News
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.
News
Late COAS Lagbaja gets CFR honour, buried amid tributes
Late COAS Lagbaja gets CFR honour, buried amid tributes
The late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, was on Friday laid to rest in Abuja, amid tears and tributes.
President Bola Tinubu conferred a posthumous award of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on the late Chief of Army Staff.
The burial took place at the National Cemetery in Abuja to end two days of funeral rites that began in Lagos earlier in the week.
His body was lowered into the grave at exactly 4:41pm after the ceremony that lasted over two hours.
Lagbaja’s casket, draped in Nigeria’s green and white colours, arrived at the cemetery around 3pm in a white funeral wagon after a funeral service at the National Christian Centre in Abuja.
Dignitaries were led to the event by President Bola Tinubu. Others are Vice President Kashim Shettima; the Acting Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa; Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, and other top government officials and military brass.
President Tinubu announced the conferment of the CFR on the late COAS during the interment at the National Cemetery in Abuja.
The President extolled the virtues of the late warrior, especially his contributions to national security.
According to him, the appointment of Lagbaja as the COAS was one of his finest made so far.
“As an eternal symbol of our appreciation, I have granted the late Chief of Army Staff, the posthumous national honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic of the Niger (CFR),” Tinubu declared.
He thereafter invited the wife of the late COAS, Mariya, to collect the award on behalf of the Lagbaja family amid applause from the congregation.
News
Supreme Court dismisses 16 govs suit challenging EFCC legality
Supreme Court dismisses 16 govs suit challenging EFCC legality
The Supreme Court has dismissed the suit by 16 states challenging the constitutionality of the acts establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and two others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the other agencies are the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
In the lead judgment by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court resolved the six issues raised for determination in the suit against the plaintiffs.
The court held that the laws establishing the anti-corruption agencies were validly enacted by the National Assembly within its legislative competence.
It faulted the claim by the plaintiffs that the EFCC Act, being a product of the United Nations convention on corruption, ought to be ratified by majority of the state houses of assembly.
Delivering judgement on Friday, Justice Abba-Aji ruled that “the EFCC Act, which was not established from a treaty but a convention, does not need the ratification of the houses of assembly.”
News
Executive Secretary FCDA Hadi Ahmad suspended indefinitely
Executive Secretary FCDA Hadi Ahmad suspended indefinitely
Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA, Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad, has been suspended indefinitely.
His suspicion was on the order of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Minister, Lere Olayinka, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday evening.
No reason was given for the suspension.
Ahmad was directed to hand over to the Director, Engineering Services in the FCDA.
The statement read: “The Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA, Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad, has been suspended indefinitely.
“According to a statement on Thursday, by Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, the suspension of Engr Hadi Ahmad is with immediate effect.
“The suspended Executive Secretary has consequently been directed to hand over to the Director of Engineering Services, Engr in the FCDA.”
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