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Mass protest: FG discontinues contempt suit filed against NLC, TUC

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The federal government says it will no longer pursue the contempt suit filed against the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).

On July 26, NLC issued a seven-day ultimatum to the federal government to reverse all “anti-poor” and “insensitive” policies.

The policies, the union said, include the recent hike in the price of petrol, and the sudden increase in public school fees, among others.

The labour movements warned that they would go on strike and mass protests if the government failed to hearken to their demands.

However, the federal government said the unions were restrained by an order of the national industrial court from embarking on any industrial action regarding the removal of the petrol subsidy.

The government also said the order prohibited the NLC and affiliates from holding protests across the country.

Despite the government’s stance, organised labour led its members to nationwide protests on Wednesday.

Consequently, the federal government initiated contempt proceeding against the unions for allegedly defying the order restraining them from embarking on industrial action.

The “notice of consequences of disobedience to order of the court” also called “form 48” was filed before the national industrial court in Abuja.

The protest was later suspended on Thursday after leaders of the unions met with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa, Abuja.

In a letter addressed to Femi Falana, NLC counsel, on Monday, Beatrice Jedy-Agba, solicitor-general of the federation, said the protests “led to disruption of work and the eventual pulling down of the gate of the national assembly”.

“The foregoing prompted the ministry to initiate contempt proceedings by filing Form 48 on the same 2nd August 2023 in accordance with section 72 of the Sheriffs and civil process act and order 9 rule 13 of the judgment (enforcement) rules.

“It is trite that issuance of Form 48 is just the starting point in contempt proceedings which will only crystalise upon the issuance of Form 49 and the consequential committal order.

“Upon the intervention of his excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the decision of the labour unions to call off their industrial action after meetings with the president and leadership of the national assembly, this ministry did not proceed further with the contempt proceedings, which would have required the issuance of Form 49 within two days of the issuance of Form 48.

“It is self-evident that the non-issuance of Form 49 as of 4th August 2023, renders the contempt proceedings inchoate.”

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Police probe video of officer in altercation with elderly woman in Lagos

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The Lagos police command says it has launched an investigation into a viral video of an officer involved in an altercation with an elderly woman.

POLICE COMMENCE INVESTIGATION INTO VIDEO OF POLICE OFFICER IN ALTERCATION WITH ELDERLY WOMAN

On Sunday, a video showing a police officer manhandling an elderly woman in her car began circulating on social media.

The officer was said to have demanded N250,000 from the woman which she refused to pay, before the altercation began.

Benjamin Hundeyin, the police spokesperson in Lagos, in a statement on Wednesday, condemned the action of the officer, noting that the inspector and his supervising deputy superintendent have been brought in for questioning.

Hundeyin said the incident took place in the Alagbado area of Lagos in the first week of September.

He assured the public that the investigation would be “swift, thorough and conclusive”.

“The command condemns the unprofessional conduct of the Inspector as it does not represent the ethics and operational standards of the Nigeria Police Force,” the statement reads.

“The command equally assures Lagosians that the investigation will be swift, thorough and conclusive.

“We will ensure that the officers are disciplined as appropriate, and members of the public are updated accordingly.”

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EFCC besieged Kogi lodge to forcefully arrest Yahaya Bello, says his media office

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The media office of Yahaya Bello has alleged that on Wednesday night, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) laid siege to the Kogi Government Lodge in Abuja, in a bid to forcefully arrest the former governor.

The claim comes hours after Bello’s media office said the ex-governor had honoured the anti-graft agency’s invitation.

The EFCC had immediately denied that Bello was in its custody, restating that the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain was still a wanted man.

However, Bello’s media office responded by saying the politician was not interrogated when he visited the EFCC office and was turned back.

“He was accompanied to the commission’s office by Gov Usman Ododo,” the media team had said.

‘THEY SHOT SPORADICALLY’

In a statement issued on Wednesday night, Ohiare Michael, director of the Yahaya Bello Media Office, said the operatives shot sporadically during the raid.

“It has come to our notice that people suspected to be operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, are currently around the Kogi Government Lodge, Asokoro in an attempt to forcefully arrest former Governor Yahaya Bello,” the statement reads.

“They were shooting sporadically.

“It was reported earlier that the former Governor went to the EFCC Office voluntarily, but the commission told him to leave and come at a later date, only to mount an attack on the Kogi Government facility in Asokoro.

“We want to place it on record that the EFCC should be held accountable if anything untoward happens to him.

“Tonight’s attack was needless as the former Governor made himself available to the EFCC in their office for interrogation.

“The EFCC had no question to ask Alhaji Yahaya Bello in the morning, but suddenly, they are out to arrest him.

“This action is condemnable. They have displayed the very reason many Nigerians believe they are fighting political battles instead of the mandate to fight corruption.

“This action reflects much more than a fight against corruption. We will keep Nigerians posted.”

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Geological agency asks residents not to panic as earth tremors rock Abuja

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The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA) says there is no need for residents of the federal capital territory (FCT) to panic over recent earth tremors.

Residents of Mpape and Katampe communities in the FCT recently expressed fears following earth tremors that reportedly began on Saturday.

An earth tremor is a relatively small or short-lived movement of the earth’s surface. It is caused by the same forces that produce earthquakes.

In a statement on Wednesday, Olusegun Ige, NGSA director-general, said the agency monitored the tremors and found them to be low.

He added that the tremors do not pose any threats.

“The Monitoring Station (NGSA-5) at Katampe has been capturing several significant ground motions with high moment magnitudes (Mw) in the past five days, beginning from September 13, 2024 till date,” the statement reads.

“Only one mild event was recorded on September 13th. Six of these events were captured on the 14th of September, while over 21 events were captured on the 15th with higher intensities.

“More than twenty events were recorded on the 16th of September. The intensity and frequency of the tremor appear to increase from the 13th to 16th September. There are a few weak events recorded today, 17th September.

“Preliminary analysis of the waveforms showed that the sources of the ground motions are less than 5 km away from the monitoring station.

“NGSA team also visited the affected areas for on-the-spot assessments of the events. From the accounts of the residents of the affected areas, the observations by the NGSA team, and findings from earlier interpretations of the airborne geophysical data over the area and adjoining areas, the following conclusions were made:

“The tremors are a result of accumulated stress along the identified faults and released seismic energy, which may have traveled through associated fractures to areas where the tremors were felt around the FCT.

“There are multiple epicenters associated with the recent tremor. Most of the epicenters are located northeast of the NGSA-5 Seismic Station around Mpape axis, while a few are located southwest of the Station around Katampe axis.

“The intensities of the tremors are weak to light, ranging from III – IV on the Modified Mercalli Scale, and pose a very low level threat.”

The agency added that it is closely monitoring the situation.

“The residents of Mpape, Katampe, Maitama, and other areas where the tremors were felt are advised not to panic as the tremors can be generally described as low,” the statement adds.

“The Agency is keeping a close monitoring of the situation and will provide updates as may become necessary.

“The general public should also be aware that the NGSA Seismic Stations are being monitored in real time to ensure prompt alerts on any major event.”

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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