The House of Representatives on Wednesday okayed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill for Second Reading. The Bill titled “A Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act, 2022 and for Related Matters,” was sponsored by the member representing Ughelli North/Ughelli South/Udu Federal Constituency, Delta State, Mr Francis Waive. Presenting the Bill, Waive lamented the gaps in the Electoral Act 2022, noting that an amendment of the law to pave the way “for the electronic transmission of results would help the nation’s democracy.”   He also called for the review of the voter register every ten years. “A review of the voter register every 10 years will be a good starting point,” he said. Details later…

  Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, SAN has called on the leadership of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States to immediately reply to the deteriorating human rights and rule of law crisis in Senegal. Falana urged the ECOWAS leadership to consider imposing some sanctions on Senegal for violating the democratic rights of its citizens by postponing the presidential election. President Macky Sall had on Saturday announced the indefinite postponement of the presidential election, which was originally set to take place on February 25, just hours before official campaigning was due to start. AFP reports that it is the first time a Senegalese presidential election has been postponed. The decision comes after a disagreement between the National Assembly and the Constitutional Court regarding the rejection of candidates. Falana, in a statement, said, “The ECOWAS leaders should consider imposing targeted sanctions including imposing travel bans, asset freezes and other targeted sanctions on Mr Sall and officials of his government responsible for serious violations of the democratic rights of the people of Senegal.” He added that imposing targeted sanctions on Sall and officials of his government is consistent with the provisions of ECOWAS treaties and protocols including article 45 (2) of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. The legal luminary recalled that in July 2023, Sall dropped his ambition to run for a third term in this year’s election, ending years of uncertainty over his political future that helped fuel deadly opposition protests. According to Falana, “Since then, he (Sall) has been manipulating the democratic process to install his surrogate. The illegal postponement of the elections is due to President Sacky Mall’s fear that his chosen candidate would be rejected in the polls by the Senegalese people.” Falana further described the postponement of the elections as a constitutional coup, adding that a major threat to the rule of law and constitutional government not only in Senegal but also across the subregion, especially given the planned exit of Burkina-Faso, Niger and Mali from the ECOWAS. “The postponement of the elections is also a fundamental breach of the Lome Declaration and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance which Senegal has signed. Senegal signed the Charter on 15 December 2008, and as such, the government has a good faith obligation to comply with the provisions of the Charter. “The postponement of the elections suggests a deliberate ploy by Mr Sall to manipulate the country’s constitution in order to hold on to power against the will of the people and popular aspirations. “The postponement of the elections also clearly constitutes a fundamental breach of the Constitution of Senegal. Given the fact that the Constitution is the result of popular participation, a will of the people, grossly violating the Constitution represents both a breach of the covenant between the Senegalese government and the people of the country,” he added. Falana noted that Sall has clearly shown his reluctance to implement and uphold the Constitution of Senegal and democratic and rule of law principles, something to which the ECOWAS is expressly committed, by arbitrarily postponing the elections He, however, urged ECOWAS leaders to “act now to compel full and effective compliance with its treaties and protocols and to serve as a deterrent to other ECOWAS member states.” Recall that mobile internet in Senegal was temporarily cut by the government following protests against Sall’s decision to postpone the presidential election. As reported by the BBC, Communication Minister Moussa Bocar Thiam stressed the necessity of taking action to prevent the dissemination of “hateful and subversive messages relayed on social networks in a context of threats of disturbances to public order.”

  The abducted Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration of the Abia State University, Prof Godwin Emezue, has regained his freedom after spending 11 days in kidnappers” den. The Abia State Police Command had confirmed that he was abducted in a filling station in Umuahia, the state capital, over two weeks ago. Emezue was said to have been released on Tuesday night by his abductors. A source close to the professor’s family told our correspondent that the kidnappers had earlier demanded a ransom of N35 million.   “The kidnappers had released footage of how they tortured the professor and threatened to kill him if the family failed to pay N20 million before the end of Saturday last week,” the source added.. The source said the professor is currently receiving medical attention in an undisclosed hospital due to torture. Details later

  Wednesday 07 February 2024 Nigerians spent $98bn on foreign trips, education in 10 years – CBN Tinubu returns from France, orders emergency meeting on food security Naira weakens at official market, banks sell $584m Killer kidnappers free slain Kwara monarch’s wife, 13 suspects nabbed Abia varsity shut down indefinitely as students protest fees hike Lagos bizman granted N30m bail over alleged N10m fraud APC, PDP trade words over Kano, Niger protests Protest over high prices: No food shortage in Nigeria —FG Stop complaining, offer solutions to Nigeria’s problems – APC fires opposition Labour protests at NAFDAC over ban on sachet alcoholic beverages Petrol queues emerge in Lagos, environs Michael Okpara varsity shut over students’ protest Anambra woman faces prosecution for using grandson for child labour Tinubu Returns To Abuja After Two Weeks In France Japa: FG Builds Migrant Centre For Nigerians Willing To Return From Europe Akpata denies being Obaseki’s mole, distances self from Edo LP secretariat violence Amotekun arrests 149 suspected criminals in Ondo Alleged N10b fraud: Trial of Bello’s cousin suspended over witness’ sickness NAFDAC seals three factories, seizes banned N6m products in Jos Court quashes criminal charges against ex-Chief of Air Staff, others Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  A 400-level female student at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Adaze Doris Jaja, has reportedly committed suicide. The police spokesperson in the state, Omolola Odutola, on Tuesday, said the 31-year-old died in a hotel room. She said Adaze was reported to have been found lying unconscious and foaming in the mouth with an empty bottle of Sniper beside her.   Odutola explained that the incident was reported to the Divisional Police Officer, Ago Iwoye Division, on January 27 at about 7:30 a.m. She said, “The Director of Be-Happy Hotel in Ago Iwoye, Hon. Oduniyi Adelaja, came to the police station and reported that at about 0600hrs (6 am) on the same day, he received information from one Adebayo Israel, a staff member of the hotel, that Adaeze Doris Jaja, a 31-year-old female and a 400-level student at Olabisi Onabanjo University in Ago Iwoye, was found lying unconscious and foaming in the mouth on a freezer. “An empty bottle of Sniper 1000EC/DDVP was found beside her, and she was immediately rushed to Best Care Hospital and later transferred to Love and Care Hospital in Ago Iwoye, where she was confirmed dead.” Odutola said that the scene of the crime was visited and the empty Sniper bottle was recovered. She stated further that the body of the student had been taken to the Olabisi Onabanjo University mortuary for an autopsy.

  Several people were reportedly killed by armed men who invaded the Iwili community in Umogidi Ward and Entekpa community, all in Adoka District of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State. The attack on Umogidi came barely a year after gunmen invaded the community and killed many. A legal practitioner from the local government, Ada Ocholi, told our correspondent that the armed men migrated from the Agatu axis to Otukpo LGA. Ocholi said, “As of yesterday, four corpses were still in the bush and were yet to be recovered. I can’t say the number of corpses recovered so far because yesterday, I was in touch with our youth leader there. “He told me that they just came back from the bush and there were so many of the armed men in the bush with military uniform, that some of them on top of trees with sophisticated weapons.” Another source in the area disclosed that the attacks left several persons injured while the affected villages have been deserted by the locals who fled for fear of being killed. The attacks commenced on Saturday and spread till Monday. The local said, “They came from Agatu which they have been attacking since the beginning of the year. They came through Upaha in Apa LGA and accessed Iwili community in Umuogidi from where they also stormed Entekpa.” The Chairman of Otukpo LGA, Alfred Omakwu, confirmed that seven dead bodies were recovered as of Tuesday afternoon, with the help of soldiers. He added that the search to recover more bodies was ongoing with the assistance of military personnel. When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Catherine Anene said she was yet to receive information on the incident. On Friday, several people were reportedly killed by suspected armed herders in the attack on communities in the Agatu Local Government Area of Benue State. The member of the state House of Assembly representing the Agatu State Constituency, Godwin Edoh, lamented the endless attacks by suspected herders, expressing his frustrations that both the federal and state governments had not been able to stop the needless killings. Several communities, such as Ogwumogbo, Ikpele, Okokolo and Ejima, had been attacked since the crisis broke out three weeks ago. No fewer than 20 people, including three security personnel, were murdered in the previous attacks and residents of the affected communities had long fled.

  The presidential committee on emergency food intervention is currently meeting at the presidential villa, Abuja over the rising cost of living in the country. The committee is convened by Femi Gbajabiamila, chief of staff (CoS), to President Bola Tinubu. TheCable understands that Nuhu Ribadu, the national security adviser (NSA); Yemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Tahir Mamman, minister of education; Wale Edun; minister of finance and Abubakar Kyari, minister of agriculture, as well as Mustapha Shehuri, minister of state for agriculture, are in attendance. On Monday, Some residents of Minna, the capital city of Niger state, blocked major roads in the metropolis to protest the rising cost of living in the country. Their demonstration compounded rush hour traffic in the city. The protesters were chanting Hausa slogans while bemoaning the economic hardship and inflationary pressure they are daily grappling with. Since the removal of the subsidy on petrol by President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, there has been a steady increase in the prices of basic items and staples. Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 28.9 percent in December 2023 — up from 28.20 percent in the previous month.

  The Adamawa state Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a man who poses as a ghost to defraud people of their hard-earned money. According to a statement by the Adamawa Police, the suspect, Muhammad Abubakar a.k.a Malam Sabo is said to be an habitual 419 who specializes in defrauding members of the public in a disguised manner. “Adamawa state Police Command on Monday, 5 January 2024 arrested a 59-year-old man for frequently defrauding members of the public,” the statement read. The Police added that most of the time, the suspect hides his identity, pretending to be a ghost while he talks to his Victims with different voices. The suspect, at times changes his voice sound like that of a woman or a child to dupe his victims. Recently, Abubakar was alleged to have tricked and duped one Abba Bale of Demsawo of the sum of three Hundred thousand (N300,000.00

  The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) warned that SIM cards that are not linked to the owners’ National Identity Number (NIN) will be deactivated by the end of February. NCC vice chairman, Aminu Maida, said this in an introductory meeting with the media in Abuja. Maida’s announcement follows a 2021 policy requiring NIN linkage with SIMs. “Pre-registered or illegally registered SIM has been a challenge for a long time,” Maida said. “In 2021, there was a policy to link NIN with SIMs thinking that such will take care of the problem but people in the value chain lashed on loophole, “By the end of this month, SIMs without NIN will no longer work.” Maida also reaffirmed NCC collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and relevant security agencies in telecommunication-linked crimes in the country. He, however, noted that the degree of success achieved so far could not be publicly celebrated yet. The NCC boss, while speaking on network tariffs and other irregularities on the part of licensed network providers, said the commission is equally collaborating with the industry players. He however assured consumers of their loyalty, stressing that the NCC’s allegiance is first to Nigerians. Meanwhile, the commission is also considering the deployment of satellite broadband to provide the necessary coverage across the country and drive the attainment of the 70 percent Broadband penetration target by 2025.