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Niger: Minister Makes U-turn, Announces Donations As Mass Wedding Holds Today
The Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, on Thursday, announced scholarships and gave various gift items to 100 orphaned girls in Niger State, ahead of their mass wedding today (Friday).
The mass wedding is being sponsored by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Abdulmalik Sarkindaji.
The minister had kicked against the mass wedding of the young girls, saying it was a violation of the Child Rights Act.
Kennedy-Ohanenye, who addressed a press conference in Abuja, noted that she had petitioned the Inspector General of Police to stop the wedding, adding that she also filed a lawsuit, seeking an injunction to restrain the Speaker from going ahead with the mass wedding.
In response, the Speaker lambasted the minister for dabbling into a religious and cultural issue she did not understand.
He said the minister acted without first making any effort to understand the circumstances that confronted the girls, which made it necessary for their weddings to be sponsored.
The Speaker also received the backing of the Niger State Council of Imams and the Muslim Rights Concern, which both warned the minister to steer clear of the mass wedding, which they insisted must go on as scheduled.
Ahead of the mass wedding, the minister, represented by her Special Assistant on Private Sector, Adaji Usman, was in Niger to announce scholarships for the girls and to also give them other items, such as wrappers and foodstuffs.
The items were given out to the 100 young girls at the palace of the Emir of Kontagora, Mohammed Muazu.
The minister, through Usman, presented 10 Point of Sale machines, 100 wrappers and 350 bags of 10kg bags of rice.
She announced a scholarship to university level for any of the girls who wish to go to school.
Also, the Emir of Kontagora announced the donation of a sewing machine to each of the girls.
Kennedy-Ohanenye also directed that bank accounts be opened for all the 100 intending brides where a stipend will be sent to them for the next six months to enable them to settle down in their husband’s houses
She blamed the media for escalating the initial controversy surrounding the marriage of the 100 orphans, saying “I did not intend to stop the marriage but to be sure if the girls are of marriageable age and were not being forced into it.
“Every parent will want to marry out her wards if they attain the right age for marriage. The initial opposition to the planned marriage was misunderstood, hence the media war between my office and the Speaker’s.”
While thanking the Speaker for the way the issue was handled, the minister promised that the girls would be closely monitored in their various husband’s houses so that the objectives of the empowerment scheme would not be defeated.
In his remarks, the Speaker said it was regrettable that this intention to support the marriage of the 100 girls was politicised.
He said, “It was pure politics from my constituency. They misinformed the minister that I am playing politics with the lives of the children by forcing them into marriage.
“And the minister, because of her passion for women and the girl child, quickly waded into the matter even though she could not find out the true position of things and the media began to amplify the whole matter.
“But thank God today I have been vindicated. The minister and the whole world have seen that these girls are of marriageable age and nobody is forcing them into it. It is being done with their consent.
“I decided to support the marriage out of genuine concern for these girls, the majority of whom are orphans as a result of the insecurity in my constituency. It was with a pure heart.
“I equally commend the minister for this empowerment scheme for the girls; she has shown that she is a mother and really meant well for the girl child in this country.”
In his remarks, the Emir thanked God for the peaceful resolution of the matter.
He disclosed that all the necessary medical tests, including HIV/AIDS, genotype, Hepatitis B and pregnancy tests, were conducted and the results were handed over to the representatives of the minister.
News
How 2018 Federal Legal Advice Exonerated Saraki In Offa Robbery Case
In light of the Kwara State Government’s fresh prosecution of Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki and his successor over the Offa robbery, fresh facts have emerged on why the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. E. U. (Etsu Umar) Mohammed gave the duo a clean bill of health.
The Federal Director of Public Prosecutions cleared former Senate President Bukola Saraki of involvement in the Offa bank robbery in 2018, citing no evidence of a connection.
It was gathered that the DPP reviewed a 16-page police report prepared and signed by Abba Kyari, a Deputy Commissioner of Police and then head of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) at Force Headquarters, Abuja. The report detailed investigations into the April 5, 2018, multiple bank robbery attack in Offa, Kwara State.
The DPP in his first report dated June 22, 2018 and signed on behalf of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, prepared a five page legal advice in which he noted in paragraph 5 (f) that “for the Senate President (Saraki) and the Kwara State Governor (Ahmed), his office is unable to establish from the evidence in the interim report a nexus between the alleged offence and the suspects. Hence, it is our advice that further and thorough investigation in this regard be carried out”.
Following the submission of a second report by the police investigating team to his office on July 27, 2018, the DPP prepared a second legal advice, which was dated August 23, 2018. The three-page legal advice also has only three paragraphs.
In paragraph 3 (vi), he noted that “with regards to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, since there is no departure from the earlier findings in the interim report, this office is still unable to establish any prima facie case against him for any offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and culpable homicide punishable with death”.
Both legal advices had recommended six people for prosecution. They are: Ayoade Akinnibosun, Ibikunle Ogunleye, Adeola Ibrahim, Salawudeen Azeez, Niyi Ogundiran, and Michael Adiukwu.
One of the suspects, Michael Adiukwu, later died in police custody, while the other five had since been tried at the High Court in Ilorin.
During the trial, the suspects revealed how they were coerced into incriminating Senator Bukola Saraki.
They mentioned several inducements dangled before them, including money and the promise of a visa to travel out of the country.
The suspects have since been convicted and their convictions confirmed by the Court of Appeal. The matter is now pending before the apex court, the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
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₦400m Ransom Demanded As Gunmen Abduct Another Kwara Ruler
Terrorists have abducted a traditional ruler in Olayinka community, located in the Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Salman Olátúnjí Aweda and are demanding a ₦400 million ransom for his release.
The abduction occurred on April 18, 2026, when armed men, suspected to be militia herdsmen, invaded the community and took the monarch, his wife, and another resident into the forest.
According to JomogNews, residents who witnessed the incident said the terrorists, numbering over 10, invaded the monarch’s residence around Saturday midnight, forced the door open, and abducted him alongside another person in the house.
The assailants reportedly led both victims into the bush.
Chairman of Ifelodun Local Government Area, Mr Abdulrasheed Femi Yusuf, visited the community on Saturday on a sympathy visit and assured residents that efforts were underway to secure the monarch’s release.
“We are deeply concerned about this incident, and we are taking swift and decisive action in collaboration with security agencies,” he said.
News
Living Faith Church Founder Declares Week Of Vengeance Against Insecurity Sponsors
Bishop David Oyedepo, General Overseer of Living Faith Church Worldwide, has declared that bandits and their sponsors will face divine judgment and retribution within seven days.
Speaking on Sunday, April 19, 2026, during a service themed “Covenant Day of Vengeance” at the church’s headquarters in Ota, Ogun State, the cleric stated that those responsible for killings and kidnappings would face imminent consequences.
“I declare judgement on those who caused these tragedies and their supporters in the name of Jesus,” he said.
The cleric further asserted that divine retribution would occur within a short timeframe.
“Unless I am not sent, this will happen in the next seven days,” he added.
Oyedepo also expressed confidence that Nigerians would soon witness outcomes of what he described as divine intervention, noting that the coming days would bring “testimonies of vengeance.”
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