Police Nab Woman Caught on Video Trying to Slit Maid’s Throat in Umuahia

UMUAHIA — The Abia State Police Command has arrested a 35-year-old woman, Mrs Nwoko Gift, for allegedly attempting to kill her 12-year-old house help and niece, Miss Ebony Chimamanda, with a kitchen knife at IBB Housing Estate in Umuahia, following the circulation of a disturbing viral video on social media on Monday, July 6, 2026, which captured the horrifying moment the woman assaulted the young girl and attempted to cut her throat with a knife. In the footage, the visibly terrified victim is seen lying face-down on a concrete floor, pleading for mercy while crying, “Aunty no,” as she shielded her throat from the weapon, and a neighbour in the compound filmed the entire incident, while the young girl was later rescued by a man who intervened to stop the woman from carrying out the deadly attack.

According to the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Maureen Chinaka, preliminary investigations revealed that the incident occurred on Sunday, July 5, 2026, and the suspect, who hails from Ehime Mbano, Imo State, allegedly attempted to kill the girl because she refused to spread clothes she was instructed to hang before the suspect left for the market. The police spokesperson detailed: “Preliminary investigation reveals that on 05/07/2026, Mrs Nwoko Gift, female, 35 years old, of Ehimembano Imo State but resides at IBB Housing Estate, Umuahia, the aunt to Miss Ebo Chimamanda (female, 12 years) of the same address, on the same date attempted to kill Miss Ebo Chimamanda, who stays with her, on the basis that she refused to spread the clothes she was asked to spread before the suspect left for the market” . Police investigations further uncovered a disturbing pattern of abuse, revealing that the suspect had repeatedly beaten and threatened to kill the young girl in the past, painting a grim picture of prolonged domestic violence against a vulnerable child entrusted to her care.

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Acting on actionable intelligence, operatives from the World Bank Divisional Police Headquarters, Umuahia, raced to the scene, rescued the victim, apprehended the suspect, and recovered the kitchen knife used in the attack, ensuring that the weapon was secured as evidence for prosecution. The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) for further investigation, and the suspect will be charged with attempted murder upon the conclusion of the inquiry, as police work to build a strong case that ensures justice is served for the young victim. The Police Command strongly condemned the act, with DSP Chinaka stating: “This act is strongly condemned in its entirety. The Abia State Police Command is aware of the incident, and investigation is currently ongoing. The suspect is in our custody, and we will keep the public informed as the investigation progresses” . In a further statement, the command added: “The Command condemns such actions for whatever reasons and advises members of the public to desist from such acts, as well as to report any such incidents to the nearest police station. Together we can keep Abia safe. See something, say something” , underscoring the importance of community vigilance in combating domestic violence and child abuse.

The viral video has triggered widespread outrage across social media, with many Nigerians condemning the attack as attempted murder rather than discipline, and the public has demanded swift justice for the young girl while expressing concern over the rising incidence of child abuse across the country. Nigerian writer and social commentator Charles Ogbu, founder of the Leave No One Behind Rural Care Initiative, has called on the government to declare a state of emergency on child abuse and violence against children in Nigeria, arguing that the frequency and brutality of such incidents demand urgent systemic intervention. In a passionate social media post, Ogbu declared: “I have said it again and again, our society needs to declare a state of emergency on Child abuse and violence against children. And offenders deserve nothing but the harshest punishment possible. This is a blight on human civilization. Happened today at IBB Estate, Umuahia. I have since forwarded the video to the state government and secured assurances of their prompt action. This is attempted murder!” , reflecting the growing frustration among Nigerians who feel that existing laws and enforcement mechanisms have failed to protect vulnerable children. The incident has renewed calls for stronger protection of vulnerable children and enforcement of the Child Rights Act and the Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) law across Nigeria, as the young victim is expected to receive medical and psychological rehabilitation from the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, which has been urged to take custody of the minor and ensure her long-term safety and wellbeing.

Police Nab Woman Caught on Video Trying to Slit Maid’s Throat in Umuahia

Sultan of Sokoto, Vatican Envoy Unite to Combat Hate Speech, Fake News

ABUJA — The President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, has called on religious communities across Nigeria to work together to combat hate speech, warning that the growing trend of insulting religious leaders and spreading divisive rhetoric poses a serious threat to peaceful coexistence across the country. The Sultan issued the warning on Monday in Abuja after receiving the Vatican’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, who led a high-level Papal delegation to the National Mosque. The meeting, which also included Cardinal John Onaiyekan, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja Ignatius Kaigama, and Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Sokoto Catholic Diocese, was aimed at strengthening interfaith cooperation and deepening collaboration between Muslim and Catholic leaders in addressing challenges confronting Nigeria and the global community, with both sides acknowledging that the rising tide of religious intolerance and misinformation has become a threat to the nation’s fragile social fabric.

Speaking through the Deputy Secretary-General of the NSCIA, Prof. Salisu Shehu, the Sultan said hate speech has become a major obstacle to harmonious relations among Nigeria’s religious communities, explaining that the phenomenon has eroded trust and fostered deep-seated suspicion between adherents of different faiths. He noted that the damage caused by hate speech extends beyond mere words, as it has created what he described as a “perceptual and relational crisis” that makes genuine dialogue and mutual understanding increasingly difficult to achieve. Shehu quoted the Sultan as saying: “Hate speech has been most injurious to peaceful coexistence in the country. It has created what you may call a perceptual and relational crisis among faith communities in Nigeria” . The monarch specifically condemned the growing trend of individuals publicly insulting respected religious leaders, describing such conduct as dangerous and capable of inflaming religious tensions and triggering communal violence. He stressed that such behaviour must be discouraged irrespective of religious affiliation, adding that people should refrain from insulting not only important religious figures but even ordinary individuals, who equally deserve respect and dignity. Shehu further quoted the Sultan as declaring: “There was a strong call for all religious and faith communities to work together to combat hate speech, especially the growing and unfortunate phenomenon whereby some individuals openly insult religious leaders who are highly respected within their various faith communities” .

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The meeting also highlighted the growing threat posed by fake news, with both religious leaders warning that the spread of false information has continued to fuel tension, mistrust and conflict across the country, and the Sultan emphasised that misinformation, particularly when weaponised along religious lines, has the capacity to undo decades of peaceful coexistence and hard-won interfaith trust. “Fake news is another evil that is being used in the country to precipitate a lot of troubles in the country, and therefore this is something that we need to fight,” the Sultan said, calling on religious leaders and the media to collaborate in combating the scourge of misinformation. The discussions further focused on what participants described as worsening moral degeneration across the world and the increasing rejection of religious values among young people — a phenomenon the Sultan identified as a growing challenge within both Muslim and Christian communities, with many young people becoming disconnected from their religious heritage and ethical foundations. Shehu noted that both leaders agreed that religious institutions have a responsibility to promote sound moral values and provide ethical guidance capable of reversing the trend, and the Sultan praised the Catholic community in Nigeria for its commitment to peaceful coexistence and its active participation in interfaith initiatives aimed at strengthening national unity, describing the partnership between the NSCIA and the Catholic Church as a model for interreligious collaboration in Africa.

Archbishop Gallagher described the engagement as productive and expressed optimism about the role religious leaders could play in fostering peace and stability in Nigeria, noting that the discussions revealed a remarkable alignment of perspectives between Catholic and Muslim leaders on critical national issues. “We had a very frank and illuminating conversation, and it was good to hear that many of our positions regarding the role of religious leaders, both on the Catholic side and the Muslim side, coincide. For me, this is a reason for optimism regarding the religious cohesion of the country and our shared commitment to working for the good of all Nigerians,” Gallagher said, adding that the meeting reinforced a shared conviction that Christians and Muslims must continue to work together in addressing the country’s challenges. “There is a common view and a common conviction that Christians and Muslims, particularly their leaders, must work together for the common good of all Nigerians,” Gallagher declared, underscoring the importance of sustained dialogue and mutual respect in overcoming the divisions that have historically plagued Nigeria’s religious landscape.

The Sultan, through Shehu, stressed that Muslim and Catholic leaders agreed that sustained dialogue, mutual respect and collaboration among faith communities remain critical to preserving national unity and strengthening peace in Nigeria, and both sides reaffirmed their commitment to working together through interfaith platforms to combat hate speech, fake news and other divisive tendencies capable of undermining peaceful coexistence in the country. The meeting came a day after President Bola Tinubu received Archbishop Gallagher at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where the President expressed Nigeria’s desire to deepen relations with the Holy See and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to protecting religious freedom and promoting interfaith harmony. This latest call echoes the Sultan’s previous remarks at the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) meetings, where he has consistently advocated for religious tolerance and national unity, firmly dismissing claims of an Islamisation agenda and declaring that Nigerians must resist divisive narratives that seek to exploit religious differences for political gain.

The Sultan’s engagement with the Vatican delegation is part of a broader tradition of interfaith collaboration in Nigeria, which has seen Muslim and Christian leaders jointly condemn violence, advocate for peace, and promote mutual understanding in a country often divided along religious lines, and the NSCIA, under the Sultan’s leadership, has consistently championed dialogue as the preferred pathway to resolving communal conflicts. Both leaders agreed that the fight against hate speech and misinformation requires a multi-stakeholder approach involving government, civil society, religious institutions and the media, and they called on religious leaders across the country to use their pulpits and platforms to preach tolerance, unity and respect for all Nigerians, regardless of faith. The meeting concluded with both sides expressing a renewed commitment to deepening interfaith partnerships and exploring concrete initiatives aimed at countering hate speech and promoting mutual understanding, with Archbishop Gallagher noting that the Vatican remains deeply committed to supporting Nigeria’s interfaith efforts and fostering peace in a country that holds significant strategic importance for the Catholic Church and the global community.

Sultan of Sokoto, Vatican Envoy Unite to Combat Hate Speech, Fake News

Court of Appeal to Decide Fate of ADC, Accord Party Today in Deregistration Suit

ABUJA — The Court of Appeal, Abuja division, will today hear the substantive appeal challenging the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) , Accord Party , and three other political parties, in a case that has exposed deep tensions within Nigeria’s judiciary and sparked fears of a slide toward a one-party state. The appellate court had earlier adjourned the hearing from June 25 to July 7 to enable all parties in the appeal to file and exchange their processes for a full-scale hearing, and at the proceedings of June 25, counsel for the Accord Party, Musibau Adetunbi, SAN , informed the three-member panel of justices, led by Justice Abubakar Mohammed , that the record of appeal and the final judgment of the Federal High Court had been obtained on Monday, June 22, and transmitted to the Court of Appeal as required by law. The senior lawyer subsequently applied for a short adjournment to enable him and other parties to file their briefs of argument and exchange same to pave the way for the hearing of the matter, and the application for adjournment was not opposed by all other parties, prompting the panel to adjourn the hearing of the appeal till today by 2 pm. Although Adetunbi applied for three days to file and exchange briefs of argument, Justice Mohammed noted that some of the justices would be out of Abuja next week for a special session and announced July 7 as the hearing date, setting the stage for what legal observers describe as a landmark judicial confrontation.

The legal battle began when Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in a judgment, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC, Accord Party, and three other political parties on the ground that they did not fulfill constitutional requirements in the previous election. The affected parties are the African Democratic Congress (ADC) , Accord Party (AP) , Action Alliance (AA) , Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) , and Action Peoples Party (APP) , all of which have fielded candidates in previous elections and maintain structures across various states. Justice Lifu held that the parties failed to meet the constitutional threshold of Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution , which empowers INEC to deregister political parties that fail to satisfy prescribed constitutional requirements, including securing at least 25 per cent of the votes in a state during a presidential election or winning at least one elective seat. He held that the parties failed to secure the required electoral performance in the last general elections in compliance with the provisions of the law, and the court also barred INEC from further according recognition to the parties, accepting nominations of candidates from the affected parties, or giving effect to their activities for the purpose of participating in the 2027 general elections.

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Although INEC opposed the deregistration at the trial court, insisting that the parties met constitutional requirements and even provided evidence—including certificates of return issued to candidates elected on the platforms of the affected parties—Justice Lifu nonetheless ordered the electoral body to deregister the five parties, dismissing the commission’s arguments as unsubstantiated. The suit was instituted by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL) , which argued that the parties performed poorly in the 2023 general elections and subsequent by-elections, failing to win seats across key tiers of government, and that their continued recognition as political parties was a waste of electoral resources and a distortion of the democratic process. The plaintiffs maintained that the parties failed to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) , as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations, and the forum argued that the continued existence of the said parties as recognised political parties was unlawful and undermined the integrity of the country’s electoral system. The Attorney General of the Federation , Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who was joined as a defendant, threw his weight behind the plaintiffs, arguing that the continued existence of the political parties violated extant provisions of the 1999 Constitution and that the electoral body had the legal duty to deregister non-performing parties to sanitise the political landscape.

In a unanimous ruling delivered on June 16, 2026, the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal ordered an immediate stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment, preventing INEC from implementing the deregistration order pending the determination of the substantive appeal, a decision that effectively suspended the trial court’s judgment and restored the parties’ legal status. The appellate court not only suspended enforcement of the judgment but also strongly reprimanded Justice Lifu for proceeding to hear the matter and deliver judgment despite an earlier order of the Court of Appeal directing him to stay proceedings, describing his conduct as a direct affront to judicial hierarchy. Justice Mohammed, who led the panel, held that the appellate court has a duty to invoke its power to ensure that its order is obeyed, and he described the action of Justice Lifu as “judicial impunity” and “rascality,” adding that: “What the trial court did was a violation of judicial precedent and the Constitution” . The court held that Justice Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence,” stressing that the Supreme Court had previously held that a judge who acts in such manner “is unfit for the bench, as the conduct amounts to judicial rascality,” and that such behaviour undermines public confidence in the judiciary and the rule of law. The appellate court noted that an enrolled order of the court, signed by Deputy Registrar Josephine Ekperobe, had expressly directed Justice Lifu to stay further proceedings in the suit pending the determination of an appeal filed by the Accord Party, but despite this clear directive, Justice Lifu proceeded to deliver judgment, directing INEC to deregister the five parties and barring them from participating in any future elections, including the 2027 general polls.

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“Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court. The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution” .

Interestingly, INEC itself supported the application for a stay of execution at the appellate court, a move that surprised many observers given the commission’s statutory role as the electoral regulatory body. Represented by a legal team led by Haliru Mohammed, INEC informed the appellate court that the commission was surprised by Justice Lifu’s decision to proceed with delivery of judgment despite the earlier order restraining the lower court, and according to the commission, it was never formally notified about delivery of the judgment and only became aware of the development through media reports. In a statement that underscored the commission’s discomfort with the trial judge’s conduct, INEC declared: “We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media. We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay execution of the judgment” , effectively aligning itself with the political parties seeking to overturn the deregistration order.

The judgment carried significant political implications, as it affected candidates sponsored by the affected parties, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar , presidential candidate of the ADC, and Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke , governorship candidate of Accord Party in the upcoming state election, both of whom would have been rendered ineligible to contest future elections if the deregistration had been enforced. Both political figures slammed the deregistration judgment, describing it as an attempt to weaken opposition politics and undermine democracy ahead of the 2027 general elections, with Atiku’s camp describing the ruling as a “judicial coup” against democracy. The ADC, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the court ruling as a threat to democracy and warned against actions capable of destabilising Nigeria’s political system, arguing that the judgment contradicted constitutional provisions and electoral laws governing political parties and that it was an overreach by the judiciary into the affairs of political associations. The party also faulted the judgment, citing the subsisting Court of Appeal order directing a stay of proceedings, which the trial judge proceeded despite being aware of, and described the development as an embarrassment to the Nigerian judiciary and a dangerous precedent for the rule of law. Had the judgment been enforced immediately, thousands of aspirants would have lost their legal platforms ahead of the 2027 general elections, and the Court of Appeal’s intervention was widely seen as averting a potential constitutional and electoral crisis that would have disenfranchised millions of voters who identify with the affected parties.

Today, the Court of Appeal will hear the substantive appeals filed by the affected parties seeking to set aside the deregistration judgment, and all defendants, including INEC, have urged the appellate court to overturn the trial court’s verdict on the grounds that it was delivered in breach of judicial hierarchy and without proper consideration of the evidence presented by INEC. Legal observers note that the outcome of today’s hearing will determine whether the five political parties can continue to participate in future elections, including the 2027 general elections, and whether the judiciary can restore public confidence in its ability to enforce its own orders and maintain decorum among its judges. The case has become a test of the resilience of Nigeria’s democracy and the independence of its judiciary, and all eyes are on the Court of Appeal as it prepares to deliver a verdict that could reshape the country’s political landscape for years to come.

Court of Appeal to Decide Fate of ADC, Accord Party Today in Deregistration Suit