Kemi Badenoch has attributed the grooming gangs scandal to individuals from “peasant backgrounds” and “sub-communities” within certain foreign countries.

The Conservative leader reiterated her call for a national inquiry, emphasizing the need to investigate “two cultural issues” – the origins of the perpetrators and what she termed a “culture of silence.”

Speaking to GB News, Mrs. Badenoch stated, “There are two cultural issues which I believe have been identified. One is on the perpetrators’ side – where do these abusers come from? There’s a lot of misinformation, there’s a lot of generalisation, many innocent people end up being grouped in with them.

“But if you look at it, there is a systematic pattern of behaviour, not even just from one country but from sub-communities within those countries. People with a particular background, particular class background, work background. People very, very poor, a sort of peasant background, very, very rural, almost cut off from even the home origin countries that they might have been in.

“They’re not necessarily first generation. The jobs that they were doing, taxi drivers, jobs which allowed them to exhibit this predatory behaviour. That is just one side.”

Mrs. Kemi Badenoch also highlighted the “culture of silence” that she believes has allowed the issue to persist, describing it as a “culture of ‘move along, nothing to see here.’”

She called for a national inquiry to address both aspects simultaneously.

Elder statesman and leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, has called for the immediate suspension of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), alleging that it has deviated from its founding principles and lost its purpose.

In a statement titled “Our Governors’ Forum: An Open Appeal for Reform” released on Monday, Chief Clark criticized the NGF for becoming a divisive force in Nigeria’s political landscape. He argued that the forum, originally envisioned as a platform for collaboration among governors, has degenerated into “power without accountability and influence without responsibility.”

“The NGF’s potential to unify state governors under one banner could have been its greatest asset,” Clark stated. “Instead, it has often been used to undermine constitutional order. I strongly advocate for the immediate suspension of the Governors’ Forum to prevent further crises between state governments.”

Clark, a former Federal Commissioner of Information, noted that the NGF has reached a crossroads, urging it to embrace reform and recommit to democratic values. “The NGF stands at a critical juncture. Its survival—and indeed ours—depends on its willingness to reform and adhere to the principles of democracy and good governance,” he said.

He accused the NGF leadership of lacking focus and urged state governors to redeem their image. Clark lamented that while the forum once played a positive role in the country, it has now become a notorious cabal resistant to reform, secretive in its operations, and more concerned with power than service.

Clark further alleged that the NGF undermines legislative independence by turning state assemblies into mere extensions of the executive branch. According to him, governors routinely handpick Speakers and assembly members to ensure unwavering loyalty, eroding the checks and balances vital for democratic governance.

He also criticized the Senate for becoming a “retirement plan for former governors,” asserting that this cycle entrenches personal gain over public service.

“The NGF has failed to condemn critical issues, such as the crisis in Rivers State, which underscores its lack of focus and disregard for accountability,” Clark added.

Despite his criticism, Clark expressed hope for the forum’s redemption, urging governors to embrace reforms that prioritize the people’s needs over political maneuvering. “Let us envision a revitalized NGF, one that aligns with constitutional ideals and serves as a genuine platform for collaboration rather than control,” he said.

He emphasized that reform is an opportunity to recalibrate and rebuild. “This vision is within our reach, but it demands clarity of purpose and determination. Reform is not a reproach; it is an opportunity to recommit to the principles of good governance.”

Attempts to get a response from the NGF Secretariat were unsuccessful. The Director General of the NGF, Alhaji Abdullateef Shittu, did not respond to calls or messages. Meanwhile, the NGF Acting Director of Media and Public Affairs, Hajiya Halima Ahmed, stated that the Director General is the appropriate person to address the allegations.

Chief Clark’s statement has reignited calls for accountability and reform within the NGF, putting pressure on its leadership to respond to the criticisms and chart a new course for the organization.

Latest data by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown that headline inflation rose to 34.80% in December 2024 relative to the November 2024 headline inflation rate of 34.60%.

The food inflation rate in December 2024 was 39.84% on a year-on-year basis, a 5.91% points higher compared to the rate recorded in December 2023 (33.93%).

The NBS said the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of some food items, including yam, sweet potatoes and beer.

The December 2024 inflation figure indicated a marginal increase of 0.20% compared to the November 2024 inflation rate. “This was due to December festive period increases in demand for goods and services,” the bureau said in a statement on its X handle on Wednesday.

On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.87% higher than the rate recorded in December 2023 (28.92%). This shows that the inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in December 2024 compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., December 2023).

On the contrary, the month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in December 2024 was 2.44%, which was 0.20% lower than the rate recorded in November 2024 (2.64%).

This means that in December 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is slightly lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in November 2024.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted popular Nigerian singer, Darlington Achakpo, also known as Speed Darlington, a ₦20 million bail with one surety in like.

The decision was made on Wednesday, following his detention on cybercrime charges. Justice Ekerete Akpan delivered the ruling after Speed Darlington pleaded not guilty to a two-count charge related to alleged cybercrime activities.

In his ruling, Justice Akpan set strict conditions for the bail, requiring the surety to be a Level 10 civil servant residing in Abuja.

The surety must depose to an affidavit of means, and their address must be verified by the court registrar. The individual must also be either a staff member of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) or a federal employee.

“The surety should deposit their letters of appointment and last promotion, which must be verified by the deputy chief registrar of the court,” the judge stated.

Passport And Photographs To Be Submitted

Speed Darlington is required to deposit his international passport with the court. Additionally, both the singer and his surety must submit two recent passport photographs to the court registrar.

While the bail conditions are being perfected, Speed Darlington is to be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre. The court has adjourned the matter until March 18 for trial, with the singer facing legal proceedings for the cybercrime charges.

Mrs Abosede Aloba, the mother of the late singer Ilerioluwa, popularly known as Mohbad, and actor Yomi Fabiyi have clashed over the cause of the singer’s death.

Fabiyi, at a World Press Conference held on Wednesday at Radisson Blu in Ikeja, Lagos State, to demand justice for Mohbad, accused the late singer’s brother, Adura Aloba, of messaging him on Instagram, claiming to know the root cause of his brother’s death.

In response, Aloba denied the claim, stating that Adura wouldn’t have known the cause of Mohbad’s death and should remain silent.

The visibly angry mother pointed her finger at Fabiyi while shouting, “They killed Mohbad, and you want me to lose his brother unjustly. He knows nothing about his brother’s death; do not implicate my son.”

“I am not happy that I lost Mohbad because if he were alive, I wouldn’t be sitting here with you. They took my precious gift away, and I won’t let them take Adura, too,” she added.

Fabiyi responded, saying he wasn’t concerned about the sender of the message but rather the content itself, maintaining that he wasn’t convinced that it wasn’t Adura who sent him the message.

Details later…

The Department of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has made history by producing 18 all-female first-class graduates for the 2023/2024 academic session.

This remarkable feat was unveiled during the award of first-degree honours at the university’s 55th convocation ceremony, which commenced on Tuesday.

The convocation, spanning three days, will see 16,590 students conferred with degrees and diplomas. Of this number, 9,865 will receive first degrees and diplomas, while 6,659 will be awarded postgraduate degrees. Additionally, 66 students will graduate from the UNILAG Business School (ULBS).

The exceptional Mass Communication graduates include Feranmi Abiola, Ahuruele Akani, Oyindamola Arikawe, Ifedayo Ayilaran, Demiladeogo Bankole, Olaide Bankole, Eniola Daramola, Faith Enang, Temiloluwa Igbinlade, Joy Imanah, Ifeoma Iwelunmor and Chelsea Jegede.

Others are Opeyemi Kareem, Eunice Obidi, Frances Odogu, Mofesola Olanrewaju, Funmilola Onabanjo and Peace Onuoha.

The university commended the graduates for their diligence and resilience in achieving academic excellence.

Speaking at the ceremony, UNILAG’s Vice-Chancellor, Folasade Ogunsola, celebrated the university’s groundbreaking achievements in innovation, infrastructure, and academic excellence.

She highlighted the MED-AFRICA GMP Laboratory, the first of its kind in West Africa, located in the Faculty of Pharmacy. “The $450,000 state-of-the-art facility facilitates groundbreaking research on HIV prevention,” she said.

The Vice-Chancellor also mentioned the inauguration of the African Centre of Excellence for Drug Research, Herbal Medicine Development and Regulatory Science (ACEDHARS), funded by the World Bank, and the launch of the Green Air Initiative, which introduced eight electric buses for campus transportation.

In addition, she acknowledged contributions to the university’s development, including Tunde Fanimokun’s N14.5 billion pledge for hostels and research centres, and support from the Lagos State Government for various projects.

TikTok is gearing up to shut down its app for United States users this Sunday if the Supreme Court does not intervene to block a planned federal ban, ‘The Information’ reported on Tuesday.

The move came as the social media giant faced mounting pressure under a law signed by President Joe Biden, requiring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its US operations by January 19, 2025, or face a nationwide ban.

The shutdown, as planned by TikTok, would go beyond the requirements of the law, which mandated a ban only on new downloads from Apple (AAPL.O) and Google (GOOGL.O) app stores. Under the legislation, existing users would still have access to the platform for a limited time.

If the shutdown proceeds, users attempting to open the app will reportedly encounter a pop-up message directing them to a website with detailed information about the ban. Additionally, TikTok plans to offer users the option to download their personal data, ensuring they can retain a record of their information.

In a court filing in December, TikTok estimated that one-third of its 170 million American users would stop accessing the app if the ban lasted a month. The company and ByteDance argued that the law infringed upon the First Amendment, which protects against government restrictions on free speech. They are seeking a delay in the law’s implementation, asserting that it violates constitutional rights.

TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters regarding the report.

The impending ban marked a significant escalation in the U.S. government’s scrutiny of TikTok, as concerns over data privacy and national security continued to fuel bipartisan support for tougher measures against the platform.

For now, millions of US users are left in limbo, awaiting clarity on whether the app will indeed disappear from their devices this Sunday.

A retired civil war veteran, Colonel Nasiru Salami, has expressed his concerns regarding the inadequate treatment of retired personnel from the Nigerian Army by military leadership.

The 76-year-old veteran appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief program in commemoration of the 2025 Armed Forces’ Remembrance Day on Wednesday.

In a poignant account, Salami detailed his military journey, beginning with his enlistment in the Nigerian Army in October 1967, followed by his immediate deployment to the battlefield for the Biafra war just six weeks after his training.

Currently serving as the Secretary of the Nigerian Legion, Lagos Chapter, Salami shared that he spent 11 months on the front lines during the civil war from 1967 to 1970.

The septuagenarian recounted the harrowing experience of losing his right foot during the conflict, which necessitated amputation, yet he returned to the front lines to continue fighting.

Salami stated that he would not advise any of his children to pursue a career in the Nigerian Army, asserting, “At this moment, I cannot recommend that any of my children join the Nigerian Army.”

Salami, who said two of his children are now graduates, noted: “I am their father and they are seeing me now that my life is not to their expectation. They would want me to be higher than this, full of joy and other things that would make them happy. How would I now encourage them to join the army?

“I have two graduates now and I said to them: ‘Never you think of going to join the army. If you want to join, maybe the Navy or the Air Force. I’ve not been there but I’ve been seeing them and I’ve been hearing about them because they are treated better.”

Salami said the Nigerian Legion in Lagos has over 24,000 members and that the Nigerian government was yet to pay him and his civil war survivors war bonuses over 50 years later.

He expressed his disappointment about his unpaid pension and other post-retirement packages.

“We are asking for war bonus, those of us who fought the war. I retired in December 1983 and they promised us heaven and earth that they would give us our war bonus but up till now, we have not seen it,” the war veteran said, appealing to the government to do the needful and improve the welfare of him and his colleagues.

The suspended Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Prof. Cyril Ndifon, has alleged that images linking him to an ongoing sexual harassment case were altered.

Recall that the suspended lecturer made this claim on Tuesday while testifying before Justice James Omotosho at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Ndifon, who was suspended following allegations of misconduct, stated that photos purportedly extracted from his phone by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) had been edited.

During his testimony as the first defense witness (DW-1), led by his lawyer Joe Agi, SAN, Ndifon denied sending or requesting explicit images.

“I did not send any nude photographs neither did I solicit for any.

“This (Oppo phone) is not the phone I used to chat with her (alleged rape victim).

“She has another number which she used to chat with me,” he said.

He explained that neither his face nor that of the prosecution’s key witness, identified as TKJ, appeared in the pictures.

Disputed Evidence and ICPC Procedures

Ndifon questioned the authenticity of “Exhibit H,” which included photos and chats allegedly exchanged with the complainant.

He asserted, “All these pictures are not from my phone. Looking at it, slide 661 shows that this document has been edited.

“I haven’t gone through the whole document so I don’t know which other part was edited.

“I watched the video slide, but I didn’t see my face or TKJ’s (name of the girl withheld).

“The ICPC didn’t invite me to where they were doing the extraction and I haven’t been told about who told ICPC about the complain.”

He further criticized the ICPC for failing to verify the evidence properly, noting that the complainant’s phone was not analyzed for corroboration.

The embattled professor also claimed that the ICPC did not involve him in the evidence extraction process or disclose the source of the complaint.

Allegations of Admission Irregularities

The professor alleged that TKJ, now a student in the Faculty of Law, gained admission irregularly.

He claimed she was admitted despite not meeting the qualifications, having scored only 102 in her JAMB examination.

According to Ndifon, her uncle, based in the UK, had earlier sought his assistance in recovering ₦100,000 allegedly paid to someone in the Vice Chancellor’s office to secure her admission. Ndifon said he declined to intervene.

He also stated that TKJ later enrolled in a diploma program and that he advised her to focus on her studies to gain admission through direct entry.

Denial of Sexual Harassment Claims

Ndifon vehemently denied all allegations, including claims that he requested obscene photographs or made inappropriate advances toward TKJ.

“The allegation against me occurred when I was no longer in the Faculty of Law, so she cannot say I had asked for oral sex or any other advances.

“I’m totally shocked she came to testify, because nothing like that happened,” he insisted.

Ndifon disclosed that he owns three phones, with his iPhone being his primary device for communication. He maintained that the Oppo phone, where the incriminating photos were allegedly found, was not his main line.

ICPC’s Charges

Naija News recalls that the ICPC had re-arraigned Ndifon and his lawyer, Sunny Anyanwu, on January 25, 2024, over allegations of sexual harassment and attempts to pervert the course of justice.

The commission alleged that Ndifon requested obscene images from TKJ through WhatsApp while serving as Dean.

Anyanwu was also accused of threatening one of the prosecution witnesses during the trial.

Both defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case has been adjourned to February 12 and 13 for further proceedings.

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has stated that it is not aware if President Bola Tinubu is involved in the impeachment of the immediate past Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa.

The embattled politician was impeached by members of the Lagos State House of Assembly and was replaced by Mojisola Meranda.

Shortly after Obasa was impeached, the lawmakers said their action was aimed at safeguarding the integrity of the legislature and Lagos State.

Speaking to Daily Post, the Publicity Secretary of the state chapter of APC, Seye Oladejo, said Obasa’s impeachment showed that the parliament and all arms of government enjoy independence in Lagos State.

He said, “His impeachment is not a party affair, it’s the entire business of the House of Assembly, it has nothing to do with the party.

“They enjoy their independence as a major tier in this democracy, so whatsoever, the House has made available through the news maker and their information machinery would just suffice for now.”

Speaking on Tinubu’s alleged involvement in the impeachment, Oladejo said, “I wouldn’t know who was involved and not involved, we only have to accept what the members of the House have put in public domain.

“The members said they decided to have a change of guard and that was it.”

“Politics is about intrigues and interests and the only thing that is permanent is your interest.

“The only thing that is permanent and constant is your interest at a particular time as a politician and that is universal, it’s not peculiar to Nigeria.”

Oladejo, however, denied knowledge of the former Speaker nursing a governorship ambition.

He said, “I’m not aware there is any ongoing governorship race right now and we won’t be having another governorship election until 2027.

“The priority of the party is to deliver on good governance and ensure that we fulfill the social contract between us and the people who voted us into power and we do not disappoint.

“And of course, If there is anything that has resemblance to an election before us, it is the party’s congress and local government election towards the middle of this year.”