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10 Pirates Bag 12 Years Imprisonment For Hijacking Fishing Vessel

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A Federal High Court sit ting in Lagos has sentenced 10 pirates to 12 years imprisonment each.
They were jailed for hijacking a Chinese fishing vessel, FV Hai Lu Feng II, in May 2020.
The presiding judge, Justice Ayokunle Faji, also ordered each of the pirates to pay a fine of one million naira each.
The court gave the names of the convicts as Frank Abaka, Jude Ebaragha, Shina Alolo, Joshua Iwiki, David Akinseye and Ahmed Toyin.
Others include Shobajo Saheed, Adekole Philip, Matthew Masi and Bright Agbedeyi.
They were arraigned by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) on July 13, 2020 on a four-count charge bordering on hijacking of the vessel in international waters, off the coast of Cote D’Ivoire.
The suspects before now pleaded not guilty, and were remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Navy, following which their trial commenced.
Delivering his judgment last Friday, Justice Faji said the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt that the pirates did hijack the vessel, FV Hai Lu Feng II, belonging to Haina Fishing Company.
“I agree with the prosecution counsel, Labaran Magaji, that the prosecution has proved the essential ingredients of the offence committed by each of defendants. The defendants conspired to commit the illegal act.
“All the defendants acted in hijacking the ship to achieve their common goal. Consequently, I find each of the defendants guilty as charged in all the counts. Each defendant is hereby sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. In addition, the defendants should pay a fine of one million naira each.
“The offence committed by the defendants affects the well-being of Nigerians and our image in the diaspora. The naira sum, dollars and various currencies recovered from the defendants by the Nigerian Navy are hereby forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria,” Justice Faji ruled.
The defendants were arrested in May this year by the Nigerian Navy.
In the course of the trial, government prosecutors told the court that the defendants, while armed with weapons, committed the illegal act of violence “against the crew on board FV Hai Lu Feng II belonging to Haina Fishing Company by putting them in fear in order to take control of the vessel”.
Prosecution counsel, Laraban Magaji, said they violated Section 3 of Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act 2019, punishable under Section 2 of the same Act.

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Council Boss Impeached 48 Hours To LG Polls In Katsina

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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.

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Association Tasks Fubara On Rumuwoji Market Phase Three

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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.

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AfDB President Denies 2027 Presidential Ambition

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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.

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