The Russian Embassy in Nigeria has dismissed recent claims published by a Nigerian newspaper, alleging the exploitation of Nigerian youths in Russian factories, including those involved in drone production.

In a Facebook post shared on the official page of the Russian Embassy on Thursday, the mission described the publication as “provocative” and filled with “unsubstantiated accusations,” including claims that Russia violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The Russian mission expressed concern over what was described as a lack of due diligence by the newspaper, urging media outlets to adhere to verified information and professional standards of journalism.

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The statement in parts, “The material is clearly custom-made. Any suggestion of violations of these standards within the Russian Federation is groundless and unconfirmed by any facts.

“We declare that the publishing house of Leadership would do well to check the information before publication and be guided only by verified facts from reliable sources. In the pursuit of exclusivity, we must not forget what real journalism is,” the statement read.

Reaffirming its commitment to strong bilateral ties, the Embassy emphasized that Russia values its partnership with Nigeria and is committed to enhancing cooperation across key sectors such as education, economy, and culture.

It also noted that the newspaper did not reach out to the Embassy for clarification or comment before publishing the story.

“We remain open to dialogue and are ready to discuss any issues with representatives of the press,” the statement added.

The Embassy concluded by requesting detailed information from Leadership about any specific cases of rights violations involving Nigerian citizens, urging the newspaper to substantiate its claims with credible evidence.

The Leadership article in question raised concerns about alleged harsh working conditions for Nigerians in Russian facilities, particularly in the defense manufacturing sector.

The report has triggered mixed reactions, with calls for further investigation.

However, Nigerian authorities have not issued an official statement in response to the allegations.

The Eastern Updates

 The detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, who is facing a seven-count terrorism and treasonable felony charge, yesterday, told the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja that he has no case to answer.

Kanu took the position shortly after the Federal Government, which is prosecuting him, announced its decision to close its case.

FG wrapped up its case after the fifth prosecution witness, PW-5, concluded his testimony and was discharged by the court.

The witness, whose name was shielded, was simply identified as EEE before he gave his testimony behind a protective screen.

Upon the conclusion of his cross-examination by a member of Kanu’s legal team, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, FG’s counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, informed the court that he would no longer produce any witness to testify in the matter.

Awomolo, SAN, said the prosecution team was satisfied that from the avalanche of evidence tendered through the five witnesses, the government had effectively established the charge against the defendant.
“I will therefore, at this juncture, close the case of the prosecution,” the senior lawyer added.

Following the announcement, the head of Kanu’s defence team, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, notified the court about his client’s decision to enter a no-case submission in the matter.

A no-case submission is made when a defendant is convinced that the totality of evidence that was adduced by the prosecution, failed to establish a prima facie case that is capable of warranting the court to compel him to enter his defence to the charge.

Should the application succeed, the defendant would be discharged by the court, thus marking an end to the trial.

Given Kanu’s decision, trial Justice James Omotosho gave his legal team and FG, 14 days each to file written addresses and two days to file their reply on points of law.

The case was subsequently adjourned till July 18 for adoption of the no-case-submission.
Earlier in the proceeding, FG, through the PW-5, tendered in evidence, a report it said linked the embattled IPOB leader to the killing of 186 police officers as well as the destruction of 164 police stations during the EndSARS protests that took place in 2020.

Read Also: Kanu’s Incitement Led To Violence In South East – DSS To Court

The witness, who is an operative of the Department of State Services, DSS, told the court that he was part of a team that was deployed to gather intelligence and compile reports on the impact of violence that trailed the protest.

He told the court that he got to know Kanu through the media though they never met in person.
He told the court that his mandate was to record all the destructions of public properties and deaths of security operatives that occurred as a result of Kanu’s radio broadcasts.

Among the items he tendered, which were admitted in evidence by the court, included a damage assessment report, death certificates of some security officers, as well as a certificate of compliance.
Kanu’s lawyer challenged the admissibility of the exhibits, saying he would adduce his reason in the defendant’s final written address.

It will be recalled that Kanu was arrested on October 14, 2015, upon his return to the country from the United Kingdom.

Following his arraignment, the court, on April 25, 2017, granted him bail on health grounds after he had spent about 18 months in detention.

Upon the perfection of the bail conditions, he was on April 28, 2017, released from the Kuje prison.
However, midway into the trial, the IPOB leader escaped from the country after soldiers invaded his country home at Afara Ukwu Ibeku in Umuahia, Abia State, an operation that led to the death of some of his followers.

Kanu was later re-arrested in Kenya on June 19, 2021, and extraordinarily renditioned back to the country by security agents on June 27, 2021.

Owing to the development, the trial court, on June 29, 2021, remanded him in custody of DSS, where he remains till date.

On April 8, 2022, the court struck out eight out of the 15-count charges that FG preferred against him on the premise that they lacked substance.

Likewise, the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, on October 13, 2022, ordered Kanu’s immediate release from detention even as it quashed the charge against him.

Dissatisfied with the decision, FG took the matter before the Supreme Court, even as it persuaded the appellate court to suspend the execution of the judgment, pending the determination of its appeal.

While deciding the appeal, the Supreme Court, on December 15, 2023, vacated the judgment of the appellate court and gave FG the nod to try the IPOB leader on the subsisting seven-count charge.

The Eastern Updates

The General Manager of Transmission Service at TCN, Mr Ali Sharifa, who made this known yesterday in Keffi, Nasarawa State, at a workshop organised for journalists covering the power sector, lamented that 2024 and 2025 have been the most trying times for TCN concerning vandalism of its transmission line infrastructure by  non-state actors.

He stated: “A total of 86 towers were vandalized in 2024, with 26 towers completely down, which left affected states in total darkness.

“While in the first and second quarters of 2025, a total of 42 acts of vandalism were recorded affecting a total of 178 towers.”

According to him the major effect of the vandalism is the disruption of power supply across the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry, as the generated power from the generation station could not be wheeled to the distribution ends.

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He added, “Other effects of vandalism include the  increment of significant costs by the company due to repairs, replacement and the need for increased security measures to address vandalism.

“The company’s grid expansion efforts are hindered by acts of vandalism to pay contractors’ invoices used on repairs.

“And there is also the concern with public safety whenever transmission infrastructure is vandalised”.

Aside the activities of vandals,  Sharifa  added that natural disasters also hindered the free flow of electricity to the grid, as TCN recently recorded along Kainji-Birnin Kebbi 330kV SC (International) line.

He stated: “Six towers, T306, 1307, T308, T365, T366 and 1367 collapsed in May due to a windstorm and torrential rainfall.

“In the same May, Apir-Lafia-Jos 330kV DC Line Tower T137 had a twist (partial collapse) due to windstorm and torrential rainfall.”

Sharifa said that sabotage, political and economic reasons were responsible for these acts of vandalism.

He, however, said that the company was reaching out to locals where the transmission lines were prone to vandalism, adding that they were also engaging with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) after a series of vandalism in 2024.

“TCN reached out to ONSA for the protection of vulnerable transmission lines against vandalism.  Some critical lines have been selected as pilot schemes for which state-of-the-art technology will be deployed to monitor and deter future vandalism,” he added.

The Eastern Updates

Farmers in Augie Local Government Area of Kebbi State have reportedly received threats from terrorists believed to be members of the Lakurawa group, warning them against replacing traditional cattle-driven farming methods with mechanised equipment.

According to reports by security analyst Zagazola Makama, the terrorists warned that anyone found using mechanised tools in place of cattle for farming would be executed. The warning has triggered fear and panic among residents of affected communities, many of whom had begun shifting to modern farming techniques in response to ongoing cattle rustling in the region.

“Now, the terrorists are dictating how we should farm,” a local source was quoted as saying. “They forbid us from using machines. When we use cattle, they seize them. We’re farming both for sustenance and commercial purposes.”

An intelligence source also reportedly confirmed that the threats were genuine and circulated among several villages in Augie LGA. Community members are now calling for urgent intervention from the Nigerian military and government.

The area has suffered repeated attacks and widespread cattle rustling, allegedly by the same group. In April, at least 13 vigilantes were killed in Morai village, also in Augie LGA, after suspected Lakurawa gunmen ambushed them during a failed attempt to recover stolen livestock.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in Kebbi State, Nafiu Abubakar, said he would investigate the development.

In other news, A former Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to Bayelsa State.

The Eastern Updates reported that President Tinubu was in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Wednesday in his scheduled visit to the state amid rising concerns over recent violent attacks on innocent Nigerians by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

He met with key stakeholders in the state following the massacre in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area, which sparked outrage across the country.

In response to the crisis, Tinubu issued orders to the state governor and security chiefs at the Town Hall meeting.

The Eastern Updates

A former Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, has faulted President Bola Tinubu’s recent visit to Bayelsa State.

The Eastern Updates reported that President Tinubu was in Makurdi, the Benue State capital, on Wednesday in his scheduled visit to the state amid rising concerns over recent violent attacks on innocent Nigerians by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

He met with key stakeholders in the state following the massacre in Yelwata, Guma Local Government Area, which sparked outrage across the country.

In response to the crisis, Tinubu issued orders to the state governor and security chiefs at the Town Hall meeting.

However, Dickson noted that the President’s actions and words were not forceful enough to match the situation of things in that state.

“What has been going on in Benue, Plateau, and in some other places is actually a collective assault. It’s an assault on a collective psyche of Nigerians and as human beings,” he said in an interview on Arise News.

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“The President went there, which is good, and I think he could have gone there much earlier. But anyway, he went there. But I don’t think decisions and declarations that were made were as forceful as some would have wanted.

“For example, the way some of us look at this is what has been going on there is not an issue of reconciliation, it’s an issue of pure criminality that is almost at a genocidal level.

“And people talk about a certain route, there could be minor elements of that, but you can’t equate killing a cow with slaughtering hundreds of human beings.

“I think that’s the point the Tor Tiv kept making. There’s one picture that is very poignant. I don’t know if you have seen it, the picture of the lady who was in the hospital with a child whose arm had been severed and who looked away, you know, in protest about the actions of government. It’s good that officials of the government went, I mean, the security chiefs were there.

“I spoke with the governor myself, and I know that a lot of security people are there and things are happening, but are they far-reaching enough, clearly after the fact?

“Look, I mean, we’re not talking about preventing. We’re talking about 200, next time you will hear 300.

“I think the government is actually without a solution, as it is now. And I’m not talking of this government alone. The Nigerian state appears unprepared for this sort of violence people are unleashing on fellow Nigerians.”

The Eastern Updates

Nigerian Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has revealed the country’s most dangerous border.

According to the CDS, the Nigerian border with the Niger Republic is the most porous and dangerous and must be fenced as a way of fighting terrorism.

Musa said that it was through the Niger border that terrorists such as ISWAP and other forms of terrorist groups enter through to cause mayhem in Nigeria, the country which, according to him, is their main focus.

The CDS stated this during an interview on Arise News on Thursday as he discussed the security challenges facing Nigeria.

“The reason is because, having gone through my analysis and looking at the Sahel, the main attraction to all these terrorists and bandits is Nigeria. Because this perception is, there were attacks from Burkina Faso… in Benin Republic, it’s just 50 kilometers to Nigeria. That is another area.

“So for me, I think, and like I mentioned, all around us, we have Francophone countries. Our ideologies are not the same. For us to be secure, it is important, let us fence our borders.

“Some people say, look, it’s expensive. I say, what is money if you are dead? So countries that have sat down, I have analyzed and seen that, look, strategically it’s important, because once you fence that area, you use technology. Now you have cameras, you have drones. It reduces the manpower you need to engage in that area, and they could be used elsewhere. So that’s important.

“And the most critical one for us now even if we want to start let’s start with Nigeria and Niger [border]. That’s the most dangerous because… that’s where they’re coming in. The Boko Haram are coming in from the Sahel. The ISWAP guys are coming in all through those areas. So that’s why it’s critical.

“If we start from there and we can start state-wise at the same time, each state will start on its own, and before you know it, we’re there.”

Most recently, over 200 people were slaughtered in the Yelwata community in Benue State. The attackers are suspected to be foreign invaders who must have entered through one of the country’s porous borders.

The Eastern Updates

The Imo State Police Command has warned men and officers of its command against misuse of firearms during official engagement.

In a press statement issued by the spokesperson of the Command, DSP Henry Okoye, it was informed that the instruction was in line with the vision of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, to build a more professionally competent police force.

In carrying out the directive, the State Police Command embarked on what it termed an in-house musketry refresher training for 200 personnel drawn from tactical units and divisions across the state.

The training, which was held at the Command Headquarters in Owerri, aimed at improving firearms handling, strengthening weapon safety, and enforcing operational discipline.

The exercise, according to Okoye, was also designed to enhance the competence and readiness of personnel to effectively tackle evolving security threats across the state.

Addressing participants, the Commissioner of Police, CP Aboki Danjuma, underscored the critical importance of responsible firearms handling.

He reiterated that there is no such thing as accidental discharge in the Nigeria Police Force, warning that any misuse of firearms will attract severe disciplinary consequences.

CP Danjuma used the moment to urge all participants to take the training seriously and internalize the principles being taught.

The release further informed that the training was anchored by CSP Abdullahi Wase, 2i/c Commander, 18 PMF Owerri, who led participants through intensive modules including tactical shooting techniques, close-quarter drills, judgment-based use-of-force scenarios, rifle assembly and disassembly, as well as justification for the use of firearms in line with Force Order 237.

The command’s spokesperson maintained that the ongoing exercise is in line with the command’s commitment to promote continuous training and professional development, which, according to him, acts as a pathway to improve policing, public trust, and effective law enforcement.

The Eastern Updates

The Trial of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, resumed before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday with the Department of State Services, DSS, alleging that he was responsible for widespread violence in the South East region of the country.

The security agency, through one of its operatives who testified as the fourth prosecution witness, PW-4, in the seven-count terrorism and treasonable felony charge the Federal Government preferred against Kanu, insisted that the defendant incited violence through various broadcasts he made on Radio Biafra.

The witness, whose real name was shielded as he was only identified as PW-DDD, testified behind a protective shield.

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He told the court that Kanu had in his “illegal radio broadcasts,” directed his followers to deal decisively with some targeted persons that included security agents.

He alleged that in furtherance of the directive, between 170 and 200 security operatives were killed in the South East.

Led in evidence by FG’s lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, the witness added that the defendant was responsible for the murder of a former presidential aide, Ahmed Gulak, by the IPOB which he said heeded to his order.

Giving an account of what transpired on the day Gulak who was a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, was killed on May 30, 2021 in Owerri Imo State, the witness, said he was among the first set of security agents that arrived the scene of the incident.

He told the court that he served In Imo State between 2019 and 2023, adding that it was his car that was used to evacuate Gulak’s corpse.

According to him, on that fateful day, there was a total breakdown of law and order as a result of a stay-at-home the defendant declared in one of his broadcasts.

He told the court that later that day, his colleagues informed him that a prominent politician was killed around Obiagwu, an information that led his team to rush to the spot.

The witness said the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in the area told him that Gulak was in a hired cab when he was killed by some IPOB members.

He said the driver of the cab told him that they were heading to the airport from Owerri town when they saw a checkpoint mounted by men of the Nigerian Air Force who were preventing people from accessing the airport.

He said the development forced the driver to take an alternative route that took them into another checkpoint that was mounted by IPOB members.

The witness said the driver revealed that the IPOB members ordered the three of them in the car to disembark, and demanded to know their tribes.

He said both the driver and Gulak introduced themselves as Igbo men.

However, upon a command by the IPOB members, while the driver spoke the Igbo language, Gulak was not able to speak.

He said it was at that point that the assailants asked Gulak to remove his cap, following which they saw a Muslim prayer mark on his forehead.

He said immediately the IPOB members saw the prayer mark, one of them shouted: “he is one of them!” and shot him dead.

The witness further told the court that Kanu illegally smuggled radio transmitter into the country and hid it at Ubuluisiuzor, Anambra State, in the premises of one Benjamin Madubugu.

He said a team of Engineers from the NBC were on November 9, 2015, sent to inspect the transmitter and wrote a report, after which it was moved to Abuja.

A certified true copy of the provisional assessment of the radio transmitter report submitted by the NBC, was tendered in evidence before the court.

Meanwhile, the witness read from some publications of the Vanguard Newspaper, where it was reported that an arrested commander of the Eastern Security Network, ESN, the alleged armed wing of the IPOB, confessed to the activities of his group.

He said the ESN member identified as Uzuoma Benjamin, a.k.a Onye Army, disclosed that Kanu have a directive that a deceased member of the group, Ikonso, should be buried with 2000 human heads.

The witness also read where the said Onye Army claimed that his group used heads of 10 girls to prepare charms for their protection.

He said investigation revealed that the invasion of Owerri prison by IPOB members was directed by Kanu in one of his broadcast for his followers to attack and kill security operatives of the Fedaral Government of Nigeria.

He said police later told the DSS that Onye Army escaped from its custody.

Continuing, the witness told the court that when the DSS raided ESN hideout, “we saw some ESN members, about seven, with human heads and some eating human flesh, which they said was for spiritual fortification.”

On how the ESN members operate, the witness described them as combatants who carry arms and attacked homes of prominent individuals and traditional rulers in the region.

The witness identified some public property which he said IPOB and ESN members attacked and destroyed in the South East, including police stations.

Under cross-examination, the witness said he was not aware that the radio transmitter was legitimately brought into the country through a clearing agency.

He insisted that there was no evidence that the embattled IPOB secured licence to operate a radio station in the country.

Justice James Omotosho adjourned further hearing in the matter till Thursday.

The Eastern Updates