Canada, Russia, and other countries concealed in shoe soles and food items. Further investigations led to the arrest of four members of three syndicates involved in the racket.
The arrested suspects include: Sodade Sunday Eniola; Ayinde Saheed Awwal; Salaudeen Afeez Ayode; and Sheriff Adebayo Bamigbade. Both the exhibits and the suspects were on Monday 30th December 2024 handed over to the Zonal Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service in Lagos for further investigation and possible prosecution.