Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines For Today, Friday, 29th December, 2023

Good morning Nigeria. Welcome to the CityNews roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Friday, 29th December 2023.

1. Invaders have threatened fresh attacks on a community in Plateau State on Friday (today), barely four days after they killed 195 persons in 17 communities across the state. The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Middle Belt Forum, Stanley Kavwam, in an interview on Thursday, said the terrorists had sent a letter of an imminent attack.

2. The Chairman of the Police Service Commission, Solomon Arase, says the Special Police Constabulary needs to either be outright overhauled, disbanded or given a separate uniform different from that of the regular policemen. According to him, men of the Special Police Constabulary engage in unethical practices, including extorting, and hurting the image of the Nigeria Police Force.

3. Following the demise of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Wednesday, no fewer than five of his aides have tendered their resignation. They include Akeredolu’s Chief Press Secretary, Richard Olatunde; and the ex-governor’s Special Adviser on Union Matters and Special Duties, Mr Dare Aragbaye.

4. The Ibadan Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has secured the conviction and sentencing of 37 Internet fraudsters between November and December 2023. The convicts were said to have been prosecuted before Justices Ladiran Akintola, O.A. Olajide, J.O. Adeyemi, Bayo Taiwo and M.O. Ishola of the Oyo State High Court, Ibadan.

5. The Kano State Police Command has arrested nine suspects who allegedly specialised in inter-state trafficking, abduction, buying and selling of minors. The state police commissioner, Usaini Gumel, made the disclosure while parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters on Thursday.

6. The Federal High Court in Abuja has extended the order that restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and the Rivers State House of Assembly from declaring 27 seats vacant. The court had barred the commission from conducting an election to fill the seats of the 27 members, who defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

7. Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, on Thursday, said the departed Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu will be immortalized. Aiyedatiwa spoke after paying a condolence visit to the private residence of his predecessor in Jericho, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. He was hosted by Betty Akeredolu, widow of the former governor.

8. Vice President Kashim Shettima has stressed the need for Nigerians in the northern part of the country to unite to end what he described as the heritage of poverty and destitution in the region. He called on Nigerians to resist any act capable of leading the nation into anarchy, saying people must learn to tolerate one another and live together in peace to enhance development in all parts of the country.

9. The UN said Thursday it was “deeply alarmed” by the string of attacks on villages in central Nigeria which left nearly 200 dead, according to local authorities. Armed groups launched attacks between Saturday evening and Tuesday morning in Nigeria’s Plateau State, a region plagued for several years by religious and ethnic tensions.

10. The Independent National Electoral Commission has promoted 5,196 members of its staff nationwide. This was contained in a bulletin made available to journalists on Thursday.