Nigeria’s insecurity continues to worsen as scores of bandits invaded a divisional police headquarters and an emir’s palace in Niger, killing at least a cop and two civilians.
The Police Command in Niger confirmed the killing of three people by the bandits who attacked the palace of the Emir of Kagara in the Rafi local government area of the state.
Police Commissioner Monday Kuryas confirmed the attack in Minna on Wednesday.
Kuryas explained that the incident occurred at about 5.30 p.m.on Tuesday as “over 100 bandits who came with dangerous weapons gained entry into the emir’s palace and the divisional police headquarters in the area.”
He said the bandits gunned down a policeman and two civilians during the attack.
The police commissioner said some bandits also attacked Kachiwe in Sarkin Pawa headquarters of Munya local government area of the state.
According to him, the bandits “sneaked from their hideout in Kaduna to execute the heinous act.”
“I don’t have the actual number of people killed during the attack,” said Kuryas.
The commissioner, however, pointed out that the command would continue to make efforts to rid the state of criminals and appealed to residents to provide timely information to security agencies.
Kuryas further stated that the police had launched investigations into the attack to track down the bandits.
According to him, a team of policemen has been dispatched to Sarkin Pawa to safeguard lives and properties.
Oyo State government has sought to join in the suit instituted by the Rivers State government seeking to take over the collection of Value-Added Tax from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The suit is against the Attorney-General of Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.
The Muhammadu Buhari-led government has been locked in a legal battle with Rivers and Lagos states over which government should collect Value-Added Tax- state or federal.
Instituted by the Attorney-General of Oyo State, Professor Oyelowo Oyewo, the suit is seeking an order of the Appellate Court to enable the state join the suit as an interested party, Tribune reports.
In the suit, Oyo State government is seeking two orders, which are an order of the court joining the Attorney-General of Oyo State as a respondent on the appeal with suit number FHC/PH/CS/149/2020 and appeal number CA/PH/282/2021, and any other order the court may deem fit.
Oyewo said the state government was not aware of the suit between his Rivers State counterpart and the FIRS at the Federal High Court until the judgment was delivered.
Other grounds upon which the application was based include that the decision of the Appeal Court will affect the collection of VAT by the government of Oyo State, being one of the states which the judgment of the lower court recognised as entitled to collect VAT within its territorial jurisdiction.
The state government also indicates that the applicant (Attorney-General of Oyo State) “represents the interest of Oyo State government, whose interest in the collection of Value Added Tax within Oyo State will be impacted one way or another by any judgment delivered by this Court in this Appeal”.
The grounds claimed by the state government state among others that: “The applicant is a necessary party to this suit being a party who will be bound by the judgment of this court in this appeal.
“The interests of the applicant and that of the respondent, in this case, are similar, being states within the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
An affidavit filed in support of the motion stated that it is in the interest of justice that the court grants the application, adding that the joinder would not prejudice the appellants/respondents.
It also stated that Oyo, being one of the 36 states in the country, will be affected by the decision of the Appeal Court, adding that joining the state to the suit already instituted by Rivers State will help to avoid multiplicity of suits by the states against the Nigerian government.
In a motion on notice also attached to the proceedings already filed before the court, Oyo State said it relied on eight grounds and declared that the state is a necessary party to be joined since it has sufficient interest in the outcome of the appeal.
“We, therefore, urge the court to resolve the sole issue raised in this application in favour of the applicant and hold that the Applicant is a proper, desirable and necessary party to be joined in this appeal…
“In conclusion, we humbly urge your Lordships to grant this application in the interest of justice and effective determination of the issues before the court,” it said.
The Federal Executive Council has approved the introduction of 14 days paternity leave for public servants in the new Public Service Rules.
Head of Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, briefed State House correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Yemi-Esan said that the annual leave would henceforth be calculated based on working days instead of calendar days.
She said that the Annual Performance Evaluation Review and Promotions had been replaced with a new Performance Management System.
“We presented a memo on the revised Public Service Rules (PSR); and we are all aware that the PSR is an old important tool in the public service; it is what governs the actions of public servants at work.
“The last time these rules were revised was in 2008; and so, we recognise that the revision was long overdue.
“And so, we put everything that we got to ensure that we did the vision; these rules ideally, are supposed to be revised every five years.
“But this has taken more than that for us to get the revised PSR 2021.’’
She said that in doing the revision, there were a lot of stakeholder engagements.
Yemi-Esan said that a circular was put out for inputs from different sectors and from various groups that wanted amendments to the PSR.
“We set up different committees to look at what we got; and finally, a technical committee that consisted of permanent secretaries serving and retired and directors were put together to look at the zero draft that we got.
“After they reviewed it, we took it to the National Council on Establishment.’’
She said that, at the National Council on Establishment, the essence of the PSR was approved.
The head of service said that there were some revisions that were supposed to be made before making the new PSR public.
“Those revisions have been done; and so, we brought it to FEC this morning for approval and we got approval for it.
“Some of the revisions that we made–the first thing was that the 2008 version had 16 chapters; meanwhile, the 2021 version now has 17 chapters in it.
“The chapter on APER and Promotions has been replaced by a new chapter on the New Performance Management System that has been introduced into the public service.
“There’s also a chapter that has also been reinvigorated–the chapter on training–this is an all-important chapter because of the importance that training has in the public service.’’
She said the revised PSR also had a new chapter on virtual meetings.
According to her, some of the guidelines in the policy document earlier approved by FEC were put into the new PSR.
“And so, we have accepted virtual meetings as a tool to be used in service now and there are some guidelines there.
“We also got approval to include paternity leave; this is something that is new, and this is something that the unions in the service asked that we include and luckily, we have been able to include it.
“We’ve also been able to ensure that leave now is calculated based on working days not on calendar days–that also has been approved.
“We also have introduced the transition from paper service to a digital service.
“So, these are some of the new things that are in the new PSR that has just been approved by FEC,’’ she said.
Yemi-Esan said that there would be a transition period from APER to the new system as work had started with some pilot ministries.
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has warned that lack of transparency could result in crises as he makes case for the electronic transmission election results.
Jonathan who spoke at the inauguration ceremony of the National Defence College (NDC), in Abuja, urged Nigerian lawmakers to reconsider the deployment of electronic transmission for the sake of transparency and avoidance of violence.
“Where there is no confidence in the electoral umpire, people resort to crisis. But unfortunately, sometimes when the result comes out, the damage would have been done,” the former president said.
“I urge the National Assembly (NASS), while looking at the law, they should allow the use electronic means of transmitting results for the sake of transparency as well as avoiding electoral crisis,“ he added.
Jonathan’s warning comes a few days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accused the National Assembly of being the only blockade to e-transmission of election results.
The commission said it would electronically transmit elections results “if the choice was up to INEC”, reiterating that it has over the years put adequate structures for such in place across Nigeria.
The election umpire had earlier in July expressed its readiness to switch to electronic transmission of election results.
INEC spokesperson, Festus Okoye, said the commission has since 2018 proven to the National Assembly its capacity to electronically transmit election results across all parts of Nigeria, including from remote areas.
But after months of consideration about whether or not the country should eliminate a crucial channel of election rigging and allow electronic transmission of results, lawmakers of the ruling All Progressives Congress exclusively rejected the proposal in the Senate.
The APC senators said there was no capacity for INEC to transmit results via electronic channels throughout the country, leaving the final decision to the NCC. The move was rejected by opposition PDP senators, who voted entirely in support of electronic transmission of results as a needed improvement to a process long marred by irregularities.
Shortly after the rejection at the senate, APC lawmakers in the House also followed their Senate counterparts to kick against the deployment of electronic transmission, leading PDP lawmakers to stage a walkout of the parliament session in anger.
The Nigerian Senate has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare bandits causing various havocs across the country as terrorists.
The Senate mentioned this while calling on the President to wage war against bandits, including bombing all their locations to annihilate and eliminate them.
It advised the President to declare all the known leaders of the bandits wanted and track them wherever they are for arrest and prosecution.
The resolutions followed a motion by Senator Ibrahim Abdullahi Gobir representing Sokoto East Senatorial district and eight others.
Gobir noted his district had turned to a safe haven for bandits because of the recent onslaught against them in Zamfara State.
He recalled the killing of 21 security personnel last Saturday in Dama and Gangara and a yet-to-be-ascertained number of civilians from the neighbouring villages by rampaging bandits.
The lawmaker described the incident as one which requires urgent action by the declaring war on banditry.
He expressed worry that losing such a number of trained officers would further deplete the numerical strength of the security personnel in the country, thereby jeopardizing the security architecture of the country.
He also lamented that most of the bandits have now relocated to Sabon Birni and Isa local government areas due to the sustained military operations at the Zamfara axis.
Gobir said while the crackdown on the bandits was taking place in Zamfara State, no concrete measures have been taken in Sokoto State, leaving it totally exposed to the activities of the bandits.
“The operation should be holistic instead of restrictive in order to produce effective and the desired results,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Senate observed a minute of silence in honour of the fallen heroes and civilians who lost their lives in the unwholesome activities of the bandits.
The Upper Chamber then directed the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and other relevant federal government agencies to give all the necessary support to the victims of the menace of banditry in Sokoto and other parts of the country.
The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States has adjourned, for ruling, the case brought against the Federal Republic of Nigeria over the ban of Twitter in Nigeria till January 2022.
The cases marked as ECW/CCJ/APP/23/21, ECW/CCJ/APP/29/21, ECW/CCJ/APP/24/21, and ECW/CCJ/APP/26/21 were previously consolidated in July. This was done to enable all parties prepare for trial.
The cases were filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, and 196 others, Media Rights Agenda and 8 others.
The suit against the Federal Republic of Nigeria challenges the action of the Buhari-led administration of banning Twitter’s operations in the country.
The ban took effect on June 4 after the Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, announced the indefinite suspension of the social media app, claiming it was being used to spread false information and “activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
The ban, now 116 days in, has negatively affected Nigeria’s economic growth. A report in August said Nigeria lost over N150 billion as a result of the suspension of the app. Small and medium-sized businesses which relied on Twitter’s reach for marketing also suffer from the effects of the ban, as business owners reduced or completely cut off their operations from the app.
Ten months after election, Governor Godwin Obaseki has forwarded the names of 11 commissioner-nominees to the Edo House of Assembly for confirmation, just as he appointed two special advisers.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Secretary to the Edo Government, Osarodion Ogie, on Wednesday in Benin.
According to the statement, the two advisers are Crusoe Osagie and Sarah Esangbedo, appointed Special Adviser, Media Projects and Special Adviser, Strategy, Policy, Projects and Performance Management, respectively.
The nominees are Oluwole Osamudiamen Iyamu (SAN); Obehi Akoria; Joan Osa Oviawe; Osaze Ethan Uzamere; Monday Osaigbovo; Marie Edeko Joseph Eboigbe; Moses Agbukor; Isoken Omo; Andrew Emwanta and Otse Momoh-Omorogbe.
In September 2020, Obaseki had won reelection on the platform of the PDP after defecting from the APC after being disqualified as the party’s governorship candidate.
Obaseki defeated the APC candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who had defected to APC from PDP.
The Federal High Court has prohibited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from retrying former Abia Governor Orji Uzor Kalu.
Justice Inyang Ekwo gave the order while delivering judgment in an application filed by the former governor seeking an order of the court prohibiting the EFCC from retrying him on a charge for which he had already been tried and convicted.
“An order is hereby made prohibiting the federal government through the EFCC from retrying the applicant on charge no. FHC/ABJ/CR/56/2007 since there was no order in the judgment of the Supreme Court for the retrial of Kalu,” the judge said.
Dr. Chike Akunyili, widower of the late Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Dora Akunyili, has been killed by gunmen at Nkpor, in the Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
Seven other persons were also killed in the incident, yet-to-be-confirmed reports allege.
The incident reportedly happened on Monday evening.
Our correspondent gathered that Dr. Akunyili was returning from a trip to Onitsha, where he had gone to obtain a posthumous award of excellence for his late wife, when he ran into the hoodlums at Nkpor and was shot and killed.
The hoodlums, it was gathered, were chanting, “No election in Anambra in November.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Ikenga Tochukwu, could not confirm the report, noting that he had yet to get details of the incident.
Our correspondent reports that the Agulu community, where the Akunyilis hailed from, is mourning; adding, however, that, “Nobody is ready to talk to the press.”
A former vice-president of Agulu community, who is also a retired Information Officer with the Federal Ministry of Information, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on the telephone, but asked for publication to be delayed without giving reasons.
The Anambra State Commissioner for Information also confirmed the incident but asked to be given time to obtain clearance to discuss the issue.
No fewer than six persons in Abuja have been reported dead following the clash between members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and security operatives on Tuesday.
The unfortunate incident happened near Gwarimpa gate in the capital, where members of IMN, also known as Shi’ites, were chanting songs as they marched along the road.
They were observing the annual symbolic Arbaeen Trek when police officers opened fire on them. Two civilians reportedly sustained life-threatening injuries.
Secretary of the Academic Forum of IMN, Abdullahi Musa, confirmed the clash.
Speaking with Sahara Reporters, he said, “They are just shooting people. As I am talking to you now, six people have been killed. They even carried some dead bodies away.”
On Monday, the Nigerian Police had beefed up security in major areas of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in preparation for the Shi’ites annual procession.
