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US Cardinal Prevost elected Pope Leo XIV, first American pontiff

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  VATICAN CITY, May 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Leo XIV, becoming the first American pontiff. Pope Leo, appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica around 70 minutes after white smoke billowed from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel signifying the 133 cardinal electors had chosen a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church. The choice of Prevost was announced by French Cardinal Dominique Mamberti with the Latin words "Habemus Papam" (We have a pope) to tens of thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square to hear the news. Aged 69 and originally from Chicago, Prevost has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru and became a cardinal only in 2023. He has given few media interviews and rarely speaks in public. Leo becomes the 267th Catholic pope after the death last month of Pope Francis, who was the first Latin Ame...

Imo police demote officer caught on camera assaulting man

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  Imo police demote officer caught on camera ass@ulting man The Imo State Police Command has reacted to a viral video showing police officers attached to its command ass@ulting a man along the Owerri-Aba Road. The viral video showed the officers slapping and kicking the man who appeared to be a passenger in a commercial vehicle. In a statement released, the spokesperson of the command, DSP Henry Okoye, said the officers involved have been identified as Inspector Ofem Obongha, Inspector Obinna Okereke, and Sergeant Anayo Ekezie, all from the Safer Highway Unit. Okoye mentioned that following a review of the video, the Command conducted an orderly room trial in line with Nigeria Police Force disciplinary procedures. "Sergeant Anayo Ekezie was found guilty of using his issued smoke gunner in the assault and has been demoted to the rank of Corporal. Inspectors Obongha and Okereke were severely reprimanded for failing to exercise proper supervisory control, which allowed the unprofessi...

VeryDarkMan arrested by police at GTBank premises

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  Popular Nigerian social media personality and influencer, Martins Vincent Otse, known widely as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has been arrested by the Nigerian police in Abuja. The arrest reportedly followed his public criticism of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) over alleged unauthorized transactions from his mother’s account. His lawyer, Barrister Deji Adeyanju, confirmed the development on Twitter on Friday, revealing that officers of the Nigeria Police Force apprehended VeryDarkMan at Area 3 in Abuja. “JUST IN: VDM arrested by the police at GTB. Spoke to them before he was arrested. This is absolutely unacceptable. Demanding accountability is not a crime,” Adeyanju tweeted. In another update, he added, “A team of policemen arrested VDM at GTB. He was arrested with his friend C Park but they left his mom alone.” More details to come…

Portable’s case adjourned to March 26 for charges to be merged and substituted

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  Recall, Portable and his workers were arraigned on a five-count charge of conspiracy, assault, unlawful obstruction while armed with cutlasses and gun. An Abeokuta Magistrate’s Court has adjourned the case against popular Musician Habeeb Okikiola, a.k.a. Portable, to March 26 so that the prosecution can merge his charges with those of his workers. When the case against the artist resumed on Wednesday after his earlier arraignment on February 20, the prosecution told the court that it would be a waste of time for the court to hear the case of Portable and that of his workers separately. Mr Timileyin Oredein, Senior State Counsel, told the court that Portable’s case had a sister case, which needed to be merged before the trial began. Oredein reminded the court that the musician and nine of his workers were earlier arraigned on February 6 on similar charges. He said that it would be time-wasting if the defendants were tried separately. Oredein prayed the court to give a short date f...

BREAKING NEWS: A Federal High Court in Abuja stops senate from conducting a disciplinary proceeding against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

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  The ruling was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, following an ex parte application filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team. The Federal High Court in Abuja has issued an order restraining the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from proceeding with disciplinary actions against Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the lawmaker representing Kogi Central.  The ruling was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, following an ex parte application filed by Akpoti-Uduaghan’s legal team. According to the enrolled court order obtained by SaharaReporters on Wednesday, the court said, "UPON READING the twenty-five (25) paragraphed Affidavit in support of the Motion Ex-parte and the Affidavit of Urgency, both deposed to by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, Adult, Female, Christian, Nigerian citizen of Kogi Central Senatorial District, and the Written Address, all filed at the Registry of this Court. "AFTER HEARING Sanusi Musa SAN, M. J. Numa SAN, ...

EFCC arrests ex-Akwa Ibom Gov, Udom over alleged N700bn fraud

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  ABUJA – Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested former Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel over allegations of a N700 billion fraud. The arrest occurred on Tuesday at the EFCC headquarters in Abuja, following an invitation to the former governor. Emmanuel, who served from 2015 to 2023, faces accusations of money laundering, fund diversion, and financial mismanagement during his tenure. Impeccable sources informed Vanguard that the arrest stemmed from a petition by the civil society organisation Network Against Corruption and Trafficking (NACAT). The petition alleged that Emmanuel received over N3 trillion from the Federation Account but left behind a debt of N500 billion and N300 billion in unpaid ongoing projects. He is also said to be unable to account for N700 billion. Investigations reportedly revealed N31 billion withdrawn in cash from an account titled ‘Office of the Governor’ between 2019 and 2023. A source stated, “We have arrest...

ARRESTED BY THE NIGERIAN POLICE

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Bayelsa Police Arrest Woman and Doctor for Defrauding Public with Fake Surgery Appeal The Bayelsa State Police have arrested a woman, Ogechi Okechukwu, a resident of Yenagoa, along with a doctor from the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), for allegedly defrauding the public through a fake surgery fundraising scheme. Ogechi reportedly conspired with the doctor to deceive unsuspecting individuals on Facebook by falsely claiming she needed financial assistance for surgery. The doctor is said to have aided her by providing fake medical reports, drug prescriptions, and staging medical procedures to make her appear genuinely ill. These included administering a fake intravenous drip, conducting a fake blood transfusion, and presenting fabricated scan results to convince donors of her condition. A Facebook influencer, Iwaoma Susan Joseph, unknowingly helped raise N800,000, believing the appeal to be genuine. Both suspects were apprehended after incriminating evidence of their conversations was foun...