Irate youth’s on Tuesday set on fire houses, motorcycles, households equipments and wares at Okwu Uratta community in the Owerri North Local Government Area of Imo state. This was following the killing of a youth of the area, identified as Friday Njoku allegedly by the vigilante group members operating in the community. An indigene of the community who spoke to our correspondent on an anonymous condition said that the youths accused the leader of the vigilante group, Emmanuel Abakporo who is an officer of the state command of the Nigeria Correctional Service of allegedly supervising the killing of Njoku. Angered by his death, the youths stormed his house, on meeting his absence, they beat his son to stupor and went to his wife’s shop and set it ablaze. They returned to his house, burnt it, his car, motorcycles and household equipment. The source said “our community is on fire. The youths are on rampage. A young man by name Friday Njoku was killed on Sunday and his body dumped there. People saw that it was the security people in the community that shot him dead. “On Tuesday morning, the youths grouped and stormed the house of the leader of the security men but met his absence. They beat his son to stupor and went to his wife’s shop and destroyed everything there. They returned to his house and set it ablaze. “But as I speak to you Policemen have arrived the area and doing everything possible to restore normalcy. The leader of the vigilante group members is an officer of the Nigeria Correctional Service. He works at the state command headquarters. The family of the victim is demanding justice. The youths of the community are demanding justice.” When contacted, the spokesperson for the police in the state, Henry Okoye, said that the state commissioner of police, Danjuma Aboki, had sent men to the scene for a rescue mission. He also discovered that fire fighters had been drafted in to put out the inferno. Okoye said that investigation into what transpired had been launched by the command with a view of bringing the offenders to justice.

  Olukayode Ariwoola, chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), has recommended the elevation of 22 judges to the court of appeal. Eberechi Wike, wife of Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), made the priority list. In a memorandum signed on April 2, the CJN said 92 names were forwarded by Monica Dongban-Mensem, president of the court of appeal, to the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC). Of this number, 22 were approved for onward transmission to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for further consideration and appointment as justices of the court of appeal. The nominees from the north-central include Polycarp Tema Kwahar (Benue), Ruqayat Ayoola (Kogi), Eneche Eleojo (Kogi), Asmara Akanbi Yusuf (Kwara), Abdullahi Muhammad Liman (Nasarawa), and Abdu Dogo (FCT). Justice Fadahu Umaru, a Borno state indigene, was the sole nominee from the north-east. Nominees from the north-west region include Ishaq Mohammed Sani (Kaduna), Zainab Bage Abubakar (Kebbi), and Abdulaziz M. Ankara (Zamfara). Nnamdi Okwy Dimga Victoria (Abia), Toochukwu Nwoye (Anambra), Henry Aja-Onu Njoku (Ebonyi), Donatus Uwaezuoke Okorowo (Enugu), and Ngozika N Okaisabor (Imo) are the nominees from the south-east. In the south-south region, Ntong Festus Ntong (Akwa-Ibom), Nehizena Idemudia Afolabi (Edo), and Eberechi Suzette Wike (Rivers) made the list. Those from the south-west region are Lateef Babajide Lawal-Akapo (Lagos), Abiodun Azeem Akinyemi (Ogun), Oyewumi Oyejoju Oyebiola (Oyo), and Bayo Ademola Taiwo (Oyo). RESERVE LIST The FJSC also placed some judges on a reserve list for possible elevation. Those from the north-central include Dorcas Venenge Agishi (Benue), Folajobi Ajayi (Kogi), Adamu Yahaya (Kogi), Toyin Bolaji Adegoke (Kwara), Rose Godwin Soji (Nasarawa) and Jacob Azi Atsem (Plateau). Abdulhameed Mohammed Yakubu is the only one from the north-east. Those on reserve from the north-west are Isa Aliyu (Kaduna), Bello Ladan Raha (Kebi), and Bello Mohammed Shinkati (Zamfara). South-east includes Ory Zik-Ikeorha (Abia), Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu (Anambra), Uwabunkeonye Onwosi (Ebonyi), Chulkwujekwu Joseph Aneke (Enugu) and Chikere Annie Ononeje-Madu (Imo). South-south nominees on the reserve list are Augustine Dominic Odokwo (Akwa Ibom), Abua Elias Ojie (Cross River) and Victor Oziegbe Aghabue Oviawe (Edo). Those from south-west are Ogunjobi O. Olukayode (Lagos), James Kolawole Omotosho (Ogun), Mojeed Oladimeji Ishola (Oyo) and Olukayode Adegbola Adeniyi (Oyo). The NJC is expected to recommend those on the priority list to the president for appointment.

  A soldier celebrating his birthday has allegedly killed a villager in the Marish Community of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State. The Bokkos Cultural Development Council Vanguard in a statement by its chairman Farmasum Fuddang said the soldier accidentally pulled the trigger at a relaxation centre in the community which allegedly hit and killed the villager. Farmasum stated that the brutal act perpetrated by the trigger-happy soldier occurred on Monday evening. According to him, the soldier fired random shots during his birthday celebration. He said, instead of owning up to the accidental discharge, the victim was labelled as militant alongside residents that attempted to save the life of the passerby. We strongly condemn the perpetrator’s desperate attempt to conceal the crime by falsely labelling the innocent passerby and residents who tried to save his life by transporting him to the hospital as militants,” he said. “This deceitful action has resulted in mass arrests and is an egregious affront to justice and humanity.” The group is demanding swift and decisive action by the military and state authorities in apprehending and prosecuting the accused personnel while those arrested in connection to rescuing the victim should be released immediately.   But the Media and Information Officer of Operation Safe Haven Major Samson Zhakom told Channels Television that military authorities are handling the issue and a decision will be made soon. The Plateau State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice Barrister Philemon Daffi, however, said his office is yet to receive any complaint from the group.

  Ladoke Akintola University of Technology is a tertiary institution located in Ogbomoso, Oyo State One person has been feared killed in a fight that broke out among students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) at a nightclub in Ogbomosho, Oyo State, on Monday night.   The development was owing to a misunderstanding which led to a fight between two groups of students at a popular joint in the town. They were celebrating the institution’s convocation ceremony when the fight broke out. The owner of the club had invited the police when the fight escalated to put the situation under control. Unfortunately, one life was feared lost while others sustained injuries when the clash turned bloody, according to eyewitnesses.   While it is unclear what led to the student’s death, the deceased body has been kept at the Ogbomosho Police Area Command. Police and LAUTECH authorities are yet to comment on the matter as of the time of this report.

  Dangote Petroleum Refinery has again reduced the prices of diesel and aviation fuel to ₦940, and ₦980 per litre, respectively. This comes after its widely celebrated price reduction to ₦1,000 barely two weeks ago. The price change of ₦940 applies to customers buying five million litres and above from the refinery, while the price of ₦970 is for customers buying one million litres and above. The Head of Communication, Mr Anthony Chiejina, who announced the development in a statement, explained that the new price aligns with the company’s commitment to cushion the effect of economic hardship in Nigeria. “I can confirm to you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery has entered a strategic partnership with MRS Oil and Gas stations to ensure that consumers get to buy fuel at an affordable price in all their stations, be it Lagos or Maiduguri. You can buy as low as 1 litre of diesel at ₦1,050 and aviation fuel at ₦980 at all major airports where MRS operates,” he said. He further stated that the partnership would be extended to other major oil marketers. The essence of this is to ensure that retail buyers do not buy at exorbitant prices. “The Dangote Group is committed to ensuring that Nigerians have better welfare and as such, we are happy to announce these new prices and hope that it would go a long way to cushion the effect of economic challenges in the country,” the statement read in part. The management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a further reduction of the price of diesel from 1200 to 1,000 Naira per litre barely two weeks ago. This marks the third major reduction in diesel price in less than three weeks when the product sold at ₦1,700 to ₦1,200 and a further reduction to ₦1,000 and now ₦940 for diesel and ₦980 for aviation fuel per litre. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu had also commended Mr Dangote for the initial price reduction, describing it as an enterprising feat. Reacting to the latest development, The Director General of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr Ajayi Kadiri, said that the decision of Dangote Refinery to first crash the price from about ₦1,750/litre to ₦1,200/litre, ₦1,000/litre and now ₦940, is an eloquent demonstration of the capacity of the local industries to impact the Nigerian economy positively. He added that the trickledown effect of this intervention promises to change the dynamics of the country’s energy costs amid inadequate and rising electricity costs. The reduction will have far-reaching effects in critical sectors like industrial operations, transportation, logistics, and agriculture, contributing to easing the country’s high inflation rate. Many companies will be back in operation.

  The former governor of Imo State, Chief Emeka Ihedioha and allies have resigned from the People Democratic Party, PDP in Imo State. Chief Ihedioha served as Imo State governor from May in 2019, till 14 January, 2020. In a letter cited by our correspondent on Tuesday morning, Chief Ihedioha disclosed that he resigned from PDP after the party refused to heed his counsel, amend its own reforms and offer credible opposition to the rulling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo State. As at time of filling this report, his political allies who resigned with the ex Imo governor include the serving Imo PDP Acting Publicity Secretary, Hon. Mazi Emenike Nmeregini, PDP Imo State Legal Adviser, Hon. Kissinger Ikeokwu, a former House Of Rep member, Onwubuariri Obinna Kingsley, Chief Barr. Chris Okewulonu. Internal party source has revealed that all PDP Local Government Area chairmen have also resigned from the party. But our correspondent is yet to independently verify this as at press time. More to follow…

  The embattled immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello said he was ready to appear before the Federal High Court in Abuja to answer to the 19-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him. Though Bello was absent for his arraignment, he briefed a team of lawyers who addressed the court on his behalf on Tuesday. A member of his legal team, Mr. Adeola Adedipe, SAN, told the court that his client would have made himself available for the proceedings, but was afraid that he would be arrested. “The defendant wants to come to court but he is afraid that there is an order of arrest hanging on his head,” Adedipe, SAN, submitted. Consequently, he urged the court to set aside the exparte order of arrest it earlier issued against the former governor. Adedipe, SAN, contended that as at the time the order of arrest was made, the charge had not been served on his client as required by the law. He noted that it was only at the resumed proceedings on Tuesday that the court okayed substituted service of the charge on the defendant, through his lawyer. “As at the time the warrant was issued, the order for substituted service had not been made. That order was just made this morning. “A warrant of arrest should not be hanging on his neck when we leave this court,” counsel to the defendant added. Besides, the ex-governor maintained that the EFCC is an illegal organization. According to him, the Federal Government did not consult the 36 States of the federation before it enacted the EFCC Act through the National Assembly. He argued that section 12 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, required the various Houses of Assembly of states to ratify the Act before it could become operative. “This is a very serious matter that borders on the constitution and the tenets of federalism. It has to be resolved because as it stands, the EFCC is an illegal organization,” Bello’s lawyer added. However, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, urged the court to refuse the application, insisting that the warrant of arrest should not be set aside until the defendant makes himself available for his trial. “The defendant cannot stay in hiding and be filing numerous applications. He cannot ask for the arrest order to be vacated until and when the defendant is present in court for his arraignment. He cannot be heard on that applied application. “The main issue should be ascertaining the whereabouts of the defendant. All these applications he is filing are nothing but dilatory tactics intended to delay his arraignment and frustrate the proceedings. “If he wants the order of arrest to be discharged, let him come here and make the application. “Our position is that the defendant should be denied the right of being heard, until he is physically present before this court.” EFCC’s lawyer further argued that inline with section 396 of ACJA, 2015, the court could not effectively assume jurisdiction to decide any application or objection in the matter, until the defendant is arraigned. The anti-graft agency said it would not execute the arrest warrant if counsel to the defendant undertake to ensure his presence on the next adjourned date. “If he gives an undertaking that his client will be in court on the next date, I can assure him that the arrest warrant will not be executed. “If he gives that assurance, as the prosecution, I will personally apply for the warrant to discharged,” EFCC’s lawyer, Pinheiro, SAN, added. EFCC told the court that the Supreme Court had since settled the issue of its legality. “The charge before this court is not against a state or House of Assembly, but against an individual who is said to have laundered public funds. “It is against an individual who is said to have taken public funds to buy houses in Lagos, Maitama and also transfered funds to his accounts abroad,” EFCC added.