A yet-to-be-identified man, suspected to be enforcing a sit-at-home order, has been set ablaze by a mob in Anambra. The incident, it was gathered, happened on Monday near the building materials market in Ogidi, Idemili North Local Government Area of state. The mob threw tyres around the neck of the suspect and set him ablaze; as he struggled with the fire, motorists and passers-by looked and avoided him. Although, his real motive was not very clear as some eyewitnesses in the market said he was a “robber” while some said he came into the market and started enforcing the Monday sit-at-home order before the people in the area violently descended on him. This was corroborated by a gory video currently circulating online, which showed the fire burning the suspect as he moved from one spot to the other, struggling and seeking help until he fell down. When contacted, the spokesperson for the Anambra State Police Command, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, said the Command was calling on the members of the public who had detailed information about the incident to avail same to thecommand, to enable it to embark on an investigation. He said, “Following the emergence of a disturbing video showing a man set ablaze by some yet unidentified persons, which allegedly happened in Anambra State, the police command wishes to call on anyone who knows the date, time and area the incident occurred, to avail the command with information to enable us to embark on an investigation to ascertain what transpired “Given the above, the Police Command is constrained to make further comments, please.” Editor’s Note: This Photo Is For Illustrative Purpose

  The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has received a batch of 150 distressed Nigerians from Niamey, Niger Republic. It was learned that the returnees were voluntarily brought back to Nigeria in a chartered aircraft, Sky Mali UR-CQX with registration number FMI 6001, which landed at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, yesterday. Speaking on behalf of the Director-General of the agency, Alhaji Mustapha Ahmed, Coordinator of the NEMA Territorial Office, Ibrahim Farinloye, said: “The returnees consist of 98 male adults, 11 male children and two male infants. “While female adults are 24, female children are 13 and infant females are two.” Farinloye explained that the returnees were voluntarily repatriated to Nigeria due to their inability to proceed with their journeys to their initial destination countries of choice by the International Organisation for Migration, IOM. Head of Mission of IOM, Mr. Lauren de Boeck, who witnessed the reception organised by NEMA praised the Nigerian government and NEMA for synergy and partnership being enjoyed in their operations in the country. Meanwhile, other agencies that participated in the operation were Nigeria Immigration Service, NAPTIP, FAAN, Nigeria Police and Nigeria Port Health Services.

  The Independent National Electoral Commission has said that sensitive materials for the 2023 general elections are in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria. This was disclosed by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, INEC, Festus Okoye, to our correspondent on Tuesday. It would be recalled that individuals and groups in 2022 raised serious concerns about the sanctity of elections materials kept with the CBN, after news about the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, indicating interest to contest for the country’s presidential seat trended. As a result, the Chairman, INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, on June 4, 2022, said sensitive electoral materials would in the meantime no longer be routed through the CBN. The INEC chairman noted that the electoral body had never had an issue with the CBN since the partnership started, but due to “current circumstances”, an alternative would be found. However, Okoye stated that the commission has printed and delivered most of the sensitive materials, such as results and ballot papers, and kept them with the CBN for movement to the commission’s local government offices across the country. He also noted that INEC had almost concluded the delivery of the non-sensitive materials across the country. Explaining the delivery of sensitive materials ahead of the forthcoming elections, Okoye said, “The commission is ready for the February 25 and March 11, 2023 general elections. The commission has taken delivery of the full complement of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System for the 176,846 polling units in Nigeria. The BVAS will be deployed to all the polling units except the 240 polling units that have zero voters. The commission has taken delivery of the redundancies for the 8, 809 Registration Areas and the 774 local government areas of the country. “The commission has tested the BVAS and carried out mock accreditation and they are fit for purpose in terms of hardware and software upgrades. The process of configuration of the BVAS has commenced and the commission is satisfied with the progress made so far. The BVAS is a sensitive election material and they are in safe locations under heavy security. The BVAS is the ultimate arbiter and game-changer, and Nigerians expect it to perform optimally. The BVAS is the albatross of election riggers and identity thieves and those with false identity should keep away from the polling units. “The commission has printed and delivered the bulk of the sensitive materials meant for the conduct of national elections, in terms of result sheets and ballot papers. These materials have been deposited with the Central Bank of Nigeria, awaiting movement to the various local government offices of the commission. The commission has almost concluded the delivery of the non-sensitive materials and they are presently being batched in accordance with the Registration Areas. The training of various categories of ad hoc staff has commenced and the commission is satisfied with the progress made so far.” When asked if INEC had accredited and given tags to election observers, Okoye stated, “Domestic and international observers applied for accreditation using the Commissions Observer and Party Agents Portal. The commission does not distribute domestic observer tags in the headquarters. The observers are domiciled in particular local governments and states based on their strength, presence, and geographical coverage. The observer tags are collected at the state level and a few days to the election, these tags will be made available at the state level. The same thing applies to polling agents’ tags.”

  A former governor of Enugu State and senator representing Enugu East Senatorial District, Chimaroke Nnamani, has sued the Peoples Democratic Party over the disciplinary actions taken against him for alleged anti-party activities. Our correspondent gathered that Nnamani filed the suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja on February 7, 2023, few days before his expulsion from the party. The PUNCH reports that Nnamani declared support for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, which had led to his initial suspension from the PDP. The former governor of Enugu State said his support for the APC candidate was because he could not support a northerner to become President after the eight-year tenure of the current President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). On February 10, 2023 the PDP expelled Nnamani alongside some other key party members for anti-party activities. In the front page of the court document obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday, those listed as defendants in Nnamani’s suit are the Independent National Electoral Commission, the National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, Samuel Anyanwu on behalf of the National Working Committee members of the PDP. In the suit, Nnamani asked the court to determine whether it was proper for the party to take disciplinary actions against him without giving him fair hearing. Meanwhile, despite being punished by his party, the senator has not relented in his support for Tinubu of the rival APC. In a statement on Tuesday, Nnamani hailed Tinubu for improving the health sector significantly in Lagos State, when he was governor between 1999 and 2007. He said, “It is to Tinubu’s credit that HIV/AIDS prevalence in Lagos State decreased from 6.7 per cent to 3.5per cent between 1999 and 2007 while more than 2,000 women received prevention of mother to child transmission in 10 PMTCT centres set up to prevent the disease.” Nnamani said Tinubu’s performance in Lagos made him the best candidate to lead Nigeria at a time like this. Meanwhile, the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday extended the order restraining the PDP from suspending or expelling the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, who was also sanctioned by the party for anti-party activities. The court extended the interim order it made on February 2, which restrained the PDP and its leadership from making suspension or expulsion moves on the governor. The respondents in the suit are the PDP; its National Working Committee; its National Executive Council; its Chairman, Iyiocha Ayu; its National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; and the Independent National Electoral Commission.

  An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic and Violence Court on Tuesday convicted and sentenced a 51-year-old pastor, Nduka Anyanwu, to life imprisonment for defiling and impregnating two teenage sisters. Justice Abiola Soladoye handed down the sentence after finding Anyanwu guilty of the offence. Anyanwu was arraigned on April 17, 2022, on two counts of defilement by the Lagos State Government. The offence was said to have been committed between 2019 and August 2020 at Arowojobe Street, in the Oshodi area of the state. According to the prosecution, the offence is punishable under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015. The defendant pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned, trial commenced and ended on October 11, 2022. The prosecution called six witnesses, while the defendant testified as his sole witness. When the matter came up on Tuesday for judgment, Olushola Shoneye announced his appearance for the state, but the defence was not represented. During the trial, the first prosecution witness testified that though she is now 15-year-old, she was 13-year-old at the time incident happened. She testified that the defendant was known to her as the pastor of their church and that he had been having sex with her and warned her not to tell anyone. The victim stated that the defendant said she would not get pregnant, but she eventually got pregnant and had a child for the defendant. The second prosecution witness, the older sister to PW1, now 19-year-old, but was 17-year-old, at the time of the incident, collaborated the first witness’ testimony that the defendant was their pastor. She narrated how the defendant had sexual intercourse with her with the consent of her parents, that he would take her abroad for greener pastures, and she started visiting him. A guardian and counsellor with Lagos State, Mrs Memunat Dawudu, who collaborated on the evidence of the victims, testified that she got to know about the matter on August 3, 2020, from the Oshodi Primary Health Centre. The father of the victims, in his testimony, stated that he knew the defendant, as he was a church member, and also his friend that he was responsible for his two daughters’ pregnancies. He said he was aware that the defendant was having sex with his daughters. The mother of the victims, in her evidence, stated that she was shocked when she found out that her two daughters were impregnated by the same man. Anyanwu, who testified, in his defence, said it was the father of the victims who gave him the second prosecution witness, as a wife and they were having conjugal relations. While delivering judgment, the judge held that the prosecution was able to discharge the burden of proof placed on it, on the charge of defilement. Justice Sholadoye held that the three ingredients of defilement, were that the child was underage, the defendant had sexual intercourse with the victim and the consent of the child was not sought. She said,” I am convinced of the evidence led that the defendant is guilty as charged for the offence of defilement. “The police shied away from their responsibility by not charging the father of the victims along with the defendant. “The parents of these victims are highly irresponsible and reckless in their parenting. The negligence of their children has contributed to them now being grandparents of two additional mouths to feed. They should have been sanctioned and brought to justice. “The parents of these two victims, who are biological sisters, acted irresponsibly by allowing their so-called pastor friend to deceive them that he will help them take their children abroad when the defendant cannot even help himself. “Nduka Anyawu, you are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment, in respect of count one and count two. “The sentence is to run concurrently, his name should be registered in the Lagos State offenders’ register.”

  At least 41,218 people have been killed and tens of thousands injured from the earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria last week. Turkish authorities say 35,418 people have been killed in the country, while more than 5,800 people are dead in Syria. On Tuesday, Derya Yanik, Turkey’s minister of family and social services, said at least 1,362 children in Turkey were separated from their parents. Yanik said 369 have been reunited with their families, 792 are in hospitals, and 201 children are in “institutions affiliated with our ministry”. According to CNN, rescue teams in the country say they are still hearing voices from under the rubble, offering a glimmer of hope of finding more survivors. TheCable had reported how Belit Tasdemir, United Nations liaison officer at the Search and Rescue Association in Turkey, expressed concern over a rapid closing window of rescue. He said rescue teams, who have been on the ground for several days, are starting to become affected by cold temperatures and “extreme fatigue”. “The sheer level of, and how widespread the devastation is, is completely unprecedented in terms of what we’ve seen before in Turkey,” Tasdemir said. “We’re approaching the end of the search and rescue window, and plus the probability of finding survivors under the rubble in below-freezing temperatures is becoming a lower probability.” There has been public anger over the Turkish government’s slow response to the situation. Although authorities have issued arrest warrants for over 30 property developers blamed for building collapses, residents say it is the government’s attempts to shift responsibility for the incident. On Tuesday, President Recep Erdogan said enforcement of stricter building regulations was needed in the country. He also gave the assurance that his government would continue work until the last person was rescued from the rubble.

  The Anambra State Police Command has rescued 15 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) abducted by gunmen in the state. It was gathered that the corps members were en route to Lagos after their three weeks of orientation programs before their vehicle was intercepted at the Ihiala area of the state. Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Ikenga Tochukwu, confirmed the rescue in a statement on Tuesday. Tochukwu, a deputy superintendent of police, said the gunmen kept the NYSC members hostage and were trailed by police operatives. Having observed that police operatives were closing in on them, the gunmen abandoned their victims and sped off with the Toyota Hiace bus conveying the corps members. “Anambra State Police Operatives, by 11:15 am today, 14/2/2023 responding to a distress call along Isseke, Ihiala road, rescued unhurt fifteen abducted Corps members from NYSC Orientation Camp Eziama-Obaire, Nkwerre, LGA, Imo State,” the statement read. “Information reveals, that the Corps members, finished their three weeks of orientation programs today and were en route to Lagos before their vehicle was intercepted at total junction Ihiala, by yet unidentified armed men in unmarked white Toyota Hilux. “Their vehicle was diverted to Isseke, Ihiala-Orlu expressway where the gunmen kept them hostage. The armed men noticed they are being followed by Police Operatives abandoned the Corpers and zoomed off with the Toyota Hiace bus with Reg Nos: EPE 353 YE conveying the Corpers.   “Meanwhile, the Corps members were debriefed by police operatives and necessary arrangements have been perfected to convey them back to their destinations.”

  The National Industrial Court has ordered the Benue Government to pay two of its retirees the sum of N26.3m, being their gratuity and pension arrears. Delivering the judgment, Justice Isaac Essien declared that withholding the pensions and gratuities of the retirees, Mr Cletus Lorember and Mrs Donna Akya, was unconstitutional and unlawful. Joined in the suit as co- defendants were the Benue State Attorney General and commissioner for Justice and the state Pension Commission The money as ordered by the court to be paid to the claimants is the sum of N12.2m and N14.1m, respectively, being the balance of their unpaid gratuity and pension arrears. The court, in addition, directed that N1m each be paid the retirees by February 28 while subsequent payments will in instalment of N500,000 monthly until the liquidation of the judgment debt. The first claimant, Lorember averred that since his retirement on June 6, 2014, the first defendant held his pension for 89 months. He further stated that he was later paid 56 months and the remaining 33 months, totaling N5.8m, were unpaid. The second claimant submitted that from March, 2013 when her pension became due, to October 2021, she was not paid.

  A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, yesterday, adjourned till March 28, 2023, to hear the final forfeiture application of the sum of $845,316.66 and N2,421,953,522.78, said to belong to the former first lady, Dame Patience Jonathan. Trial judge, Justice Tijjani Ringim, adjourned the matter after an argument of counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN. Defence counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and Sammie Somiari, SAN, had applied to the court that the case be adjourned sine die pending the outcome of the appeal. The first and second defendants are La Wari Furniture and Baths Limited and former first lady, Patience Jonathan. But Oyedepo opposed the application, contending that the Supreme Court had ruled on the final forfeiture application, which was binding on any other court. He said: “My Lord, the only motion ripe for hearing, which is binding on my lord in view of Supreme Court judgment is that of final forfeiture.” Justice Ringim, after taking arguments from counsel, upheld Oyedepo’s submissions and directed that motion for final forfeiture will be taken and determined first as canvassed by the EFCC counsel. The judge, thereafter, adjourned the case to March 28, for the hearing of the application for final forfeiture. It will be recalled that Justice Cecilia Olatoregun, now retired, had on April 26, 2017, while granting exparte application for the interim forfeiture of the said sums filed by the EFCC, ordered that the said sums warehoused by Skye Bank and Ecobank Nigeria Plc, be forfeited in the interim. The order which was challenged up to Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court ordered that the lower court should continue with the hearing of the matter. However, upon Justice Olatoregun’s retirement, the suit was transferred to Justice Chuka Obiozor. But before Justice Obiozor could hear the matter, he was transferred to another jurisdiction of the court, consequently, the matter was inherited by Justice Ringim.

  Wednesday 15 February Naira crisis worsens, Emefiele justifies redesign Mob sets suspected sit-at-home enforcer ablaze in Anambra Court orders Benue to pay retirees N26.3m Tinubu returns to Imo three months after ‘Bala blu’ gaffe Polling agents: Sowore seeking attention, says LP PCC Polls: We oppose Interim National Govt —Afenifere Court to hear final forfeiture case in Patience Jonathan’s $5.8m, N2.4bn, March 28 150 distressed Nigerians in Niger Republic arrive Lagos Money swap: Buhari demarketing APC — NEF spokesman No Reason To Doubt INEC’s Credibility – Northern Elders Forum AU To Send 90-Member Observer Team For Nigeria’s Election Cash Crunch: Ogun Becomes Latest APC State To Join Suit Against FG Ganduje Threatens To Sanction Banks, Businesses Rejecting Old Naira Notes Buhari Urges UAE To Lift Visa Ban On Nigerians CBN Vows To Sanction PoS Operators Over Exorbitant Charges Police Rescue 15 Abducted Corps Members In Anambra Zamfara Govt Orders All NGOs To Leave The State Operations of Ebube Agu illegal in Ebonyi, court rules Death toll from Turkey-Syria earthquake exceeds 40,000 Watch your utterances, DSS cautions political parties after grilling Fani-Kayode Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…