News

#EndSARS Report: Ogbeni Lanre Banjo Commends Panel, Faults Lai Mohammed

Published

4 years ago

November 25, 2021

Eric

A former gubernatorial candidate in Ogun State, Ogbeni Lanre Banjo, has denounced the reaction of the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed and the Federal Government to the report of the EndSARS panel in Lagos State.

Ogbeni Banjo denounced the position of the Minister in a statement he made available to The Eagle Online on Wednesday.

In the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests, the Federal Government directed State Governments to set up panels of enquiry with a view to finding solutions to the agitations that arose from the protests.

The Lagos State government set up a panel as directed by the Federal Government.

The panel was headed by eminent retired Iudge of the Lagos State Judiciary, Justice Doris T. Okuwobi, with other eminent lawyers, including Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), as members.

The panel has since submitted its report to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Ogbeni Banjo specially commended every member of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry for discharging their duties fearlessly and in the interest of the masses.

He also expressed joy that the panel gave everyone a fair hearing, adding: “It is indeed a thorough exercise, one of the best reports ever produced in the history of Nigeria.

“The essence of establishing the panel is to find solutions to the grievances that led to the #End SARS protests by our children that elders agree to be the leaders of tomorrow.

“As leaders of tomorrow, they do not only have a stake in the nation called Nigeria, they must be raised and bred in an environment where truth is encouraged and lies discouraged.

“Our children have spoken the panel members have heard them and they have also spoken by the production of the report of the panel.

“The onus is on the Lagos State Government to study the recommendations of the panel and issue a White Paper report on it to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations made by the panel.

“Lagos State must prove that it is not a push over of the Federal Government and it is a federating unit.

“Anything short of that or any antic or attempt to circumvent the panel’s report will be courting troubles.

“The Lagos State Government must realise that the members of the panel do not have police escort that would protect them from the wrath of the masses should they ignore the truth and do the government’s bidding.

“The face of the truth is wide open and the eyes of truth is very bright.

“Doing the government’s bidding is also not building a just society and a nation.

“What led to the protests and its effects is feelings of lack of justice by citizens, it is criminal to exacerbate it by attacking the members of the panel and witnesses.

“It is incumbent on the Lagos State Government to accept the report of the panel, having freely appointed the members of the panel without any intimidation or interference by the youth that championed the #End SARS protests.

“After all, the State Government in appointing members of the panel was sure that they were men and women of good character and integrity that will undertake the assignment with all sense of sincerity, courage, frankness and without fear or favour.

“Unless it was the intention of the government to hoodwink the public by putting men and women of impeccable characters and integrity on the panel and then expect them to act like robots, there should be no attack on any of the panelists and witnesses.”

Ogbeni Banjo therefore denounced any form of attack on Adegborowa and Kamsiyochukwu Ibe.

He added: “We must realize that there are wounds already in the hearts of many Nigerians.

“So, the Nigerian government should make sure nothing happens to any member of the judicial panel of inquiry, because ever since the submission of the panel’s report these individuals have been receiving all manner of treats.

“Their lives and that of their family members must be protected.

“It’s important because these ones have shown to the rest of the world that Nigeria still have people of integrity.

“Further casualties might discourage Nigerians from being upright.

“This might deepen corruption and dim hope. It is instructive to learn from the US government which a young Palestinian accused of killing his father, who worked as an agent of CIA.

“Because a deep wound was inflicted in the heart of the young man, who was around four years when his father was killed, he grew up to read the story, hatched a plan to revenge and applied for the US visa.

“Where others with pure mind would be refused visas, he was granted.

“He worked hard, and saved to procure guns and stationed himself at the corner of CIA’s office in Chain Bridge, Virginia.

“Early in the morning, while staff were making turns into the road that leads into the office, he snuffed lives out of many workers of the Agency.

“It may take many years, but this is what excruciating wounds in hearts do.

“The judgment of the panel should therefore be respected so that in the future when men and women of honour and integrity are called upon to render this sort of service to the nation, they will be willing to render their civil services.

“Conscious efforts must be made by the Lagos State government to avoid a situation that will give an impression that people assembled by governments for State or national assignments cannot say the truth to power.

“This panel members, having said the truth to power must not be vilified because they refused to be puppets of the government or compromised.

“Everything possible must therefore be done by the Lagos State government to hasten the issuance of a White Paper on the panel’s report thereby assuring the citizens of the sincerity of the government to assuage the cries of the people.

“After all, democracy is about government of the people, for the people by the people.

“The interest of the people must therefore be paramount and protected.

“Let the Lagos State Government issue the White Paper without delay.

“A White Paper that will uphold the truth, justice and genuine reconciliation would begin to heal the nation.”

News

‘ADC Membership Hits 500,000 after INEC Derecognition of Leadership’

Published

2 hours ago

April 6, 2026

Eric

The African Democratic Congress has recorded a surge in new members following the Independent National Electoral Commission’s decision to delist Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as national chairman and national secretary of the party.

ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, revealed in a statement on his X account on Sunday that the party’s membership “had grown from over 40,000 registrations on April 2 to more than 500,000 new Nigerians joining between April 1 and today.”

INEC, through its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, announced the delisting on April 1, citing a court order that directed the commission to maintain the status quo pending a suit challenging the legality of Mark’s leadership.

The commission removed Mark and Aregbesola from its portal and said it would not recognise Nafiu Bala Gombe, who had approached the court seeking to be declared national chairman.

Haruna explained that INEC had received conflicting legal demands from opposing camps, including a cautionary letter from Suleiman Usman SAN & Co. advising against recognising Gombe, and a counter-letter from Summit Law Chambers requesting enforcement of the Court of Appeal judgment affirming Gombe’s position.

Reacting to the development, Abdullahi and his Peoples Democratic Party counterpart, Ini Ememobong, insisted the development was “a calculated attempt to undermine democratic structures,” and urged supporters to mobilise in defence of democratic principles.

News

Yusuf Tuggar Resigns As Foreign Affairs Minister

Published

7 days ago

March 30, 2026

Eric

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, has resigned.

Tuggar’s resignation was confirmed by the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, on Monday.

The minister’s action followed the directive of President Bola Tinubu to all political appointees in his administration who intend to contest elective positions in the 2027 elections to resign from their posts on or before March 31.

The president had hinged his decision on Section 88(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 and the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for party primaries ahead of the 2027 polls.

Tuggar’s resignation comes amid the speculation of his interest in contesting the 2027 Bauchi State governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He is a seasoned diplomat, policymaker, and political figure who was appointed as minister by Bola Ahmed Tinubu in August 2023.

Born on March 12, 1967, he has built a distinguished career spanning diplomacy, politics, energy, and strategic consulting.

He is widely regarded for his role in shaping Nigeria’s global engagement and advancing its foreign policy priorities.

His political career includes serving as a member of the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011, representing the Gamawa Constituency in Bauchi State.

The diplomat later contested the governorship of the state in two election cycles.

From 2017 to 2023, Tuggar served as Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, where he played a key role in strengthening bilateral relations, enhancing trade cooperation, and promoting Nigeria’s interests in Europe.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tuggar led Nigeria’s diplomatic efforts under the Tinubu administration.

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News

WAEC Releases Results of CB-WASSCE 2026-First Series for Private Candidates

Published

1 week ago

March 27, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has announced the release of the results of candidates, who participated in the 2026-First Series Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (CB-WASSCE) for private candidates.

The release notice is contained in a statement signed by the Ag. Head, Public Affairs, Moyosola F. Adesina, on behalf of the Head of National Office, and made available to The Boss.

The statement, containing the details of the number of candidates, passes and failures as well as those still undergoing processing, is produced below:

RELEASE OF RESULT OF THE COMPUTER-BASED WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION (CB-WASSCE) FOR PRIVATE CANDIDATES, 2026-FIRST SERIES

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Nigeria, wishes to announce to candidates, stakeholders and the general public that the result of the Computer-Based West African Senior School Certificate Examination (CB-WASSCE) for Private Candidates, 2026–First Series, has been released.

The examination took place in Nigeria between Wednesday, January 28, and Saturday, February 14, 2026. The Coordination of Examiners and Marking of Candidates’ Scripts were carried out at THREE (3) Marking Venues in Lagos, Enugu, and Kaduna from Thursday, February 26, to Friday, March 13, 2026. A total of SIX HUNDRED AND EIGHT (608) Examiners participated in the Coordination and Marking Exercise.

TEN THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE (10,523) candidates, representing an 11.49% increase, when compared with the 2025 entry figure of NINE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND THIRTY-EIGHT (9,438),enrolled for the examination, while TEN THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY (10,480) candidates sat the examination at ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SIX (166) centres spread across the country.

Among the candidates that sat the examination, FORTY-THREE (43) candidates, with varying degrees of Special Needs, registered for the examination. Out of this number, ELEVEN (11) were visually impaired, FOUR (4) had impaired hearing and FOUR (4) were Albinos. All these candidates with special needs were adequately provided for in the administration of the examination.

Of the total number of TEN THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY (10,480) candidates that sat the examination, FIVE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED AND SIX (5,106) were males while FIVE THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR (5,374) were females, representing 48.72% and 51.28% respectively.

Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, EIGHT THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTEEN (8,418) candidates, representing 80.32% have their results fully processed and released while TWO THOUSAND AND SIXTY-TWO (2,062) candidates, representing 19.68 % have a few of their subjects still being processed due to some errors traceable to them.

However, efforts are being made to speedily complete the processing to enable all the affected candidates to get their results fully processed and released, subsequently.
The analysis of the statistics of the candidates’ performance shows that out of the TEN THOUSAND, FOUR HUNDRED AND EIGHTY (10,480) candidates that sat the examination:
 FOUR THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY-EIGHT (4,598) candidates representing 43.87% obtained credit and above in a minimum of FIVE (5) subjects (with or without English Language and/or Mathematics);
 THREE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINE (3,429) candidates representing 32.72% obtained credit and above in a minimum of FIVE (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics

Of this number, ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY-SEVEN (1,847) i.e., 53.86% were male candidates, while ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNRED AND EIGHTY-TWO (1,582), i.e., 46.14% were female candidates. The percentage of candidates in this category in the WASSCE for Private Candidates, 2024 and 2025 – First Series, that is, those who obtained credit and above in a minimum of five (5) subjects, including English Language and Mathematics, were 30.95% and 26.96% respectively. Thus, there is a marginal increase of 5.76% in performance in this regard.

Furthermore, SEVENTY-FIVE (75) Candidates’ results, representing 0.72% of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, are being withheld in connection with various reported cases of examination malpractice. The cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council for determination. The Committee’s decisions will be communicated directly to the affected candidates, thereafter.
Candidates may check their results by visiting www.waecdirect.org to ascertain their status before visiting the Digital Certificate platform (www.waec.org) to access the digital copies of their certificates, which have been released along with the results. Candidates will be required to apply for the printing of the hard copies of their certificates online, through the WAEC Certificate Request Portal (e-Certman). The portal address is https://certrequest.waec.ng/. All candidates who sat the diet are hereby advised to check their results carefully and take necessary actions as required.