Zedvirals

Coast Guard bill backers fault opposition claims

The Provisional Committee of the proposed Nigerian Coast Guard (PC-NCG) has alleged that vested interests are deliberately seeking to retain control of Nigeria’s maritime sector at the expense of transparency and national interest.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Director of Communications and Public Affairs, Dr Piriye Kiyaramo, quoted the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of PC-NCG, Capt. Noah Ichaba, as saying that arguments against the creation of the Nigerian Coast Guard contradict verifiable operational realities.

Mubanga
May 25, 2026

Eket symposium pushes resource economy development

Despite possessing vast deposits of clay, kaolin, limestone, silica sand and granite, alongside a 129-kilometre coastline with enormous maritime opportunities, the district has for decades struggled to translate its natural wealth into sustainable economic development.

That challenge formed the focus of a high-level symposium organised by the Association of Eket Senatorial District Media Professionals in collaboration with the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

Mubanga
May 25, 2026

Don advocates multidisciplinary management education

Scholars, policymakers, industry leaders and development practitioners have been urged to embrace multidisciplinary collaboration as a critical strategy in addressing complex global and societal challenges in the 21st century.

The call was made by Mondy S. Gold while delivering the keynote address at the maiden virtual international conference organised by the Department of Management, Faculty of Management Sciences, University of Port Harcourt, in collaboration with the African Policy and Research Consortium.

Mubanga
May 24, 2026

Church usher sentenced to death for girlfriend’s murder

An usher in a new-generation church in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has been sentenced to death for killing his girlfriend, Emem Monday Effanga, and stealing her phone.
Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson, 33, was convicted and sentenced on Thursday after the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Uyo found him guilty on a two counts of murder and stealing.

Mubanga
May 21, 2026

Police probe soldier over suspected drug deal

A serving soldier is under police investigation after allegedly handing over bags of substances suspected to be Indian hemp to a 63-year-old man for delivery and sale in Akwa Ibom State.

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command said the suspect, identified as Asuquo Etim of Etebi Village in Esit Eket Local Government Area, was arrested during an intelligence-led operation by operatives of the Command.

Mubanga
May 21, 2026

Health commissioner rescues women from mob attack

The swift intervention of the Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Health, Dr Ekem Emmanuel John, saved two women from being lynched by an irate mob in Uyo after they were stripped naked and brutally assaulted along Ring Road 3.

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command said the disturbing incident occurred on Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at about 9:45 am, when a mob attacked the women over allegations yet to be verified by lawful authorities.

Mubanga
May 20, 2026

Family alleges UNIUYO student still held after ransom

The family of Utibe Asian, a 300-level Theatre Arts student of the University of Uyo, has raised the alarm over his continued captivity months after allegedly paying N500,000 ransom to his abductors.

Utibe, from Obio Etoi in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, was reportedly declared missing on 2 December 2025 after leaving home to meet a friend who contacted him through phone number 09066935255.

Mubanga
May 19, 2026

Court sustains Farouq’s arrest warrant over alleged fraud

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, Abuja, on Monday, 18 May 2026, sustained the arrest warrant earlier issued against former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq.

The judge had issued the warrant on 16 April 2026.

Farouq, alongside two others, Bashir Nura Alkali and Sani Nafiu Mohammed, is to face prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged criminal conspiracy, abuse of office and diversion of public funds amounting to $1.3 million and N746.7 million.

Mubanga
May 19, 2026

Police arrest suspect over abduction, rape, firearm

Anambra Police operatives attached to the Rapid Response Squad, Awkuzu, in the early hours of 16 May 2026, acting on credible intelligence, stormed a hideout in Umudike Community, Awka, and arrested a 30-year-old suspect, Okechukwu Chinweko, popularly known as “Bullet”, over his alleged involvement in abduction, rape and unlawful possession of a firearm.
The suspect reportedly had the inscription “Bullet” tattooed boldly on his arm.

Mubanga
May 19, 2026

Nnimmo Bassey urges NUJ to lead Niger Delta cleanup campaign

A renowned environmental activist and Director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Dr Nnimmo Bassey, has called for urgent environmental and health audits across the Niger Delta, warning that abandoned oil facilities and unchecked pollution have turned the region into an ecological disaster zone.

Bassey, who holds the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, made the call on Monday while delivering an address at the 2026 Correspondents’ Week of the Nigerian Union of Journalists in Port Harcourt.

Mubanga
May 19, 2026