News
Gunmen attack Kogi guber tribunal secretary, steal election petition documents
The police command in Kogi says suspected gunmen have attacked David Mike, secretary of the state governorship election tribunal.
In a statement on Wednesday, William Aya, police spokesperson in the state, said Mike was waylaid on Monday on his way to work while the gunmen made away with petition documents filed by four political parties.
The affected political parties include Action Alliance (AA), Action People’s Party (APP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Two record books and a bag containing the secretary’s personal items were also stolen at gunpoint.
“On Monday, 04/12/2023 at about 1820hrs, one Mr David Umar Mike ‘m’ secretary to Kogi state governorship election petition tribunal along with Labode Apreala (f), confidential secretary and Hassimu Adamu assistant secretary, came to state criminal investigation department, Kogi state police headquarters and reported that on the said date, three of them left their hotel rooms in Lokoja about 1300hrs, heading to their office at the high court complex driving in his (David’s) Peugeot 406 car,” the statements read.
“That just before the CBN at about 1320hrs, one SUV vehicle which had earlier overtaken him blocked his car with two other SUVs following behind.
“All of them surrounded and blocked him as he attempted to reverse. He saw about seven hooded men all heavily armed and dressed in black attire who shot severally into the air and dragged him and his two other colleagues out of their car, ransacked the car and made away with all the petition documents.”
Aya added that Onuoha Benthrand, the state commissioner of police, had ordered a thorough and diligent investigation into the incident.
According to the Electoral Act, an aggrieved candidate has 21 days from the announcement of the results to file a petition at the tribunal.
Opaluwa Omera, Media aide to Muritala Ajaka, governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), told TheCable that the petition of the party was filed on December 2.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced Usman Ododo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the Kogi state governorship poll held on November 11.
Ododo polled 446, 237 votes to defeat Ajaka, who came second with 259,052 votes while Dino Melaye, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), scored 46,362 votes.
News
Okpebholo orders freezing of ALL Edo government accounts
Monday Okpebholo, governor of Edo, has ordered a freeze of all bank accounts belonging to the state government.
Okpebholo issued the directive on Thursday through Fred Itua, chief press secretary to the governor.
He asked commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to immediately comply with the order or face severe consequences.
“All bank accounts in all the commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with the order and ensure that not a dime is taken out of the coffers of Government until further notice,” the statement reads.
“Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies must comply with this order without further delays.
“After the necessary investigations and reconciliations, the Governor will do the needful and decide on the way forward. For now, this order stands.”
Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to reverse the naming of the ministry of roads and bridges to the ministry of works — a nomenclature changed during the Godwin Obaseki administration.
“It is funny how you can call a Government institution Ministry of Roads and Bridges,” the statement reads.
“Ironically, no single bridge was built by the same administration. Not even a pedestrian bridge
“In the coming days, we will look at more actions taken by the previous administration and more decisions will be taken that will be done in the best interest of the state.”
The development comes days after Okpebholo took over the reins of power in Edo.
The governor had earlier ordered an indefinite suspension of revenue collection in the state — including at motor parks.
News
NESREA seals two facilities in FCT, Kogi for violating environmental regulations
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has sealed two facilities in Abuja and Kogi for breaching environmental laws.
The facilities are Geld Construction Limited, located in Abaji, FCT, and Arno Energy, a charcoal production company in Okaba, Kogi.
In a statement on Wednesday, Amaka Ejiofor, NESREA’s spokesperson, said the companies were sealed for failure to conduct their environmental impact assessment (EIA).
Ejiofor noted that the facilities also failed to provide important environmental documents, including an air quality permit, an environmental audit report, and a waste management permit, necessary for maintaining standards in companies.
“The EIA provides guidance on mitigating the negative impact of a facility’s operations on the environment,” the statement reads.
“Their failure to do so led to the closure of the facilities to save human health and the environment.”
The NESREA’s spokesperson added that the facilities were also operating in an environmentally harmful manner, resulting in negative impacts on the host communities and the environment.
She said procedural measures, including the issuance of compliance notices, had been taken to force the facilities to address and rectify their violations.
Innocent Barikor, the director-general of NESREA, urged industry operators to ensure their activities and operations follow the stipulations of the law.
News
Federal high court to commence Christmas vacation December 16
The federal high court says it would go on break from December 16 to mark the Christmas holiday.
In a circular, John Tsoho, the court’s chief judge, said the Abuja, Lagos, and Port-Harcourt judicial divisions would remain open to the litigating public during the break.
Tsoho added that the court would resume proceedings on January 6, 2025.
“The vacation is pursuant to the provisions of order 46, rule 4 (c) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019 (as amended),” the circular reads.
“Only matters relating to the enforcement of fundamental rights, arrest or release of vessels and matters that concern the vacation judges shall entertain dire national interest.”
The notice added that Emeka Nwite and M. S. Liman would be judges at the Abuja division during the vacation, while Akintayo Aluko and Isaac Dipeolu would sit at the Lagos division of the court.
P. M. Ayua and A. T. Mohammed would be the adjudicators at the Port-Harcourt division pending the resumption of complete court activities.
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