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BREAKING: Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, Senior Pastor of Fountain of Life Church, Is Dead

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The Senior Pastor of Fountain of Life Church, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, is dead.

His demise was confirmed via the officially Facebook page of the church.

He was said to have died on Monday, August 7, in the United States of America (USA).

His first wife, Pastor Bimbo Odukoya, was among the passengers who boarded the ill-fated Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 going to Port Harcourt from Abuja in 2005.

The plane was involved in a crash while landing at Port Harcourt International Airport on December 10th. Although the female cleric survived the initial impact, she died from injuries on December 11, 2005.

He later married another woman, who died in November 2021 after battling with cancer.

May his soul rest in peace.

BIG STORY

BREAKING: Court Declines Yahaya Bello’s Bail Request Amid Alleged N110b Fraud Case

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A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama has rejected the bail request by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.

Bello is standing trial, along with two others, on an alleged N110bn money laundering charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice Maryanne Anenih, in a ruling on Tuesday, faulted the competence of Bello’s bail application, stating that it was filed prematurely.

Justice Anenih held that, since the application was made when Bello was neither in custody nor before the court, it was deemed incompetent.

She said: “Consequently, the instant application, having been filed prematurely, is hereby refused.”

 

More to come…

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BIG STORY

3,270 Nigerians Gained American Citizenship Via Military Service — US

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Nigeria ranked fourth among countries whose citizens were granted U.S. citizenship through military naturalization between 2020 and 2024.

During this period, the United States naturalized over 52,000 military service members from various countries.

According to data obtained from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday, 3,270 Nigerian-born service members were granted U.S. citizenship, trailing only the Philippines (5,630), Jamaica (5,420), and Mexico (3,670).

“Service members born in the Philippines, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, and Ghana — the top five countries of birth among those naturalized — comprised over 38% of the naturalizations since FY 2020.

“The next five countries of birth — Haiti, China, Cameroon, Vietnam, and South Korea — comprised an additional 16% of military naturalizations from FY 2020 to FY 2024,” the analysis of the data partly read.

The data revealed that the number of Nigerian service members gaining U.S. citizenship has steadily increased over the past five years. From 340 in 2020, the figure rose to 630 the following year, 680 in 2022, 690 in 2023, and 930 in 2024.

The Army accounted for 60% of all military naturalizations during this period, followed by the Navy (20.4%), Air Force (10.6%), and Marine Corps (6.6%). Less than 1% of naturalized service members served in the Coast Guard.

“Service members from the Army (including National Guard and Reserves) comprised almost two-thirds (60%) of all military naturalizations from FY 2020 to FY 2024. Service members from the Coast Guard comprised less than 1%. The Navy accounted for 20.4%, the Air Force for 10.6%, and the Marine Corps for 6.6%,” the report stated.

Age-wise, half of the service members were between 22 and 30 years old when they naturalized.

“Half of all service members were between 22 and 30 years old when they naturalized. The median age of all service members who naturalized between FY 2020 and FY 2024 was 27. More than 17% were 21 and under, while almost 5% were older than 40,” the analysis revealed.

Regarding gender distribution, 73% of the naturalized service members were men.

“Men comprised 73% of all service members naturalized between FY 2020 and FY 2024. The proportion of female service members slightly increased across the years,” the report added.

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Afe Babalola: Sowore Berates Peter Obi For Seeking Forgiveness For Farotimi

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The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress (AAC) in the 2023 general election, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, for visiting renowned legal icon Chief Afe Babalola to discuss ongoing legal cases involving activist lawyer, Dele Farotimi.

Obi, accompanied by the Labour Party candidate in the 2024 Ondo State governorship election, Sola Ebiseni, visited Babalola in his Ado-Ekiti office on Monday to appeal to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria regarding the matter of Farotimi.

During the two-hour meeting, the LP presidential candidate sought forgiveness for Farotimi and urged the elder statesman to drop the ongoing court cases.

Farotimi faces criminal defamation and cybercrime charges in an Ekiti State Magistrates’ Court and the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti. The defamation charge arises from allegations in Farotimi’s book, Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System, which accuses Babalola of influencing Supreme Court judges.

While the Magistrates’ Court had earlier remanded Farotimi and adjourned the case until today, the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti granted him bail on Monday in the sum of N50m.

In response to the development, Sowore, in a post on his X handle on Tuesday, condemned Obi for visiting Babalola to seek forgiveness for Farotimi.

The AAC presidential candidate, who had called for protests today in Ekiti, Lagos, Abuja, and London against the Nigerian police and judiciary over the handling of the case, said Obi’s actions had dealt a devastating blow to the struggle to root out alleged corruption in the nation’s judicial system.

“I condemn those who went to ‘beg’ Chief Afe Babalola today over the unjust detention and persecution of @Dele Farotimi; the delegation led by @PeterObi did colossal injustice to the struggle to drain the swamp of judicial criminality in our country.

“Obi’s action is like forcing Rosa Parks to return to the back of the bus of racial injustice during the civil rights era in the US! The struggle continues,” the tweet reads.

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