A Federal High Court, Abuja on Thursday, dismissed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra against the Department of State Services. Justice James Omotosho, in a judgment, held that Kanu’s suit lacked merit and ought to be dismissed. Kanu, in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/482/2022 and filed by his lawyer, had sued the Director General of DSS, DSS, and the Attorney-General of the Federation as 1st to 3rd respondents respectively. In the suit, the IPOB leader alleged that the DSS subjected him to different inhuman treatments, including denying him his right to wear any clothes of his choice like the Igbo traditional attire called “Isi-Agu,” while in their facility or any time he appeared in court for his trial. He alleged that the security outfit while allowing other inmates in their custody the freedom to choose and wear any clothes of their choice, was restricted to wearing only a single clothing. The applicant also accused the DSS of subjecting him to torture, breaching his right to dignity, among others. He, therefore, sought an order directing the respondents to allow him to put on any clothing of his choice while in the facility or when appearing in public, among other reliefs. But in a counter affidavit filed by the DSS and its DG, they urged the court to dismiss Kanu’s claim. They said that their operatives had not and had never tortured Kanu either physically or mentally while in their custody. According to the DSS, the applicant (Kanu) is kept in their facility where every other suspect is kept. They said it was untrue that other suspects were allowed to put on any clothing of their choice, including Hausa and Yoruba traditional wear. They said that the facility was not a recreational centre or traditional festival where Kanu and other suspects would be allowed to adore themselves in their respective traditional attires. They argued that there is a Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) on dress code by persons in their facilities. “That in line with global best practices, persons in the 1st and 2nd respondents’ facility are allowed to wear only plain clothes which do not bear symbols, writings, colours and insignias that are offensive to any religion, ethnic group or even the Nigeria state in general,” they said. They accused Kanu’s family of bringing traditional attires and other clothing with Biafra insignias and pair of red shoes decorated with shining beads for him to wear in custody and also to attend court for his trial. According to DSS, the clothes have colours of the non-existing Biafra Republic, which is the subject matter of the applicant’s criminal trial. They said the Isi-Agu attire, popularly called chieftaincy attire, was not a suitable dress for persons in detention facilities and was against its SOP. They also argued that Justice Binta Nyako, where Kanu is currently standing trial, had directed that Kanu should be allowed to wear any plain clothing of his choice and that anything contrary would contravene the court’s directive. The DSS said they never breached his right to human dignity as alleged by the IPOB leader. Delivering the judgment, Justice Omotosho held that the right to human dignity is contained in Section 34 of the 1999 Constitution. He said it was clear that a right to human dignity related to the right against torture, and inhuman treatment, among others. The judge held that Kanu’s case did not relate to torture or forced labour as he was never tortured while in custody based on the evidence before the court. He said a right to dignity was not a right to change clothes as an inmate in a prison. “The applicant cannot come to court to seek rights which are not in the constitution,” he said. Besides, Justice Omotosho held that Kanu failed to provide the photographs and names of inmates who were allowed to wear different attires while in custody. He said the onus was on him to prove his case but the applicant merely rely on bare facts without any evidence. He described the IPOB leader’s allegations as “a hypothesis without concrete evidence.” The judge, consequently, dismissed the case for lacking merit. National Daily reports that a retired judge of the court, Justice Taiwo Taiwo, had dismissed a similar suit brought by Kanu last year.

  The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the inclusion of the naira, the country’s legal tender, as a payout option for diaspora remittances. The apex bank also directed that the investors and exporters (I&E) window foreign exchange rate should be used in determining the rate for such naira payout. The development means recipients of diaspora remittances will now have the option to receive their proceeds in naira, in addition to the existing options of dollar and eNaira. The directive was contained in a circular dated July 10, 2023, and signed by O.S. Nnaji, director, trade & exchange department, CBN.   The circular was addressed to deposit money banks, international money transfer operators (IMTOs) and the general public. “Further to the circular referenced TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/011 dated November 30, 2020, in respect of the above subject, the Central Bank of Nigeria hereby announces Naira as a payout option for receipts of proceeds of International Money Transfers,” the circular reads. “Accordingly, all recipients of diaspora remittances through the CBN-approved IMTOs on the attached list shall henceforth have the option of receiving naira payment in addition to USD and eNaira as payout options.   “For the avoidance of doubt, International Money Transfer Operators are required to pay out the proceeds using the Investor & Exporter’s window rate as the anchor rate on the day of the transaction.” “This regulation takes effect immediately. Please note and ensure compliance.” CBN APPROVES FIVE ADDITIONAL IMTOs TO FACILITATE DIASPORA REMITTANCES In the circular, the CBN updated its list of registered IMTOs in the country. The list was extended from 57 IMTOs in April 2021 to 62. IMTOs accept cash for the purpose of transmitting to persons resident in Nigeria or another country. They also carry out cross-border transfer services for personal purposes such as money transfer services towards family maintenance and money transfer services for foreign tourists visiting Nigeria. The five additional IMTOs approved by the CBN are CSL Pay Limited, e-2-e Pay Limited, LeadRemit Limited, Lycamoney Financial Services Limited, and SimbaPay Limited.

  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says about 12 million households will get N8,000 over a period of six months to ameliorate the hardships faced by Nigerians as a result of subsidy removal. In a letter to the House of Representatives read by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during plenary on Tuesday, Tinubu said it was designed to enable indigent and vulnerable Nigerian people to cope with the cost of meeting basic needs. The letter waiting for approval of additional financing for the national social safety net programme scaled up by the National Assembly. The President said this would have a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals. In order to ascertain the credibility of the process, he said digital transfers would be made directly to beneficiaries’ accounts. …details later

  Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State has said the state he inherited was bankrupt when he took over power. Lawal, who stated this on Wednesday evening at an interactive session with Zamfara professionals in Abuja, said that Zamfara was in a bad state when he assumed office. “I believe in the history of our state, this is the first time where professionals and people of Zamfara State are here to interact. “I am delighted to hear some of the comments made. It is indeed incredible.   “The Zamfara State we inherited is in a bad state. At the time we took over, Zamfara was bankrupt with nothing left. “It is a state where we inherited so many bad things,” he said while responding to questions and comments from professionals from the state. The governor, however, gave assurance that things were going to change for the better. Lawal, who said that he inherited a three-month salary backlog with no single money to take care of the civil servants, said as at the time he took over, the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) exam was already over and the children were unable to sit for it. “Fortunately for us, NECO (National Examinations Council) is about to start and if we did not do anything, the children may not write the exam,” he said. He said that though the state was owing WAEC about N1.6 billion and NECO about N1.4 billion which had made the students to be unable to sit for the exams in the past, his government had recently paid off NECO’s debt. “This is something that is verifiable. Outside security, education is key because, without education, we are going nowhere,” he said. He said his government had commenced reconstruction of primary schools and building the capacity of the teachers to boost their productivity. He said when he came in, Zamfara had 28 ministries which had now been reduced to 16. The governor, who lamented over the condition of the hospitals in the state, said he was committed to changing all the narratives. He, therefore, solicited the professionals’ support in order to build the state in the interest of the people. Lawal said as part of the efforts to tackle the security challenge in the state, he met with the chief of defence staff, the chief of army staff and the national security adviser on different occasions. He said he also met with officials of the European Union and the World Bank on issues of insecurity, education, health and infrastructural development, and that they were ever ready to provide support. (NAN)

  The Senate, on Thursday, confirmed the nomination of service chiefs and heads of security agencies newly appointed by President Bola Tinubu. This followed the screening of the top brass by the upper chamber. Senate President Godswill Akpabio said during the closed-door session, the service chiefs answered questions on defence-related matters and topical issues. The President had in a letter read on Monday on the floor of the Senate requested that the red chamber confirm the service chiefs. The Senate, upon resumption of plenary on Thursday, started the screening of the service chiefs, with each of them mounting the podium to speak on how they will tackle insecurity in the country if confirmed.   The service chiefs confirmed are Maj. Gen. C.G Musa (Chief of Defence Staff), Maj. Gen. T. A Lagbaja (Chief of Army Staff), Rear Admiral E. A Ogalla (Chief of Naval Staff), AVM H.B Abubakar (Chief of Air Staff), IGP Kayode Egbetokun (Acting Inspector-General of Police), Maj. Gen. EPA Undiandeye (Chief of Defense Intelligence). Shakeup On June 19, 2023, exactly three weeks after his inauguration, Tinubu removed all service chiefs in Nigeria and appointed new ones whom he directed to resume with immediate effect. Those affected in the unprecedented shakeup include Alkali Usman who was removed as the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Lucky Irabor, sacked as the Chief of Defence Staff; Faruk Yahaya, retired as the Chief of Army Staff; Awwal Gambo, removed as the Chief of Naval Staff; and Isiaka Amao, retired as Chief of Air Staff. The President subsequently appointed new service chiefs and named a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nuhu Ribadu, as his new National Security Adviser (NSA). Ribadu replaced Babagana Monguno as the nation’s NSA. Tinubu also appointed Adeniyi Adewale as the Acting Comptroller General of Customs. All the new appointees have since resumed in acting capacity before their confirmation by the National Assembly. High Expectations The move by the President followed persistent calls by civil society organisations that the security architecture be rejigged and fresh hands allowed to handle the nation’s security apparatus. Between May 2015 and May 2023, verifiable data showed that over 55,000 Nigerians were killed by terrorists, bandits, and armed gangs during the administration of immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari. The former military head of state was criticised by many over the alarming killings in the country under his watch.   During his inauguration speech, Tinubu, who took over from Buhari, his fellow party man on May 29, 2023, promised to “defend the nation from terror and all forms of criminality that threaten the peace and stability of our country”, adding that “to effectively tackle this menace, we shall reform both our security doctrine and its architecture”. With the confirmation of the service chiefs, Nigerians expect a safe country and noticeable reduction in the rate of kidnapping, banditry, terrorism and other crimes ubiquitous across the Federation.

  The House of Representatives has approved the request of President Bola Tinubu for an amendment to the 2022 appropriation act. The approval followed Tinubu’s request for N500 billion for palliatives to Nigerians in order to reduce the hardship caused by subsidy removal. The amendment passed the first, second, and third readings during plenary on Wednesday. However, the House on Thursday approved the President’s request after members of the House made contributions. The president said he hoped the lawmakers will consider his request “expeditiously”. The letter reads, “I write to the house of reps to approve the amendment of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act in accordance to the attached,” the letter reads. “The request has become necessarily important to, among other things, source for funds necessary to provide palliative to mitigate the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerians. “Thus, the sum of N500 billion only has been extracted from the 2022 Supplementary Act of N819,536,937,815 for the provision of palliative to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal.” In December, the national assembly passed a supplementary budget of N819 billion for the 2022 fiscal year. At the time, the legislature also extended the implementation of the 2022 budget till March 31, 2023. In May 2023, the national assembly passed the amendment to the 2022 supplementary budget to extend the implementation of the capital components to December 2023.

  Members of the House of Representatives are demanding an upward review of their salaries and allowances, following the removal of fuel subsidy and the current economic situation in the country, the News Agency of Nigeria reports NAN gathered that the demand was the outcome of a meeting the lawmakers had on 11 July after going into an executive session during plenary. The complaints from members arising from salaries and allowances forced the House to go into executive session in order to douse tension. The lawmakers had also demanded from the Speaker, Tajudeen Abass, the reason for the delay in the payment of their salaries and allowances, causing some of them to resort to loans. However, one of the lawmakers who was at the meeting but craved anonymity because he was not permitted to speak on the outcome of the executive session, said they only spoke about salary increase and not delayed payment. The lawmaker said they only told the speaker that their salaries and allowances could no longer meet the demand of their job, hence a review was necessary. “So nobody talked about any money or whether we have been paid or not,” the lawmaker explained. The source said their request was a sequel to the current economic reality following the subsidy removal which had caused hardship, making goods and services skyrocket in the country. The lawmaker said the speaker did not promise them anything on the review of their salaries and allowances, because such demand could only be accommodated in the budget after due process. According to the legislator, the speaker however told his colleagues that their demand for a review of their salaries and allowances was not in the 2023 budget. According to the source, the speaker could not have promised anything, and “We all know the situation in the country, we are all facing the same problem.” The agency that decides the salaries and allowances of public officials, RMAFC, had proposed a 100 per cent increase in the salaries of public officials but the approval is yet to be approved by the president or reflected in the budget. Meanwhile, to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, the House of Representatives received a communication from President Bola Tinubu on 12 July, seeking an amendment to the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act. The amendment is to accommodate N500 billion for the provision of palliatives for Nigerians. in the letter, Mr Tinubu said the request was necessary to enable the government to provide palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy. Following the removal of subsidy on petrol that saw the price rise by almost 200 per cent, one of the demands of workers’ unions such as the NLC is an increase in workers’ salaries by at least 100 per cent. However, negotiations are still ongoing for that. However, unlike civil servants who are poorly paid with a minimum wage of N30,000, Nigerian lawmakers are among the highest paid in the world with the lowest-paid lawmaker earning over 10 times the civil servant’s minimum wage. Apart from salaries, the allowances each lawmaker gets also run into millions of naira monthly. The proposal by RMAFC of a 100 per cent increase in salaries of lawmakers had been condemned by many Nigerians forcing President Bola Tinubu to announce that he had yet to approve such an increase.

  The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, said the sit-at-home by a faction of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) is a criminal activity causing innocent people to suffer. Obi, a former Anambra State governor in a series of tweets, called for a more strategic approach to stop the killings in the Southeast, Benue, and Plateau states. He said that it is unacceptable that hundreds of innocent lives will continue to be wasted in Nigeria needlessly through communal clashes, bandits, and kidnapping activities. “The rising insecurity in the country leading to mindless bloodletting, particularly in the North Central zone of the country, and the continued disruption of business and social activities in the South East are all becoming very worrisome,” Obi said. “Also disturbing is the continued disruption of business and social activities in the South East region over the Sit-at-Home directive purported to be coming from the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, when the body has publicly denied issuing such directive. “What is going on in the South East therefore is essentially a criminal activity that must be nipped in the bud, with all hands being on deck, security agencies, and the people alike.” He commended Southeast governors for their renewed efforts at restoring peace but said there is a need to be more strategic and intelligence-driven in our approach to “reducing the suffering of innocent people.” “We as a people through our various governments should up our value for human lives in the way and manner we respond to issues that touch lives,” Obi said. He, therefore urges critical stakeholders in these areas, traditional, Christian, and Muslim leaders to continue pushing for peace among their people in the way and manner they conduct themselves. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Tuesday, condemned the recent internecine killings in Mangu Council of Plateau State and parts of Benue State, calling for an end to the cycle of violence in the country

  BARELY two months after gunmen slained two police officers, a police officer with Dragon 19, attached to Ughelli Area Command, simply identified as Jude Ukpaka was shot dead and his Ak-47 stolen by suspected gunmen in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State. Vanguard gathered that the officer and two of his other colleagues were at a checkpoint along the Ogor-Evwreni axis of the East-West road before the unfortunate incident occurred on Wednesday evening. An unconfirmed report said there was an attack on travellers returning from Bayelsa in the early morning of the same day before the killing in the evening at almost the same spot as the incident. It would be recalled that two months ago, two police officers, PC Ujeyah Matthew and Sergeant Ijebu attached to the Ofuoma division were killed and their guns stolen at Ekredjebor community in Ughelli North. Efforts to contact the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Bright Edafe were not successful as his mobile line was busy and text messages sent at the time of this report were not responded to. But a Senior security source from Delta State Police Command who confirmed the incident on anonymous condition, disclosed that the other officers escaped into the swamp. “They ran into a swamp until they were rescued by a team from Ughelli Area Command, while the remains of the deceased officer has been deposited at the mortuary.”