Senator Shehu Sani has insinuated that the poor are the worst hit by the current economic hardship, while the rich are insulated from economic woes.
Sani, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former lawmaker, made the assertion via his verified Twitter handle on Tuesday.
Sani wrote: “In our country, the rich are in the Noah’s Ark and the poor are in the Titanic.”
DAILY POST recalls that the cost of living in the country soared after the pump price of fuel skyrocketed to N612 per litre last week.
The United States dollar also gained massively against the Nigerian naira in the exchange market recently.
[DailyPost]
Alhaji Lamidi Apapa, the acting National Chairman of the Labour Party (LP), has prayed a Federal High Court, Abuja, to compel the Inspector-General (I-G) of Police to eject the embattled LP National Chairman, Julius Abure, from the party’s national secretariat.
Apapa, in a fresh suit filed before Justice Ahmed Mohammed, also sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining Abure and three other suspended national officers from further representing or parading themselves as national chairman and officers of the party.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Apapa; Alhaji Lawal Saleh, acting National Secretary; Comrade Anslem Eragbe, National Youth Leader and LP are the 1st to 4th plaintiffs in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/777/23 and filed by their lawyer, Anderson Asamota.
The plaintiffs had sued Mr Abure as suspended National Chairman; Farouk Umaru, suspended National Secretary; Ojukwu Clement, suspended Organising Secretary; Oluci Opara, suspended National Treasurer and I-G as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.
In the latest case dated June 1, the plaintiffs sought nine reliefs which include “an order setting aside or nullifying all steps or proceedings conducted by the 1st to 4th defendants, actions or decisions taken, documents or correspondences prepared, authored, signed and issued by them, after they were restrained by the FCT High Court on April 5th and suspended by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Labour Party on 3rd day of May, 2023.
“An order of mandatory injunction directing or compelling the 1st to 4th defendants whether acting by themselves or through their officers, privies, representatives, attorneys and/or agents to render account of all monies or funds received by them through gift, donations, contributions for and on behalf of the party and return or refund all the monies or gift received by them for and on behalf of the party.”
The plaintiff, who prayed the court to eject Abure and the three co-defendants from the party’s national secretariat located at No. 2, IBM Haruna Street, Utako, Abuja, described them as “illegal occupants.”
They sought a declaration that by virtue of Articles 13 (2)(B)(xvii), 17(ii) and 19(2) (C) & (3)C of the Constitution of the Labour Party, 2019 (as amended), the NEC of the LP is empowered and/or inundated with powers to take disciplinary action or discipline the erring members and national officers of the party for misconduct.
They said that by the constitution of the party, Abure, having been suspended by the NEC cannot continue to hold himself out as the national chairman of the party, “which is privilege only enjoyed by members of the party,” among other reliefs.
In the affidavit deposed to by Eragbe, he said an FCT High Court on April 5 restrained the 1st to 4th defendants parading themselves as national chairman and national officers of the party.
He averred that despite the said restraining order “hanging over their necks like the sword of Damocles,” they continued to parade themselves as national officers of the party in various fora and meetings in flagrant disobedience of the order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
Based on this, Eragbe said the NEC, in its meeting held on May 3, reached a resolution suspending the four of them.
He said the decision was based on their “numerous acts of contempt of the FCT High Court restraining order, convening, holding and participating in illegal NEC meeting on April 18 in Asaba, Delta.
He also said it was for their involvement in fraudulent activities and anti-party activities especially as it appertains to the conduct of pseudo gubernatorial primaries in Imo State, Bayelsa State and Kogi State on 15th April, 2023.
“That the 1st to 4th defendants conducted, presided and superintended the said pseudo or illegal primaries in Imo, Bayelsa and Kogi State on 15th April 2023 in contempt of the restraining order of the FCT High Court referenced above.”
When the matter was called on Monday, Asamota, who appeared for the plaintiffs, told the court that the matter was slated for mention and all the defendants had been duly served.
He then prayed the court to adjourn the matter for hearing.
But Kehinde Edun, a lawyer who represented the suspended National Secretary, Umaru, said Abure, Clement and Opara had not been served with the court papers which necessitated their not being represented in court.
Justice Mohammed, therefore, directed the court registrar to crosscheck from the record if all the defendants were served, but the registrar confirmed that only Abure (1st defendant) was served with a hearing notice.
The judge, who adjourned the matter until Nov. 28 for further mention, ordered that the originating summons and hearing notices be served on all the necessary parties.
Again, the President Bola Tinubu’s ministerial list failed to surface at the Senate on Tuesday.
This has aggravated the anxiety over the complexion and composition of the list.
The presidency has also declined to comment on the status of the list even as the chief spokesman to the President, Dele Alake, had told THE WHISTLER that “there’s a new 60 day law” guiding the formation of the cabinet without further clarification.
On Tuesday at press time, there was no correspondence from the president even as no confirmation came from the Senate that the list had been received.
Sources however said the list had not been sent “at least not by 10:30am, this morning as we speak.”
The office of the clerk to the Senate has also kept mum on the issue.
On the lips of almost everyone is what could be holding the list with 4 days to go.
By law the president has 60 days to present his ministerial list to the Senate. That expires on Saturday when the office mandated by law to receive and screen the list would be shut down.
The president has between the rest of the working day of Tuesday (today), Wednesday and Thursday, which are legislative days to send in the list.
It was gathered that the president had retrieved the list to make an amendment but a reliable source denied it saying “ministerial list was never sent to the Senate. The information from the clerk to the Senate was false.”
The Senate had broken into a closed-door on Thursday in the past week with expectation that it was to smoothen rough edges in order to allow a smooth consideration of the ministerial nominees.
What transpired during the closed-door was never revealed even as the ministerial list was not unveiled afterwards.
If the president indeed made adjustments to his list, the mood in the Senate is that the president would send in the ministerial list for consideration before the end of the week’s legislative sitting.
Some aggrieved youths have taken to the streets of Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to demonstrate their grievances against the controversial video clip famous singer, Davido shared recently on his Twitter account.
Recall that Davido came under severe criticisms after sharing a clip of the music video of his signee, Logos Olori’s new single ‘Jaye Lo’ which captures people praying and dancing in front of a mosque.
Some prominent Nigerian Muslims including former aide to ex-president Muhammadu Buhari, Bashir Ahmad, Senator Shehu Sani, actor, Ali Nuhi, asked Davido to take down the video and apologise to Muslims for “disrespecting” their religion.
The singer eventually bowed to the demands after 48 hours and deleted the video.
However, in a video making the rounds on social media, some youths in Maiduguri were seen setting on fire a poster of the singer as they demanded that the OBO crooner should apologise to the Muslim community.
Media
The National Industrial Court (NIC) has affirmed the status of the Congress Of University Academics (CONUA) and the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) as trade unions in Nigeria, thus dismissing the suit filed by ASUU.
In a ruling on Tuesday, the president of the NIC, Justice Benedict Kanyip, dismissed ASUU’s lawsuit which challenged the Federal Government’s registration of CONUA and NAMDA as trade unions.
Kanyip ruled that Section 27 of the Trade Union Act does not depict trade monopoly and makes allowance for more than one trade union in employment.
He added that both the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, and the registrar of the union, were within their rights to register both unions to co-exist with ASUU.
The Justice held that ASUU did not provide any evidence to show the complete registration of CONUA and NAMDA when the suit was filed, adding that any evidence that was provided by ASUU was hearsay because the suit was filed on October 26, 2022, meanwhile, CONUA and NAMDA’s registration had yet to be, gazetted in line with Section 523 of the Trade Union Act.
THE WHISTLER reported last year, when ASUU’s legal representative, Femi Falana SAN, stated that the union would sue the FG for registering CONUA and NAMDA while it was still on strike.
Falana said the registration of the unions is illegal seeing as only one union is allowed to operate in every sector, according to the Trade Union Act.
“You can’t have two trade unions in the same sector. Only a union is allowed to be registered for all academics in Nigeria.
“That is the essence of the classification of trade unions because we used to have mushrooms in the First Republic, so the government restructured the unions and grouped all academics together and all non-academics together. You can’t have two or three in one field,” he said.
Falana added that there is a Supreme Court judgment on the proliferation of trade unions, the Erasmus Osawe V Registrar of Trade Unions.
Emefiele, Facing Charges Of Illegal Possession Of Firearms - Gets N20 Million Bail After Six Weeks In DSS Custody
AdminSuspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been granted a N20 million bail by a Federal High Court setting in Ikoyi, Lagos.
As part of condition to perfect the bail, the embattled CBN Governor must produce a surety with landed property within the jurisdiction of the court.
Emefiele who earlier pleaded not guilty is facing two count charges bordering on illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
His lawyer, Joseph Daudu, SAN, who had applied for his bail contended that the offence for which he was changed is bailable, which the presiding judge, Nicholas Oweibo, agreed with.
THE WHISTLER on July 13 reported that Justice H. Muazu of Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja had given the Department of State Services (DSS), seven days to charge Emefiele, to court or release him from detention.
The embattled CBN Governor had sued the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the DSS for arresting and detaining him in a commando style, alleging the agencies were carrying out a political witch-hunt against him due to his “people-oriented financial policies which several political actors are not comfortable with and are now looking for any means to scandalize and smear his image and reputation.”
It would be recalled that President Bola Tinubu had on June 9, suspended Emefiele as the apex bank’s Governor and had directed that the bank’s Deputy Governor of Operations, Folashodun Shonubi, resume office in an acting capacity.
The Senate requested the 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to halt their proposed pricing increases and “allow Nigerians to breathe.”
Additionally, the Senate encouraged DisCos to no longer charge Nigerian communities’ electrical transformer purchase costs before requesting payment.
By immediately distributing affordable prepaid metres to all power consumers nationwide, it also put an end to projected billing.
The Red Chambers then considered several resolutions, including one titled “Need to halt proposed increase in Electricity Tariff by 11 successor Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos).”
The motion was moved by Senator Yunus Abiodun Akintunde (APC – Oyo Central) at plenary.
After due debate on the motion, the Senate resolved to: “Call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to intervene and halt the proposed increase in electricity tariff by the Distribution Companies (Discos);
“Urge Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to decentralize proposed engagement with Stakeholders scheduled for Abuja to the Six Geopolitical Zones of the Federation for effective participation by all;
“Also urge NERC to thoroughly look into the rate review applications filed by the Discos, taking into consideration the interests of citizens, affordability, and the need for improved service delivery;
“Further urge NERC to explore alternative measures to address the financial challenges faced by the Discos, such as improving operational efficiency, reducing technical and commercial losses, and enhancing revenue collection mechanisms;
“Equally urge Discos to henceforth discontinue estimated billing and make available to all electricity consumers prepaid meters at affordable prices; and
“Mandate the Committee on Power (when constituted) to engage with the Federal Ministry of Power, NERC, and other stakeholders to find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the Nigerian electricity sector, including the need for comprehensive sector reforms.
“Call on DisCos to allow communities recover cost of purchasing transformers before asking them to pay bills.
“Call on DisCos and NERC to allow Nigerians to breathe.”
Senators Ekpenyong Asuquo, Jimikuta David, Ipalibo Harry Banigo and Abba Moro in their contributions supported the motion.
Details Shortly…
On Tuesday (today), former Governor of Edo State, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, tendered a verbal apology to his colleagues at the 10th National Assembly after alleging on live television that Senators in the 9th Senate looted their offices, carting away office furniture and equipment.
Naija News recalls that Oshiomhole had, on Sunday, while appearing live on Channels Television Politics Today programme, alleged that some lawmakers from the previous assembly looted items such as carpets and TVs from their offices.
According to him, a development that led to most of the federal lawmakers in the 10th national assembly using their money to put their offices in shape.
“In spite of the presence of security men and women, television sets, carpets, and chairs were looted by the immediate past senators and House of Representatives members.
“The former lawmakers left their offices in shambles with holes in the walls, which had to be fixed by serving lawmakers from their pockets,” Oshiomhole had said.
Oshiomhole’s submissions, however, caused uproar in the Senate on Tuesday morning during the plenary session as a Federal Lawmaker, Solomon Adeola, slammed the former governor, demanding that he apologize to the Senate.
Senator Adeola said Oshiomhole breached the privilege of his office and demanded that he tenders a public apology to the 10th Senate.
Adeola explained that the procedure is clear at the end of every Assembly; lawmakers are to sign for every item in their offices before they are taken out, maintaining that no Senator looted their offices in the 9th Assembly.
He asked Oshiomhole to explain why he made these allegations on live television without confirmation.
Wading into the arguments, the Senate Chief Whip, Ali Ndume, requested that the matter be discussed behind closed doors, but a majority of the lawmakers refused that the matter be discussed in an executive session.
To douse the tension in the chamber, the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, also intervened, explaining that all items in the offices of Senators depreciate to the tune of 25 per cent and the tradition every four years is to give lawmakers the right to offer to purchase those items and if accepted, the lawmaker will either pay outright for the items or the funds are removed from their severance gratuity.
Oshiomhole Apologizes
According to Channels Television, after a series of arguments, Oshiomhole was thereafter given the floor and expressed his utmost respect for the National Assembly.
The former Governor of Edo State explained that he indeed appeared on a respected national television station but said he defended the collective integrity of the Senate.
He emphasised that at no time did he say Senators looted their offices but rather that the offices were vandalised, prompting Senators to provide the basic needs of their offices by purchasing some furniture.
He, however, tendered an apology to his colleagues, who he says felt offended by his comments.
The Academy Staff Union of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, protested on Tuesday over the suspension of the institution’s Rector, Dr Tajudeen Odetayo.
Academic activities were grounded, as staff members claimed the suspension of the Rector was an aberration of its constitution.
Recall that the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, suspended the institution’s rector following an allegation of corruption leveled against him.
According to a July 11, 2023 memo by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, Muritala Jimoh, addressed to the Acting Registrar of the polytechnic, Odetayo is facing an investigation over “allegations of financial recklessness, corruption and misappropriation of funds and abuse of office.”
The governor also approved the appointment of Mr. Alabi Kehinde Adeyemi as the acting Rector with immediate effect, “pending the time the allegations against him are properly investigated by relevant bodies.”
However, displeased with the governor’s move, academic staff have come out to express their displeasure, saying it is an aberration against the institution’s constitution and has suspended the school’s educational activities over the suspension.
Naija News gathered that protesters, who were chanting solidarity songs, blocked the main campus entrance in Iree, which left the students writing examination stranded.
Speaking to a crowd of protesters, the President of the union, Dr. Fatai Afolabi, declared an indefinite suspension on academic activities, noting that the association frowns at what the governor has done.
Also, checks by Tribune reveal that classrooms were empty as students were seen standing in groups and discussing the issues.
One of the students who simply identified as Abimbola revealed that she knows less about the ongoing issues and, therefore, can not blame anyone for now.
Abimbola, however, appealed for the matter to be resolved amicably so that academic activities could continue.
The 7th edition of the Annual Ife Summer Institute, a two-week academic engagement for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers from around the world commences Monday, 24th July at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. ‘Advancing Africa Through the Academy: Innovation, Creativity, and Service’ is the theme. It is an annual programme organised by Jacob Kehinde Olupona, a Nigerian Professor at Harvard University who was recently inducted into the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
In the 2023 edition, there will be approximately seventy Professors from all over the world participating as speakers and facilitators. This year, past fellows of the Institute and Professors administered the selection process for the applications and planned the programme, with the internal program committee taking the lead.
Over 230 male and female doctoral and postdoctoral scholars from STEM and Non-STEM fields from countries such as Cameroon, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malaysia, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sénégal, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom, the United States, Zambia, and Zimbabwe applied to the Summer Institute in 2023. Only 73 were invited as in-person participants, including individuals with disabilities and nursing mothers, while 156 were invited as virtual participants.
Based on the preliminary findings of the Graduate Employability research conducted by past fellows of the Institute in collaboration with the Michael and Henrietta Olupona Foundation and the Mastercard Foundation, this year’s edition will focus on how the creativity and innovation of the academy can promote African progress. The idea is to inspire participants to promote African development through research and to use African knowledge systems to chart a path to developing a sustainable master plan for the continent’s present and future. Consequently, the 2023 edition will be workshop-based, with conversations centred on creativity, innovation, and service through academic engagement on a variety of skills development-related topics.
The 2023 Summer Institute commenced with a virtual Pre-Summer Institute titled ‘life cycle of empirical research,’ which was open to all early scholars, including the Institute’s intended fellows for 2023. The Pre-Summer Institute was organised by the Institute Secretariat with fellows of the Institute who participated in research on Graduate Employment in Africa sponsored by the Mastercard Foundation.
The Pre-Summer Institute serves as a platform for training fellows and honing early career skills in the global community. It is also a platform for identifying talents within the Institute who could take over the leadership of several Institute-developed programmes. It is the belief of the Institute that its over 400 fellows should be continuously engaged in the program work of the Institute.
The pre-summer institute’s objectives are to explain their research processes, including the tools used for research analysis, to help fellows, particularly those involved in the five-country research conducted by the Institute for Advanced studies, understand research beyond the classroom, and to develop project planning and management skills.
Kamari Maxine Clarke, a distinguished Canadian professor at the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto, will deliver the keynote address on ‘Advancing Academia in Africa as an Otherwise Project: Foundations, Methods, and Transmission as a 21st Century Challenge,’ while Olupona will deliver the Convener’s address. Professor Simeon Bamire, Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, is the chief host.
This year’s session will feature a variety of workshops, discussion panels, and host two special lectures: the Annual Babatunde Ogunnaike’s STEM Lecture to be delivered by Matthew Adigun, a Senior Professor of Computer Science from the University of Zululand, South Africa, and the IIAS-MCF Inaugural Entrepreneurship and Employability Lecture by Professor Joseph Eyo. Several professors from universities in the United Kingdom, the United States, and many African countries are also participating in this year’s programme.
[Thisday]
More...
The Labour Party’s (LP) Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, has accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of cloning electoral fraudsters as leaders and wasting the country’s time and resources.
Obi and LP warned in their final address to the Presidential Election Petitions Court on July 23, 2023, that if the court does not whip INEC into line to perform its electoral duties fairly, impartially, and independently, elections in Nigeria will remain a fraud.
Obi and LP accused INEC of abandoning its primary statutory responsibility as an electoral umpire and proudly putting on the toga of a candidate in the election.
They claimed INEC spent 5.5 pages of its address, tragically and embarrassingly, defending the ground on the non-qualification of the second respondent (Tinubu).
They stated;
In the case of PDP v. Alechenu (2019) LPELR-49199 (CA), this honourable court admonished the 1st Respondent (INEC), who appears to have misunderstood its public duty, thus: Often one finds cases where INEC plays games with election materials and would not allow the petitioner(s) access to documents used in the conduct of the election, even with court order(s) to produce same, as in this case, thus playing the cards of the declared winner, openly, to frustrate the petition.
Obi also stated that INEC used modern technology to conduct the 2023 General Election in accordance with the mandatory provisions of the Electoral Act of 2022, the INEC Regulations and Guidelines, and the INEC Manual.
By this, INEC represented and assured that it would use Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for the accreditation of voters in the polling units and the upload/transmission of the results of the election in real-time on the day of the election to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
However, contrary to the requirement of the law and in manifest disregard of its own representations, the 1st respondent (INEC) abandoned and discarded the much expected upload/transmission of the result of the election in real time on the day of the election from the polling unit to the IReV.
Rather, and very strangely, blurred, unreadable and inaccessible documents/images were uploaded by the 1st respondent to the IReV purporting same to be the result of the election in various polling units. These blurred images and inaccessible documents were purported to be the result of the election in the polling units. The net result of the upload of the blurred images on the IReV, was that the result of the election could neither be authenticated nor verified, and thus, lacked credibility and transparency.
The 1st respondent’s contention that the ‘collation of the election result’ remained a manual process is patently false and seems to have disregarded the express provisions of the Electoral Act, Regulations and Manual for the election. Collation of election results at all the stages of the election process specifically provide for electronic transmission to the IReV which is part of the collation system under the Electoral Act.
The authority of the Federal High Court determination in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1454/2022 relied upon by the 1st respondent in its final address and heavily harped upon in its argument is per incuriam and in manifest contradiction of the binding later decision of the Supreme Court in Appeal No: SC/CV/508/2023, OYETOLA v. INEC delivered on 9th May 2023, in (2023) LPELR-60392 (SC).
Despite the 1st respondent’s claim that the hardcopies of the forms EC8A were allegedly used for the manual collation of the election (which by that reasoning ought to be in the 1st respondent’s custody/possession), the 1 respondent nevertheless gave to the petitioners as certified copies of the electoral forms, including alleged forms EC8As, blurred/blank/extraneous copies.
The alleged hardcopies of the forms EC8A claimed to have been used for the manual collation were neither produced in court nor certified copies thereof tendered in court by the 1st respondent.
Arsonists set fire to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) campaign office in Lokoja, Kogi state’s capital.
Suspected thugs were said to have stormed the party office in the state capital’s Paparanda Square on IBB Driveway around midnight.
According to witnesses, the attackers chased away the campaign office’s security guards before setting fire to the party office.
Valuables and documents were among the items destroyed. Vehicles parked inside the campaign headquarters were also set on fire.
The SDP Deputy governorship candidate for the November 11gubernatorial election, Dr Sam Ranti Abenemi,
said: “The hoodlums came in large numbers and set all the properties in the office on fire, including generators, computers, campaign materials, and televisions”.
However, he called on the party’s supporters to remain calm, stressing that the party would address the issue at the appropriate quarters.
Meanwhile, the Director, Communication of the SDP standard bearer, Faruk Adejoh-Audu, said;
We invite the world and all people of good conscience to come to the aid of Kogi State by rising to condemn these sustained brazen acts of abuse of power.
This trend has continued despite our repeated outcries and formal complaint to the security agencies against the known perpetrators of this acts of extreme electoral violence.
We have again formally incidented another complaint at the Kogi State Police Command for whatever it is worth but we have no confidence in the ability of security agencies in Lokoja to rein in this arsonists.
PPRO (Police Public Relations Officer) in Kogi, SP William Aya, who was contacted about the incident, promised to contact our reporter but had not done so as of the time this story was filed.
Muritala Yakubu Ajaka, the SDP’s standard bearer, was reportedly stopped in Lokoja on his way from Idah to Abuja on Sunday to inspect the burnt office, which was vandalized on June 9, 2023.
One Waliu Olamilekan, a fuel attendant, has been arrested and he is standing trial for theft and damage.
The 39-year-old was arraigned before a Badagry Magistrates’ Court in Lagos for allegedly stealing N3,464,000 at BFO filling station in Badagry.
The defendant, whose residential address was not divulged, is standing trial on a three-count charge of unlawful entry, malicious damage and stealing, for which he pleaded not guilty.
The prosecutor, Inspector Ayodele Adeosun told the court that the defendant committed the offences on July 9, at about 11.30am at Pipeline, Araromi-Ale, Badagry Expressway, Lagos.
Adeosun said the defendant allegedly broke into the office of the manager of the station, Mrs Titilope Falola, the complainant and made away with the money.
“He damaged the burglary window valued at N45,000, the bulk room and the drawer of the Manager’s office.
“The defendant also stole the sum of N3, 464,000 million, property of BFO Filling Station.
“The Police recovered the stolen money from where he hid it.
“The offences contravene Sections 307, 339 and 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015,’’ he said.
The Magistrate, Mr T.A Popoola, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1,000,000 with two sureties in like sum.
Popoola said one of the sureties should produce evidence of a statement of account worth N1m and three years of tax address verification.
She adjourned the case until August 21, for mention. (NAN)
A civil society group under the the Edo Civil Society Organisations trooped out on Monday to protest the current nationwide hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy.
Naija News recalls that President Bola Tinubu had, on his inauguration day, May 29, declared an end to the fuel subsidy regime.
The pronouncement led to an increase in the pump price of petrol from N189 per litre to N500 per litre.
Also, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) last Tuesday, increased the price of petrol again to N617 per litre.
President Tinubu, in an attempt to cushion the effects of the hardship created by the removal, proposed to give N8,000 to 12 million households for six months, a measure that was suspended over a barrage of criticisms.
However, the protesters, who flooded major streets in Benin City, described the N8,000 palliative as an insult.
They argued that politicians are running governance at a high cost at the expense of the masses.
The protestors were seen carrying several placards bearing different captions like ‘FG Fix Our Refineries,’ ‘Kill Corruption, not Nigerians,’ ‘Poor Nigerians Lives Matter, ‘We Say No To Constant Increment In PMS,’ ‘How Did NNPCL Become Fuel Price Requlator’ ‘N8,000 Palliatives, and ‘What An Insult’ among others
Below are some photos
