Crime Facts

Rivers Crisis: Fubara Cannot Tell Legislature Where To Meet, Says Falana

  A human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has faulted Governor Simi Fubara of Rivers State for directing members of the state assembly to meet at the Government House, saying the legislature is independent of the executive.   Falana spoke on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, explaining that since both arms of government are independent, Fubara cannot change the sitting venue of the Rivers State House of Assembly. “I would like to assume that the governor issued that executive order before the intervention of the High Court in Rivers State,” Falana said on the show. “The house is independent of the executive. So the governor cannot tell the house where to sit.” ‘Not…Recognized By Law’ Fubara had on Friday issued an executive order for the immediate and temporary relocation of the sitting of the Rivers State Assembly to the Auditorium, Admin Block of the Government House, Port Harcourt. In an official Gazette, Executive Order of the Rivers State Government 001-2023, Fubara cited the unsafe state of the House of Assembly complex. “NOW THEREFORE, I SIR SIMINALAYI FUBARA GSSRS, the Governor of Rivers State this 30th day of October 2023, Pursuant to the powers vested in me under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) hereby ISSUE, ORDER, AND DIRECT that all proceedings and business of Rivers State House of Assembly shall temporarily take place at the Auditorium, Admin Block, Government House, Port Harcourt until the repairs, renovation or reconstruction of the chambers of the Rivers State House of Assembly are completed,” part of the gazette read. ‘Abundantly Clear’ Point But Falana insisted that Fubara was wrong to move the sitting venue of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and referenced an impeachment of a governor done outside the premises of the House of Assembly which was nullified by the Supreme Court. “This was very clear in the Oyo State case which led to the impeachment of Governor Ladoja whereby under the influence of the late Chief Lamidi Adedibu, the House was alleged to have sat in a hotel and the Supreme Court made that point abundantly clear that an impeachment carried out in a hotel deviates clearly from the Constitution,” the human rights lawyer said. “So any sitting of the House outside the premise of the House of Assembly complex will not be known to law; will not be recognized by law.” He said if there is a need for a sitting elsewhere, the members of the House of Assembly, properly constituted, will have to decide where to carry out their meeting. “There is a separation of powers under the Constitution and each organ of the government must recognise its own powers and limitations,” he said. Illegal Position? Falana equally said having defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the lawmakers have lost their position. “The 25 lawmakers who defected have lost their seats. They have lost their rights to remain members of the assembly,” he said. “In the case of Adetunde and the Labour Party, the Supreme Court made it clear that you cannot decamp and then remain a member of a legislative house in Nigeria unless you can show that there is a division in your party. Today, the PDP is one.”

I was offered money to impeach Fubara – Rivers gov’s aide, Ehie

  The Chief of Staff to Rivers State Government, Edison Ehie, has alleged that he was offered money to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara. He, however, did not disclose the identities of those who offered him money. Addressing a rally in Ahoada East area of the state, the former factional speaker of the State House of Assembly disclosed the purported plot to impeach the governor, eliciting applause from the gathered crowd. “They invited me, your son, to impeach the governor and I told them clearly, I was not interested.   “They gave me all the money that was hidden before, which I rejected. And because I refused, they conspired and declared me wanted,” Ehie said in a viral video clip from the rally.   Last year, Ehie was declared wanted by the police in connection with the invasion of the State House of Assembly. In October 2023, an explosion rattled the state assembly building amidst reports of lawmakers attempting to impeach Fubara. It was alleged that certain individuals with close ties to the governor were implicated in the incident. The Martin Amaewhule-led lawmakers had reportedly lodged criminal complaints against Ehie with the Rivers State Police Command regarding the invasion and arson of the Rivers State House of Assembly chambers by unidentified hoodlums. Ehie’s revelation contributes to the protracted crisis in the state, stemming from the conflict between Fubara and his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Terrorists kill two, abduct 10 at Kaduna football viewing centre

  Terrorists have killed three football fans and abducted 10 others in a fresh attack on the Idah community of the Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, The incident, it was learnt happened last Wednesday when the victims were watching the Champions League match between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich. Idah is located along the Bwari federal highway that links the Federal Capital Territory with Kaduna State. A top government official in the Kagarko Local Government Area, who pleaded anonymity for security reasons, confirmed the incident to The PUNCH on Sunday.   According to him, one of the slain victims was a nephew to the former acting District Head of Ida, Felix Ibrahim.   The 10 kidnapped victims were identified as Hanatu Sati, Rose Mary Sati, junior Samuel, Japhet Emmanuel, Chinedu, Salansa, Jostin Manda, Doris Markus, Morin Felix, Mrs. Abraham with her two children. “The terrorists invaded the village at about 9:30 pm, took vantage position and began to shoot indiscriminately at the spectators. “In the course of running for safety, two were shot dead while over 10 persons were abducted,” the government official said. He added that some sustained gunshot injuries and were rushed to the hospital for medical attention. When contacted, the Kaduna State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, said,” I will get back to

Sub-sea cable cut disrupts Internet services in East Africa

  Internet connectivity was disrupted in several East African nations on Sunday due to faults reported on the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and SEACOM cables, Internet monitoring groups said. NetBlocks, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), stated, “Network data show a disruption to Internet connectivity in and around multiple East African countries.” It was noted that Tanzania and the French Island of Mayotte were experiencing a high impact on Internet connectivity, while Mozambique and Malawi were seeing a medium impact. Another Internet firm, Cloudflare, also confirmed on X that connectivity disruptions were ongoing in Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar. Earlier, Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest telecoms operator, announced that it had activated redundancy measures to minimise service interruption and keep subscribers connected as they await the full restoration of the cable. The telecom operator, however, said subscribers would experience reduced Internet speeds. In March, Internet outages were reported in West African countries, including Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Benin, Ghana, and Burkina Faso, as well as South Africa. The outages were attributed to damage to four sub-sea cables off the west coast of Africa, which disrupted connectivity across the continent. The affected cables included the West Africa Cable System, MainOne, South Atlantic 3, and ACE sea cables, which are critical for telecommunications data. The Chief Executive Officer of West Indian Ocean Cable Company, Chris Wood, said it could result in collective repair costs of about $8m for the four digital infrastructure companies affected. The cable firms might need to allocate between $1m and $2m for the complete restoration of a single subsea cable, depending on the severity of the damage incurred, he explained in March.

Landlady, husband flee after throwing tenant’s corpse into canal

  A landlord, Bola Abiodun, and her husband, identified simply as Sunday, have flown their Temidire community home in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State after allegedly disposing of their tenant’s body in a canal. Our correspondent learnt that the incident, which occurred at about 12:05 pm on May 8, 2024, led the state police command to launch a manhunt for the couple after their disappearance following the alleged crime. According to a police source in the command, who was privy to the report but did not want to be named because he was not permitted to speak for the command, the tenant, who went by the name Iya Ibukun, had earlier been knocked down by a hit-and-run driver on May 5, 2024. After suffering various degrees of injury from the accident, our correspondent learnt that the deceased had turned to self-medication out of concern that she would not be able to pay for her medical bills. After turning to self-medication, the renter, our correspondent learnt, passed away in her apartment a few days later. The corpse was allegedly taken from the room and disposed of in a nearby canal by the landlady and her husband. The chairman of the Community Development Association, Mosuru Akindele, was reportedly called by the residents who had suspicions about the alleged occurrence, and the youth leader, Olabode Kazeem, was also contacted following the incident. “There was an accident; a hit-and-run driver allegedly knocked the tenant down. She didn’t go to the hospital and started treating herself at home. She died a few days after the incident. The landlady and her husband conspired to dump the body in a canal,” the cop told our correspondent. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident to our correspondent and said the police were working to recover the body from the canal. “Our men went to the house and discovered a two-year-old boy in a welfare facility. Meanwhile, our men combed the entire canal in search of the body, but we haven’t found anything,” she said. It was reported a few years ago that a landlord known as Sunday Omosule was nabbed after he allegedly killed his tenant’s four-year-old son with a pestle. Omosule, a landlord in Onipanu, Ota, in the Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State, was arrested by men of the state Police Command after a distress call was sent out. The erstwhile spokesperson for the command, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said, “The landlord was arrested following a distress call to the police at the Onipanu division.” During interrogation, Oyeyemi said the victim claimed to be under spiritual attack.

Stop electricity subsidy, IMF tells FG

  The International Monetary Fund has warned the Nigerian government to remove what it called implicit fuel and electricity subsidies. In a report published recently by the IMF, the organisation told Nigeria that the subsidies would guzzle three per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product in 2024 as against one per cent in the year before. According to the report, the IMF commended the Federal Government for, among other things, phasing out “costly and regressive energy subsidies”, saying this was critical to creating fiscal space for development spending and strengthening social protection while maintaining debt sustainability. President Bola Tinubu’s administration removed fuel subsidies during his inauguration on May 29, 2023. IMF noted, however, that “adequate compensatory measures for the poor were not scaled up promptly and subsequently paused over corruption concerns. Capping pump prices below cost reintroduced implicit subsidies by end-2023 to help Nigerians cope with high inflation and exchange rate depreciation.” The body also acknowledged that the price of electricity had tripled for high-use premium consumers on Band A feeders, 15 per cent of the 12 million customers who account for 40 per cent of electricity usage. As Nigerians agitate for the reversal of the Band A tariff from N206.80 per kilowatt-hour to N68, IMF submitted that “the tariff adjustment will help reduce expenditure on subsidies by 0.1 per cent of Gross Domestic Product, while continuing to provide relief to the poor, particularly in rural areas”. The IMF advocated that “once the safety net has been scaled up and inflation subsides, the government should tackle implicit fuel and electricity subsidies”. It warned, “With pump prices and tariffs below cost-recovery, implicit subsidy costs could increase to 3 per cent of GDP in 2024 from 1 per cent in 2023. These subsidies are costly and poorly targeted, with higher income groups benefiting more than the vulnerable”. The IMF reechoed that “as inflation subsides and support for the vulnerable is ramped up, costly and untargeted fuel and electricity subsidies should be removed, while, e.g., retaining a lifeline tariff”. It projected that the implicit fuel subsidy could gulp as high as N8.4tn in 2024 from N1.85tn in 2023, N4.4tn in 2022, N1.86tn in 2021 and N89bn in 2020. The electricity subsidy being paid to customers under Band B, C, D, and E was projected to stand at N540bn by the end of 2024. The PUNCH reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company and the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Heineken Lokpobiri, have repeatedly debunked claims that the Federal Government was paying fuel subsidies through the back door. Meanwhile, the IMF’s call for the removal of electricity subsidy is coming amid protests from Nigerians who are calling on the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, to return the Band A tariff to the status quo. The organised labour has threatened to stage a protest on Monday if Adelabu fails to heed their calls.

IBD Dende tells court he’s not smuggler

  A Customs licensed agent, Ibrahim Egungbohun, has approached a Federal High Court in Abuja to debunk an allegation that he is a top smuggler. According to PunchOnline, Egungbohun, popularly called IBD Dende, in the suit he filed through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Bola Aidi (SAN), said he was on several occasions, through posts that were shared on a social media platform, X, described as the biggest smuggler in the South West region of the country. He told the court that he was equally wrongly accused on the micro-blogging platform of smuggling bullets and guns to the eastern part of Nigeria. According to the claimant, a series of defamatory posts that were made against him by the defendants tarnished his hard-earned reputation and caused him a loss of goodwill. Cited as 1st to 3rd defendants in the suit marked CV/2286/24, are; an investigative journalist, Fisayo Soyombo; the Foundation for Investigative Journalism and the Arise Media Group. The claimant told the court that he is an established and renowned businessman and philanthropist. “The claimant is a Customs Licensed Agent and the owner and Chief Executive Officer of IBD Impex Limited, a company which is into clearing and forwarding of goods, construction, agriculture, real estate, and oil and gas. “The claimant, as a clearing and forwarding agent, carries out his legitimate work of importation through the land border just like every other clearing and forwarding agent. “The claimant is also into the hospitality business and is the owner of IBD International Hotel in Ogun State, adding that he is “an indigene of Ogun State, is also a socialite and is well known within the social and public space as IBD Dende,” the statement read. “The claimant’s hard work, integrity, dedication and tenacity have given him business goodwill among well-meaning Nigerians and have enabled the claimant to establish business and personal relationships with top Nigerian businessmen and politicians including Nigerian President, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, incumbent Governor of Ogun State, His Excellency, Dapo Abiodun, amongt several others,” he averred in the court process. He told the court that owing to “the persistent defamation of the claimant by the defendants, “the Eselu of Iselu in Ogun state, Oba Akintunde Akinyemi, who is his traditional monarch, wrote an ‘Open Letter’ to the 3rd defendant on the defamatory and damaging nature of a documentary that was aired against him. “In the said open letter, the monarch advised the 1st and 3rd defendants to desist from further defamation of his subject and to always verify their claims before feeding it to the public.” Citing examples of some of the posts that were shared against him, Egungbohun said, “The claimant avers that in the defamatory post of 26 March 2024, the vivid description given by the 1st defendant on how the bullets and guns alleged to have been smuggled in by the claimant were pierced into their component parts, smothered with black nylons just how turkey is packaged, lumped together with turkey as though the real import is turkey, and smuggled to eastern Nigeria with the knowledge of a particular Customs officer in Zone B shows that the 1st defendant was either present at the time of smuggling/partook in the smuggling of the bullets and guns, or that he was present and saw when the guns and bullets were smuggled into Nigeria. “The claimant avers further to paragraph 35, that the defamatory statement of the 1st defendant that the claimant smuggled bullets and guns to eastern Nigeria is an innuendo which infers that the claimant is a sponsor of the insecurity and terrorism in eastern Nigeria. “The claimant states that the defendants’ tagging of the claimant as a smuggler, gun runner, terrorist, etc. is outright falsehood and defamatory of the claimant’s hard-earned reputation and character as the claimant has never engaged in the act of smuggling, gun running, terrorism or any other illegal act,” among others. Furthermore, “the claimant avers that the defendants’ derogatory post, publication and remarks have soiled his hard-earned reputation before his friends, business associates, colleagues and clients. “The claimant avers that the defendants in defaming and assassinating his name and character with reference to his goodwill and relationship with prominent Nigerians, deliberately seek to malign the claimant’s name and reputation before his friends, business partners and political associates,” noting that the “claimant’s good name and reputation have been smeared for life by the libelous posts of the defendants.” “The claimant puts the defendants to the strictest of proof of all the defamatory and derogatory allegations made against him,” he added. Consequently, the claimant, among other things, prayed the court to hold that he was defamed, as well as to issue an order to compel the defendants to retract the libelous statements and tender an apology to him through their various platforms. Aside from seeking a restraining order against the defendants, the claimant is also praying the court to award N5 billion to him as general damages and another N10 million to cover the cost of the litigation. Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for the matter to be heard.

At Least 34 Killed In Indonesia Floods, 16 Missing

  At least 34 people were killed and 16 more were missing in western Indonesia after flash floods and cold lava flow from one of the archipelago’s most active volcanos damaged homes, roads and mosques, officials said Sunday. Hours of heavy rain caused flooding in Agam and Tanah Datar districts in West Sumatra province on Saturday evening, threatening thousands of people after the downpours swept ash and large rocks down Mount Marapi. “I heard the thunder and the sound similar to boiling water. It was the sound of big rocks falling,” housewife Rina Devina told AFP, adding that three of her neighbours were killed. “It was pitch black, so I used my cellphone as a flashlight. The road was muddy, so I chanted ‘God, have mercy!’ over and over again,” she said of her evacuation to a local official’s office. West Sumatra disaster agency said 16 people died in Agam district and 18 in Tanah Datar, with 18 people injured overall. “We are also still searching for 16 other people,” agency spokesman Ilham Wahab told AFP. Damaged houses are seen after flash floods and cold lava flow from a volcano in Tanah Datar, West Sumatra, on May 12, 2024. (Photo by REZAN SOLEH / AFP) He said the search effort involved local rescuers, police, soldiers and volunteers. Abdul Malik, head of the search and rescue agency in provincial capital Pandang, told reporters three more people had died but they were yet to be confirmed by other authorities. The flash floods and cold lava flow hit the two districts at around 10:30 pm (1530 GMT) on Saturday, according to the Basarnas search and rescue agency. Cold lava, also known as lahar, is volcanic material such as ash, sand and pebbles carried down a volcano’s slopes by rain. Abdul Muhari, spokesman for the national disaster mitigation agency, or BNPB, said in a statement that 84 homes, 16 bridges and two mosques were damaged in Tanah Datar, as were 20 hectares (49.4 acres) of rice fields. About 370,000 people live in the district, where several mosques and a public pool were also damaged, with large rocks and logs scattered on the ground, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. In Lembah Anai, a popular tourist spot with a waterfall in Tanah Datar, a road connecting the cities of Padang and Bukittinggi was severely damaged and access for cars was cut off. Aerial images seen by AFP of the district showed roads covered by mud, with roofs and a mosque’s minarets jutting out of the sea of brown mud. Trucks swept away Ilham said Sunday that authorities were still receiving reports of missing people from relatives. He said he could not give a figure for the number of people evacuated from the area because the search and rescue effort was still focused on the victims and the missing. Two trucks had been swept away by the flooding and strong currents in a nearby river in Tanah Datar, the journalist said. In Agam, which has a population of more than 500,000 people, dozens of homes and public facilities were damaged, the district’s disaster agency chief Budi Perwira Negara told reporters. He said 90 people had been evacuated to a school being used as a shelter. Nine bodies, including those of a three-year-old and an eight-year-old, were identified on Sunday, Malik said in an earlier statement. Authorities sent a team of rescuers and rubber boats to look for the missing victims and to transport people to shelters. The local government set up evacuation centres and emergency posts in several areas of Agam and Tanah Datar. Indonesia is prone to landslides and floods during the rainy season. At least 26 people were found dead in March after landslides and floods hit West Sumatra. In 2022, about 24,000 people were evacuated and two children were killed in floods on Sumatra island, with environmental campaigners blaming deforestation caused by logging for worsening the disaster. Trees act as natural defences against floods, slowing the rate at which water runs down hills and into rivers. Marapi is the most active volcano on the archipelago’s Sumatra island. It erupted in December and spewed an ash tower about 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) into the sky, taller than the volcano itself. At least 24 climbers, most of them university students, died in the eruption. AFP

Police arrest father of 4-year-old girl used for adult content in Edo

  The Edo state police command has arrested the father of a minor who was used for sensual content creation. An X user had called the attention of the authorities to the alleged abuse of the girl, said to be about four years old. Videos and pictures trending on social media show the minor in revealing clothes while in the company of some men, including her father, in a hotel in Auchi, Edo state. The minor has an Instagram account in her name where her semi-nude pictures are posted. The development has sparked public outcry on social media. In a statement on Sunday, Chidi Nwabuzor, spokesperson of the command, said on learning of the situation, Funsho Adegboye, Edo police commissioner, ordered his officers to arrest the suspects involved. Nwabuzor said the father of the girl was arrested 12 hours later, and that investigations are ongoing. The Edo State Police Command is aware of the trending video of a child of about 4 years old conspicuously naked and used as an adult content in an undisclosed hotel in Auchi, Edo State,” the statement reads. “The Commissioner of Police Edo State Command, CP Funsho Adegboye, mni immediately drafted tactical team to go all out and arrest the suspect and his cohort. Within 12 hours, the father of the girl was arrested, investigation has commenced further revelation will be made known to the public.” The commissioner appealed to the public to remain calm, while assuring that justice will be served.

Rivers Elders warns Fubara not to tamper with Assembly structures

  Elders and leaders of Rivers across political party lines have called on the state Governor Siminalayi Fubara, to shelve any plan to tamper with structures at the House of Assembly quarters located along Aba Road in Port Harcourt. The elders comprising past and present members of the National Assembly, local government chairmen, and opinion leaders spoke on Sunday, May 12, when they paid a surprise visit to the quarters to assess the condition of the buildings. Their intervention was following the recent visit of the governor to the facility and insinuations of a plan to renovate the estate, which currently houses the hallowed chamber of the Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly. Accompanied by other stakeholders in the state, the leaders were received by Amaewhule and other lawmakers and were taken around the structures in the complex and the auditorium that currently serves as a chamber for the lawmakers. Amaewhule told the leaders that there was a grand plot by the governor to bring down the structures the same way he ordered the demolition of the House of Assembly Complex located along Moacow Road to stop them from sitting. He said the structures were in excellent condition, fully functional, and were currently occupied by the lawmakers and their family members. He condemned the way and manner the governor stormed the quarters aided by thugs and armed policemen alleging that Fubara broke the gate and allowed others to scale the fence Amaewhule said the lawmakers never invited the governor to come to the quarters adding that the estate remained the property of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Addressing the elders, Amaewhule said: “Your visit is unusual visit. It shows that the good people of the state are concerned about what is happening. This facility is the facility of the Rivers State House of Assembly. overlay-clevercloseLogo “We have also brought in experts, engineers and there is nothing wrong with these structures. They are fully in use and fully functional. All the experts confirmed to us that this building is one of the best in the entire West Africa. “This complex was constructed by the former Governor, Nyesom Wike and inaugurated in August 2022 by the current chief of staff to Mr. President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila. We are happy with the building and everything is working well. “We didn’t write to the governor and we didn’t invite him. We didn’t ask for his help because we don’t need it. We don’t need his intervention in any way. Any attempt to talk about reconstruction or demolition is clearly an assault on democracy and an assault on members resident in these buildings. The Rivers State Government is not the office of the governor. It comprises the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The governor has no right to claim it as his personal property. It is the property of the Rivers State House of Assembly. So without an invitation to the governor, he has no right to break into our property”. Amaewhule while showing the leaders the current legislative chamber at the complex insisted that the governor had no right to make any executive order directing lawmakers where to hold their sitting. Citing the judgement of Omotosho, Amaewhule described governor’s actions as a flagrant violation of orders of the Federal High Court, none of which he said had been vacated. He said: “All the orders of injunction by that court are still in place. None had been vacated. The law is on the side of members. The orders of the three high courts are still in place. The duty of ascertaining whether there is a problem is the duty of the assembly not the office of the governor. “This facility belongs to the Rivers State House of Assembly and it remains so. We are not an appendage of the office of the governor. The judgement of Justice Omotosho bars him from interfering with our affairs. The judgement says don’t interfere with anything concerning us. It is in continuous disobedience to the order of the court that the governor broke into this place. “The judgment also barred the other people from doing what they are currently doing. It is only the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission that can recruit, and discipline any staff member of the assembly. Those other people are Nollywood actors. The law is on our side. There is also a subsisting order of another court made by Justice Okoro”. The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, while stating the purpose of their visit said they were worried about reports of another impending demolition of a democratic institution and decided to assess the condition of the premises.