Nation
THE STATES
Benue
The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi last Tuesday dismissed the appeal filed by the defeated PDP gubernatorial aspirant, Terver Khaki, against Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State.
Khaki dragged the governor to court claiming that the primaries were not properly conducted and alleged that Suswam was not educationally qualified to contest the election.
He alleged that the governor forged his secondary school certificate and described the conduct of the primaries as “a charade and stage managed’’.
The Federal High Court in Makurdi in 2012 gave judgment in favour of the governor, in which Justice Marcel Awokulehin, held that the case was a pre-election matter and a party’s affair.
Ekiti
The police last Tuesday arraigned a 70-year-old man before an Ado-Ekiti Magistrates’ Court for allegedly defiling a 12-year-old girl.
The police prosecutor, Cpl. Curtis Enabulele, told the court that the accused committed the offence in January, opposite a palm wine outlet on Ilawe Road in Ado-Ekiti.
Enabulele told the court that the accused unlawfully had carnal knowledge of the girl, causing her grievous harm.
He claimed that the latest incident was the third, after two earlier failed efforts by the accused.
The offence, he added, contravened Section 358 and 359 of the Criminal Code Cap. C 16 Vol.1 Laws of Ekiti State, 2012.
Gombe
The Gombe State chapter of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), has urged its members to register in the ongoing exercise to enable them to access fertiliser allocation.
The chairman of the association, Alhaji Gambo Sarkin-noma, made the call in an interview with newsmen last Tuesday in Gombe.
Sarkin-noma said that the new method was introduced by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to ensure fairness in the distribution process.
He said that the registration forms would be distributed at the ward level by facilitators in each ward.
Jigawa
The Jigawa Savings and Loans Ltd., a mortgage finance company, last Tuesday said it had concluded plans to construct 150 low cost houses in Dutse.
Its Managing Director, Alhaji Babangida Umar, stated this in an interview with newsmen in Dutse.
Umar said 100 houses would be constructed at the Mobile base quarters while 50 houses would be sited at strategic locations in the city.
He said the houses would be constructed in one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom categories.
Umar said the project would be executed under the National Housing Fund (NHF), adding that the houses would be sold to civil servants and interested persons on owner-occupier basis.
Kaduna
The Kaduna State House of Assembly last Tuesday amended the 1991 District Court Law empowering it to adjudicate in civil cases.
The speaker, Alhaji Muazu Gangara, said that the amendment of sections 13, 14, 15, 25, 31, 32 and 81 of the law, had empowered the courts to entertain cases with material value of up to N500,000 as against N50,000 previously.
He also said that the amendment made had repealed the District Court (Amendment) Edict of 1994.
Gangara said the law now empowers the Chief Judge of the state to regulate the practice and procedure of the district courts where no specific provisions were made by the subsisting law.
Kebbi
The Kebbi State Government has said that work will soon resume at the N50 billion Zauro Folder irrigation project that was abandoned two years ago.
Alhaji Sunusi Ibrahim, the Director of Water Supply in the state Ministry of Water Resources, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi.
Ibrahim said that the project would be jointly executed by the federal, state and affected local government areas.
According to him, the state government has so far spent N18 billion since the commencement of the project seven years ago.
Kogi
A socio-cultural group, Nigerian Cultural Development Consultants, has urged the Federal Government to accord Lokoja a prominent position in the celebration of the country’s 100 years of nationhood.
The call is contained in a statement by the Chairman of the group, Dr Hinmikalu Paul and Secretary, Dr Jacob Olorunshola, in Lokoja.
It said the call was necessary due to the prominence of the historical and political roles of Lokoja in the emergence of Nigeria.
It said the anniversary, slated for 2014, was worthy of celebration because it would be a period of national rebirth through “self evaluation of our past and the quest for a better future”.
Kwara
An Ilorin Magistrates’ Court last Tuesday remanded in prison custody a member of a vigilante group, Ibrahim Seko, for allegedly killing two persons.
The accused was alleged to have conspired with eight others now at large to shoot Abubakar Ali and Abdullahi Chumo on February 19 during a rift.
According to the charge sheet, the accused persons shot dead the deceased over the allegation that they were armed robbers.
The prosecutor, Sgt. Yakub Emmanuel, told the court that investigation was on-going in order to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
Lagos
A 25-year-old unemployed man, Amidu Shittu, who allegedly broke into an apartment and stole three mobile phones, including a blackberry, worth N47, 500, was last Tuesday charged before an Ojokoro Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.
Shittu, who is of no fixed address, is facing a two count-charge of burglary and theft.
The prosecutor, Insp. Clara Olagbayi, told the court that the accused committed the offences on November 18, 2012 at No. 1 Olorunda St., Ijaye, Lagos at 3:00 a.m.
“Shittu broke into Miss Blessing Chukwu’s apartment, in her absence, and stole a Blackberry phone, as well as Nokia and Techno phones valued at N47, 500,” she said.
Ondo
An Ore Chief Magistrates’ Court in Ondo State last Tuesday sentenced a motor mechanic apprentice, Sheriff Adegoke, 32, to 6 months imprisonment for stealing a Nokia phone and N2,000.
Magistrate Tope Aladejana sentenced the accused to prison— with hard labour— after he pleaded guilty to the one count charge of stealing.
Earlier, the police prosecutor, Insp. Johnson Agboola said the convict committed the offence on February 16, at about 2:00 .p.m. at Ajelanwa St., Ore.
Agboola told the court that Adegoke allegedly stole one white Nokia Asha handset valued at N15,000 and two thousand naira cash, belonging to one Simeon John.
Oyo
A 32-year-old man, Olawale Badru, was last Tuesday arraigned before an Ibadan Chief Magistrates’ Court on a two-count charge of fraud and assault.
The prosecutor, Mr Oluseye Akinola, told the court that Badru assaulted one Damilola Adelanwa by stabbing him with a broken bottle on the back and causing him bodily harm.
Akinola said Badru also caused a breach of the peace by unlawfully demanding an illegal fee from a tanker driver, Olalekan Oseni, while discharging kerosene to customers, claiming “ son of the soil’’ status.
The alleged crime was said to have been committed on March 3, 2013 at about 9:00am at Idi- Mango area, Soka, Ibadan.
Plateau
Senator Gyang Pwajok (PDP-Plateau) last Tuesday blamed “external groups’’ for the incessant attacks on rural communities in Plateau.
“The modalities and nature of the attacks indicate that these groups of attackers are largely external to Plateau and the sole aim is the decimation of the people in a bid to destabilise the state,’’ Pwajok said in a statement in Jos.
“Clearly, what they want is to stifle our determination to shun violence, embrace and trust one another so as to live as brothers in peace,’’ he said.
He said that the attacks were “a hallmark of organised and specialised terror with no empathy or regard for human dignity,’’ and advised the residents to quickly realise that they must unite “so as to overcome these trying times’’.
The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.
The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association, Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.