Good morning Nigeria, welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Friday, 15th September 2023.
1. The Federal Government has said the nationwide blackout witnessed on Thursday is due to a fire incident and an explosion on the Kainji/Jebba 330kV line 2. There was widespread blackout across the country following the total collapse of Nigeria’s electricity grid early Thursday morning.
2. The President, National Union of Road Transport Workers, Tajudeen Baruwa, and 21 others, including three national officers of the union are currently being detained by the police in Abuja. Those arrested have been charged with alleged criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, public disturbance and conducts likely to cause breach of peace.
3. The Nigeria Police Force on Thursday revealed that it has arrested 288 armed robbery suspects, 187 kidnap suspects, 198 homicide suspects, 59 suspects for possession of prohibited firearms, 168 suspects involved in cases of rape, defilement, and other sexual offences, 265 suspected cultists, and 1891 other suspects for various crimes within the past five weeks.
4. The Police have announced that a diligent investigation will be carried out into the circumstances leading to the death of singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba, aka Mohbad. This followed the emergence of a document on Twitter wherein the late singer reported a case of alleged threat to life, malicious damage, assault, oppression, among others, against a music promoter, Samson Balogun, aka Sam Larry, and others.
5. The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has taken a swipe at the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government over what it called the increasing spate of insecurity in some parts of the country. This is just as the board warned the ruling party not to drive the nation into a one party state with the manner it is handling the nation’s democracy.
6. The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, set aside the judgment of the National and State House of Assembly Election Tribunal in Asaba, Delta State. The court affirmed the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Ngozi Okolie, as the duly elected lawmaker.
7. President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Zaccheus Adedeji as the new Acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service. This was contained in a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Thursday.
8. The Federal Government has inaugurated a 15-man Inter-Ministerial Committee to organise the celebration of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day anniversary. Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, who inaugurated the committee on Thursday in Abuja, also rolled out activities lined up for the 63rd Independence anniversary celebration.
9. The federal government has said efforts are ongoing to resolve the issues Nigerians are experiencing with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) visa. The Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo disclosed this at the closing ceremony of the 7th African Aviation Summit in Abuja on Thursday.
10. The Senate on Thursday, denied that the sum of N100 million has been allocated to members of the National Assembly as alleged by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). The Senate also threatened to prosecute those who take delight in blackmailing lawmakers through spurious allegations.
