• 2023 elections: Hoodlums attack APC members in Oyo during solidarity walk for Tinubu
• Ogun Governor, Abiodun rewards Amusan with N5m, house
• Sanwo-Olu approves pay rise for Lagos workers
• Give us power to stop nudity in Big Brother – Segun Runsewe
• Court clears Magu of money laundering

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss:

2023 elections: Hoodlums attack APC members in Oyo during solidarity walk for Tinubu

Tuesday, members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) were assaulted in Ibadan, Oyo State, by a group of suspected hoodlums.

They were attacked when prominent APC members in the state conducted a solidarity march in support of former Lagos State governor Bola Tinubu’s 2023 presidential ambitions.

The APC members were headed by the party’s gubernatorial nominee, Senator Teslim Kolawole Folarin, as well as the party’s candidates for Oyo Central and Oyon North, Dr. Yunus Akintunde and Abdulfatah Buhari, respectively.

Others include APC candidates in the federal constituencies of Ogbomoso North, Ogbomoso South, and Oriire, including Olamiju Alao-Akala, Idris Abiola Ajimobi, and Dr. Fola Akinosun.

It was reported that several APC members who participated in the solidarity march were ambushed as they reached the Labiran region along Beere-Oje-Gate Road.

It was determined that at least ten (10) people were hurt in the attack.

Folarin, while commenting on the attack, termed the occurrence as regrettable and added that the injured members were rushed to a hospital whose location was not given.

Folarin said, “As peaceful and law-abiding citizens, we will not take laws into our hands. To this end, I call on law enforcement agencies to do the needful.

“Not minding the deadly attacks on our members by Makinde’s agents of darkness, we’re continuing our walk for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu / Kashim Shettima. The injured members are receiving treatments at an undisclosed hospital.”

Ogun Governor, Abiodun rewards Amusan with N5m, house

The governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, has announced the donation of a house and N5 million to Oluwatobiloba Amusan.

Amusan was also named Youth Ambassador for the state of Ogun.

“I announced her (Amusan ) appointment as Youth Ambassador in Ogun State and a donation of a house, as well as five million Naira in recognition of her world records and other stellar achievements,” the governor wrote on his official Twitter handle.

Nigeria’s track queen, a native of the state, created history in the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States of America, by winning the 100m hurdles gold medal.

The 25-year-old athlete became the first Nigerian to accomplish such a feat.

Amusan set a world record of 12.12 seconds in the semi-finals of the World Athletics Championships.

The next day, she was crowned world champion in the final.

The athlete is the reigning 100m hurdles champion in Africa, the Commonwealth, and the world.

Sanwo-Olu approves pay rise for Lagos workers

Yesterday, Lagos State’s governor, Bababjide Sanwo-Olu, announced a salary increase for state employees.

The governor, who did not divulge the amount of the raise, stated that the increase will be unparalleled in the country, “since Lagos is a standard-setter and an innovator.”

During a working visit to the Secretariat, Alausa in Ikeja, Governor Sanwo-Olu addressed government servants who had crowded upon the office of the Head of Service.

As the news spread throughout the Government Secretariat, the statement provoked spontaneous celebration among the personnel.

In addition, the Governor announced a 25% compensation increase for staff in core established agencies.

On behalf of the civil servants, the Head of Service commended the Governor for prioritizing the welfare and benefits of the workforce.

The Head of Service stated that Sanwo-Olu had delivered more than 80 percent of his pledges to the State’s employees, emphasizing that the State Government’s welfare package was unparalleled.

Give us power to stop nudity in Big Brother – Segun Runsewe

Segun Runsewe, the director-general of the National Council for Arts and Culture, has requested the House of Representatives to give his council the authority to pursue Big Brother Nigeria’s producers over nudity in the reality television show.

Tuesday, when appearing before an ad hoc committee investigating the duplication of ministries, departments, and agencies, Runsewe made this request.

According to him, the display of nudity by the organizer of the famous program is contrary to Nigerian tradition.

The DG indicated that with the proper change of the council’s statute, they will be able to pursue BBN organizers and crossdressers like Bobrisky.

“I am the first person who took Big Brother Nigeria to the NBC to report them because they were having—I took it up and Big Brother (organisers) tried to reach me and I told them that if the culture in other parts of the world is to be naked – nudity, etc., they should not bring it to Nigeria because our culture is rich and it respects the integrity of our country,” he said.

He added that “This honourable House just needs to empower us with just a legal framework and that nonsense will stop.”

Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Victor Danzaria, said the government is wasting a lot of resources on agencies that are doing the same functions.

“This is a waste for this country, we are looking at areas where we can shrink governance and increase productivity,” he said.

Court clears Magu of money laundering

Mr. Ibrahim Magu, the former acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been cleared of charges that Pastor Emmanuel Omale of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry and his wife, Deborah, laundered N573 million for him.

On Tuesday, in a momentous decision, Justice Yusuf Halilu cleared Magu of money laundering.

The ruling related to the case designated FCT/HC/CV2541/2020, which Omale, his wife, and the church had filed.

During the investigation of Magu by the Justice Isa Salami-led presidential investigation panel, it was alleged that a Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, investigation revealed that Magu paid N573million into Omale’s church’s account, with which a property was allegedly purchased in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, UAE.

In yesterday’s ruling, however, Justice Halilu stated that the evidence presented to his court demonstrated that Omale’s bank had conceded error in its report to the NFIU regarding entries in the account of Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry.

The judge also ruled that the bank’s recently upgraded reporting system erroneously displayed the putative N573 million as a credit entry in Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry’s account.

Justice Halilu remarked that the bank admitted to the error, which caused irreparable harm to the reputation of Pastor Omale, his wife, and their church, both inside and beyond the country.