Nigerian Lawyer, Owolabi Salis Makes History As First Nigerian In Space.

A Nigerian-born lawyer and seasoned politician, Owolabi Salis, has etched his name in the annals of history as the first Nigerian to travel to space.
Naija News reports that Salis was among six civilian passengers aboard Blue Origin’s NS-33 mission, which launched from West Texas, USA, on Saturday, June 29, 2025.

Sali's crewmates on the New Shepard rocket included Allie Kuehner, Carl Kuehner, Leland Larson, Freddie Rescigno Jr., and Jim Sitkin.

In an emotionally charged statement before liftoff, Salis described his voyage as one with deeper significance.

“This mission is more than just a trip into space, it’s a spiritual journey, a call to inspire future generations,” he said.


He added that he hoped the mission would spark curiosity and commitment to space exploration among Africans, especially the youth.

Who Is Owolabi Salis?
Born in Ikorodu, Lagos State, Salis is a man of many accomplishments. He is a chartered accountant and a licensed attorney, qualified to practise law both in Nigeria and the United States.

Salis is also the author of Equitocracy, a thought-provoking political treatise that advocates a democratic structure built on fairness, equity, and inclusion for multicultural societies.

Turji’s ally, Danbokolo, 6 bandit commanders, 182 others killed in Zamfara.

Kachalla Yellow Danbokolo, a notorious bandit and close ally of Kachalla Turji, and six bandit commanders, have been killed in a village in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

They were eliminated during a gun battle with operatives of the Zamfara Community Protection Guards (CPG) on Sunday, a source told Daily Trust.

Danbokolo is widely regarded as one of the most feared bandits in the North West.

Danbokolo was killed by personnel of the Zamfara CPG. The operatives ambushed his gang while they were en route to a forest. He was first shot in the leg and tried to escape, but the CPG team continued pursuing him.

“Due to the severity of the injury, he lost a lot of blood and was eventually unable to move. When the CPG operatives caught up with him, they beheaded and dismembered him.

“We are happy that this ruthless bandit is dead. He was wicked and heartless, showing no mercy when attacking villages. He abducted numerous people from surrounding communities,” a source said.

Another source added that after Danbokolo was shot, his foot soldiers carried him across several villages in search of medical help, but he ultimately died as no one agreed to treat him.
Sources said the gunfight, which lasted for two hours, also resulted in the deaths of 182 bandit foot soldiers.

Dangote Refinery reduces fuel price as petrol marketers hold emergency meeting.

Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery has reduced its premium motor spirit ex-depot price to N840 from N880 per litre.

This comes as petroleum product marketers plan an emergency meeting to drop fuel prices from Tuesday.

The President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abubakar Maigandi, disclosed this to DAILY POST during an exclusive interview on Monday.

“It is true. Dangote Refinery reduced its petrol ex-depot price to N840 from N880 per litre on Monday. We are happy.

“Our members would implement the new price once they load new products,” he stated.
This showed that the 650,000-barrel per-day refinery slashed its petrol ex-depot prices by N40 per litre.

Marketers will drop petrol price nationwide Tuesday IPMAN

Maigandi said petroleum marketers will be having an emergency meeting on Tuesday to decide on a new petrol price nationwide.

We will be meeting on Tuesday to review our PMS prices following the latest petrol reduction announced by Dangote. Certainly the petrol price would come down from tomorrow,” he told DAILY POST.

REDAN president emerges Okeigbo Oba elect.

The President, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, Prince Akintoye Adeoye, has been announced as the Oluoke of Okeigbo in the Ile Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

This is according to a statement issued by the Media Director, Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House, Okeigbo, Elder Ayodele Olopade, obtained on Monday.

Olopade said the Chairman of Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government, Adebare Adeoye, in conjunction with Aare Kugbaigbe Ruling House, broke the news after the selection.

He lauded the chiefs saddled with the selection for being transparent, honest and peaceful.

Lagos deputy gov urges strong support in Lagos LG polls.

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, has urged all party members to come out in large numbers to canvass votes for All Progressives Congress party candidates in the upcoming elections.

He underscored the need to sustain the tremendous progress recorded across the state.

Hamzat made the call during the All Progressives Party Congress Campaign Mega Rally for the Lagos West II Senatorial District, held on Monday at Ijanikin, Lagos.

The deputy governor highlighted the importance of every supporter’s vote in securing victory at the polls.

He noted that the exceptional developments witnessed in Lagos were made possible because the people voted for the current administration.

He cited the completion of major infrastructure projects, including Nigeria’s only intra-state railway, one of the few of its kind in Africa.

Hamzat urged the party faithful not to disappoint their leader and President, Bola Tinubu.

African Queen’ was a collaboration, not stolen 2Baba.

Renowned Nigerian music icon, Innocent Idibia, popularly known as 2Baba, has spoken out on the long-standing controversy surrounding the authorship of his hit song, African Queen.

In an interview on the 234 Mzansi Podcast, posted on Monday via YouTube, 2Baba clarified that the song, which catapulted him to global fame and played a pivotal role in putting Nigerian music on the world map, was a collaborative effort between him and former bandmate, Blackface.

“It’s a collab. I wrote most of the song actually, but we wrote it together,” he said.

The legendary singer, however, expressed disappointment over the ongoing accusations by Blackface, who has repeatedly claimed sole ownership of the song.

“For me, the law and the legal things speak for themselves. So I’m not somebody to come and start… I don’t know what his intentions are. I don’t know what I’ve ever done to him,” 2Baba stated.

Just in: NEC affirmed Sam Anyanwu as PDP National Secretary Damagum.

The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ambassador Umar Damagum, has announced that the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has officially affirmed Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the PDP National Secretary.

Damagum made the disclosure on Monday while addressing journalists shortly after the NEC meeting held at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

FCT Teachers’ Strike: FG seeks dialogue as action enters 100th day.

As the indefinite strike by primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) enters its 100th day, the Federal Government has appealed for dialogue, unity and swift resolution of the crisis.

In a statement issued by the Director, Press and Public Relations of the Ministry, Boriowo Folasade, on Monday, the ministry said it deeply values the unwavering commitment of Nigerian teachers, who remain the backbone of the nation’s foundational education system.

The Guardian reports that the long-running industrial action, which commenced on March 24, 2025, has paralysed learning across over 400 public primary schools in the six Area councils of the FCT, leaving thousands of pupils stuck at home or left unattended in dilapidated classrooms.

The ongoing strike was sparked by the failure of the six area councils to implement the N70,000 minimum wage agreement signed in a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding on December 11, 2024.

According to Boriowo, the Federal Ministry of Education has reviewed with concern the communiqué issued by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing, following its Emergency State Wing Standing Committee (SWSC) meeting held on March 22, 2025, in Gwagwalada, Abuja.

"What I earn on my own today is more than ..."Peter Okoye slams his brother, Jude, for insinuating that he was more successful under him.

Killings: SERAP tells governors to account for security votes.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged state governors to account for the spending of public funds in the name of security votes since May 29, 2023, to guarantee and ensure the security of life and property of Nigerians resident in the states.

SERAP also urged the governors to urgently invite the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to jointly investigate, track and monitor the spending of security votes by the states.

In a Freedom of Information request at the weekend, signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said that in the wake of the Benue massacre and well-documented ongoing cases of insecurity in several states, there had been a legitimate public call for governors to account for how they spend security votes.

SERAP said the escalating insecurity in several states was taking a toll on socially and economically vulnerable Nigerians, driving up extreme poverty, intensifying hunger, and leading to other grave human rights violations.

According to the body, the framers of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) never contemplated opaque spending of public funds as security votes.

Kogi, others target World Bank’s $750m fund to boost business reforms.

The Kogi State Government says it is accelerating reforms under the $750 million World Bank-supported SABER programme aimed at improving the ease of doing business across the 36 states of the federation.

A statement issued on Sunday by the state Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, noted that Governor Ahmed Ododo made this known while hosting a one-day strategic technical session and statewide town hall meeting held in collaboration with the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council in Lokoja on Friday.

Ododo, who was represented by the Chief Economic Adviser to the State Government and Kogi State SABER Focal Person, Aliyu Salami, stressed that the engagement focused on the State Action on Business Enabling Reforms, a World Bank-backed initiative designed to enhance investment readiness and promote a business-friendly environment nationwide.

He emphasised that “Key reforms already underway in Kogi include land administration, commerce, investment promotion, agriculture, and a legal framework to facilitate access to credit for businesses in the state.”

BREAKING: Police IG Egbetokun Removes Ondo Commissioner For Investigating Attack On June 12 Protesters, Entertaining Sowore’s Complaints

Avocado oil (2).

A reader’s message read: “Please, do you have any information about the plant called eyin olobe? It grows freely in my compound, and my gardener said the leaves are used to make tea.”

I told him eyin olobe is botanically called Phyllanthus amarus. The reason I brought this here is that the question, especially the part that read “it grows freely in my compound”, created a mental image of a nosy neighbour who strolls into your house uninvited.

The only difference is that, as ‘nosy’ as nature may seem by imposing itself through the sprouting of plants where they are not wanted, their presence might actually be nature’s way of telling us that the particular plant is highly medicinal, just like this eyin olobe, also known as “stone breaker.”

Nature talks. Let us try to listen.

Now, let us proceed with our discussion on avocado oil.

A study conducted at the University of California, Davis, in 2020 showed that a majority of both domestic and imported avocado oil sold in the US was rancid before its expiration date, or worse, adulterated with other oils.

In some cases, the researchers found that bottles labelled as “pure” or “extra virgin” avocado oil contained nearly 100% soybean oil.

JUST IN: The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, is organising a prayer session for the restoration of Nigeria’s economy.

Maybe I’m not good at marriage’ Frank Edoho announces second divorce.

Famous Nigerian media personality and TV host, Frank Edoho, has revealed that his second marriage has crashed.DAILY POST recalls that Edoho married his second wife, Sandra Onyenuchenuya, after his first marriage to Katherine Obiang hit the rocks in 2011.

Featuring in a recent episode of the Tea With Tay podcast, the TV personality disclosed that he and his second wife had separated.

He explained that he did his best for the two marriages but they all failed.

He said, “Maybe I’m not good at marriage, I must confess. The two women I had been married to are not my soul mates. Love of your life is different from your soul mate. The love of your life is the person who comes to your mind when you think of love. But your soul mate is someone who understands you even before you express yourself and you naturally align with.

“I know that I went above and beyond for the two marriages. I carried my partner… I can abandon everything for her. But you don’t blame them for falling out of love with you. Take the footballer Kaka for example, he’s a Brazilian and he looks as handsome as an Indian. Very handsome guy, even when he retired from football, he was still handsome. But his wife divorced him. Do you know what she said? ‘He is too good’.”

Yahaya Bello seeks court approval for overseas medical trip .

The immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Friday urged the Federal High Court in Abuja to release his international passport to enable him to travel abroad for a medical check-up.

Bello is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on allegations of money laundering amounting to ₦80.2 billion.

During the resumed hearing, the defendant’s lead counsel, J.B. Daudu (SAN), filed an application requesting the retrieval of Bello’s travel documents, citing the defendant’s medical needs.

However, the prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), told the Court that they are opposing the application and a counter-affidavit has been filed to this effect.

Meta seeks $29 billion in private capital to fund AI infrastructure.

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is in advanced talks with major private capital firms to raise as much as $29 billion to finance its aggressive expansion into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

According to a Financial Times report citing sources familiar with the discussions, Meta is engaging leading private credit investors such as Apollo Global Management, KKR, Brookfield, Carlyle, and Pimco.

The tech giant aims to secure $3 billion in equity funding, followed by $26 billion in debt, to support the construction of next-generation data centres in the United States.

Meta is reportedly working with investment bank Morgan Stanley to structure the fundraising and is exploring ways to make the debt component more liquid and tradeable, a key concern among potential investors due to the unprecedented scale of the transaction.

If completed, the deal would mark one of the largest private capital raises of its kind.

Prominent Nigerian businessman Aminu Dantata is dead.

Renowned Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Dantata, has passed away at the age of 94.

A family source confirmed that the elder statesman died on Friday night in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, after a brief illness.

He died at about 3am Nigerian time at a hospital in Abu Dhabi.

The source added that funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.

Born on May 19, 1931 in Kano, Alhaji Aminu Dantata was a major figure in Nigeria’s business landscape for decades.

He was a respected industrialist and a key player in the country’s private sector growth.

He is survived by seven children and many grandchildren. Among his children is Alhaji Tajuddeen Aminu Dantata.