News
Dr. Pedro Obaseki to Sue Over Benin Abduction and Assault
Prominent Nigerian film scholar and cultural activist Dr. Pedro Agbonifo Obaseki has announced his decision to pursue legal action following a violent public abduction, assault, stripping, and unlawful detention he suffered in Benin City on Sunday, December 28, 2025.
In a strongly worded press statement released today, Dr. Obaseki described the incident as a “brutal public abduction” in which armed individuals forcibly took him, violently assaulted him, stripped him naked, threatened his life, and paraded him through major roads in broad daylight while recording and livestreaming the ordeal to deliberately humiliate him and instil fear in the public.
He was subsequently detained for several hours despite sustaining injuries, with no formal allegation or lawful charge disclosed. Dr. Obaseki stated that the perpetrators claimed to be acting on the instructions of the Oba of Benin or the Oba’s Palace.
However, he noted that the Benin Traditional Council has categorically denied any involvement, authorisation, or prior knowledge of the acts in a widely publicised formal letter, a position he has accepted and welcomed as part of the official record.
After extensive consultations with his family, clan, senior legal advisers, and respected elders, Dr. Obaseki said he has chosen to seek justice through lawful and constitutional means—not out of malice or political motives, but to ensure accountability, deterrence, and the protection of human dignity.
He emphasised that remaining silent in the face of such grave violations would amount to complicity and expose other citizens to similar abuses.
Dr. Obaseki has engaged leading human rights lawyer Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, as lead counsel to pursue appropriate civil and criminal proceedings against the individual perpetrators and any persons found to have aided, facilitated, or enabled the offences through due process.
In light of the severity of the incident and its broader public interest implications, he has also formally notified and is engaging international human rights bodies and partners to ensure independent oversight, transparency, and monitoring of the investigative and judicial processes.
“This action is taken not only to restore the dignity of an innocent citizen and protect his family, but also to deter future occurrences and to affirm that no individual or group may abduct, brutalise, or publicly dehumanise another outside the law,” Dr. Obaseki stated.
Out of respect for ongoing investigations and judicial proceedings, he said no further factual or evidentiary commentary would be made at this time.
News
Senate okays Yuguda acting in full capacity as AMCON Board chairman
The confirmation followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, chaired by Senator Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East).
The Senate on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Lamido Yuguda Abubakar as Chairman of the Board of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
The confirmation followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, chaired by Senator Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East).
Abiru, during the presentation of the report, urged the Senate to consider and approve the nomination of Yuguda for appointment as chairman of the AMCON board.
The development followed a request by President Bola Tinubu seeking the screening and confirmation of Yuguda’s appointment.
The President’s request was contained in a letter read on the floor of the Senate by Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on July 8.
News
311 lawmakers say “YES!” to establish state police
Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, disclosed that 35 lawmakers participated in the voting virtually, while 276 members were physically present in the chamber.
311 lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Thursday voted in favour of the proposed constitutional amendment bill seeking to establish state police services.
The bill, titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, to Provide for the Establishment of State Police Services and for Related Matters (HB. 2797),” seeks to amend the Constitution to create a legal framework for the establishment of state police services.
Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, disclosed that 35 lawmakers participated in the voting virtually, while 276 members were physically present in the chamber.
The passage followed the consideration and adoption of the report of the House Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, chaired by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, during plenary.
President Bola Tinubu recently transmitted the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Alteration) (State Police) Bill, 2026, to the House of Representatives.
News
Oyo Schools Kidnappers: Court Sentences Three To Life Imprisonments
The convicts — Abdulrazak Umar (a.k.a. Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (a.k.a. Yunusa bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (a.k.a. Abu Itisar) — were convicted after pleading guilty to several terrorism-related charges.
Justice Salim Ibrahim of the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three men to life imprisonment for their roles in the kidnapping of school children and teachers at Oriire Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State.
The convicts — Abdulrazak Umar (a.k.a. Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (a.k.a. Yunusa bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (a.k.a. Abu Itisar) — were convicted after pleading guilty to several terrorism-related charges.
The defendants, all from Suleja LGA in Niger State, were arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, concealment of information, incitement, and illegal mining.
They admitted to concealing information about the masterminds of the school attack and acknowledged their membership of Darul Salam, an affiliate of the proscribed terrorist organisation Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi Biladis Sudan (Ansaru).
While the trio maintained their innocence on Counts 1, 2, 4, and 5, they pleaded guilty to other counts. Only the first defendant, Umar, further pleaded guilty to Counts 7, 8, 9, and 10, which alleged that he provided training and instructions to terrorists through a WhatsApp group titled “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace.”
The prosecution alleged that between January and May 2026, the defendants conspired with Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed, and Ibrahim Khabab to kidnap the school children and teachers in Oyo State, in violation of Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
They were also accused of aiding the kidnapping and concealing information about the masterminds, contrary to Sections 26(2) and 16(1) of the Act.
During proceedings, the prosecution urged the court to convict the defendants on the counts to which they pleaded guilty, in line with Section 274 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, and to fix a date for the trial of the remaining counts.
Defence counsel requested that sentencing on the guilty counts be deferred until the conclusion of the trial on the contested charges. The prosecution opposed this, arguing that the law requires immediate conviction and sentencing on counts where guilty pleas were entered.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reviewed the facts of the case. The prosecution called its first witness, an investigator with the Department of State Services (DSS) identified by the pseudonym AAA. The witness testified that the defendants made voluntary extra-judicial statements in the presence of their lawyer, which were electronically recorded and endorsed by the defendants and their counsel. The recordings were tendered in evidence.
Justice Ibrahim subsequently convicted and sentenced the three defendants to life imprisonment on the counts to which they pleaded guilty.
The matter has been adjourned to September 16 and 17, 2026, for the continuation of trial on the remaining counts.
Senate okays Yuguda acting in full capacity as AMCON Board chairman
311 lawmakers say “YES!” to establish state police
Oyo Schools Kidnappers: Court Sentences Three To Life Imprisonments
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