Electrifying Night at The 17th Headies Awards: Rema, Davido, Odumodublvck, Tems Shine Bright in Lagos

LAGOS, NIGERIA — Africa’s biggest night in music reached dazzling heights on Sunday as the 17th Headies Awards lit up Lagos with an unforgettable celebration of excellence, culture, and rhythm.

Rising star Zerry DL kicked off the excitement, clinching the Rookie of the Year title, marking his arrival among the continent’s brightest talents. Meanwhile, superstar Davido reaffirmed his dominance in the digital space, grabbing the Digital Artist of the Year award.

In a powerful testament to the global ascent of Afrobeats, Rema’s groundbreaking album HEIS was crowned Afrobeats Album of the Year, while soulful songstress Tems delivered a touching moment, winning Best Recording of the Year for her poignant track “Burning.”

The arena erupted in cheers as Odumodublvck was named Next Rated Artist, a highly coveted honor, beating out a strong lineup of rising talents including Shallipopi, Qing Madi, and Ayo Maff. His win not only signals a new era but underscores the dynamism sweeping through Nigeria’s music scene.

Adding to the night’s prestige, Special Recognition Awards were presented to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, YouTube Africa’s Managing Director Alex Okosi, and sports executive Amaju Pinnick, celebrating their contributions to the growth of music, arts, and culture.

This year’s Headies Awards carried a historic weight — a double edition — with the 18th Headies already announced for December 2025, making up for the ceremony’s absence in 2024.

Other major wins included:

• Song of the Year: “Lonely at the Top” – Asake

• Soundtrack of the Year: “Tribe Called Judah Soundtrack” – TCJ & Abbey Wonder

• Best Rap Single: “Cast” – Shallipopi & Odumodublvck

• Best Vocal Performances: Lojay (Male, “Billions”) and Liya (Female, “I’m Done”)

• Headies Viewers’ Choice: “Egwu” – Chike & Mohbad

• Best Street-Hop Artiste: Mohbad – “Ask About Me”

• Best Music Video: Director Pink for “EGWU”

• Songwriter of the Year: Chimamanda Pearl Chukwuma (Qing Madi – “Vision”)

• Producer of the Year: London (OZEBA)

The Headies once again proved why it remains the gold standard in celebrating African artistry, creativity, and global impact.

As Lagos danced deep into the night, the message was clear: Afrobeats is not just a genre — it’s a global movement.

Finland Approves Extradition of Simon Ekpa to Nigeria in Landmark Terrorism Case

In a dramatic turn of events that could reshape regional security dynamics and test the bounds of international law, Finnish authorities have approved the extradition of Simon Ekpa, a polarizing Finnish-Nigerian separatist agitator, to Nigeria. The extradition is scheduled to take place on July 15, 2025, following a ruling by the Päijät-Häme District Court in Lahti on April 18, 2025.

Ekpa, who controversially refers to himself as the “Prime Minister” of the self-declared Biafra Republic Government-in-Exile, has been at the center of violent separatist rhetoric and activities that have plagued Nigeria’s southeast in recent years. He was arrested in Lahti in November 2024 after an extensive investigation by Finnish authorities into his alleged role in inciting violence from abroad.

Though often mischaracterized in media and political circles as a factional leader within the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), IPOB has publicly and repeatedly disassociated itself from Ekpa and his actions.

“Simon Ekpa runs his own network of criminals and kidnappers, and his actions have nothing to do with the actual Biafran struggle or IPOB’s ideology of non-violence,” an IPOB spokesperson said in a firm rebuttal. “It is dangerous and deceptive to label him as part of IPOB.”

Ekpa leads a fringe group called “Autopilot”, and is allegedly linked to the Biafra Liberation Army (BLA), a shadowy militant outfit accused of deadly attacks, kidnappings, and violent enforcement of “sit-at-home” orders in Nigeria’s southeastern states.

Finnish police have accused him of inciting violence through incendiary online broadcasts, which are believed to have inspired multiple deadly attacks on Nigerian civilians and security personnel. Four other individuals have also been detained in connection with financing and supporting his operations.

The Nigerian government, which has been pursuing his extradition since early 2023, welcomed the Finnish court’s decision as a major diplomatic and legal victory.

“This is a triumph for justice and a stern warning to those who think they can destabilize Nigeria from foreign soil,” a senior official from the Ministry of Defence remarked.

The extradition comes despite Finland’s general reluctance to extradite its citizens outside the European Union. However, officials cited exceptional circumstances and invoked provisions under the Rome Statute, which both Finland and Nigeria have ratified, to facilitate the process. The Finnish government stressed that the decision adhered to both international law and due process.

Upon his return to Nigeria, Ekpa is expected to face multiple charges including terrorism, incitement, conspiracy, and crimes against the state. His prosecution is anticipated to become one of the most closely watched legal cases in modern Nigerian history, with significant scrutiny from both local and international human rights organizations.

As July approaches, all eyes will be on the Nigerian judiciary and the government’s ability to manage the legal and political storm that is likely to follow Ekpa’s extradition and trial.

The Compassionate Pontiff: Pope Francis Dies at 88, Leaving a Mixed Legacy of Hope and Unfinished Reckoning

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

The world stands at a moral crossroads with the passing of Pope Francis at the age of 88, a man widely revered for his humility, humanity, and efforts to reshape the Catholic Church into a vessel of compassion, social justice, and mercy. Yet, even in his death, the shadows of unresolved trauma, rooted in decades of clerical abuse; cling to his papacy, threatening to tarnish a legacy that otherwise radiates light.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1936, Pope Francis was the first pope from the Americas and the first Jesuit to ascend the papal throne. His election in 2013 was itself a turning point, a signal that the Church was ready for introspection and reform after decades of bureaucratic rigidity and moral decline. But while Pope Francis redefined the global perception of what a pontiff could be, his inability to decisively eradicate the rot of clerical abuse and Vatican secrecy leaves a bitter footnote to an otherwise progressive era.

A Pope of the People

Francis was, above all, a pastor of the people. He lived in a guesthouse rather than the Apostolic Palace, carried his own bag, and rejected the papal limousine for a modest Ford Focus. His simple lifestyle sent a message louder than a thousand encyclicals, that humility was not merely a virtue to be preached, but one to be lived.

He tackled issues that many in the Vatican’s hierarchy feared to touch. From calling for action on climate change in his landmark encyclical Laudato Si’, to opening doors for the divorced and remarried, and asking “Who am I to judge?” in reference to gay Catholics, Francis sought to shift the Church from a rule-bound institution to a more merciful community of believers.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon once said of Francis: “His voice carries moral authority because it is not political. It is prophetic.” Indeed, Francis saw the world through the eyes of the poor, the refugee, the marginalized. He called the global economic system “an economy that kills” and urged nations to remember “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

In his 2020 book Let Us Dream, Francis wrote, “This is a moment to dream big, to rethink our priorities… and to choose what matters.” That dream was not just theological, it was social, economic, environmental, and deeply human.

An Incomplete Reckoning

Yet even prophets stumble. While Pope Francis acknowledged the evils of sexual abuse within the Church, his actions often fell short of his rhetoric. He initially defended Chilean Bishop Juan Barros despite widespread allegations of covering up abuse, only to backtrack after international outrage. Though he later defrocked hundreds of priests and convened global bishops for a summit on abuse in 2019, the fundamental structures of secrecy and institutional protection remained largely intact.

Renowned historian Garry Wills once said, “The Catholic Church is the longest-standing authoritarian institution in the Western world.” Despite Francis’ reformist zeal, that institution remained resistant to full transparency.

“There is no greater tyranny,” wrote Montesquieu, “than that which is perpetrated under the shield of law and in the name of justice.” This tyranny lived in the silence of countless victims whose testimonies were long ignored, buried under ecclesiastical bureaucracy.

Even Francis’ own commissions on abuse faltered. Several prominent abuse survivors resigned, citing lack of progress and frustration at the Vatican’s unwillingness to hold bishops accountable. It is a tragic irony that a pope so committed to the poor and oppressed struggled to fully deliver justice to the most grievously wounded among his own flock.

Philosophical and Political Legacy

Despite these failings, Pope Francis reasserted the moral relevance of the Church in an era of rising authoritarianism and nihilism. He condemned populist nationalism, warned against “savage capitalism,” and confronted world leaders on their failure to uphold human dignity.

Barack Obama once called him “a living example of Jesus’ teachings,” and indeed, Francis preached with the urgency of a man who saw the world on fire.

He often quoted Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov: “The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” For Francis, that “something” was the dignity of the human person. He reasserted the Church’s opposition to the death penalty, called for the abolition of nuclear weapons, and emphasized that migration is not a crime but a human right.

His encyclical Fratelli Tutti called for a new kind of politics: “A love capable of transcending borders is the basis of what we call social friendship.” In a world fractured by xenophobia and greed, Francis’ voice was often the lone trumpet of compassion echoing across closed borders and barbed wire fences.

Criticism from Within

Not all welcomed this new direction. Traditionalist Catholics saw him as a threat to orthodoxy. Some cardinals openly resisted his reforms, and conservative theologians accused him of creating doctrinal confusion. But Francis seemed unfazed. “Tradition is not the worship of ashes,” he once said, quoting Gustav Mahler, “but the preservation of fire.”

Perhaps it is this fire that will define his legacy. A fire for justice, mercy, and a Church more in tune with the suffering of the world than with the politics of Rome.

The Final Chapter

As news of his death spreads, reactions are flooding in. UN Secretary-General António Guterres praised him as “a tireless advocate for the poor, the vulnerable, and the planet.” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described him as “a moral compass in a turbulent world.” In the slums of Manila, the plains of Kenya, and the refugee camps of Lebanon, candles are being lit for a pope who saw them not as burdens, but as brothers.

Yet, for the victims of clerical abuse, the candle burns differently, more like a flicker of hope never fully realized.

Francis once said, “Mercy is the very foundation of the Church’s life.” But mercy without justice, as philosopher Cornel West reminds us, is sentimentality. And justice without truth is cruelty.

The Church now faces a difficult road ahead. Will it choose a successor who deepens the reforms Francis began, or one who retreats to the safety of orthodoxy? Will it finally confront its sins not with apologies alone, but with sweeping structural change?

Pope Francis leaves behind a Church more open, more self-aware, but still grappling with its darkest sins. He was the right man for a world gasping for empathy, but not quite the hammer needed to demolish the structures of secrecy that protected predators for decades.

Still, in an era of cynicism, his belief in the power of mercy, inclusion, and human dignity stands tall.

As the philosopher Immanuel Kant once said, “Two things fill the mind with ever increasing awe: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me.” Pope Francis reminded a watching world that amid scandal and sorrow, there remains a moral law—and it must always side with the least of these.

He has departed this world, not with the might of a monarch, but with the footprints of a shepherd. Let the next chapter of the Catholic Church be written not just with prayers, but with courage. For that is what Francis hoped for most, not sainthood, but a Church worthy of its founder.