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FG will pardon escaped Imo inmates who return voluntarily – Aregbesola
- Gunmen set ablaze another Imo police station
Minister of Interior, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, has said the fugitives who escaped from the custodial centre in Owerri, the Imo State capital, will be granted amnesty if they return voluntarily.
He stated this just as gunmen have set ablaze another police station in Imo State, the second time in two days.
Aregbesola spoke during the inspection of the custodial centre on Tuesday after it was attacked by unknown gunmen on Monday.
Over 1,880 inmates were said to have escaped while 36 stayed back during the attack.
The minister said, “Unlawful escape from custody is a crime but the government in its magnanimity will grant amnesty to prisoners who willfully return
“They will no longer be charged with an unlawful escape but only for the initial crimes that took them to prison. So we urge all escapees to return before they are caught on the run.”
The minister also described the Monday jailbreak at Owerri Correctional Centre and the burning of the Imo State Police Command headquarters as the worst in the recent history of the country.
Aregbesola, who said that the attackers operated as terrorists, ordered the relocation of the Owerri Recreational Club and other structures posing as a security threat to the premises of the centre.
Aregbesola vowed that those who perpetrated the attack would be apprehended and prosecuted.
Meanwhile, gunmen went on the rampage on Tuesday afternoon as they set ablaze another police station in Imo State, the second time in two days.
The police station, located in Ehime Mbano LGA.
The attack on the police station came hours after Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo visited the state for an assessment of the damage done during a previous attack.
The police command headquarters and a correctional service centre in Owerri, Imo state capital, were attacked in the early hours of Monday.
It was learnt that police officers on duty took off when the station was invaded by the gunmen on Tuesday.
The gunmen were also said to have freed the detained persons at the police station.
Imo police spokesperson, Orlando Ikeokwu, confirmed the attack on the police.
He, however, added that no death was recorded during the invasion.
“Yes, I can confirm to you that the police facility was attacked today by bandits. No casualty on the part of police, no loss of arms, but three vehicles were burnt in the process,” he said.
Some inmates were freed while buildings and vehicles were razed when the Imo State police headquarters was invaded.
The Nigeria Correctional Service also said over 1,800 inmates escaped from custody, while the police accused members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra of being behind the attacks.
“Preliminary investigations have revealed that the attackers, who came in their numbers with sophisticated weapons such as General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMGs), Sub-Machine Guns (SMGs), AK49 rifles, Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs), Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), are members of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)/Eastern Security Network (ESN),” Frank Mba, the police spokesperson, had said.
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Judicial Reform: NBA seeks removal of CJN as head of NJC
Judicial Reform: NBA seeks removal of CJN as head of NJC
The Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has faulted the composition of the National Judicial Council, NJC, which is the body responsible for disciplining erring judicial officers in the country.
NBA, which is the umbrella body of legal practitioners in the country faulted the current system that made it mandatory that the Council must be headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN.
According to the NBA, “The inherent flaws in the composition of the NJC impact negatively on its ability to prosecute judicial misconduct in a manner that inspires public confidence.”
Consequently, the NBA recommended that “members of the NJC should be appointed as follows: six judicial officers appointed by CJN; six lawyers nominated by the National Executive Council of the NBA including the NBA President and six non lawyers appointed by the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, subject to the approval of the Senate.
“The Chairmanship of these bodies should be rotated between the heads of the three constituent groups.”
Besides, the NBA recommended the appointment of court administrators to take over the administrative functions if the various Heads of court such as procurement, budgeting, renovation of courts and implementation of judicial appropriations.
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“These are activities within court administration that have severally been identified by the anti-corruption bodies as areas prone to corrupt activities.
“This proposal for the creation of this office takes cognizance of the role of the Chief Registrars of courts who will under the proposed arrangements enable them (together with heads of courts) concentrate solely on the business of adjudication especially case management without distraction.”
It further demanded the de-linking of judicial remuneration from that of the civil service, noting that there had always been an informal linkage between judicial salaries and that of senior civil servants and public officers.
“There is the need to de-link judicial remuneration from that of the civil/public service. De-linking judicial remuneration from that of the civil/public service would not only strengthen the perception of judicial independence, but would also provide the necessary safeguard and reassurance to judicial officers,” it added.
The recommendations were contained in proposals the NBA submitted at the just concluded national summit on justice sector reforms.
News
Yahaya Bello: Court summons EFCC chair over contempt
Yahaya Bello: Court summons EFCC chair over contempt
A Kogi State high court has ordered Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, to appear before it on May 13 to show why he should not be convicted for allegedly disobeying its order.
The presiding judge, Isa Jamil Abdullahi, gave the order on Friday while ruling in a suit No: HCL/68M/2024 and motion No: HCL/190M/2024, filed by former Kogi governor, Yahaya Bello.
Bello on February 8, Bello instituted a suit asking the court to restrain the commission from arresting him.
The court granted the injunction restraining the EFCC on February 9.
But the EFCC on March 12 filed an appeal against the order.
However, the commission has filed a notice to withdraw the appeal.
In the notice filed on April 22, the anti-graft agency said the withdrawal was predicated on the fact that events had overtaken the appeal.
The commission also admitted that the appeal was filed out of the time allowed by law.
Bello approached the court again, praying for an order to invite the EFCC chairman and slammed with a contempt of court allegation.
The judge granted Bello’s prayers and ordered Olukoyede to appear before the court to answer the contempt charge.
“The applicant’s application before me is to the effect that the respondent has carried out some acts upon which they have been restrained by this court on February 9, pending the determination of the substantive motion on notice before this court,” the judge held.
“That the said act was carried out by the respondent in violation of the order which was valid and subsisting when they carried out those acts. That same act of the respondent amounts to an act of contempt.
“It’s against the above facts that this court hereby grants the prayers sought in line with the principle of ‘Audi Ultra Patem’ (listen to the other side).
“This matter is adjourned to May 13 for the respondent’s chairman to appear before this court in answer to form 49 ordered to be served on him.”
News
Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut
Labour shuts NSITF head office over staff salary cut
Members of the organised labour, on Friday, protested and shut down the headquarters of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) over alleged cut of workers’ salaries in the agency by the management of the fund.
The aggrieved protesters, led by the President of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Festus Osifo and executive members of the Association of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSBIFE), started their demonstrations at about 11:00am.
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Armed with placards with various inscriptions, the protesters alleged that the management led by Mrs Maureen Allagoa, the Managing Director of the Fund, had made deductions of consequential taxes from their salaries to the tune of N2.1bn which were not remitted.
Addressing the protesters, Osifo said the protest and subsequent shutdown of the Fund became imperative after efforts made by the leadership of ASSBIFE to resolve the issue amicably with the management failed.
The protesters urged President Bola Tinubu to sack the MD of the agency with immediate effect to avert “looming crises” in the Fund and called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe their claims.
Both the MD of the Fund, Mrs Allagoa and spokesman of the Fund, Mr Godson Nwachukwu could not be reached for comments at the time of filing this report.
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