The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission has sealed the Chinese supermarket located within the China General Chamber of Commerce in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Officials of the FCCPC stormed the premises and shut the supermarket on Monday.

The commission’s officials sealed up the place following the interrogation of Nigerian workers at the supermarket.

Recall that Nigerians had expressed outrage over a discriminatory policy implemented by the Chinese Supermarket for barring Nigerians.

The supermarket only granted exclusive entry to Chinese nationals in the country.

According to the facility manager of the complex, Shaibu Sanusi, Nigerians from outside the complex do not shop but Nigerians within can access it.

This was as facilities workers at the store disclosed that the owner of the supermarket had fled the premises.

The workers, who were largely Nigerians, disclosed that the owner of the supermarket had fled when the officials of the Commission stormed the supermarket on Monday.

The workers said that the owner of the supermarket, a Chinese lady, Cindy Liu Bei, fled on Monday at 8:26 am with her family as confirmed on the Closed-Circuit Television camera.

The FCCPC officials subsequently shut down the supermarket.

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.