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Power Tussle: Gun Shots In Aso Rock Villa At Aisha Buhari’s Order

The power tussle in the Presidential Villa between First Lady Aisha Buhari and Sabiu ‘Tunde’ Yusuf, the President’s influential Personal Assistant and favourite nephew, has taken a dangerous turn that could undermine security at the Presidential Villa, with the President’s top security aides’ loyalty split between the opposing camps.
According to report by TheWill, Nigeria’ seat of power was thrown into confusion, Thursday night, when the First Lady accompanied by her children – Zahra, Halima and Yusuf, – took a team of policemen led by her Aide-De-Camp to forcefully confront Tunde following an earlier heated disagreement over his refusal to self-isolate after his trip to Lagos to see his wife, who had just given birth to a boy.
Sources familiar with the event said on reaching the House 8 Guest Chalet of the President, where Tunde resides with his family, there was an altercation between him and Mrs. Buhari, her children and her security aides that eventually snowballed into a near fatal brawl.
*** Our sources said Tunde, who appeared helpless and clearly outnumbered had to flee on foot.
“This was when Mrs. Buhari’s ADC and four members of her police escort fired some shots into the air as they pursued him. He had been seriously wounded at this time but successfully made it to the residence of Mamman Daura where he would shelter for the night,” a source in the Presidential villa said.
The source said the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Adamu, following a briefing on the horrific incident arrived the Presidential Villa Friday morning and ordered Mrs. Buhari’s ADC and all the police personnel attached her who took part in the altercation and shooting arrested and detained.
Narrating the ugly incident, the source at the Villa, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “Let me explain what is really going on so that your journal and your readers can truly understand what is happening in the Villa now, the dynamics and 2023 presidential politics.
“Since Mallam Abba Kyari died, the First Lady has been trying to kick the President’s Personal Assistant who is also his nephew, Tunde (The president named him Tunde in honour of the late Tunde Idiagbon, his former deputy when he was military head of state) out of the Villa so that she can effectively wield full influence over him (The President).
“She believes Tunde and the President’s other relatives are blocking her from having full control of her husband and power in the Villa. But it is obvious that the President does not want this because he has encouraged Tunde to continue with his job.
“Tunde’s wife just delivered a boy in Lagos. So, he got the President’s approval to fly to Lagos to see her with his two sisters last weekend. He returned to Abuja last Sunday and returned to work on Monday. He was however asked to self-isolate for 14-days because of the coronavirus pandemic by the Chief Personal Security Officer to the President, Abdulkarim Dauda and the President’s Aide-De-Camp, Mohammed Abubakar, but he told them that the President said he shouldn’t.
“On Thursday, when the First Lady heard that he was still coming to work, she asked him to self-isolate but he told her that the President said he didn’t have to. Her insistence led to a heated verbal exchange between them and the President was later informed about this. The President however took sides with Tunde and didn’t see any reason why he should self-isolate at all. He said Zahra and Halima (Buhari’s daughters) left the villa to visit their in-laws when Halima’s husband’s uncle died recently and they didn’t self-isolate on their return. He also pointed to the fact that when his new Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, went to Lagos too, he didn’t self-isolate on his return, so he didn’t see any reason why Tunde should. So, he overruled her.
“What happened on Thursday night is a big embarrassment. The First Lady and three of her children – Zahra, Halima and Yusuf – took some policemen attached to her, including her ADC to Tunde’s house. They didn’t like the way Tunde spoke to their mother, so they actually went there to fight him. During their confrontation with him, he was overpowered and clearly could not withstand their number, so he ran for his dear life.
“It was as he was running and they were chasing him that they shot a few times into the air. They chased him to the house of his uncle, Mamman Daura. Of course, they couldn’t enter Mamman’s residence to get Tunde but they shouted and made a lot of threats before they eventually left.
“Do you know that Yusuf later went back to Tunde’s house in the wee hours of the morning with a gas tank to burn it down? Thank God Tunde wasn’t home when he got there. That was what saved his life.
“The DSS is responsible for the security at the villa. Gunshots were fired at the villa and the DSS, that is responsible for security, has not detained the shooters? No one has been questioned. This is even a dangerous precedence for visitors to the villa, including Ministers and top government functionaries.
“This would send a wrong and scary signal. You can be shot at or brutally attacked in the Presidential Villa at the First Lady’s orders if you do go against her. This is not how it should be!
“You see, Nasir El-rufai and Lamido Sanusi are the ones using the First Lady to heat up things in the villa since Abba Kyari died because of their interest in the 2023 presidential election. This is what is escalating this whole new fight for full access to the president. She already has the Chief of Staff on her side so she doesn’t want Tunde giving the President contrary views and advise. She wants everyone against her out of the villa but that is not going to happen.”
Aisha Buhari gave a hint of the incident in a series of tweets asking that Police release her security aide and that people no matter how highly placed must made to obey the COVID-19 safety guidelines.
@thewill
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Investors Affirm Support For Fidelity Bank Plc With 238% Oversubscription In The First Phase Of Equity Capital Raise

Leading financial institution, Fidelity Bank Plc, has announced the successful conclusion of the first tranche of its equity capital raise through its Public Offer and Rights Issue (the Combined Offer) following the completion of the capital verification exercise conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and approval of the Basis of Allotment by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A total of 108,046 applications for 23,791,687,463 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦231,968,952,764.25 were received on the Public Offer. Out of these, 107,588 applications for 23,768,724,000 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦231,745,059,000.00 were found to be valid based on the terms of the Offer and the CBN’s verification. However, 458 invalid applications for 22,765,143 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦221,960,144.25 were rejected, while 548 applications which included odd lots amounting to 198,320 Ordinary Shares (i.e. ₦1,933,620.00) were also rejected. The Public Offer was 237% subscribed and 150% allotted.
With respect to the Rights Issue, 7,559 applications for 4,430,290,237 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦40,980,184,692.25 were received of which 656 applications for 23,037,442 Ordinary Shares totaling ₦213,096,338.50 were invalid based on the terms of the Rights Issue. The Rights Issue was 137.73% subscribed and 100% allotted.
“We are delighted to announce the successful completion of the first phase of our capital raising initiatives through a Public Offer and Rights Issue. The positive result recorded in our Combined Offer is a testament to the strength of the Fidelity Bank franchise in the capital market. It is both gratifying and humbling to note this level of investor confidence in our Bank. We extend sincere gratitude to our investors for their continued confidence in the Bank, as evidenced by the 237.92% and 137.73% oversubscription of our Public Offer and Rights Issue respectively. As we go into the next phase of our capital raising drive, we reaffirm our commitment to providing cutting-edge financial solutions to our customers and sustainable returns to our stakeholders”, commented Dr Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, OON, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc.
The funds realised from this initial phase of capital raising will be deployed to local and international business expansion, enhancement of technology infrastructure and deepening customer service initiatives.
With the successful conclusion of the first phase of capital raising, the Board of Directors recently obtained the approval of shareholders to commence the second phase and is confident of meeting the new regulatory capital for banks with international authorisation before the CBN’s deadline of March 31, 2026.
Following the CBN’s publication of the revised minimum capital requirement for banks in March 2024, Fidelity Bank with its combined offer of June 2024, became the first financial institution undertake a public offer on the Nigerian Exchange Group.
From an offer price of N9.75 per share for the Public Offer and N9.25 per share for the Rights Issue in June 2024, the Bank’s shares traded at a high of N21.15 on February 7, 2025, a growth rate of over 116%, the highest for any financial institution in the banking industry.
Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 8.5 million customers through digital banking channels, its 251 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the Export Finance Bank of the Year at the 2023 BusinessDay Awards; the Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; Best Payment Solution Provider Nigeria 2023; and Best SME Bank Nigeria 2022 by the Global Banking and Finance Awards. It was also recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2023 and the Best Domestic Private Bank in Nigeria by the Euromoney Global Private Banking Awards 2023.
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Video: I Won’t Apologise For Your ‘Forgetfulness’ – Naja’atu Muhammad dares Ribadu

Founder and Chairman board of trustees of the Northern Star Youth Initiatives, Hajia Naja’atu Muhammad, has reacted to reports of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, demanding apology over her viral TikTok video.
Naja’atu, in a recent video sighted by our correspondent, dared the NSA to go to court if he has issues with her statement, saying she’s not ready to apologise for his ‘forgetfulness’.
Meanwhile, Hajia Muhammad, in the viral TikTok video, claimed that the current NSA is serving in President Bola Tinubu’s government, whom he had criticised as ‘corrupt’ when he was the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
However, Tribune Online reports that the NSA Ribadu, through his lawyer, Dr Ahmed Raji (SAN), said he never publicly or privately accused Tinubu of being a corrupt government official.
The NSA therefore urged Naja’atu Muhammad to tender an unreserved apology, noting that the damage had been done to his reputation.
But Naja’atu Muhammad, while responding, said she stood by her original statement and would never be intimidated by those she referred to as “attack dogs” from the NSA.
She said, “There’s no retreat. No surrender. No apologies to Nuhu Ribadu. I’m speaking in response to the recent threats and intimidation by Nuhu Ribadu using his attack dogs and his lawyer, Ahmed Raji and Co.
“Regarding my statement that the then chairman of the EFCC had publicly accused the then Governor of Lagos State, Ahmed Bola Tinubu of being and I quote ‘a corrupt government official who will not escape justice’.”
Continuing, she noted her acknowledgment of the possibility of Nuhu Ribadu to have forgotten or retracted his past comment, but stated that her words accurately reflected her views on the matter already in public domain.
“While I acknowledged that Nuhu Ribadu might have forgotten or chosen to retract his comment from the past, I stand by my statement and do not believe an apology is warranted. Apology to whom exactly? To President Tinubu for the earlier comments made by his now National Security Advisor? Or apology to Nuhu Ribadu for his forgetfulness and master-serving mindset.
“I stand by my original statement and will not be retracting it. My words accurately reflect my views on the matter based on what is already in the public domain. And I do not believe an apology or retraction is necessary,” Naja’atu Muhammad added.
The Northern Star Youth Initiative leader urged the NSA to approach the court as he has threatened, saying, “I will not compromise my position to appease Nuhu Ribadu and his attack dogs. I will not retract my statement nor will I apologize for speaking the truth as I see it. You have issues, as you’ve threatened; please go straight to the court. But nothing will silence me.”
Video:
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Speaker Mojisola Meranda Calls For United Action To End Female Genital Mutilation

Lagos Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda has reaffirmed commitment to ending Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), calling for a united front against the practice.
In a statement marking the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, Meranda condemned the violation of human rights that affects millions of girls and women worldwide.
Meranda emphasised the need for accelerated efforts to end FGM, stressing that it’s a responsibility that goes beyond governments to every individual. She vowed to push for policies that raise awareness and protect potential victims, ensuring the health, dignity, and rights of young girls are safeguarded.
She said: “This year’s theme, #StepUpThePace, is a call to action. We must accelerate efforts to end this barbaric practice once and for all. It is not just the responsibility of government but of every individual – whether you are a legislator, a healthcare worker, a professional or simply a concerned human being.
“We must unite to protect the future of our daughters and ensure their health, dignity and rights are safeguarded. I commit to pushing for policies that protect girls, raise awareness and put an end to this atrocity.”
The Speaker urged everyone to take action in their respective capacities to put an end to FGM, emphasizing that together, a world free of this harmful practice is possible.
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