Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation, says Thursday’s supreme court ruling has “emancipated” LGAs from the “shackles of the past”. On Thursday, the apex court ruled that the federal government should henceforth pay LG allocations directly to local government councils. The seven-member supreme court panel held that state governors have continued to abuse their powers by retaining and using the funds meant for LGAs. The apex court ordered the federal government to withhold allocations of LGs governed by unelected officials. Speaking with journalists after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, Fagbemi said the judgment of the supreme court will take “immediate effect”. The AGF said the “ball is now in the court” of state governors to conduct LGA elections, adding that the judgment stipulates punishment for refusal. “Naturally, one will be happy, should be happy. Nigerians are happy about it,” he said. “I call it local government emancipation judgment because it has really emancipated the local government from the shackles of the past. “I hope that local government officials will look at it as an opportunity to develop their various local governments. “The judgment is clear as to what they should do, the judgment is clear as to what consequences will attach to failure or refusal to follow the judgment of the supreme court… which takes immediate effect.”

  The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has dismissed Buba Adamu, a corporal “who refused to report at his new station in Kaduna”. Adamu had been transferred to Kaduna from the Cross River command where he has been for nine years. The corporal reportedly promoted himself to the rank of superintendent and allegedly operated illegally from the Cross River command. During a press briefing in Calabar, Irene Ugbo, spokesperson of the command, said Adamu operated as a “mobile police officer without any supervision or reporting to a specific police command since 2015 when the transfer was made”. The dismissed corporal was alleged to have been receiving salary in spite of not reporting at his new station. Some concerned members of the Nassarawa community, a Hausa/Fulani settlement in Calabar, reportedly brought Adamu’s “illicit activities” to the attention of the force. The community raised the alarm when they learnt that the police command was under pressure to release Adamu following his arrest. “As of today, Corporal Adamu is no longer a policeman, because he has been relieved of his duties,” Ugbo said. “Every item, property belonging to the Nigeria police in his possession, including uniforms, identification card and others have been retrieved. “The matter has now been charged to court. It is left for the judiciary. The court will take it up from where we stopped, as we have done the needful.”

  A secondary school building has collapsed in Plateau States killing at least 12 persons and leaving dozens of others injured. Activities at Saints Academy and its immediate environment in Busa Buji, Jos North, were disrupted on Friday morning when the school’s two-story building caved in on students and their teachers. The collapse trapped more than 70 pupils, witnesses said, transforming a peaceful educational environment into a scene of chaos. Panicked and desperate residents quickly descended on the scene to provide help as screams for help rent the air. They were joined by emergency workers to battle the rubble to rescue those trapped underneath. So far, 12 people have been pulled out dead while dozens of others injured in the collapse have been rushed to nearby hospitals. Some of those who have been rushed to the hospitals are in urgent need of blood transfusions as the hospitals battle to treat them. Checks by Channels TV show that 26 people are receiving treatment at one of the hospitals, Our Lady of Apostles Hospital, where some of the victims were taken. Four bodies have also been moved to the hospital’s mortuary. The Bingham Hospital has received seven bodies and is providing medical care for 16 injured people. Thirty-four injured persons are being treated at the Plateau Specialist Hospital; two of them sustained spinal cord injuries. Meanwhile, rescue efforts are ongoing at the scene which is filled with the wailing of sirens from ambulances and and despairing parents eager to find out the fate of their children. The Joint Security Task Force Operation Safe Haven has mobilised five vans and thirty soldiers to support the rescue efforts. Emergency workers, supported by volunteers, security personnel, and members of the Red Cross, are using excavators to rescue pupils still trapped under the rubble. Rescue operation is underway as security agencies and rescue operators battle with excavators to rescue students and teachers buried under the rubble. The number of casualty figures has yet to be ascertained

  A yet-to-be-identified woman and her son, known only as Chukwuemeka, have allegedly beaten a 14-year-old boy named Testimony to death at their home on Delta Street, Ayanre, off Ibiye bus stop, Badagry, Lagos. Our correspondent gathered that the deceased was reportedly beaten for allegedly misplacing N1000 note given to him by one of the suspects to buy items at the market. Multiple sources who spoke with our correspondent said that the deceased teenager was allegedly beaten for several hours starting at 11 pm on Wednesday, before succumbing to his injuries around 1 am on Thursday. One of the neighbours who spoke with our correspondent on Friday said, “This young boy was beaten to death by his guardians, who were not his biological parents. The neighbours tried to intervene, but the doors were locked from the inside. “Around 6 am this morning (Thursday), he (the deceased) wasn’t responding to his name, so they rushed him to a nearby hospital. The hospital didn’t have oxygen therapy, so they brought him back home, which aggravated the boy’s condition. “The woman then called her prayer partners in church to start praying for miracles to happen before the boy finally gave up the ghost. The police came exactly around 5.10 pm on Thursday to pick up the woman, who was the main suspect in the brutalities shown to the deceased.” Meanwhile, Benjamin Hundeyin, the spokesperson for the state police command, said he could not confirm the incident when our correspondent inquired about it. “I cannot confirm that now,” Hundeyin wrote in response to our correspondent inquiry on Friday. However, a one-minute and thirty-two-second video shared with our correspondent by another eyewitness, who chose to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter, showed the lifeless body of the boy with severe bruises, covered with a cloth in the apartment. One of the men suspected to be behind the camera was heard saying, “This is the dead boy with bruises,” while others were screaming in disbelief

  President Bola Tinubu has named the National Arts Theatre in Iganmu, Lagos, after Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka. Tinubu announced this in a tribute he wrote to celebrate Soyinka in commemoration of his 90th birthday. The tribute dated “Professor Wole Soyinka at 90: Tribute to a national treasure and global icon,” was personally signed by the President and made available to journalists on Friday. Tinubu expressed his delight to join admirers around the world in celebrating Soyinka, adding that July 13 would be the climax of the series of local and international activities held in his honour. Tinubu wrote, “Professor Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Literature Prize in 1986, deserves all the accolades as he marks the milestone of 90 years on earth. Having beaten prostate cancer, this milestone is a fitting testament to his ruggedness as a person and the significance of his work. “It is also fitting we celebrate this national treasure while he is still with us. I am, accordingly, delighted to announce the decision of the Federal Government to rename the National Theatre in Iganmu, Surulere, as the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts.” Tinubu stated that Nigeria not only celebrates Soyinka’s remarkable literary achievements, but also his unwavering dedication to the values of human dignity and justice. “When he turned 80, I struggled to find words to encapsulate his achievements because they were simply too vast. Since then, he has added to his corpus with his series of Interventions, which have been published in many volumes. “Professor Soyinka is a colossus, a true renaissance person blessed with innumerable talents. He is a playwright, actor, poet, human rights and political activist, composer, and singer. “He is a giant best riding not just the literary world but our nation, Africa, and the world,” he averred. According to the President, Soyinka is one Nigerian whose influence transcends the Nigerian space and who inspires people around the world, explaining that since his youth, he has been a vocal critic of oppression and injustice wherever it exists, from apartheid in South Africa to racism in the United States. “Beginning from his 20s, he took personal risks for the sake of our nation. His courage was evident when he attempted to broker peace at the start of the civil war in 1967. Detained for two years for his bravery, he narrated his experience in his prison memoir, ‘The Man Died.’ “Despite deprivation and solitary confinement, his resolve to speak truth to power and fight for the marginalised was further strengthened. “Our paths crossed during our struggle for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election,” Tinubu stated.

Nigerian public officials collected an estimated N721 billion in cash bribes in 2023, according to the ‘Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends’ report prepared by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and published by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. The report states that the amount paid as bribes is equivalent to 0.35% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It also highlights that the average cash bribe paid was 8,284 Nigerian naira. Although the nominal average cash bribe size has increased from N5,754 in 2019, this figure does not account for inflation. When adjusted for inflation, the average cash bribe in 2023 was actually 29% smaller than in 2019 in terms of purchasing power. Overall, the report estimates that approximately N721 billion ($1.26 billion) was paid in cash bribes to public officials in Nigeria in 2023. Also, cash remained king among bribe takers and givers as more than 95 per cent of all bribes paid in 2023 were paid in monetary form (cash or money transfer).   However, in certain instances, food and drink (16 per cent), an animal (8 per cent), exchange for other services (7 per cent) or valuables (4 per cent) also served as a bribe. Meanwhile, the survey found that in 2023, 5.1 bribes were paid on average by each bribe payer representing “A modest and statistically insignificant decrease in the frequency of bribe-paying from 2019, when on average 5.4 bribes were paid by each bribe payer. It is estimated that some 87 million bribes were paid in 2023 (compared with 117 million estimated in 2019) – the equivalent of an average of 0.8 bribes per adult. “The frequency of bribery is, on average, higher in rural areas than in urban areas. In 2023, bribe-payers living in urban areas paid on average 4.5 bribes, while those living in rural areas paid on average 5.8 bribes.” On a positive note, it was discovered that bribery is becoming less accepted in Nigeria as 70 per cent of Nigerians who were asked to pay a bribe in 2023, refused to do so on at least one occasion. The report said that the bribery refusal rate was found to be highest in the North-West (at 76 per cent), although all zones recorded refusal rates above 60 per cent. Also, the portion of Nigerians who think that bribery requests are acceptable to fast-track administrative procedures decreased from 29 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2023. “Fewer citizens report suffering negative consequences after refusing bribe requests in 2023 (38 per cent) compared with 2019 (49 per cent). This suggests that Nigerians feel increasingly empowered to confront corrupt officials without fear of repercussions,” the report revealed.

  Young Kenyans on Friday dismissed President William Ruto’s decision to sack most of his cabinet, with some warning that they would resume street protests unless he steps down. Ruto has been scrambling to contain the fallout of deadly protests against proposed tax hikes after last month’s peaceful rallies descended into violence and tapped into widespread anger against his government. Organised online and led largely by young, Gen-Z Kenyans, the protests have plunged Ruto’s administration into the most serious crisis of his two-year presidency, forcing him to abandon the finance bill containing the tax hikes. In the latest move to defuse tensions, Ruto on Thursday dismissed all cabinet ministers including the attorney-general, with the exception of Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Èdè Wa Ni: Ẹ Pàdé Olorì Sports Tó Ń Fi Ẹ̀fẹ̀ Ṣ’àtúpalẹ̀ Eré Ìdárayá Lédè Yorùbá0.00 / 0.00 But the announcement, while welcomed by some, did not appease some young Kenyans frustrated with Ruto’s failure to deliver on his 2022 election promise to create jobs and boost their fortunes. Hyrence Mwangi, 25, said: “We will be back on the streets until Ruto goes. He has wasted two years in office travelling and telling lies.” Initially peaceful, the protests sharply escalated when police fired at crowds who stormed parliament, ransacking the partly ablaze complex. While large-scale street protests have subsided, anger against the government has not, particularly towards the police, with rights groups saying that 39 people were killed in the demonstrations. “When we first went to the streets, Ruto dismissed us as a bunch of hired goons and criminals, only to come later and start saying he will make changes,” said 27-year-old Jackson Rotich.   “We can’t trust him.” Law student Melisa Agufana, 24, said she wanted to “thank the president for listening”, adding that ministers had “wasted two years doing nothing apart from being driven around with our national flag.” Analysts said the move offered the possibility of a fresh start but warned of further risks. “The challenge that Ruto now faces is forming a new cabinet that includes various vested interests, whilst simultaneously calming popular anger”, Gabrielle Lynch, professor of comparative politics at the University of Warwick, told AFP. Last week, Ruto announced sharp cuts to government spending, including travel and refurbishment costs, and said he would increase borrowing to pay for some services even as Kenya grapples with massive foreign debt equivalent to roughly 70 percent of GDP. The crisis led US-based Moody’s to downgrade Kenya’s debt rating further into junk territory, warning of a negative outlook, which will make borrowing even more expensive for the cash-strapped government. Ruto said Thursday that he would “immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government”, without elaborating further. AFP