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The Selection of Pope Leo XIV: There is a kind of wisdom that is not loud; It does not seek attention…

This is about the selection of Pope Leo XIV, from a Judge in Kenya who is not a Catholic.

Hon. Justice Aggrey

There is a kind of wisdom that is not loud. It does not seek attention. It does not scream to be seen. It simply exists, quietly, deeply and eternally. This is the wisdom of the Catholic Church, a body that has outlived empires, survived schisms, endured scandals and yet remains standing, steady and sacred. The Catholic Church is not a trend. It is not a social wave. It is an institution that walks with time but listens to eternity.

While the world busied itself with predictions, drawing up lists of notable Cardinals, analysing political alignments and floating theories about who would be the next Pope, the College of Cardinals chose a different path. They ignored the noise. They turned away from the spotlight. They went into the sacred and returned with a name the world never imagined. Pope Leo the Fourteenth. A name that had not been whispered in the corridors of speculation. A man unknown to the headlines. A choice that silenced every analyst and reset the compass of divine selection.

This is not a coincidence. It is a confirmation of the divine order.

What the Vatican did was not just elect a new Pope. They made a statement to the world. They reminded humanity that God does not follow trends. He sets them. That true leadership is not always found in the obvious. That sometimes, the one who carries the mantle is not the one the world expects, but the one heaven approves. This is the mystery of divine succession, wrapped in silence, clothed in prayer and sealed in sacred deliberation.

I am not a Catholic. But with every passing day, I see clearly why this institution continues to command reverence. It is not because its members are flawless. It is not because its leaders are immune to error. It is because, despite the human imperfection that exists within it, the Catholic Church remains rooted in sacred order, structured governance and spiritual discipline. It is an institution that has mastered continuity. Its longevity is not sustained by convenience but by consecration.

No church is perfect. No human institution is without fault. The Catholic Church is no exception. Within it are men and women of varying degrees of holiness, sincerity and struggle. But amidst all of this, there remains a deeply spiritual core, a centre that holds, a system that works, a rhythm that does not break. There are those within its walls who serve God in spirit and in truth, quietly, humbly, fervently. Their devotion is not a performance. Their faith is not a fashion. It is a life.

What happened in the election of Pope Leo the Fourteenth is not just a political or ecclesiastical event. It is a mirror to the rest of the Christian world. It exposes by comparison the chaos that reigns in many modern church settings, particularly in the Pentecostal space. In some of these assemblies, power struggles have replaced prayer, and ambition has drowned anointing. Leadership is inherited like property. Elections are manipulated like business deals. The pulpit has become a platform for performance, not a place of transformation. The altar has become a showground, not a sanctuary.

Even among so-called brethren, love has grown cold. Loyalty is transactional. Brotherhood is hollow. It is a tragedy that many Pentecostal churches cannot even imagine holding such a transparent, spiritual and selfless process of succession. Helping one’s fellow minister is seen as a threat. The idea of unity in leadership has been replaced with competition and suspicion. The sacred is being sacrificed on the altar of success.

But today, the Catholic Church has reminded us of something we have forgotten. That the kingdom of God is not noise but order. Not display but discipline. Not popularity but purity. It has reminded us that when God is allowed to speak, He will often choose the one no one expected. He will raise the man who is hidden. He will lift the one who has been in the secret place.

The election of Pope Leo the Fourteenth is a lesson to the Church and to the world. It is a call to return to structure, to sacredness, to spirit-led decision-making. It is proof that an institution can be old, yet not obsolete. Ancient, yet not irrelevant. Traditional, yet not stagnant. It is wisdom in action.

This is the wisdom of the eternal Church. This is the mystery of divine order. This is the power of the sacred. And in a world drowning in confusion, it shines like a light that cannot be hidden.

Let every ear that hears it listen. Let every eye that sees it learn. Let every heart that understands it return to the ancient path that leads to life.

Truly, God cannot be manipulated like our many African elections!! God’s God forever!

Hon. Justice Aggrey 🖋

Consider bills for jail terms for vote buying and rigging of election and not compulsory voting, deliberate abstention is a vote

By Dr Vincent Adedara

The current bill to jail eligible Nigerians who fail to vote had passed second reading at the House of Representative, this is an “idle” bill in so far that they have not proposed bills for vote buying and rigging machineries at all levels of our elections in Nigeria, compulsory voting bill is dead on arrival.

The sponsors of the bill should therefore substitute the bill for the proposed jail term for vote buying in Nigeria and forfeiture of accounts related to rigging of elections to the government.

The sponsors of the bill wish to take Nigeria back by fifty years with the regressive and obnoxious bill, which is contrary to civil rights as enshrined in the 1999 constitution, especially Section 39(1) and proposing #100000 fine or imprisonment as a sanction for not voting is archaic.

The sponsors of the bill failed to know that abstention and refusal to vote is a vote on itself, l can decide to go to a polling booth and drop an unmarked ballot paper in the ballot box or refuse to vote outrightly, therefore criminalising the right to express my self by not voting or by abstention is therefore barbaric and regressive.

The sponsors of this bill need a psychiatric test and as a matter of fact, all legislatures should go for psychiatric tests before they are sworn into the hallowed chambers.

The problem is not that people are disoriented about voting but they are tired of voting when the votes will be rigged by rigging machineries and mafia in INEC in collusion with government officials and money bags who specialise in vote buying for politicians.

Any election can be rigged in Nigeria with money in local and hard currency. Monies in local and hard currencies to rig 2027 elections are already in stock and almost ready, large amount of the monies are looted from government treasuries. You don’t expect Nigerians to build or have confidence in voting because they knew their votes don’t count even with BVAS. Some people are behind the machines input and output and any hungry civil servants can rig for “dollars temptation” and bribes. We should rather criminalise vote buying and rigging, election violence with life imprisonment irrespective of who is involved in the corridor of power, immunity should be waived for Governors, President and their deputies when it comes to this nature of crime and all accounts with money linked to such crimes should be forfeited to government and we will see large numbers of people turning up for voting.

If our legislatures want us to vote compulsorily, they must first build confidence in the electoral system with readiness without lip service to prosecute election offenders especially the ones at the National Assembly who are there through rigged elections. How can Mr Akpabio still be in Senate when the man who conducted his election was indicted and jailed. No one indicted of rigging election should be allowed to contest for ten years and if in office should be removed immediately and prosecuted.

The system is bad when we talk about election manipulation and violence to an extent that almost 90 percent of those in elective positions in the past and present are not inculpable.

What will ginger people to vote is the transparent electoral system, true independence of INEC, free and fair election, prosecution of election offenders and their sponsors, forfeiture of all accounts traced to election violence and rigging, reformed adjudication on electoral matters and the Courts generally. When the cause of election fraud ceases, the effect will also cease. The sponsors of the bill are plotting to tackle the “effect” and neglecting the “cause”.

The bill should be withdrawn, and further deliberation on it should cease immediately. it is an incompetent bill under the democratic system of government; it is not different from voting under duress and at gunpoint.

Finally, there is an imminent implosion that will consume the forces against civil liberties, prompt attendance to this will prevent it timeously. I keep warning!!

Dr Adedara is a Solicitor in Nigeria, England and Wales

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

Tinubu to Supreme Court —No governance in Rivers when I declared emergency

The Supreme Court of Nigeria was told yesterday that there was no governance in Rivers State when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared emergency rule on the state.

President Tinubu said the Supreme Court had earlier confirmed it in one of its judgments, adding that the proclamation got the backing of the National Assembly.

According to the President, the Executive and the State House of Assembly were mired in conflict with many suits.

Tinubu made the submissions in a joint affidavit filed on May 20 at the Supreme Court by the Senior Special Assistant to the President of the State House, and the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Taiye Hussain Oloyede.

The affidavit was for the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Rivers State Administrator, Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas and the suspended Governor Similayi Fubara.

The affidavit was in response to another application before the apex court seeking to nullify the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

The latest suit was filed by Yirabari Israel Nulong, Nengim Ikpoemugh Royal and Gracious Eyoh-Sifumbukho.

The presidential aide, who admitted that he was conversant with the case, said the President acted to prevent anarchy in the state.

Nigerian boxers angry as Oluwasegun’s corpse remains in Ghana

Nigerian boxers have expressed outrage over the continued delay in repatriating the remains of Oluwasegun Olanrewaju from Ghana, 50 days after the fighter’s tragic death following a bout at the Bukom Arena.

The development comes two days after a seven-member committee submitted its final report on the circumstances surrounding Olanrewaju’s death to Ghanaian Minister for Sport and Recreation, Kofi Adams.

Read Also: Wife of late Nigerian boxer, Segun ‘Success’ Olanrewaju says nobody cared until his death…

There was no clear timeline for the return of the boxer’s body to his grieving family.

“It just feels like the sports minister does not care about Nigerian boxers, as if we are nothing to them,” professional boxer Taiwo Esepo was quoted to have said in a report by THE PUNCH.

“Because just imagine a Nigerian boxer went out to go and fight and something like this happened, but they are not fighting for the parents so definitely, something is going on.

“Why can’t our authorities sue them? Why can’t they fight for us? This can happen to anyone tomorrow and all these can’t make any Nigerian boxer happy.”

Olanrewaju, popularly known as “Success”, collapsed during a bout against Ghanaian boxer Jon Mbanugu at the Trust Sports Emporium Boxing Arena at Bukoum on March 29 and was later pronounced dead at the Korle-Bu Hospital.

UBO Champion Idowu Rasheed, who had previously fought Olanrewaju, shared his distress over the situation.

“He is someone I have fought before and so this really hurt me to the core. When he died, I felt I would quit boxing but I had to come back because this is my profession and way of feeding myself and my family,” Rasheed said.

“And now, we still haven’t seen his body. They said he is dead and they haven’t brought his body for this long and that is not right at all. If he is dead, they should let the family see him and bury him so they can move on. His family and wife need to see him and bury him.”

NBBofC secretary general Remi Aboderin told our correspondent that a meeting was held on Monday but provided no definitive update on when the boxer’s remains would be repatriated.

Commonwealth Games medalist Abdul-Afeez Osoba also expressed his dismay at the prolonged situation.

“I am not even that close to him but I can’t imagine it would have taken this long,” Osoba said.

“I want to believe the NBBofC are on it and discussing with the Ghana Boxing Authority but according to even my religion as a Muslim, he should have been buried immediately. It is not a good thing even for the family and they cannot be happy.”

The Conclave

Governor Uzodinma why?

By Steve Osuji

Why would an elected governor of a state make a degrading public appearance like this?
This is Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State kneeling/crouching before Vice President Kashim Shettima at a public function in the glare of the whole world.

It’s bad enough that this self-deprecation happened, this photo (among several others) was shared on the governor’s FB handle. Ordinarily, this kind of photo is not fit for publication because it portrays the governor in very bad light.

The photo is particularly nauseous because the VP’s body language shows that he holds the governor in disdain. He seems to look through the governor who’s kneeling before him and smiling broadly.

The VP totally ignored the governor, neither looking at him nor smiling back.

CHRISTIANS DON’T KNEEL TO GREET: Nobody should kneel to greet. Not the least an elected governor. Christians don’t kneel before fellow humans. Christians are supposed to kneel before God almighty alone (well, except for some monarchs in some traditions).
We saw people greeting the Pope the other day. Nobody knelt, and nobody was required to kneel.

IGBO DON’T KNEEL TO GREET: Tradition doesn’t mandate Igbo to kneel in greeting anyone, even the deities. We can bow a little or genuflect as the case may be, but not to go on our knees or crouch.

POLITICAL KNEELING: Of course what Uzodinma is doing here may be described as political kneeling just to make believe that he is loyal to VP Shettima. But it seems the VP can see through Uzodinma’s gesture. He can tell that the governor’s loyalty is suspect that’s why he’s not amused.

DAMAGING PUBLIC POSTURE: We Imo people are not happy seeing our governor in this most supine and servile position. (Our governor is not Gov. Ododo of KOGI State).
Our governor is not a slave and we don’t want to see him in this demeaning public posture again.

This posture not only diminish the governor’s esteem as a supposedly elected official of state,, it also harms the pride and prestige of Imo people in particular and Ndigbo in general.

We beseech our governor to please stand up and greet his fellow men and women. That’s the proper way.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

Ex-Chelsea star reveals he had a heart attack during a match – before scoring late winner and being raced to hospital

AFC Wimbledon midfielder Sam Hutchinson revealed he had a heart attack during the game where his goal later sealed a League Two play-off place.

The 35-year-old has undergone surgery to place a stent in a blocked artery after he fell ill following his side’s 1-0 win at Grimsby on May 2.

Hutchinson, whose career began at Chelsea, had a heart attack in the sixth minute but went on to play the full 90 minutes at Blundell Park, scoring the 53rd-minute winner.

It was only on the journey home that his symptoms worsened, leading him to have heart surgery.

‘I was experiencing a lot of pain,’ he told the club website. ‘I got on the coach after the game, the adrenaline wore off and I started having more pains in my chest. From there we made a pit stop in Nottingham.

‘We went into the hospital and they essentially told me I’d had a heart attack. I was in there for five days having tests done.

‘A branch of an artery was blocked 75 per cent – I had an angiogram and had a stent put in by a specialist in London who was unbelievable. I’m on the road to recovery now.’

The Dons made it through to Monday’s play-off final against Walsall, where Hutchinson will take a watching brief.

However, he is already back running and is expecting to resume his career.

‘I broke down when they told me in the hospital because playing football is all I ever want to do,’ he said. ‘I didn’t care that I had a heart attack, I’m not really like that.

‘It happened in the sixth minute of the game, I carried on and played the full 90. The specialist in London has told me there’s no problem with playing football again, so I’m happy.’

He added: ‘I ran (on Monday), believe it or not. A lot of people say things slow down but I feel really good. I’m going to crack on and come back bigger and stronger.

‘I am absolutely devastated I can’t play on Monday. I genuinely think I could play. It would be dangerous but I could play. I would love to, I’m not going to.’

Daily Mail

Study discovers most AI chatbots easily misled into giving dangerous responses

Hacked AI-powered chatbots threaten to make dangerous knowledge readily available by churning out illicit information the programs absorb during training, researchers say.

The warning comes amid a disturbing trend for chatbots that have been “jailbroken” to circumvent their built-in safety controls. The restrictions are supposed to prevent the programs from providing harmful, biased or inappropriate responses to users’ questions.

The engines that power chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude – large language models (LLMs) – are fed vast amounts of material from the internet.

Despite efforts to strip harmful text from the training data, LLMs can still absorb information about illegal activities such as hacking, money laundering, insider trading and bomb-making. The security controls are designed to stop them using that information in their responses.

In a report on the threat, the researchers conclude that it is easy to trick most AI-driven chatbots into generating harmful and illegal information, showing that the risk is “immediate, tangible and deeply concerning”.

Click here to continue reading.

The Chicago Sun-Times concedes AI was used to create reading list of books that don’t exist

Illinois’ prominent Chicago Sun-Times newspaper has confirmed that a summer reading list, which included several recommendations for books that don’t exist, was created using artificial intelligence by a freelancer who worked with one of their content partners.

Social media posts began to circulate on Tuesday criticizing the paper for allegedly using the AI software ChatGPT to generate an article with book recommendations for the upcoming summer season called “Summer reading list for 2025”. As such chatbots are known to make up information, a phenomenon often referred to as “AI hallucination”, the article contains several fake titles attached to real authors.

“I went into my library’s database of Chicago area newspapers to confirm this isn’t fake, and it’s not,” a post on Bluesky by Book Riot editor Kelly Jensen says. “Why the hell are you using ChatGPT to make up book titles? You used to have a books staff. Absolutely no fact checking?”

Click here to continue reading.

𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 t𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘆: 𝗡𝗼 𝗡𝗕𝗔-𝗡𝗘𝗖 r𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 to p𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 d𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 m𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀

By Sylvester Udemezue

In the early hours of 20 May 2025, I came across a post on Twitter alleging that the Nigerian Bar Association’s National Executive Council (NBA-NEC) had passed a resolution to penalize any NBA member who publicly disagreed with official statements made by the NBA President. As a committed advocate for the rule of law and constitutional freedoms, and the Proctor of the The Reality Ministry of Truth, Law and Justice, (a nonaligned, nonprofit public interest law advocacy group), I found the alleged resolution deeply concerning and wholly inconsistent with the noble ideals upon which the NBA was founded.

In immediate response, and driven by an unwavering commitment to the defence of free expression within our professional community, I authored and published an article titled: “Re: NBA-NEC’s Resolution to Reprimand NBA Members Who Publicly Oppose the NBA President’s Official Statements.” The article, which was widely shared across social media platforms, expressed my strong objections to any move, real or perceived, that seeks to stifle dissent or curtail members’ constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression, as provided under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

However, shortly after the article began to gain attention and circulation, I received a private message on WhatsApp from the NBA President himself. His message read:

“Good evening, Udems. No such resolution was passed. In fact, even though someone suggested that in passing, it was never discussed. Apparently, the person who made that post did so in grave error.”

To this, I respectfully responded:

“Good evening, our esteemed President and Learned Silk, sir. I shall write again shortly in light of this clarification from the horse’s mouth. Thank you immensely, Mr. President, Sir. Respectfully, Mr. Udems.”

Permit me to publicly commend and pour sincere encomiums on the President of the Nigerian Bar Association for this singular act of humble, transparent, and responsible leadership. It takes uncommon grace, maturity, and a genuine commitment to truth and service for a leader of his stature to personally reach out, without airs or hesitation, to clarify a matter of public concern. His action not only reflects strength of character but also exemplifies the kind of leadership the Bar and indeed the nation require: one grounded in humility, openness, and constructive engagement.

This clarification is timely, necessary, and highly commendable. It is important to set the record straight and assure members of the Bar and the general public that no such resolution was passed by the NBA-NEC. The strength of our profession lies not in silencing differing views but in fostering robust dialogue, principled disagreement, and unwavering fidelity to the rule of law.

I therefore urge us all, members of the NBA and concerned citizens alike, to remain vigilant but also measured in our responses. Let us always seek the facts and engage with respect, even when we must disagree. And as I always say, the rule of law must not just be a slogan; it must be our way of life, especially within the premier association of legal practitioners in Nigeria.

Long live NBA!

Respectfully,
Sylvester Udemezue (Udems),
Proctor of the The Reality Ministry of Truth, Law and Justice (TRM)
08021365545.
[email protected]
(20 May 2025)

Hope for candidates who missed UTME as JAMB announces mop-up exams for absent candidates

  • Claims lawsuit delaying 40,000 underage candidates’ results 

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has announced a fresh round of mop-up examinations to accommodate the over 5.6 per cent of candidates who missed the just-concluded 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, made the disclosure on Wednesday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, stating that the initiative will cover all affected candidates, regardless of the reason for their absence.

He said, “This time, we are creating a new mop-up. Even those who missed the earlier exam due to absence will get another opportunity.

“It’s not extraordinary. In any serious system, when students miss an exam, they’re allowed to make up—provided there’s no abuse.”

Oloyede emphasised that the UTME is a placement test, not a measure of intelligence or academic potential. “Its purpose is to rank candidates for limited admission slots, not to test how smart someone is,” he clarified.

Addressing growing criticism and conspiracy theories about the examination process, Oloyede firmly rejected claims of ethnic bias or administrative incompetence.

He stated, “I take responsibility, not because I failed, but because that’s leadership.

“I didn’t even realise people viewed issues around me through ethnic lenses. We must rise above such profiling.”

Oloyede also praised both candidates and staff for their resilience amid logistical difficulties.

“We had limited space. We knew if we wasted more time grieving the challenges, students would lose their opportunity,” he said.

The special mop-up exam will be scheduled soon, and JAMB says it remains committed to transparency and fairness in admissions.

JAMB also disclosed that it could not release the results of over 40,000 underage candidates who wrote the 2025 UTME until the Court of Appeal gives its verdict.

The statement came in response to public outcry over the release of the 2025 UTME results and the withholding of the results of over 40,000 underage candidates.

JAMB had, in February 2025, appealed a ruling by the Delta State High Court, which barred it from enforcing its policy mandating a minimum admission age of 16 years, pending the hearing and determination of a suit filed against the board.

In July 2024, the immediate-past minister for education, Prof Tahir Mamman, set 18 as the minimum age for admission; his successor, Dr Tunji Alausa, reversed the policy to cap the admission age at a minimum of 16 years.

JAMB, however, said exceptionally brilliant candidates below 16 years could sit for its UTME.

A lawyer, John Aikpokpo-Martins, took JAMB to court, arguing that JAMB’s restriction of university admissions to candidates aged 16 and above violated sections 18(1) and 42 of the 1999 Constitution.

Justice Anthony O. Akpovi, in his ruling, declared the policy unconstitutional, adding that it discriminated against qualified candidates solely based on age, denying them equal educational opportunities.

The JAMB’s directive of October 16, 2024, which mandated tertiary institutions to admit only candidates who turn 16 by August 31, 2025, was also declared null and void.

The court ordered universities and JAMB to admit all qualified candidates who meet the requirements, regardless of their date of birth.

An injunction was granted, preventing JAMB and all universities from enforcing any age-related restrictions on admissions.

Speaking with our correspondent in Abuja, the Head of Protocol and Public Relations, JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said, “We appealed the ruling. The release of the result is subject to the appeal court ruling.”

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Examination Bodies has apologised to Nigerians over the technical issues that marred the conduct of the 2025 UTME, attributing the glitches to human error rather than a system failure.

Speaking to journalists on Tuesday at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, the Chairman of the Committee, Oboku Oforji, explained that preliminary investigations into the issue had revealed that the problem was caused by human negligence, contrary to the earlier claim by JAMB that it was a technical malfunction.

Recall that on May 9, JAMB released the results of the 2025 UTME, which showed that over 78 per cent of candidates scored below 200 out of the total 400 obtainable points. The poor performance had sparked public outrage and calls for accountability from stakeholders across the country.

In response, the House of Representatives, on May 15, passed a resolution to investigate the alleged technical failure that affected the conduct of the examination.

Addressing the issue, Oforji said, “We sincerely apologise on behalf of the examination body to all Nigerians. The committee recognises the courage and sincerity of the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, for accepting the fault on behalf of his team and apologising to the parents, candidates, and the nation in general. However, these human errors were avoidable because they resulted from negligence within JAMB.”

He praised the commitment of Nigerian students, who despite the challenges, remain eager to pursue their academic dreams for a better future.

“The committee also appreciates the eagerness and determination of Nigerian students in pursuing their education to improve the future of our country,” he added.

Oforji, however, maintained that despite the regrettable errors, JAMB’s operational consistency throughout the entire examination process—from registration to result release—should not be overlooked. He noted that the Board’s efforts to maintain structure and order in the face of mounting pressure from candidates and their families had been commendable.

The Committee Chairman concluded by calling for an “independent and thorough investigation” into the circumstances surrounding the errors, stating that his committee had proposed a series of reforms to the examination body to ensure such incidents do not recur.