The Bayelsa State Police Command has recorded two major arrests in separate operations targeting impersonation and financial fraud in the state. In the first incident, police officers attached to the Ekeki Division arrested a 25-year-old man, identified as Kelechi Lazarus, on 13 February in Yenagoa.  The suspect was apprehended at Ekeki Park while allegedly attempting to fraudulently withdraw N200,000 from a point-of-sale operator using a fake bank transfer alert. According to police, Lazarus was dressed in military camouflage bearing the rank of corporal and showed the victim a purported credit alert on his mobile phone.  When the POS operator failed to receive any corresponding notification, she insisted on verifying the transaction at her bank, where officials confirmed that no funds had been credited. Police said the suspect later attempted to persuade the woman to accompany him to what he claimed was his military base at the 16 Brigade and when she declined, he allegedly ...

Eric Dane, the United States (US) actor best known for his roles in Grey's Anatomy and Euphoria has died at the age of 53, less than a year after revealing he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Dane, who starred as family patriarch Cal Jacobs in HBO’s Euphoria, rose to international fame as Dr Mark Sloan, nicknamed “ Dr McSteamy ” on Grey’s Anatomy.  His family disclosed he died on Thursday afternoon following what they described as a “ courageous battle ” with ALS. “ With heavy hearts, we share that Eric Dane passed on Thursday afternoon. He will be deeply missed, and lovingly remembered always ,” a family statement said. The California-born actor was diagnosed last year with ALS, the most common form of motor neurone disease (MND), and spent recent months raising awareness of the condition.  He is survived by his wife, actress and model Rebecca Gayheart, and their two daughters, Billie and Georgia. According to the statement, Dane spent his final days surrounded by fri...

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has reminded operators and service companies in Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas sector that payment of the statutory one per cent Nigerian Content Development Fund levy remains mandatory. The NCDMB said companies that fail to remit the levy into officially designated accounts risk losing access to key regulatory approvals and services. In a statement issued on Wednesday at the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the levy is required under Section 104 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act. Ogbe explained that all covered entities are required to remit one per cent of the value of every upstream contract, adding that the Board has exclusive responsibility for managing and administering the fund. According to the NCDMB, proceeds from the Nigerian Content Development Fund are used to support indigenous oil and gas contractors, fin...

President Bola Tinubu has signed the Electoral Act, 2022 (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Bill 2026 into law, clearing the way for revised electoral rules ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general elections. RoundReports reports that the assent followed the bill’s passage by the National Assembly on Tuesday after months of deliberations and a final week marked by sharp divisions over how election results should be transmitted. The legislation became the centre of intense debate over Clause 60, which governs the electronic transmission of results and the circumstances under which manual collation may be used.  Lawmakers and public figures have disagreed over whether allowing manual transmission in the event of network failure could undermine confidence in the process. In the Senate, proceedings turned rowdy as the chamber resumed consideration of the bill. Enyinnaya Abaribe demanded a division on Clause 60, a move initially resisted by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who said the request had...

Three South Africans have been charged with the alleged murder of a 22-year-old Nigerian e-hailing driver, Isaac Satlat, following an incident in Pretoria West. The suspects, Dikeledi Tears Mphela, 24, Goitsione Machidi, 25, and McClaren Mushwana, 30, appeared before the Pretoria magistrates’ court on Monday.  They are facing charges of premeditated murder and robbery, according to the National Prosecuting Authority. In a statement, the NPA said the defendants abandoned their bail application and that the matter had been adjourned until 23 February for further investigations. The NPA’s Gauteng regional spokesperson, Lumka Mahanjana, said prosecutors allege that on 11 February 2026 the accused ordered an e-hailing service using a mobile phone number not registered in their names. Mphela and an accomplice, who is still at large, allegedly entered the vehicle, while the other two suspects followed in a separate car. It is alleged that the driver was later forced to stop, killed, and r...

Cloudflare said it experienced technical issues early on Monday, prompting reports of service disruptions across parts of the internet. Users flagged problems on DownDetector, while separate complaints also surfaced involving X and Amazon Web Services.  It was not immediately clear whether the issues affecting X and Amazon’s cloud platform were connected to Cloudflare’s disruption. In a notice published on its website, Cloudflare said it had identified an issue at around 7 am Eastern Time and had begun deploying a fix.  The company said some customers using its Data Loss Prevention suite “ may see intermittent errors for traffic in this datacentre .” However, the cause of the incident had not been disclosed by mid-morning, and the company did not specify how many websites or services were affected. READ ALSO : Sinners Smashes Oscar Record with 16 Nominations Cloudflare plays a vital role in the global internet’s infrastructure, providing tools that help websites manage traffic...

Police in Bayelsa State say they have contained a suspected Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion at the state secretariat complex in Yenagoa, with one man arrested in connection with the incident. According to the Bayelsa State Police Command, the explosion occurred at about 6 am on Tuesday, 11 February, within the government complex.  The Command said its Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit swiftly secured the scene and prevented further danger. READ ALSO : Gunmen Kill at Least 162 in Kwara Village, Troops Deployed It stated that the Commissioner of Police, Iyamah Daniel Edebor, led EOD operatives, a special drone unit and other tactical teams to the location shortly after the incident was reported.  The area, it added, was cordoned off, and a subsequent sweep led to the discovery of an unexploded device, which was rendered safe. No casualties were recorded and no property was damaged, the police revealed. A 60-year-old man, identified as Pentecost Elijah from Otuan...

Nigeria’s oil and gas regulator, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), has issued new guidance aimed at speeding up contracting processes and blocking firms without proven technical capacity from winning industry jobs. The Board said the NCEC Application Guidance Notes, which take effect from December 2025, are designed to strengthen compliance with Presidential Directives on local content and to eliminate unqualified intermediaries from the contracting chain. Under the rules, possession of a valid Nigerian Content Equipment Certificate (NCEC) remains mandatory for participation in oil and gas contracting.  NCDMB warned that the misuse or unmerited possession of NCECs has been a major contributor to contracting delays and the admission of firms lacking capacity. According to the Board, the guidance notes target widespread abuses including multiple certificate applications unsupported by real assets, forged documentation, under-declared personnel and the use...

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has reaffirmed its support for the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO) and the Africa Energy Bank (AEB), as preparations continue for the bank’s formal launch. RoundReports reports that the pledge was made on Thursday in Abuja by the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, during a courtesy visit by APPO’s new Secretary General, Farid Ghezali, who was accompanied by senior officials of the organisation. The meeting followed Nigeria’s handover earlier this week of the fully established office of the Africa Energy Bank, clearing the way for its launch by APPO in partnership with Afreximbank. Ogbe said the success of APPO and the Africa Energy Bank would be central to the future of Africa’s oil and gas industry, adding that the NCDMB was ready to provide operational support for the bank’s take-off. According to him, the board’s position aligned with the directives of President Bola Tinubu and the Minister...

The Federal Government has restated its determination to end what it describes as long-standing interference by state governments in funds allocated to Nigeria’s 774 local government areas from the Federation Account. The assurance was given on Thursday in Abuja by the chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Shehu during the 2025 budget performance appraisal and 2026 budget defence organised by the House of Representatives’ Committee on Finance. Shehu believed persistent encroachment by state governments had crippled local administration and undermined service delivery at the grassroots, adding that the commission was ready to take concrete steps to enforce financial autonomy for councils. He disclosed plans to revive a dedicated Local Government Committee within the commission to closely track allocations and spending at council level nationwide. “ We will monitor every single local government in Nigeria ,” he said, adding that President...

At least 162 people have been killed in a gun attack on a village in Nigeria’s west-central Kwara state, one of the deadliest incidents in the country in recent months, according to the Red Cross. The assault occurred late on Tuesday in Woro, in Kaiama Local Government Area, days after the military said it had carried out operations in the area against what it described as “ terrorist elements .” Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq initially confirmed 75 deaths on Wednesday night while addressing residents at the palace of the Emir of Kaiama. AbdulRazaq said the victims were “ local Muslims massacred for refusing to surrender to extremists preaching a strange doctrine .” READ ALSO : Bayelsa Govt Takes over Treatment of Toru-Orua Crash Victims However, Babaomo Ayodeji, the state secretary of the Red Cross disclosed that by Wednesday, the death toll had more than doubled, revising an earlier figure of 67. “ Reports said that the death toll now stands at 162, as the search for mor...

Nigeria’s Senate on Tuesday retreated into a prolonged closed-door session as lawmakers intensified internal consultations on the proposed amendments to the Electoral Act, delaying open debate on the highly anticipated bill. The closed session, which had lasted for more than two hours by mid-afternoon, followed renewed scrutiny by senators of the provisions contained in the Electoral Act Amendment Bills currently before the upper chamber. Last week, the Senate set up a seven-member ad hoc committee to fine-tune the report of its Standing Committee on Electoral Matters.  READ ALSO :  Tax Reforms Cut PAYE Burden for Low-income Workers The panel, chaired by Senator Adeniyi Adegbomire, was mandated to collate additional inputs from senators ahead of Tuesday’s plenary, when consideration of the bill had been expected to begin. Consequently, the committee was given 48 hours to complete its assignment and submit its findings to the Senate. However, when lawmakers reconvened on Tuesda...

Nearly 15,000 HR, payroll and finance professionals registered for a nationwide engagement session on the implementation of Nigeria’s Tax Reform Acts, with officials outlining measures designed to protect low-income workers and simplify compliance. A recent virtual briefing, held in collaboration with the Joint Revenue Board (JRB), focused on how the new laws affect Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) calculations, filing obligations and the taxation of remote work, partnerships and personal income. Details of the briefing were contained in a press release by Taiwo Oyedele, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms. According to Oyedele, the reforms introduce automatic exemptions for workers earning the national minimum wage or less.  With allowable deductions and rent relief applied, employees earning up to N100,000 a month could see their tax liability fall to zero, he added. Clarifying questions around fiscal federalism, he stressed that Personal Income Tax rema...

The Bayelsa State Government has assumed responsibility for the medical treatment of victims injured in a road accident that occurred on Tuesday around Toru-Orua, along the Sagbama–Ekeremor road. RoundReports reports that the Commissioner for Health, Professor Seiyefa Brisibe, said Governor Douye Diri directed the ministry and emergency medical teams to ensure prompt and adequate care for all those affected. Addressing reports circulating online that ten people were killed in the crash involving an 18-seater bus, Brisibe dismissed the claim, confirming that two fatalities were recorded. He said other victims rescued from the scene were stabilised after receiving emergency care from government ambulance teams deployed along the Sagbama–Ekeremor axis, where traffic had increased due to movement related to the burial of the late Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, in Ofoni. According to the health commissioner, the injured were taken to Sagbama General Hospital and the Niger De...

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Bayelsa State Branch, has held a valedictory session in honour of the late Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, paying tribute to his legacy as a senior advocate of the law and public servant. The session, held on Thursday at the State High Court Complex in Yenagoa, drew a cross-section of political leaders, jurists and members of the legal profession from within and outside the state. Among those in attendance were Governor Douye Diri; a former governor and senator representing Bayelsa West, Henry Seriake Dickson; the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State, Justice Matilda Abrakasa-Ayemieye; the widow of the deceased, Mrs Ewhrudjakpo, and members of his family. Speaking during the session, Governor Diri said he was still struggling to come to terms with the death of his deputy, whom he described as a dependable ally and trusted professional.  He recalled Ewhrudjakpo’s role as head of his legal team during the election petitions ...