President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday night declared a state of emergency in Rivers State.

Tinubu made the pronouncement in a nationwide broadcast to the nation.

The president said he was “greatly disturbed about the political crisis” in the state and accused Governor Siminilayi Fubara of demolishing the State House of Assembly building.

Tinubu said having made an evaluation of the situation, he has decided to “declare a state of emergency from March 18”.

He also suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, for six months.

Tinubu also suspended all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State and nominated Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (Rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state.

“For the avoidance of doubt, this declaration does not affect the judicial arm of Rivers State, which shall continue to function in accordance with their constitutional mandate.

“The Administrator will not make any new laws. He will, however, be free to formulate regulations as may be found necessary to do his job, but such regulations will need to be considered and approved by the Federal Executive Council and promulgated by the President for the state,” Tinubu said.

This decision comes hours after Tinubu met with his service chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.

The meeting which began around 3pm, also had Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, in attendance.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, also arrived at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa.

From Othman Salihu

The Akwa Ibom State Police Command has revealed the arrest of a 32 years old man who allegedly murdered his lover, aged 39 in mysterious circumstances.

The suspect, Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson was nabbed by operatives of the Command for the alleged murder of his 39 years old girlfriend, Emem Monday Effanga.

According to a statement released by the Command’s Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Timfon John, the suspect also stole his victim’s mobile phone after the murder.

The text of the statement revealed that the police received a report that the victim, Emem was lying dead in her apartment, February this year in suspicious manner.

The police account said that on reaching the scene of crime, the police noticed visible marks of violence on her face and neck which is a sign of strangulation before she passed on.

The statement read: “Sometime in February 2025, the Command received a report that the deceased was found dead in her apartment under suspicious circumstances.

It added that “Upon arrival at the scene, operatives observed visible marks of violence on her face and neck, suggesting she had been strangled and beaten to death.

The scene was processed, evidence documented, and the body was evacuated to the hospital, where she was confirmed clinically dead by medical personnel.

The corpse was thereafter deposited at the mortuary for preservation and autopsy”, it affirmed.

According to the police, it immediately drafted its officers to investigate the murder and those responsible for it.

“Following swift investigations, detectives traced the last person seen with the deceased to be Ndifreke Isaiah Nelson, who had visited her residence on 6th February 2025, the morning of his birthday.

The suspect was later tracked to a church in Uyo, where he attempted to escape upon sighting police operatives but was swiftly pursued and apprehended.

When questioned, the suspect confessed that he visited the victim that morning and requested to use her phone to take pictures for his birthday celebration to place on social media.

Going by his narration, a struggle ensued arising from her refusal to lend him the phone, during which he overpowered her.

Ndifreke confessed he strangled Emem with his hands, and struck her head on the floor with fist blows, leaving her unconscious before fleeing with her phone.

The police recovered one Itel Super Phone, belonging to the deceased from the suspect at the time of arrest.

“A post-mortem examination has been conducted, and the cause of death has been officially documented by a pathologist. The suspect will be charged to court.

The Commissioner of Police, CP Baba Mohammed Azare, fsi has assured that justice will be served and warned against all forms of domestic violence and criminal acts.

He charged the general public to remain security conscious and report suspicious activities to the police.”

If you’re a weary Londoner, the idea of an eight minute journey from Heathrow to Canary Wharf might sound too good to be true.

But it’s set to become a reality, with the launch of a flying taxi service in Britain.

Virgin Atlantic has teamed up with Joby Aviation in a partnership that aims to offer ‘seamless, zero-emission, short-range journeys across the UK’.

The futuristic electric air taxis are designed to carry a pilot and up to four passengers, and can hit impressive speeds of up to 200mph.

This means that the journey between Heathrow and Canary Wharf – which currently takes around 80 minutes by taxi – could be slashed to just eight minutes.

‘As a leader in sustainability and with innovation firmly in our DNA, we are delighted to be partnering with Joby to bring short-haul, zero-emission flight to airports and cities throughout the UK,’ said Shai Weiss, CEO of Virgin Atlantic.

‘Our strategic partnership combines Joby’s expertise in design, engineering and technology with the power of Virgin Atlantic’s brand and award-winning customer experience.

‘We look forward to working together to bring Joby’s service to the UK and to deliver greater connectivity for our customers.’

If you’re a weary Londoner, the idea of an eight minute journey from Heathrow to Canary Wharf might sound too good to be true. But it’s set to become a reality, with the launch of a flying taxi service in Britain

Virgin Atlantic has teamed up with Joby Aviation in a partnership that aims to offer ‘seamless, zero-emission, short-range journeys across the UK’

Joby’s electric air taxi features six tilting propellers that allow it to take off and land vertically.

Best of all, this means the air taxi produces a fraction of the noise of today’s helicopters, allowing it to land in quiet areas with minimal disruption.

‘From the beginning, we knew our aircraft had to fade into the background of life,’ Joby explains on its website.

‘Our expert team of engineers has dedicated years to delivering an aircraft that will be quiet enough to land in your neighborhood.’

According to Joby, the aircraft is also optimised for rapid, back-to-back flights, and will be deployed on routes of up to 100 miles.

‘Flying with us might feel more like getting into an SUV than boarding a plane,’ Joby added.

Initially, Virgin Atlantic and Joby will be offering journeys from hubs at London’s Heathrow Airport and Manchester Airport, with a flight from Manchester Airport to Leeds expected to take just 15 minutes.

According to Google Maps, this same journey in a car currently takes around 1 hour 4 minutes.

Joby’s electric air taxi features six tilting propellers that allow it to take off and land vertically. Best of all, this means the air taxi produces a fraction of the noise of today’s helicopters, allowing it to land in quiet areas with minimal disruption

The journey between Heathrow and Canary Wharf – which currently takes around 80 minutes by taxi – could be slashed to just eight minutes

However, over time, this network could be extended to cities and communities throughout the UK.

A ‘London Hub’ network map shows how customers will be able to hail rides from London and its airports to Birmingham, Norwich, Portsmouth, Brighton, Canterbury, Cambridge, Oxford, and Readibng.

Meanwhile, the ‘Manchester Hub’ will operate across Manchester, Manchester Airport, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, York, and Hull.

Unfortunately, the timeline for the roll-out remains unclear, as does the pricing.

However, Joby says its expects to offer prices that are ‘comparable with existing premium ground ridesharing options at launch.’

The news comes shortly after a £235,000 flying car that can fly over traffic jams was unveiled to the wolrd.

Alef Aeronautics’ futuristic vehicle can be driven around like a normal car on the streets.

However, it is also packed with propellors in the bonnet and boot that allow it to take off at any time to skip the queue.

The ‘Manchester Hub’ will operate across Manchester, Manchester Airport, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds, York, and Hull

In February, the company successfully tested the flying car in a city environment for the first time.

Incredible footage showed the car driving forwards a few metres before taking off vertically.

It glided through the air over the car in front of it, before landing on the ground and driving off.

‘This drive and flight test represents an important proof of technology in a real-world city environment,’ said Jim Dukhovny, CEO of Alef.

‘We hope it will be a moment similar to the Wright Brothers’ Kitty Hawk video, proving to humanity that new transportation is possible.’

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