Dons EzeSUSPECTED HERDSMEN KIDNAP 11 PASSENGERS ON ENUGU-ABAKALIKI ROAD
SUSPECTED FULANI HERDSMEN KIDNAP 11 PASSENGERS ON ENUGU-ABAKALIKI ROAD Gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen have abducted 11 passengers at the Amechi-Idodo axis of the Enugu-Abakaliki federal highway. On May 6, 2024 some gunmen on military uniforms laid siege on the same road for several hours, injuring several passengers. Attack on the road which has become a regular feature happens about four poles apart from two Military checkpoints immediately after crossing Ebonyi/Enugu boundary in Idodo, Nkanu East local government area of Enugu State. The recent incident happened on Tuesday, 16th July, 2024. Meanwhile the victims, it was gathered, are students from tertiary institutions in Ebonyi State, who were traveling in a commercial bus from Awka, Anambra State to Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital. The hoodlums, who were said to be herders intercepted the bus at the Amechi-Idodo area before the Enugu/Ebonyi boundary. A relative of one of the victims, who identified himself Ogene Festus, told some journalists that the kidnappers have contacted the family, demanding a ransom of N30million. “From where do we get such kind of money? What baffled me is how these criminals will effectively carry out kidnapping in a stretch of less than 1km with seven solid checkpoints. Four military checkpoints and three police checkpoints. Kidnapping on the road increased since Governor Peter Mbah, who hails from Owoh, a neighbouring community to Idodo increased road blocks.” He added, “From 6pm you see more than 20 security checkpoints from Eke Obinagu to Enugu/Ebonyi boundary, stretch of road that is less than 4km. Yet despite these checkpoints there was no week since May we have not recorded kidnapping of motorists.” Joshua Ukandu, the Ebonyi State Police Public Relations Officer, stated that the Enugu State Police Command was actively working to address the situation. He added that the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, Augustina Ogbodo, was collaborating with her Enugu counterpart, Kanayo Uzuegbu, to combat the surge in kidnappings along this stretch of the highway.In response to the growing insecurity, Enugu Governor, Peter Mbah recently directed security agencies to intensify efforts to eradicate the criminal activities plaguing the area.
GLOBAL IT OUTAGE HITS BANKS, AIRLINE OPERATIONS, COMPANIES AROUND THE WORLD
GLOBAL IT OUTAGE HITS BANKS, AIRLINE OPERATIONS, COMPANIES AROUND THE WORLD Businesses including banks, airlines, train companies, telecommunications companies, TV and radio broadcasters, and supermarkets have been taken offline following a mass global outage. Major US airlines including American Airlines, Delta Airlines and United Airlines have been grounded, while airports in Germany, Amsterdam and Spain are also reporting issues. It is believed the issue is related to an issue at global cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike and Microsoft – although it is unknown if it is the same issue affecting airports and train services across the globe. Microsoft said on Friday morning that it was continuing to address the “lingering impact” of its 365 applications and services that are in a “degraded state” while Crowdstrike said in an automated message that it was aware of reports of crashes. The outage appears to be affecting Windows PCs globally, including Sky News in the UK which not able to broadcast live TV first thing on Friday morning. Ryanair, Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers, warned customers of potential disruptions which it said would affect “all airlines operating across the network,” though it did not specify the nature of the disruptions. While passengers at Edinburgh Airport were unable to use automated boarding pass scanners and monitors at security displayed a message saying “server offline”, according to a Reuters witness. The airport had reverted to checking boarding passes manually, the witness said. The Metropolitan Police said it has not been affected, and everything seems to be working normally. Train cancellations likely Also in the UK, Southern, Thameslink, Gatwick Express and Great Northern – all four of Govia Thameslink Railway’s brands – said its services were experiencing widespread IT issues. “We are unable to access driver diagrams at certain locations, leading to potential short-notice cancellations, particularly on the Thameslink and Great Northern networks,” the company said. “Additionally, other key systems, including our real-time customer information platforms, are also affected.” National Rail said its IT teams are “actively investigating to determine the root cause of the problem”. Out-of-date prices at London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange is among the businesses that have been affected by the global outage, Sky News’ business correspondent, Ian King, said. A statement posted on the exchange’s website early said that a technical issue was being investigated with the publication of RNS – the exchange’s Regulatory News Service – announcements. When trading began at 8am this morning, the exchange’s website was still showing prices from the close on Thursday evening and continues to do so.The FTSE-100 opened 50 points lower – around 0.62% – at the open but no prices were available on the exchange’s website, King said.
70,000 MINIMUM WAGE: ORGANISED PRIVATE SECTOR EXPRESSES CONCERN
N70,000 MINIMUM WAGE: ORGANIZED PRIVATE SECTOR EXPRESSES CONCERN The Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) has expressed concern over its ability to pay the N70,000 newly approved minimum wage, saying private organisations are… The Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) has expressed concern over its ability to pay the N70,000 newly approved minimum wage, saying private organisations are over-burdened by high cost of production. The Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, who spoke on behalf on the body, however, commended the federal government over the approval of the new minimum wage, urging it to put in place reforms that would strengthen private sector to be able to pay. “While we commend the president for putting to rest the immediate issue of the National Minimum Wage, we also note, most importantly his commitment to support the sub-nationals and the organised private sector to pay the new wage,” he said. The NECA DG noted that during the consultations with the National Minimum Wage Committee, the OPS expressed concern about its ability to pay the N62,000 recommended by the tripartite committee. “In fact, the N62,000 was premised on the understanding and agreement by the government representatives that the government will take definite steps to reduce the current economic burden on the organized private sector,” he said. He pleaded with the federal government to reverse the increase in electricity tariffs, ensure CBN redemption of all outstanding forwards for companies in the productive sector, put a freeze on introduction of new taxes and levies on businesses for the next five years, and provide a duty exemption on imported conversion kits and government subsidy on procurement of same.“It should be noted that the ability to pay remains a fundamental consideration. The proposed support by the president to organised businesses should be immediately announced to enable businesses to plan effectively,” he said
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO RECEIVE BILL ON NEW NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ON TUESDAY
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO RECEIVE EXECUTIVE BILL ON NEW NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ON TUESDAY The National Assembly is set to receive an executive bill on the new national minimum wage following an agreement between President Bola Tinubu and labour leaders. This agreement reached on Thursday during a meeting at the Aso Presidential Villa in Abuja, establishes ₦70,000 as the new minimum wage, replacing the previous ₦30,000, which expired on April 18, 2024. The meeting, which included the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), was led by their respective presidents, Joe Ajaero and Festus Osifo. The discussions concluded with a consensus on the increased wage, aiming to provide better remuneration for Nigerian workers amidst rising living costs. The Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed to Punch that the executive bill would be presented to the lawmakers by next week Tuesday. This legislative move is intended to give legal backing to the agreed-upon minimum wage and facilitate its implementation nationwide. He said, “The minimum wage will reach the National Assembly by Tuesday. He (President Tinubu) told labour in the meeting that it will be ready by Tuesday.” President Tinubu, while approving the minimum wage on Thursday, promised to review it every three years.
OVER ONE MILLION STUDENTS ADMITTED TO UNIVERSITIES ILLEGALLY – JAMB
OVER ONE MILLION STUDENTS ADMITTED ILLEGALLY BY TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS – JAMB The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, has disclosed that over one million students were illegally admitted by some tertiary institutions in the country. He made the revelation at the ongoing policy meeting on 2023/2024 admissions in Abuja on Thursday. Oloyede stated that the Board has been able to regularize the admissions of about 600 of these students. However, he lamented that many of the students admitted illegally lack the basic qualifications for the courses they registered to study.“Over one million students were admitted illegally. We have regularized about 600 of them because many of them don’t have the basic qualifications,” Oloyede said.
SENATE MOVES TO ESTABLISH LOCAL GOVT ELECTORAL COMMISSION
SENATE MOVES TO ESTABLISH LOCAL GOVT ELECTORAL COMMISSION A bill seeking to establish a federal agency for the conduct of local government elections on Thursday, July18, scaled first reading in the Senate. The bill is titled, “Local Government Independent Electoral Commission (Establishment) Bill, 2024 (SB. 531)”The bill was sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Sani Musa, (APC, Niger East).
N423B THEFT: EL RUFAI ACCUSES JUDGE OF BIAS, SEEKS CASE TRANSFER
₦423B THEFT: EL-RUFAI ACCUSES JUDGE OF BIAS, SEEKS CASE TRANSFER Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has filed a petition against Justice Rilwanu Aikawa of the Kaduna Federal High Court, alleging gross bias, injustice, and denial of fair hearing in his ongoing legal case. The petition, dated July 18, 2024, was submitted to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria, Justice John Tsoho. El-Rufai, represented by his counsel Adetayo Adeyemo, requested that his fundamental human rights suit, marked FHC/KD/CS/55/2024, be transferred to another judge to ensure justice is served. The former governor detailed a series of events he believes demonstrate bias in the handling of his case. According to El-Rufai, the suit was initially filed on June 26, 2024, with a hearing set for July 8. During the hearing, El-Rufai’s counsel, S.S. Umoru, informed the court that all parties had been served and were within the time frame to file their responses. However, the 1st respondent’s counsel, Sule Shaibu (SAN), indicated they were one day late in filing their response. The matter was then adjourned to July 17. El-Rufai’s principal counsel, A.U. Mustapha (SAN), travelled from Lagos to Kaduna for the hearing on July 17, only to be informed that the court would not be sitting. That night, El-Rufai received news that the hearing had been rescheduled for the following day, July 18. Due to the short notice, El-Rufai’s team filed for an adjournment and served the notice to all parties involved. Despite this, El-Rufai alleges that the court proceeded with the hearing on July 18 without notifying him or his counsel. He claims that the respondents were allowed to adopt their processes and participate in the proceedings in his absence, which he views as a clear indication of bias and a denial of his right to a fair hearing. El-Rufai has called for the transfer of his case to another judge to ensure impartiality and justice in the proceedings. The outcome of this petition and its impact on the ongoing legal battle remains to be seen. He said, “The applicant was not put on notice for the proceedings of July 18 2024, as expressly explained in the letter of adjournment. We only got a whiff of the hearing on the night of July 17, which is an extremely short time for us to appear in court. Service of hearing in a matter is sacrosanct and our courts have held severally that every party must be put on notice before his case can be heard. “In view of the foregoing, we humbly apply for the transfer of this matter from the trial court presided over by honourable Justice R.M Aikawa whereby the relevant applications can be heard as the applicant has lost all confidence in the judge to continue to hear and determine the matter. Justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. “Having expressly refused to put the applicant on notice before hearing the matter and proceeding to hear same when the applicant was still within time, to respond to the 1st respondent application, the average man on the street could see which way the judge is headed.”The former governor also alleged he was not given the opportunity to respond to the 1st respondent’s counter-affidavit and written address.
YOU’RE MORALLY UNFIT TO ATTACK OUR GOVT – APC TELLS PDP GOVERNORS
YOU’RE MORALLY UNFIT TO ATTACK OUR GOVT – APC TELLS PDP GOVERNORS The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Thursday descended on governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying they were morally and politically unfit to point accusing fingers to its government. The ruling party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka said the PDP Governors accusing the APC of destroying the country’s economy and institutions contributed to the ruinous state of the country through its 16 years of misrule. According to Morka, the PDP governors made these statements following their meeting in Enugu, on Wednesday over the recent Supreme Court decision that granted financial autonomy to local government councils in the country. Morka said it was a sad irony that; “PDP Governors who congregated to discuss the newly won financial autonomy of local governments, the most remarkable breakthrough in democratic transformation in our country since 1999, ended their meeting pointing their scabby political fingers at the APC government that accomplished a reform that the PDP did not and could not initiate, let alone deliver, in all of its desolate 16 years in government. “By their statement, it is now obvious that the PDP Governors lack understanding of their place and responsibility in our system of government. They do not understand the seriousness of the responsibility that they bear as chief executives of their states to justify the resources at their disposal to build and bolster their domestic economies for the good of their people. “Rather, the PDP Governors speak and carry on as idle spectators and executive free-loaders while blaming the federal government for everything, including their spectacular failure to accomplish the most elementary service delivery to their people. “For example, on record, Delta state, governed by the PDP since 1999, is the highest recipient of federal allocation in the country but is emblematic of PDP’s acute corruption, misrule and utter hopelessness with piles of backlog of unpaid salaries and pensions to hardworking citizens of the state. “The same PDP Governors, many of who have failed to pay legal minimum wage to their workers, hurdled together, without any sense of shame, to accuse the President Bola Tinubu-led administration of delay in approving a new minimum wage for workers. These are the same Governors that, only a few weeks ago, publicly proclaimed their inability to pay the proposed new minimum wage due to their workers.” The statement added that “Nigerians do not need to be reminded of the PDP’s inglorious 16 years of odious rule during which the party built nothing that can be remembered or destroyed.”It added that the APC-led administration has only saddled itself with fixing the PDP’s mess and institutionalised debilitating corruption of nearly two decades.
EDO APC GUBER CANDIDATE IN HOSPITAL AFTER GUNMEN ATTACK
EDO APC GUBER CANDIDATE IN HOSPITAL AFTER GUNMEN ATTACK Senator Monday Okpebholo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Edo State, is currently receiving medical attention at an undisclosed hospital following an attack on his convoy by suspected political thugs in Benin City. The attack, which occurred on Thursday afternoon, left one policeman dead and two others injured. According to a statement released by Godswill Inegbe, Legislative Aide to Okpebholo in charge of Media & Communication, the attack was carried out by members of the Edo State Security Network and Edo state government-sponsored thugs allegedly led by Francis Inegbeniki. The statement revealed that three mobile policemen attached to Okpebholo’s security detail were injured in the attack, with one later confirmed dead. Armed thugs had opened fire on the convoy of Okpebholo and Phillip Shaibu, the former Deputy Governor of Edo State, at the Benin Airport. The attack occurred around 2 pm as the duo arrived from Abuja aboard a chartered private jet. Eyewitnesses reported that the unknown gunmen, travelling in a Toyota Sienna bus, positioned themselves at the airport’s exit gate and unleashed bullets on the convoy carrying Okpebholo and Shaibu. The security details attached to the APC candidate and Shaibu retaliated with gunfire, leading to a fierce exchange of shots.
GUNMEN ATTACK EX-EDO DEPUTY GOVERNOR, SHAIBU DAY AFTER REINSTATEMENT, POLICE OFFICER KILLED
GUNMEN ATTACK EX-EDO DEPUTY GOVERNOR, SHAIBU, DAY AFTER REINSTATEMENT, POLICE OFFICER KILLED Comrade Philip Shaibu, impeached but reinstated deputy governor of Edo State, came under gun attack in Benin City, capital of Edo State, on Thursday. Shaibu, whose impeachment was voided by a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Wednesday, had returned to Edo from Abuja when his convoy was attacked. He was in company of the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, when the assailants who reportedly killed a policeman in their convoy, struck. According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the incident occurred on Airport Road, when Okpebholo and several others, arrived the city from Abuja aboard a chartered flight. It was not immediately known if Okpebholo was wounded, but he is said to be hospitalized in an undisclosed hospital in Benin City. A Federal High Court in Abuja, had on Wednesday voided the impeachment of Shaibu as the state deputy governor by the state House of Assembly. The House of Assembly, however, in a statement, said it had appealed the judgement. The gunmen, in a vehicle, at the exit gate of the airport, were said to have opened fire on the convoy, which led to a reprisal by the armed security details attached to the APC candidate and Shaibu. The incident forced shops and offices to hurriedly shot down, while majority of motorists abandoned their vehicles and scampered to safety. When contacted, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, Public Relations Officer of the Police Command in Edo said the incident was being investigated. “It is premature for the police to confirm at this time until the investigation is concluded,” he said. Meanwhile, a check showed that security had been strengthened at the premises of the state Deputy Governor, Godwins Omobayo located at Osadebey Avenue, near the airport, in Benin to forestall any attack on him. In a statement on Thursday, Edo Government, alleged that it had observed the level of wanton destruction perpetrated by thugs working in connivance with the former deputy governor. Chris Nehikhare, the Commissioner for Communication and Orientation alleged that Shaibu led thugs have unleashed mayhem on innocent citizens in the guise of enforcing the judgment reinstating him to office. “We want to reiterate that Shaibu will face the consequences of violence that he has resorted to in pursuit of his aim to return to the Government House even when he is aware that a stay of execution of the judgement has been filed,” he said. The Commissioner enjoined the general public to be calm and go about their lawful businesses as government restore peace to the ancient city. However, efforts to get the reaction of Shaibu proved abortive. But a statement by Mr Godswill Inegbe, an aide to Okpebholo, said his principal was attacked by the gunmen. “During the unprovoked attack, three mobile policemen attached to the security detail of Sen. Okpebholo were injured with bullet wounds, while one of the policemen has been feared dead,” Inegbe said.According to him, Okpebholo is at this moment admitted in an undisclosed hospital in Benin for medical attention with other members of the entourage. (NAN)