Author: Tunde Akingbondere

In a heartbreaking incident that has left the Mushin community reeling, a 12-year-old boy, known only as Wasiu, lost his life to a stray bullet amid a fierce cult rivalry in Lagos State. The chaos unfolded in the bustling Olosha neighborhood, where a deadly confrontation between warring cult factions turned a routine evening into a nightmare. According to local sources, the tragedy struck around 8 p.m. on Wednesday as Wasiu, an innocent bystander, was grabbing a meal from a well-known local vendor, Iya Ibeji. Suddenly, the air was pierced by relentless gunfire, sparking widespread panic. Residents scrambled for cover, shops…

Fresh speculations suggesting that former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is battling for his life in a London Intensive Care Unit (ICU) have been firmly denied by close associates of the ex-leader, who insist that while he is unwell, the reports making rounds are wildly overstated. Bashir Ahmad, who served as Special Assistant on Digital Communications during Buhari’s administration, dismissed the viral claims as “misleading and exaggerated,” noting that the former president remains in stable condition and is responding positively to medical care. “In view of the media buzz alleging that former President Muhammadu Buhari is critically ill and confined to…

Nigerian football was thrown into mourning again on Thursday following the death of former Super Eagles goalkeeper and 1994 AFCON winner Peter Rufai, who passed on at the age of 61. Rufai was said to have died in Lagos in the early hours of Thursday following a brief illness. Former Nigerian midfielder Waidi Akanni confirmed that the body of Rufai had been deposited at a Lagos hospital. The NFF described him as “a giant of Nigerian football” and one of the country’s most iconic players. “Forever in our hearts, Dodo Mayana,” the NFF wrote on X. “We mourn the passing…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it had received 12 additional applications from associations seeking to be registered as political parties, thereby bringing the total number of applications to 122. The Commission also made available Supplementary Regulations and Guidelines for the Review of Election Results, as empowered by Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022. National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, revealed how the latest applications were received as of Wednesday, July 2, 2025, following the earlier submission of 110 applications announced on June…

Mr Sanwo-Ola is the Administrator and Chief Tax Collector of Èkó, the Atlantic City. As an ajélè, Sanwo-Ola oversees the Èkó territory on behalf of the true owner, the Elékò, Oba Akanbi Olódó Ààre. In a controversial poll, Ààre had snatched the kingship of Naija from three other bloodsuckers, namely Article, Kwankwa and Obih, subsequently relocating from Èkó to rule in the portal of power, Abuja, two years ago. From being the godfather of some fiefdoms in Southern Naija, Ààre is now king over more than 35 federating fiefdoms of Naija, fulfilling a lifetime dream. Ààre is the Oracle of…

A political group, the National Opposition Coalition, led by the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and ex-Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has floated a new political party, All Democratic Alliance. The coalition has subsequently applied to the Independent National Electoral Commission for the registration of the new political party. Dated June 19, the application was officially acknowledged by INEC on Friday, signaling the coalition’s determination to float a new platform instead of aligning with any existing political party. The formation of ADA, backed by some other key political heavyweights, including former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, the convener of the…

If the once-powerful opposition Peoples Democratic Party were to be alive and its punctured destiny still hale and hearty; if the party leaders had had the courage to confront Nyesom Wike and his many shenanigans in the wake of his sudden alliance with the APC, despite still having the PDP’s umbrella over his head, the inspired opposition against one man for enjoying his fundamental freedom of association, as enshrined in Section 40 of the constitution, wouldn’t have given some people sleepless nights amidst the obvious misfortune that has befallen the camp of the once-vibrant party, which threatened to rule for…

Long before man dug a hole in every inch of the earth searching for oil, the crab had been in the business of oil drilling. The crab’s house – I mean its burrow – not its shell, is an oil rig at work. For many Great Akokites, the most beautiful site in the University of Lagos isn’t the 13-storey Senate Building or the golden auditorium – it’s the Lagoon Front. The Lagoon Front is the wide-armed rendezvous where the vast Lagos Lagoon kisses Akoka’s scholarly shoreline, ohing and ahing as water caresses the bank…swoosh, slosh, splosh. By day, the Lagoon…

INTRODUCTION Yelwata in Benue state has been drenched in blood. Last October, I launched 50 books at the same time in Abuja to mark my birthday. One of the books is titled “Blood on the Niger and Benue: Nigeria’s Grim Insecurity Situation”. Everything said in that book has just been reenacted in Yelwata, Benue State. In the quiet hours of Friday night, June 13, 2025, the farming village of Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State lay cloaked in the familiar darkness of rural Nigeria. There was no forewarning, no alarm. Only sleep. Then, like a storm without…

Scores of Nigerian pilgrims remain stranded in Saudi Arabia after completing the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage, as the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has admitted that the country was not given enough flight slots to evacuate its large number of pilgrims in good time. In a press statement issued Wednesday night, signed by Fatima Sanda Usara, Assistant Director, Information and Publication, NAHCON, the agency explained that the slow pace of return flights was due to congestion in Saudi Arabia’s airspace and limited airport access allocated to Nigeria. The statement said, “The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria wishes to reassure Nigerian…