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Don Pedro Obaseki narrates ordeal after alleged abduction in Benin
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Nollywood filmmaker and former Managing Director of Daar Communications, Don Pedro Obaseki, has recounted his traumatic experience following his alleged abduction and assault on Sunday, December 28, 2025, in Benin City, Edo State.
Youths suspected to be thugs reportedly assaulted Dr Don Pedro Obaseki, a cousin of former Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki.
Explaining the encounter in detail, Obaseki said: “Today at about 11–11:30, while playing football with my football mates at UBA Primary School in Benin, the place was attacked by assailants.
“I was physically abducted, basically kidnapped. Some of them were holding guns and some of them were non-folks. I have their names.
“They hogged me through the streets of Benin under the guise that they had been sent to come and abduct me by the palace of the Oba of Benin.
“I begged them to show me some form of ID. I was dragged, beaten severely, manhandled, and dragged through the streets up to where I was stripped naked and taken into the palace of the Oba of Benin, where I was made to kneel in public.”
He further expressed: “I have never been so humiliated because I am who I am, because of my nativity. I have served my culture. I don’t know what to say. I was later released and taken to the police station, where the Commissioner of Police came within two hours.
He came to see me three times before he ordered my release from the police station at Oba Market. From the chiefs I met at the palace, it was clear they did not send these people on this mission.”
Obaseki also indicated a possible reason for the attack, linking it to a cultural misunderstanding, saying: “I am traumatised. And I heard that my sin was that I went to London and made a public statement that ‘May Edo people live long and prosper.’
That I should have said, ‘May the Oba live long and prosper.’ That my saying ‘may Edo people live long and prosper’ is a cardinal sin in Benin, for me who have elevated the culture of the Benin race in my 35 to 40 years as the pioneer of the present.”
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ekiti State Office, on Thursday announced the extension of the ongoing collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) has been extended from Friday, 12th June to Sunday, 14th June 2026.
The was contained in a statement by the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Bunmi Omoseyindemi in Ado Ekiti
The statement read: “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Ekiti State Office, wishes to inform all registered voters in the State that the ongoing collection of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) has been extended from Friday, 12th June to Sunday, 14th June 2026
“The extension is intended to provide an additional opportunity for eligible voters who are yet to collect their PVCs to do so before the Governorship Election scheduled for Saturday, 20th June 2026.
“Collection of PVCs will continue at the designated Local Government Area Offices of the Commission during official hours. Voters are advised to collect their PVCs personally, as collection by proxy will not be permitted.
INEC urges all registered voters who have not collected their PVCs to take advantage of this extension, as the PVC remains the only means of identification for voting on Election Day.
“The Commission remains committed to ensuring that every eligible voter is given the opportunity to participate in the electoral process.”
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was calling off strikes on Iran and flagged the signing of a possible deal with Tehran after top-level talks.
“Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have… cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
“Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly,” he added.
Iran Warns Of ‘Endless Quagmire’
Iran had warned Washington on Thursday that it risked wading into an “endless quagmire” of war and soaring energy prices, after Trump vowed to launch a new round of airstrikes and to seize an island oil terminal.
Iran’s chief negotiator in talks with the Americans, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, issued his stark warning after the two sides exchanged overnight fire and Trump threatened that US forces would hit “VERY HARD TONIGHT”.
“Wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will reset the entire board for the worse, explode energy infrastructure and markets and create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years,” Ghalibaf said.
The war, which began on February 28 with a wave of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, was paused under an April truce, but efforts to hammer out a permanent end to the fighting have since stalled.
US forces have also, since the ceasefire, hit radar arrays and disabled Iranian ships, and Tehran has maintained a chokehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela,” Trump said, in a post on his own social media platform, referring to a Gulf island that hosts Iran’s biggest oil export terminal.
General Ali Abdollahi, head of the Iranian military’s central headquarters, warned that “if the United States once again seeks to carry out attacks against heroic Iran, it would receive a harsher response than before, and the flames of war, in addition to creating insecurity in the region, will become more widespread and far-reaching”.
The conflict has destabilised oil and gas prices, fuelling inflation and fears of recession in many economies.
On Thursday, the World Bank lowered its global growth forecast to its lowest level since the coronavirus pandemic, predicting it would drop to 2.5 percent in 2026, from 2.9 percent last year.
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Hon. Dr. Olotu Akpodiete JP, who’s vying for the Ughelli North, South and Udu Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives, has sent his congratulations to Rt. Hon. Frederick Agbedi. Agbedi’s new role as Minority Leader was announced today during plenary by Speaker Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas.
Dr. Akpodiete said Agbedi’s emergence shows the trust and confidence his colleagues have in him. He described the new Minority Leader as dependable, strong-willed, and a politician of principle who acts on conviction rather than convenience.
Rt. Hon. Agbedi represents Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal Constituency in Bayelsa State. Before this appointment, he led the PDP Caucus in the House and also served as Bayelsa PDP chairman. He remains a committed PDP member and believes the party has a vital role as a strong opposition.
Akpodiete said he’s confident Agbedi will use his experience, competence and character to serve the House, the legislature, and Nigerians well.
Signed:
Hon. Dr. Olotu Akpodiete JP
House of Representatives Candidate Hopeful
Ughelli North, South and Udu Federal Constituency
INEC extends PVCs collection in Ekiti for 72hours
Trump Stops Scheduled Bombings Against Iran
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