The Harbingerngr News

Four suspects arrested in connection with the gruesome killing of a University of Jos, UNIJOS, Political Science student, Ibrahim Mbaya, have admitted participating in the mob assault that led to his death, saying they beat him in a bid to recover a missing mobile phone allegedly stolen by the deceased. The suspects made the confessions, Tuesday while being paraded by the Plateau State police command in Jos. Mbaya, popularly known as “Ibee,” was allegedly tortured to death on Sunday at an off-campus apartment behind the City of David area along Ring Road in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State after he was accused of stealing an iPhone. The incident has sparked widespread outrage across Plateau State and beyond, with a viral video showing the deceased being repeatedly flogged with planks and canes before he eventually died from the injuries sustained during the assault. Speaking during the parade, one of the suspects, Emmanuel Newyear, 30, admitted hitting the deceased with...

FOUR suspects arrested in connection with the gruesome killing of a University of Jos, UNIJOS, Political Science student, Ibrahim Mbaya, have admitted participating in the mob assault that led to his death, saying they beat him in a bid to recover a missing mobile phone allegedly stolen by the deceased. The suspects made the confessions, Tuesday while being paraded by the Plateau State police command in Jos. Mbaya, popularly known as “Ibee,” was allegedly tortured to death on Sunday at an off-campus apartment behind the City of David area along Ring Road in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State after he was accused of stealing an iPhone. The incident has sparked widespread outrage across Plateau State and beyond, with a viral video showing the deceased being repeatedly flogged with planks and canes before he eventually died from the injuries sustained during the assault. Speaking during the parade, one of the suspects, Emmanuel Newyear, 30, admitted hitting the deceased with...

*Slams Justice Lifu’s action *Verdict corrected grave miscarriage of justice — ADC *2027 polls must be won at ballot, not in court — Atiku *Plot to stop Adeleke thwarted — Gov’s camp THE  Court of Appeal in Abuja has vacated the judgement that directed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to deregister African Democratic Congress, ADC, and four other political parties accused of failing to meet constitutional requirements, describing Justice Peter Lifu’s action as judicial rascality, impertinence. The other parties include  Action Peoples Party, APP; Action Alliance, AA;  Accord Party, AP; and Zenith Labour Party, ZLP. It would be eecalled that Justice Lifu had given the order to deregister the parties, despite the order made by the appellate court on May 22, directing him to stay proceedings in the case, pending the outcome of an appeal by the parties. The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of Justices yesterday, held that th...

* Cracks threaten lives, businesses, access to Liverpool corridor Residents, motorists, workers and businesses along Marine Road, off Liverpool Road in Apapa, Lagos, have raised the alarm over what they described as an imminent disaster following the rapid deterioration of a major section of the road. The road, which serves as a critical access route for residents, commercial vehicles and port users within the Apapa axis, has developed alarming cracks leaving large portions of the asphalt badly displaced and on the verge of complete collapse. A visit to the area showed that the damaged section has become a disaster waiting to happen. Large cracks now run across the entire width of the carriageway, while parts of the road have sunk significantly, creating dangerous cavities capable of swallowing vehicles or unsuspecting pedestrians if urgent intervention is not carried out. To prevent tragedy, concerned residents have resorted to using concrete traffic drums and caution tapes to cordon ...

THE Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, has assured residents that the temporary delays being experienced in waste evacuation across parts of Lagos will soon ease following the resuscitation and ongoing rehabilitation project of Road E at the Olusosun disposal facility, Ojota area of the state and others. LAWMA assured that the upgrading would restore seamless access for waste collection vehicles and significantly improve evacuation operations. Recall that Olusosun had earlier been shut for dumping of waste operations as part of decommissioning for waste to clean energy facility  However, the Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, who spoke during an inspection visit to assess the progress of the rehabilitation works, described the project as a critical intervention aimed at improving access to the facility and accelerating waste evacuation across the metropolis. Gbadegesin disclosed that the rehabilitation, being undertaken by a private firm, Zoomlion Nigeria...

THE Commissioner of Police, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Ahmed Sanusi, has ordered the arrest of four Police officers for extorting the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Crimes Commission,  Dr. Musa Aliyu, SAN, during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja, of the sum of N53,000. Sanusi who briefed newsmen on police operations, yesterday, in Abuja, described the officers as “thieves under serving of wearing the police uniform.’ He said the officers mounted an unauthorised checkpoint around the Banex area of Wuse after leaving their respective duty posts and extorted the ICPC chairman without knowing his identity. According to Sanusi, “The ICPC chairman was forced to withdraw N53,000 through a Point of Sale operator and even paid the transaction charges before the officers shared the money among themselves. “I must say here also, that we have four policemen in custody as we speak who successfully extorted somebody of high importance, unknown t...

GOVERNOR  Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, yesterday, attributed the flooding witnessed in parts of the state to intense rainfall and illegal human activities that obstruct natural waterways. Sanwo-Olu, however, assured affected residents that the government will intensify drainage interventions and provide relief to families affected by the floods.  He also said the state government would review the master-plans of communities battling with flooding in the state for a sustainable intervention. The governor made the remarks during an inspection tour of flood-affected communities, which included Ogombo, Monastery in Sangotedo, and Gbetu-Olorunkemi Road in Awoyaya, Ibeju-Lekki, and Chevron Drive in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of the state. Addressing journalists after the inspection, Sanwo-Olu explained that the affected areas are part of Lagos’ natural drainage system, stressing that water must be allowed to flow through its natural channels into the lagoons. The gove...

A Nigerian Catholic  priest in Massachusetts has died by suicide, days after being ordered to leave the United States and return to Nigeria, where he had repeatedly said he feared for his life. The Reverend Benjamin Madu, 54, died July 2, at his residence in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, according to the Archdiocese of Boston, where he had served as a hospital chaplain and parish priest on Cape Ann since 2021. His religious worker visa was due to expire on July 29. According to Boston Globe, his home Diocese of Abakaliki had gone further, instructing him to return to Nigeria even sooner than that deadline, ahead of a new assignment scheduled to begin on August 4. Madu had reportedly made clear he did not want to go. In remarks to parishioners the previous month, and in a farewell message posted to his parish’s website days before his death, he said returning home was not his wish, “but circumstances beyond my control have warranted that my time in the United States come to an end.” The...

Kolawole Owoade THE 60-year- old abducted headmaster of Nomadic Basic School, Igbojaye, in Itesiwaju Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mr Mathew Kolawole Owoade, popularly known as Onaiye, yesterday, regained his freedom after spending 48 hours in captivity. The headmaster was released at about 6:00 p.m. on Monday. The kidnappers had initially demanded a N30 million ransom. However, it was gathered that following negotiations, the family succeeded in reducing the ransom demand to N3 million, which the abductors initially accepted. After the family had raised the N3 million, the kidnappers allegedly increased the demand to N5 million. The family was said to have paid the N5 million ransom before Mr Owoade was released near the Ajebamidele community. The headmaster has reportedly reunited with his family. Confirming the release, the Oyo State Police Command noted that the victim was kidnapped along the Igbojaye–Budo Aare bush road in Oyo State on 12 July 2026. The Police Public Relatio...

ADO-EKITI — THE All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate for the Ekiti Central Federal Constituency II in the 2027 National Assembly election, Karounwi Oladapo, has been dragged to a Federal High Court, Ado-Ekiti division, over his alleged failure to resign as the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development before contesting in the party’s primary election. The suit, instituted by an aspirant in his Constituency, Victor Olumuyiwa Kolade, challenged Karounwi’s eligibility to contest the party’s primary on the grounds that he failed to resign his political appointment within the period prescribed by the Electoral Act 2026 and the APC Constitution. Counsel to the plaintiff, Abiodun Owonikoko, announced his appearance, while Femi David represented the first defendant, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. Adefolaju Ayobioyoloja appeared for the second defendant, the APC and Kolapo Kolade represented the third defendant, Karounwi Oladapo. In his argument, Owonikoko ...

A United States lobbying firm, Von Batten-Montague-York, has said it is prepared to assist the embattled Director-General of the controversial Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, Adeniyi Adeyemi, in seeking asylum in the United States while also urging American authorities to investigate allegations he has made against senior Nigerian government officials. The development follows a series of posts published over the weekend and on Monday by Dr Von Batten, who said his team had been in contact with Adeyemi and was taking steps to brief members of the US Congress and other agencies on the allegations. In a post shared on Saturday via X, Von Batten had said: “To anyone in contact with Mr Adeyemi, we are very interested in speaking with him. We are prepared to assist Mr Adeyemi in seeking asylum in the United States and requesting whistleblower protection,” he wrote. He added that because the United States is the largest shareholder in the World Bank, any credible allegati...

 * Says: We were forced to trek through forest at night  lThey ate cocoyam, noodles, drank from a waterfall for 56 days —Victims’ relative  lInitial operation that led to security agents; death —Sources  lVictims hidden inside a cave close to waterfall THE principal  abducted alongside teachers, students and pupils in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, Mrs Racheal Alamu, yesterday, recounted the harrowing 56-day ordeal in captivity, revealing that children were beaten into silence, male teachers chained and blindfolded, while the victims were repeatedly forced to undertake dangerous midnight treks through forests to evade security operatives. Mrs Alamu spoke after she and the rescued teachers and pupils were officially handed over to Governor Seyi Makinde at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat in Ibadan. Describing life in captivity, she said the victims spent most of the 56 days in the open forest, exposed to harsh weather conditions while struggling to ...

THE Federal Government has launched a set of standard operating procedures to guide the implementation of its disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programme for repentant terrorists. Speaking in Abuja at the national validation workshop on the SOPs for DDR, the National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre, NCTC, Mr Adamu Laka, under the Office of the National Security Adviser, ONSA, said the procedures would promote transparency, accountability and coordination of repentant terrorists. The workshop also validated state-level SOPs for the pilot states of Kaduna, Katsina and Zamfara. Laka said the procedures were developed after extensive consultations and drew from Nigeria’s experience, international best practices and the country’s security realities. He said: “Recognising that a policy framework alone is insufficient to guide implementation, the National Counter Terrorism Centre and its partners subsequently developed a comprehensive set of standard ope...

THE Ondo State government, yesterday, disclosed that it has suspended 27 students from three public secondary schools in Akure, over alleged acts of misconduct, warning that it will not tolerate behaviour capable of disrupting learning. The affected students, who are from Oyemekun Grammar School, Aquinas College, and CAC Grammar School, were handed immediate and indefinite suspensions by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. The Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr Akindele Ige, said the disciplinary action followed persistent cases of indiscipline despite repeated warnings and engagements with school administrators. Ige, who visited the affected schools to enforce the suspension, said several meetings had earlier been held with principals and stakeholders to address the growing trend of indiscipline, but some students continued to engage in unacceptable acts. During separate meetings with principals, vice-principals and heads of departments, he urged school authorities...

•Why terrorists’ proposed exchange was rejected FRESH details  have emerged on the intelligence-led operation that culminated in the successful rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted from Ahoro-Esinle, Yawota and Alawusa communities in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, with security sources disclosing that the arrest of family members of the kidnappers proved to be a decisive turning point. 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers were abducted by terrorists on May 15, 2026. While one of the teachers was killed in captivity, the remaining victims were rescued on July 10 during a coordinated operation involving the military and the Department of State Services, DSS. According to security sources, after weeks of sustained intelligence gathering and military pressure, operatives of the DSS tracked down and arrested several wives and children of the kidnappers in different communities and cities across the country. The operation, sources said, was coordinated by a senior D...

THE House of Representatives was thrown into a rowdy session yesterday after the speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, halted an attempt by a lawmaker to invite President Bola Tinubu to appear before the chamber over the poor implementation of the 2025 budget. The heated exchange followed a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Alex Mascot Ikwechegh (Labour Abia), who raised concerns over poor funding of ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, and persistent delays in the release of appropriated funds. Moving the motion, Ikwechegh said disclosures made by ministers and heads of MDAs during the ongoing 2026 budget defence sessions revealed that several agencies received little or no capital releases in 2025, despite funds approved by the National Assembly. He noted that the situation had stalled critical projects nationwide and triggered repeated protests by contractors owed for completed and verified projects, many of whom had taken bank loans to execute government contracts. The ...

Sokoto-Minister of Defence, General Christopher Musa, yesterday directed security personnel engaged in counter-terrorism and anti-banditry operations not to hesitate in confronting armed criminals, warning that any operative who failed to act under the guise of awaiting orders would be treated as aiding the enemy. Speaking at the commissioning of security assets procured by Sokoto State government, the minister stressed that troops must take decisive action against terrorists whenever the situation demanded. “Once you are deployed, do not wait for any order from anybody to shoot any bandit or any terrorist. Anybody who refuses to shoot or kill any bandit or terrorist in the name of waiting for an order, we will treat you like a terrorists. This is a general order,” General Musa declared. Gen. Musa praised the Sokoto State Government for prioritising security, describing the investment as a demonstration of visionary leadership and commitment to public safety. He said the fight against ...

US Congressman, Rep. Riley Moore, has said Fulani militants are by far the largest perpetrators of violence against Christians in Nigeria, even as he called for renewed US action to stop killings in the Middle Belt region. In a post on X yesterday, Moore said he has been investigating the alleged genocide against Christians in Nigeria. “As I have been saying since I started investigating the genocide against Christians in Nigeria, Fulani militants are by far the largest perpetrators of violence against Christians in Nigeria,” he wrote. The Congressman acknowledged progress made by the Trump Administration against Boko Haram and ISWAP, two terrorist groups that have waged more 15-year insurgency in Nigeria’s North East. “The Trump Administration has made historic progress against Boko Haram and ISWAP,” Moore stated, “but we must also stop the killing in the Middle Belt at the hands of the Fulani if we want to ensure our brothers and sisters in Christ are safe to live and worship without...

  The Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, will on July 23, 2026, host the 4th Lateef Jakande Memorial Lecture in Lagos. The Lateef Jakande Memorial Lecture is an annual lecture series instituted by the NGE in 2023 to honour the legacy of Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the late iconic journalist, who was one-time President of the Guild, former Lagos State Governor, and former Minister of Works. According to a press statement by Eze Anaba (President) and Onuoha Ukeh (General Secretary), the lecture holds at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, with theme: “The Media, INEC, Voters and Path to Credible Elections.” Time is 11am. The Guild said that Prof. Sylvester Odion Akhaine of the Department of Political Science, Lagos State University, will deliver the lecture, with former Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, as Chairman.  Expected at the lecture are Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is the chief host and special guest of honour and Minister of Information and National Ori...

THE Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, Adewale Adeniyi, said yesterday the federal government has reduced the import tariffs on used vehicles from 15 per cent to five and on brand-new vehicles from 20 per cent to 10. Adeniyi spoke when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Customs and Excise to defend the service’s 2026 budget proposal. The Customs DG said the revised excise tariffs on vehicles were contained in the 2026 fiscal policy measures. He said while the new policy was expected to improve revenue generation, the reduction in vehicle tariffs could negatively impact collections. Adeniyi said:  “We have the new excise tariff, which is provided in the 2026 fiscal policy. We believe that these measures will increase our revenue collection. “Conversely, tariffs on vehicles and levies on vehicles have been reduced significantly.  For used vehicles, it has been reduced from 15 percent to five percent, and for brand-new vehicles, the...