Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Saturday morning

Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:

1. Governor Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno State has rejected the tax reform bills, sponsored by President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying the bills will destroy the north. In an interview with BBC Hausa service, the governor expressed displeasure over how the bills enjoyed speedy and smooth passage to the current phase when other bills had spent several years to scale through.

2. Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso has advised Nigerians against leaving the country (Japa). He assured that the apex bank is building an economy where everybody and businesses can thrive. Speaking at an event in Lagos State, he said “it is not a good idea to japa at this stage”.

3. The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted bail to 109 alleged foreign hackers accused of attempting to defraud Nigerians, setting the bail at a total of N1 billion. Trial Justice Ekerete Akpan ordered the defendants, who were previously remanded in prison custody, to produce five sureties, each required to provide a sum of N200 million.

4. The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has confirmed a boat accident involving no fewer than 200 market women from Kogi State. The Head of the Media Department of NIWA, Suleman Makama, who confirmed the incident on Friday, stated that the women were on their way to the market in Niger State on Friday morning when the boat capsized.

5. The Foundation for Investigative Journalism, FIJ, on Friday night announced that its founder, Fisayo Soyombo, has been released from detention by the Nigerian Army. Soyombo and others were arrested for oil bunkering and have been in the custody of the Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt for three days.

6. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has reappointed Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as its Director-General for a second term. The General Council of the WTO stated in a post on X that the reappointment will take effect on September 1, 2025.

7. Pro-Biafran agitator, Simon Ekpa, who was arrested in Finland for alleged terrorism-related activities, will spend Christmas in detention as the country’s legal system does not permit bail. A Senior Detective Superintendent at Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation, Mikko Laaksonen, disclosed this on Friday.

8. The Nigeria Police Force has apprehended a notorious trans-border arms dealer and recovered a cache of weapons, including 17 rifles, ammunition, and equipment used for arms fabrication. Five suspects, identified as Adamu Noma, Matthew Audu, Andrew Poyi, Aminu Sani, and Aminu Talha, were arrested during the operation conducted on November 18 by the Intelligence Response Team.

9. Two suspected phone thieves were set ablaze by an angry mob on Friday in Plateau State. The incident occurred in the early hours of the day in the Kabong community of Jos North Local Government Area. Eyewitnesses reported that the suspects attacked passersby and road users with weapons, and allegedly robbed them of phones and other valuables.

10. Anambra State Police Command has arrested a couple for threats and attempted kidnap of some yet-to-be-identified persons. In a press statement on Friday, the spokesman for the command, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the couple specialised in sending threatening messages to unsuspecting people and demanding ransom or they be abducted or killed.

Nigerian Newspapers: 10 things you need to know Saturday morning