By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

16 people connected to the damage of public assets have been arraigned by the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Police Command.

On Wednesday, the suspects were arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court, Wuse Zone 6, Abuja, to “face charges of vandalising critical government property and the unlawful possession of stolen items,” according to FCT Police spokesperson Josephine Adeh.

According to a statement released by the PPRO on Friday, the arraignment came after a “intensive crackdown on scrap yards, commonly known as panteka, culminating in the arrest of multiple suspects and the recovery of substantial quantities of stolen and vandalized government assets.”

Streetlights, armoured wires, and manhole covers are among the stolen goods that have been found.

The arrests came about as a result of intelligence-led operations carried out in different parts of the FCT.

The defendants pleaded “not guilty” at their arraignment and have since been placed under detention at the Keffi Correctional Centre while additional proceedings are conducted.

Following that, the case was postponed for a further hearing until January 30, 2025.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

South East Bureau Chief of The Sun Newspaper, Nze Magnus Eze has been appointed as the Special Assistant on Communications and New Media to the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs (State), Iyom Bianca Ojukwu.

A letter conveying his appointment, dated January 8, 2025, was signed by Amb. Bello Kazaure Husseini, Director, Administration, at the ministry.

Eze, a seasoned journalist, brings his vast contacts and experience in media practice to the new assignment.

He is expected to play a very prominent role in pushing the strategic communication components of the foreign policy of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, which focuses on Democracy, Development, Demography and Diaspora, otherwise known as 4-Ds.

Eze hails from Mgbom N’Achara in Okposi, Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Born June 25, 1969, he began his basic education at Ikwuano Primary School, Mgbom Okposi.

He later went to Eziokposi High School as one of the pioneers of the community secondary school and wrote his terminal examination in 1987.

He proceeded to the University of Uyo in 1988, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts in 1992.

Eze, who is also a doctoral student of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), holds a Master’s degree in Mass Communication from the same institution.

He observed the mandatory national service at the Mass Communication Department of Ogun State Polytechnic (Now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic), Abeokuta in Ogun State and on completion, joined Newswatch Magazine.

He has had a flourishing career in media practice spanning about three decades.

A onetime Editor of Newsday Newspaper, Abuja (2004-2006), Deputy Editor, Newsworld Magazine, Regional Correspondent of South Africa-based AU Media, Eze is currently Assistant Editor/South East Bureau Chief, The Sun Newspaper.

He is married to Anenechi with whom they have five children.

As part of his community development effort, he, in 2014, founded The Mezie Okposi Organization warehousing Mezie Okposi Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Mezie Okposi Charities and Okposi Geriatric Project.

The organization has impacted positively on the youth and the old people in areas of leadership, value orientation, culture preservation, capacity building, and community service.

Nze Magnus, as he is popularly called, is a good man.

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Russian President Vladmir Putin has agreed to end the war with Ukraine after Trump’s warning.

In his first comments, since Trump issued the threats, Putin said he’s ready for negotiations.
Putin told a Russian state TV journalist: “We believe the current president’s statements about his readiness to work together. We are always open to this and ready for negotiations.

It would be better for us to meet, based on the realities of today, to talk calmly.”
Putin went on to describe his relationship with Trump as “businesslike, pragmatic and trustworthy”.

He is not only a smart person, but a pragmatic person,’ Putin told state media of his American counterpart.
‘I have a hard time imagining there will be decisions taken that are detrimental to the American economy.

He added that negotiating with Ukraine was complicated by the fact that its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had signed a decree preventing him from conducting talks with Putin.

Putin also said the war in Ukraine could have been averted had Donald Trump not been ‘robbed of the election’ in 2020.

‘I cannot but agree with him that if he had been president if his victory had not been stolen from him in 2020, then perhaps there would not have been the crisis in Ukraine that arose in 2022, the Russian president said.