Headlines

The main building of the Kwara State high court complex was razed by fire on Tuesday.

The fire incident affected 40 offices, three open courts, registry department and litigation office.

Spokesman of the State Fire Service, Hassan Adekunle, disclosed in a statement in Ilorin on Tuesday that the agency received a distress call on the incident at about 07.33hours and responded swiftly.

“The firefighters immediately commenced their efforts to combat the raging flames. Working tirelessly, they skillfully navigated through the burning structure, deploying their expertise and resources to contain and extinguish the fire.

“Despite the daunting challenges they faced, the firefighters succeeded in saving the state high court from complete devastation, preventing what could have been a catastrophic loss.

“Subsequent investigation into the cause of the fire revealed that it was triggered by a power surge, highlighting the importance of electrical safety measures,” he added.

Prince Falade John Olumuyiwa, the Director of the State Fire Service, urged the general public to prioritize safety awareness and precautions in their daily lives.

He said the call to action underscores the critical role that vigilance and preparedness plays in preventing such tragedies from occurring in the future.

President Bola Tinubu has conferred the national honour of Member of the Order of the Niger (MON) on every member of the Super Eagles that participated at the just concluded AFCON.

President Bola Tinubu is presently hosting Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles, at the Council Chambers of the State House.

This meeting on Tuesday follows closely on the heels of their recent match against the host nation, Côte d’Ivoire, in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations finals, where they fell short in their bid to win the trophy.

Details later…

Gunmen have attacked the Senator representing Imo-North senatorial district (Okigwe zone), Senator Patrick Ndubueze, resulting in the tragic death of one of his orderlies.

A source close to the senator told the Nation that the gunmen stormed the senator’s residence during the early hours of Monday, February 12.

The source added that while the senator managed to escape unharmed, one of the policemen assigned to him was fatally shot.

He said: “The news of Senator Patrick Ndubueze being attacked is true. They stormed his residence at Umualumoke and killed a policeman working for him.

“They invaded his house and one of his policemen was gunned down in the process. It could be the same set of hoodlums that also ambushed the Correctional Service in Okigwe and set prisoners free after killing a police inspector and abducting the officer in charge of the centre.

“Okigwe has become a war zone where no one is saved. We are living in total fear. Most of our youths have run away for fear of being killed. Our security agencies are not doing enough to combat crimes in the state. Yet, there are so many of them (security men) in this area,” he lamented.

Senator Patrick Ndubueze is currently serving as an APC senator who won the February 25, 2023, National Assembly elections.

While confirming the incident, the Imo state police command spokesman, Henry Okoye, said the state commissioner of police, Aboki Danjuma has set up a tactical team to go after the attackers.

A fire incident has destroyed some shanties at Ikate around Salem Bus Stop in Lekki, Lagos, late on Monday.

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said this in a statement.

He said the agency’s response unit upon receiving a distress call moved in immediately.

“We received distress calls via our Toll Free Emergency numbers 767/112 at 11.21 pm, and activated the State’s Emergency Response Plans.

“The LASEMA Response Team from Lekki Base arrived at the incident scene at 11.50pm, while the elite LASEMA Fire Unit also responded from the agency’s hub at Cappa Base.

“On arrival of the response teams, it was observed that some shanties behind an estate was engulfed by fire at the aforementioned address.

“Further investigation revealed that the fire emanated from one of the shanty rooms and subsequently escalated to other rooms,” he said.

He added that the fire also escalated to adjoining buildings within the estate.

“No loss of life at the incident scene, or injury sustained to responders as a result of the inferno.

“The cause of the fire could not be ascertained,” he said.

Oke-Osanyitolu said the fire had been brought under control and completely put out through joint efforts of all responders.

“Properties worth a fortune were destroyed by the inferno and post-disaster assessment is in progress.

“LASEMA Response Team, the agency’s fire unit, Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service, the Estate Fire Department and the Nigerian Police Force, were all in attendance,” he said.

Justice Umaru Fadawu of the Borno State High Court, sitting in Maiduguri, has convicted and sentenced Aisha Wakil (otherwise known as Mama Boko Haram), Tahiru Daura and Lawal Soyade to 10 years imprisonment.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dele Oyewale, on Monday night.

The Maiduguri Zonal Command of the EFCC had earlier secured a conviction against Wakil and her accomplices for falsely obtaining N15 million from one Bukar Kachalla of Hamiza Global Resources Limited under the guise of supplying three units of Chemistry Analyser Solar Energy Brand Model 1800 (UK version).

The action was said to be contrary to Section 1(1) (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.

Former EFCC spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, said in a statement Justice Aisha Kumaliya of the Borno State High Court, sentenced Wakil and the others, to seven years imprisonment for conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretenses.

In his statement, Oyewale said, “The defendants were jailed upon being arraigned by the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, March 5, 2020, on a two count charge bordering on conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence to the tune of N40m.

Count two of the charge reads: “That you Aisha Alkali Wakil, Tahiru Alhaji Saidu Daura, and Prince Lawal Soyade whilst being the Chief Executive Officer, Programme Manager, and Country Director respectively of Complete Care and Aid Foundation, (a Non-Governmental Organisation) and Saidu Mukhtar (at large) sometime in Maiduguri, Borno State within the jurisdiction of this honourable court did with intent to defraud obtained the sum of N40m from one Bashir Abubakar, the Chief Executive Officer of Duty-Free Shop Ltd under the false pretence of executing a purported contract for the supply of five X-ray Machines 1900 with Solar Energy which you knew to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section (1) 1 (b) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.”

The defendants however pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them, while the counsel for the prosecution, A. I Arogha, presented four witnesses and tendered 17 exhibits before the court.

The statement also read that Justice Fadawu “convicted and sentenced them to 10 years imprisonment for the offence of conspiracy.

The court further sentenced the defendants to 10 years imprisonment for the offence of obtaining by false pretence and ordered them to jointly and severally pay the sum of N40 million to Bashir Muhammad.

“The prison term shall run concurrently on the expiration of all prison terms imposed on the convicts by any court.”

The convicts’ journey to the correctional centre began when a petitioner alleged that they swindled him through a purported contract for the supply of five X-ray Machines 1900 with Solar Energy to a Non-Governmental Organisation, Complete Care and Aid Foundation, worth N40 million.

Some hoodlums on Monday attacked officials of NAFDAC who were on an enforcement operation against substandard drugs in Abuja.

The officials were attacked by the hoodlums during a raid at Area 1 motor park.

The hoodlums harassed the enforcement officers, including mobile policemen, and stoned the agency’s vehicle, breaking its windscreen.

It took the effort of police officers, who shot into the air several times and released teargas to disperse the hoodlums before journalists and the NAFDAC officers could scamper for safety.

The team leader, Umar-Ahmed Suleiman, an assistant chief regulatory officer, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), said the raid followed intelligence received by the Agency of the high volume of substandard drugs in the park.

“This exercise that we just conducted today at Area 1 motor park is as a result of intelligence report received from DSS in 2023, although we have done some part of it then, we are trying to conclude the operation.

“You can see a lot of drug hawkers relaxed selling their products and people patronising them, that was why we raided the place.

“What happened is a normal thing to us in the investigation and enforcement unit of NAFDAC.

“That is why anytime we are going, we go with our armed mobile police officers, and Investigative Police Officers in case of any arrest.

“On our arrival here today, we swung into action, but to my surprise, we had not even done half of the work when the drug hawkers all absconded, not knowing that they were re-enforcing against NAFDAC.

“They came back in full force, attacking us; you can see our vehicle and how they broke the glass, throwing stones at us.

“Thank God for the gunshot and teargas released on them and we had to leave the scene,” he said.

Mr Suleiman, however, said that the enforcement unit would reinforce, prepare more, and do the needful.

He said in spite of the attack, the enforcement team was able to seize some controlled drugs, including rohypnol, diazepam, tramadol 500mg, tramadol 225mg, co-codamol, and so many other aphrodisiacs with some codeine syrups.

According to him, the value of the drug seized is more than N5 million.

“Area 1 motor park is a troublesome area for substandard drug sales, and the enforcement unit will be going back there to complete the operation,” he said.

A 20-year-old newlywed, Aisha Aliyu of Nasarawa village in Lapai Local Government Area of Niger State has reportedly killed her husband, Idris Ahmadu.

Residents told Daily Trust that the incident happened around 1am on Monday.

Multiple sources said the couple got married on December 31, 2023.

One of the sources said the couple had a little misunderstanding in the evening on Sunday and they were reconciled before going to bed, until midnight when the mother of the deceased heard him screaming.

“When the mother came out alongside other residents, they saw him in a pool of blood. He tried to run out of room but he fell at the doorstep. But up till now, we don’t know the whereabouts of his wife,” he said.

The source said the wife had first stabbed the husband on his chest before she eventually slaughtered him.

Asked if it was a forced marriage, sources said the couple had been in a relationship for years but before the wedding date was fixed, she had a change of mind to marry someone else.

“But even with that, issues were resolved. They started this relationship right from secondary school and they had been together. Before the marriage, she said she was no longer interested in the relationship, but the issue was resolved and she agreed eventually, not knowing that this was her plan. She said she had a new suitor,” he said.

The Niger State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, confirmed the incident to our reporter.

“Today 12/02/2024 (Monday), at about 1200hrs, information was received that in the early hours, one Idris Ahmadu of Nasarawa village, via Lapai was stabbed to death by his wife, Aisha Aliyu 19/20yrs of the same address.

“Before the arrival of the police at the scene, the suspect had fled to an unknown destination, while effort is being intensified to arrest the fleeing suspect. Case under investigation please,” he said.

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero,  has stated that if the ongoing inflation continues unabated, organised labour might push for a new minimum wage of up to N1million for Nigerian workers.

Ajaero said the demand from organised labour would be influenced by the cost of living which has been increasing since President Bola Tinubu assumed office, notably due to the removal of fuel subsidy and other policies.

The NLC president said this during an interview with Arise News, on Sunday evening.

He said, “This N1 million may be relevant if the value of the Nigerian (naira) continues to depreciate; if the inflation continues unchecked because the demand of labour is equally dependent on what is happening in the society.

“You will remember that by the time we were contemplating N200,000 (as minimum wage), the exchange rate was about N800/N900 (to a dollar). As we talk today, the exchange rate is about N1,400 or even more.

“Those are the issues that determine the demand and it is equally affecting the cost of living. And we have always said that our demand will be based on the cost of living index. You will agree with me today that even a bag of rice is going for about N60,000/N70,000 or more.

“A bag of locally produced corn is about N56,000 or more. Foodstuff is getting out of reach, now are we going to get a minimum wage that will not be enough for transportation even for one week?

“You have to factor in these issues and that will determine the Federal Government’s commitment to this negotiation. It is not just that they want to give us a minimum wage.

“The old minimum wage will be expiring by April and ordinarily, the Federal Government ought to have set up a committee six months before that time so that negotiation would have commenced but the Federal Government didn’t do that until (recently when) they inaugurated a committee and the committee has not sat.

“It appears we are going to work within one month or two to agree on a figure and I doubt how those ones are going to… especially when you look at the people that the Federal Government assembled as members of the committee.

“They looked at some of the governors that are not paying even the existing minimum wage and even they have a minister of budget who didn’t implement his minimum wage as a governor.

“If you have these people in the government team on the issue of minimum wage, some of us have not seen a bright future in the work of this new minimum wage committee.”

Both the NLC and the Trade Union Congress last week Thursday issued a 14-day strike notice to the Federal Government, expressing frustration over its failure to implement a 16-point agreement signed in October 2023.

This agreement aimed to alleviate the  suffering caused by the rise in petrol price and the devaluation of the naira, policies that have increased hardships and inflation.

The unions demanded the government fulfill its obligations within the stipulated 14-day period starting from Friday, February 9, 2024.