Index to Nigerian Newspapers

The Federal Government has arraigned Oladipupo Adebutu, the 2023 governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun State, on seven counts related to vote-buying and other electoral offences during the March 18, 2023, governorship poll. Adebutu was arraigned alongside five others before Justice Abiodun Akinyemi of the Ogun State High Court. The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges in the criminal case marked AB/10c/2023. The All Progressives Congress had dragged Adebutu before the police, alleging that he induced voters during the poll by allegedly giving out 200,000 vouchers preloaded with N10,000 to prospective voters. The Federal Government filed charges against Adebutu and his PDP allies last year, but their arraignment was stalled as Adebutu was said to have travelled out of the country for medical treatment.

President Bola Tinubu has extended his condolences to the government and people of Namibia over the passing of their president, Hage Geingob. Geingob died in the early hours of Sunday in a hospital in the capital city of Windhoek, Namibia’s presidential office said in a statement. The 82-year-old, who was serving his second term as president, revealed last month that he was receiving treatment for cancer. Tributes for the 82-year-old statesman poured in from African leaders who saw him as a hero of democracy. Also, former President Olusegun Obasanjo described the late Geingob as “a patriot and a veteran of Namibia’s independence struggle who served in top political positions since independence in 1990.” Also, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, in a post on X, said, “Today, South Africa joins the people of our sister state Namibia in mourning the passing of a leader, patriot, and friend. AFP also reports that United States President Joe Biden, hailed the late president as “a fearless leader, fighting for independence, overseeing the drafting of the new nation’s constitution, and serving his country twice as prime minister and finally as president.