The Kogi state governorship election petition tribunal has ordered Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to appear before it on Tuesday.

A three-member panel of justices led by Ado Birnin-Kudu agreed with Alex Izinyon, counsel to Usman Ododo, governor of Kogi state, that Cardoso is in contempt of court by failing to honour a subpoena.

The court had on April 18, issued a “subpoena to compel the CBN governor or any of its officials to attend the proceedings to give explanations on the role of the apex bank in the November 11, 2023, off-cycle election” in Kogi.

Although the panel directed the “CBN governor or its official to appear on April 19 to testify”, there was no representative from the apex bank on the hearing day.

At the resumed proceedings on Monday, Izinyon said he was aware that the CBN management, in a letter to the tribunal, said they would not be available until April 26.

He said though his team had planned to call witnesses within five days, the issue of the subpoena must be dealt with before proceeding.

Izinyon, who said he expected an officer from the legal department of CBN to be at the tribunal on Monday, described the letter by the apex bank as “an act of contempt.”

He said the CBN team should be at the tribunal on Tuesday to give evidence, noting that if they failed to appear, it would be in the court record, going by the fact that the matter is time-bound.

“If by tomorrow, we call our last witnesses and they (CBN officers) are not here, we urge my lord to look at our application in the interest of justice,” he said.

Other respondents’ lawyers and counsel for the petitioners aligned with Izinyon’s application.

Delivering the ruling, Birnin-Kudu held that the subpoena was to the CBN governor and director of the corporate service of the apex bank.

He said the subpoena is a command in the name of the president and commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The judge held that the act of writing to the tribunal by the apex bank that its officials will be available on April 26 “is contemptuous and condemnable”.

The panel then adjourned the matter until April 23 for the continuation of the 2nd respondent’s defence and for the CBN to show cause.

Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police, says Nigeria is not “mature” for state police.

Egbetokun spoke on Monday at a national dialogue on state police organised by the house of representatives in Abuja.

The theme of the dialogue is ‘Pathways to Peace: Reimagining Policing in Nigeria’.

Represented by Ben Okolo, an assistant inspector-general of police, Egbetokun said Nigeria is not ready for a decentralised police force.

“It is the submission of the leadership of the Nigeria police force that Nigeria is yet to mature and ready for the establishment of state-controlled police,” he said.

There have been renewed calls for the establishment of state police following an uptick in kidnappings, banditry and violent attacks across the country.

On February 15, the federal government set up a committee to explore the creation of state police, amid the spate of insecurity in the country.

On February 20, a bill to establish state police passed second reading at the house of representatives.

The IGP said rather than create state police, the challenges mitigating against effective policing in Nigeria should be addressed.

He listed some of the challenges as inadequate manpower, inadequate operational equipment such as vehicles, arms and ammunition, communication equipment, drones, aerial surveillance cameras, security surveillance helicopters, armoured vehicles, and inadequate training of personnel,

He said these challenges have impacted negatively on the performance of police personnel.

He also said state police is open to abuse from powerful state governors.

“Then there is the potential for abuse of power by the state political leadership. State governors could use the police forces under their control for political or personal gain and compromise human rights and security,” he said.

“There would also be a conflict of jurisdiction.”

‘NSCDC SHOULD BE A DEPARTMENT IN THE POLICE’

Egbetokun proposed that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) should merge to become a department in the police.

“In view of this, the police leadership rather is recommending the following instead of creating state police,” he said.

“First, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety to form a department under the Nigerian police.”

He said the recruitment of police personnel into the force should be increased by at least 30,000 annually to meet the United Nations minimum policing standard.

Egbetokun’s stance contrasted with that of Ibrahim Gaidam, minister of police affairs, who backed the establishment of state police.

Gaidam, who spoke at the event, said a more decentralised police force will help tackle the spate of insecurity in the country.

The Kwara state government has temporarily shut the abattoir at Mandate market in Ilorin.

The move follows reports of the sale of meat from 33 cows reportedly killed due to poisoning.

The Kwara Monitoring Group (KMG) made the claim in a statement on Sunday and called for immediate action from the state government.

“Over 33 cows were suspected to be poisoned and died immediately but surprisingly, the dead animals were slaughtered and distributed to butchers to be sold,” the statement reads.

“It happened along Atere Road (that leads to Al Hikma Campus) right inside the College of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Ilorin.

“It is our prayer that the concerned ministry and agency will take immediate action as nobody knows whose family will end up buying and consuming such poisoned meat being sold in the market.”

Responding to the report, the state government, in a statement signed by Amina El-Imam, commissioner for health, said a team of officials had been deployed to the market, adding that the suspected poisonous beef was seized.

“Kwara State Government officials and experts have arrived at the Mandate Market in Ilorin to activate measures to protect the public amid rumours of poisoned cow meat,” the statement reads.

“On the team were the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Toyosi Thomas-Adebayo; Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Ahmed El-Imam; officials from the Ministry of Environment, including the Executive Secretary of the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency, Mrs Folorunsho Idayat, and officials from the Ministry of Health, including the Permanent Secretary, Alhaja Afusat Ibrahim, and the Director of Public Health, Dr. Oluwatosin Fakayode, among others.

“The government has immediately confiscated all the suspected meats for laboratory tests and confirmation of claims after initial engagements with the Mandate Market stakeholders.

“The government urges members of the public to be calm while the team establishes the truth of the rumour of poisoned meat. It also commends the leadership of the market for their cooperation so far.”

In an updated statement, the Kwara government said the ministry of environment has temporarily shut the abattoir “to allow for fumigation and general cleaning of the area following suspected meat poisoning in the facility”.

“Dr. Abubakar Ayinla, permanent secretary of the ministry, said the steps are part of the efforts to protect members of the public following the incident,” the statement reads.

“The abattoir will be reopened on Wednesday.”