Welcome To Egungwu Chukwuka Benjamin's Journalism Archive

  BY – EGUNGWU CHUKWUKA BENJAMIN   ✓ Freedom Of Speech VS Defamation: Farotimi’s Arrest Ignites Firestorm   On Tuesday, December 3rd, National newspapers reported about the shocking arrest of renowned Nigerian legal partisioner and activist, Dele Farotimi by police officers from the Ekiti State Police Command. The officers traveled to Lagos to apprehend Farotimi, who was taken down to Ekiti state and held in custody until his court appearance. According to reports, Farotimi was arrested and detained following a petition filed by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Afe Babalola. This triggered online chaos, as many condemned the arrest and referred to it as an abuse of power. It led to call for his release with the hashtag #FreeDeleFarotimiNow by netizens on X (formerly Twitter), and many notable individuals, including Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), the 2023 Labour Party’s presidential candidate Peter Obi, and non-profit associations like the Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afen...

BY – EGUNGWU CHUKWUKA BENJAMIN ✓ Emefiele Embroiled In Corruption Scandal   First week of December, a shocking revelation erupted, as former central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele was linked to a massive estate with 753 duplexes and apartments in Lokogoma, Abuja. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) seized the property, and the news sent shockwaves across the country, with alot of buzz on online and offline. The EFCC’s investigation alleged that Emefiele and his associates acquired the properties with proceeds from forex kickbacks. The estate which covers 150,462.86 square meters, was abandoned after Emefiele’s arrest in June 2023. On Tuesday, 3rd December, The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), secured final forfeiture of the duplexes in Abuja, but stated that no individual or organisation accepted ownership of the properties. Though in the court papers, they claimed that they discovered the property while investigating the former CBN govern...

  By Egungwu Chukwuka Benjamin O ur Nation has been plagued by poverty for decades. Despite having vast natural resources, the country is termed one of the poorest in the world. Poverty in Nigeria is not just a result of economic mismanagement; it is also a deliberate tool used by the leaders in the country to subjugate or bring down its citizens. Let us have an overview of what poverty entails. Poverty is often thought to be just the lack of money, but it is more than that. It goes beyond just physical or material needs. According to the World Bank Organisation, “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is limited access to education and healthcare. Poverty is vulnerability to violence and exploitation. Poverty is feeling voiceless and powerless to change one’s circumstances.” The Nigerian government has consistently failed to address the country’s poverty crisis, instead, they focus on trivia issues such as; changing the national anthem, renovating properties, build...

  F ast Rising Nigerian act behind the hit track ‘Live Forever’,  ‘ Oluwakayode Oyetoro ’  popularly known with the stage name, ‘Kayode’, in this exclusive chat with  ‘ EGUNGWU CHUKWUKA BENJAMIN ’,  discloses what inspired the TikTok viral sensational sound, and how his musical career is going. The native of Ogun State, released the song, ‘Live Forever’ in 2021. It was produced by ‘ NINEZ ’, and the video was directed and shot by ‘ KEMZ ’. Excerpts:    Tell us about your family and education background?  I grew up in Ikorodu, Lagos, alongside three siblings, I am the third child. I had my early education in Ikorodu. I attended Model College Igbogbo, then I went on to study Political Science at the University of Lagos.  How did music start for you?  I grew up in Ikorodu, and my major introduction to music was in the church, and the music my dad played when I was kid. That period in my life made me fall in love with music.  When did y...

EGUNGWU CHUKWUKA BENJAMIN  T he introduction of eNaira and cNGN stable coin (crypto currency) is a great concept to aid digital trading in Nigeria, but might not aid in stabilizing the Naira.  Nigeria is the first country in Africa to roll out a digital currency by the central bank.  Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched eNaira (a digital currency) on 25th October, 2021, with the intention of making transaction seamless and easier.  On 29th December, 2023, report emerged on national dailies, stating that Nigerian banks – Access bank, Sterling bank, First bank, Providus bank – were in collaboration with payments companies – like Budpay, Kora (formerly KoraPay), Interswitch, Blockchain consultants Convexity and Interstellar – to create a stable coin, cNGN.  This is after the federal government lifted the ban on cryptocurrency. Each was created to serve as legal tender, equivalent to the physical Naira (cash).  The introduction of cNGN coin wa...

BY- EGUNGWU CHUKWUKA BENJAMIN  A s we all know, anything that have an advantage also has disadvantage. State policing has become one of the most controversial topics still under deliberation by Nigeria’s law makers. The bill which was proposed by Honourable Benjamin Kalu and other 15 law makers has been passed for a second reading at the House of Representatives. When talking about state policing, what comes into everyone’s mind is that ‘system of policing , whereby the police force are under state authority or control, unlike the federal policing whereby the system is centralised.  Power for final decision making is mostly vested on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), who is the most senior officer in the force.  The intention towards the bill is to aid in combating insecurity in the country, which has brought fear in the mind of the citizens. The upsurge in cases of kidnapping, banditry, armed robberies and other social vices led to different geopolitical zones in th...

By: Egungwu Chukwuka Benjamin  T he outbreak of Covid-19 across the globe has brought a lot of changes, it is expected that many things will change after facing the pandemic (post-Covid19). In this piece we will be looking at Nigeria before and after Covid-19. As we all know corona-virus (Covid-19) is a virus causing illness ranging from common cold to severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-COV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-COV). The disease which was traced to egress from Wuhan in China has so far dispersed to different continents/countries of the world. On 27th February 2020, the first case of the disease was announced, when an Italian citizen in Lagos tested positive for the virus. On 9th of March 2020 , a second case of the virus was reported in Ewekoro Ogun State about a Nigerian citizen who had contact with the Italian man. Since then there have been rapid spread of the virus across different states in country. This led to Nigeria govern...