Court stops customs from seizing imported rice in open market

A court of appeal in Kaduna has stopped the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) from impounding foreign rice in the open market or on the highways.

Operatives of NCS are in the habit of staying on the road arresting people suspected to have smuggled imported rice. They also storm rice shops and markets to impound foreign rice.

In a judgment delivered on December 6, a three-member panel of justices led by Ntong Ntong held that existing laws restrict the enforcement by the customs to land borders only.

The judgment was delivered in an appeal filed by the NCS against a decision of the federal high court that acquitted one Suleiman Mohammed, a businessman, of charges related to the importation of rice.

Customs had arrested Mohammed after seizing a truck carrying 613 bags of foreign rice and 80 bags of millet belonging to the businessman on June 14, 2019, along the Kaduna-Zaria expressway.

Mohammed was charged and arraigned on a two-count charge.

However, in a judgment delivered on November 10, 2021, Z. B. Abubakar, trial judge, acquitted the defendants of the charges.

Abubakar held that the plaintiffs (customs) failed to give enough evidence to prove that the defendant imported the goods.

Afe Babalola: Court grants Dele Farotimi bail, barred from media interviews 

Embattled human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, has been granted bail in the sum of ₦30 million.

A magistrate court in Ekiti State granted him bail on Friday about two weeks after he was remanded in prison custody.

He was remanded on December 7, 2024, after he was arraigned in court on 16 counts of criminal defamation, following the publication of his book, ‘Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System’.

Farotimi arrived at the Magistrate Court with heavy security comprising policemen and other law enforcement agents.

Apart from the N30 million, the Magistrate, Abayomi Adeosun, ordered him to provide three sureties with a landed property within the court’s jurisdiction; submit his international passport to the court as well as refrain from granting media interviews.

The case was adjourned to February 13, 2025.

CONHESS: Lagos health workers to embark on three-day warning strike

Health workers in Lagos State, including nurses and midwives, will begin a three-day warning strike from December 11 to 13, 2024, over grievances regarding salary adjustments under the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS).

The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) announced the strike in a letter signed by its Secretary, Oloruntoba Odumosu, accusing the Lagos State Government of favouring doctors by implementing the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure while neglecting other health professionals.

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The Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), JOHESU, and the Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) have joined the call, criticising the delayed implementation of a 25% CONHESS adjustment. In a statement, JOHESU said the government’s approach undermines the morale of health professionals, despite their critical roles in healthcare delivery.

The unions plan a joint congress at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital on December 9 to finalise strategies. They have urged members to remain united, emphasising that the strike is a fight for equitable treatment and salary adjustments for all health workers.

CONHESS: Lagos health workers to embark on three-day warning strike