News
Court grants ex-gov of Taraba permission for medical trip abroad
Justice Sylvanus Oriji of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court on Wednesday granted permission to former governor of Taraba, Darius Ishaku, to travel to Arjam, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for his routine medical check up.
The judge granted the leave after hearing a motion filed through, his counsel Paul Ogbole SAN.
Ishaku is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on behalf of the Federal Government, alongside a former permanent secretary, Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in the state, Bello Yero.
The defendants were charged with 15 counts criminal breach of trust, conspiracy and conversion of public funds to the tune of N27 billion.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
While moving the motion, Ogbole told the court that it was brought pursuant to Sections 6 (6) and 41 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, seeking an order of the court to allow the former governor to travel to UAE for medical check up.
Ogbole said the former governor’s health had deteriorated.
Responding, the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo SAN, said the first defendant/applicant did not specify the duration of his stay in UAE, adding that this ought to be supplied to the court.
After listening to parties, Justice Oriji, in his brief ruling, held that as part of the bail conditions granted the former governor on October 3, 2024 was that he must not travel out of the country without first applying for the leave of court.
He added that this must have necessitated the application.
He, therefore, granted permission for the former governor to travel out of the country.
The judge subsequently adjourned the case to March 17 for continuation of hearing.
Earlier, the judge had admitted two notebooks with 11 pieces of paper sought to be tendered by the prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs SAN, through the fifth prosecution witness (PW5), Ismail Oluwadamilare Lawal, on Tuesday.
Justice Oriji overruled the objection by counsel for Ishaku, Ogbole SAN on the admissibility of the pieces of paper, though he did not object to the notebooks being admitted as exhibits.
Continuing with his evidence-in-chief before the court, Lawal, a former personal assistant to Ishaku, said he used to get cash from different people on the instructions of the former governor.
According to him, such people included the Permanent Secretary, Government House, Jalingo, Mr Chindo Audu; Mr Galiya Lodiya; the Taraba State Liaison Officer in Abuja, Dauda .
He added and a brother to his principal, Mr Victor Comlavi, was not an employee of the state government .
Reading from one of the notebooks admitted by the court and marked Exhibit 3, the PW5 informed the court that he paid various sums of money as approved by his principal to different people either in cash or through bank accounts.
“He never questioned any payment made by me on his behalf. After I make payments, they (recipients) must call His Excellency to confirm payment.
“On the face of the write up, His Excellency usually crossed it and write date. This means that he is satisfied with what I have done,,” Lawal told the court.
He further told the court that aside his entry of Dec. 5, 2020 in Exhibit 3, on the directive of the former governor, he paid salaries of personal staff of his principal as well as the gatemen of Ishaku’s house in Takum and the utilities.(NAN)
By Abubakar Yunusa
The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has further reduced the ex-gantry price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to N835 per litre.
According to sources at the refinery, the plant dropped the price of the petrol sold to oil marketers to N835 per litre, six days after the refinery reduced it to N865 per litre.
“The refinery reduced the price of the petrol to N835 per litre,” a source told TheCable.
The reduction in Dangote petrol price followed an announcement by the federal government on April 9, that the naira-for-crude oil deal will continue after the first phase ended on March 31.
“The stakeholders reaffirmed the government’s continued commitment to the full implementation of this strategic initiative, as directed by the Federal Executive Council (FEC),” the finance ministry said.
“Thus, the Crude and Refined Product Sales in Naira initiative is not a temporary or time-bound intervention, but a key policy directive designed to support sustainable local refining, bolster energy security, and reduce reliance on foreign exchange in the domestic petroleum market.”
On April 15, Farouk Ahmed, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), said the estimated pump price of petrol in Nigeria is less than that of neighbouring countries in West Africa.
Ahmed also said Nigeria’s petrol importation reduced by 29.9 million litres in eight months due to increased contributions from local refineries.
Three suspected herdsmen have been arrested following the attacks that led to the killing of 11 persons at Otobi community in Otupko local government by suspected herdsmen.
Governor Hyacinth Alia disclosed this on Wednesday while briefing journalists at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capital.
He expressed worry over the situation and called on security agencies to track down the perpetrators.
According to Alia, National Security Advisor, Nuhu Ribadu, has promised to deploy more security assets to the State to arrest the renewed wave of attacks in the state, especially the Otukpo axis.
The governor also announced the deployment of security personnel to the affected area, with three suspected herdsmen arrested in connection with the Otobi killings.
According to the member representing Otukpo-Akpa Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly, Kennedy Angbo, nine corpses were recovered Tuesday night, followed by one in a hard-to-reach area later that evening.
By dawn Wednesday, other corpses were found, bringing the total number of fatalities to 11.
The attack has sent shockwaves through the state, particularly because the Otobi community—home to the Federal Ministry of Water Resources Multipurpose Dam—has now come under assault twice this April.
A security guard was previously killed at the dam site just days before this latest massacre.
Earlier, the governor sent his deputy, Samuel Ode, on an assessment tour to the devastated community.
He offered condolences to the grieving families and reassured residents of the state government’s commitment to tackling the spate of violent attacks across rural areas.
Ode also made some cash donations to carter for some immediate relief while the state emergency management agency has been tasked to move in for needs assessment and provide emergency response to those in need.
The attack on Otobi is the latest in a disturbing string of assaults along the Otukpo-Ado Road, from Okpamaju to Asa One and Asa Two down to the Ebonyi State border.
At least 15 million Nigerians are at risk of flood disasters in 2025, Vice President Kashim Shettima has disclosed.
He made the disclosure at the commencement of a one-day Validation Workshop on the Anticipatory Action Framework for Nigeria held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre in the Office of the National Security Adviser Abuja on Wednesday.
The Vice President, however, said the Federal Government is taking a proactive approach as against a reactive approach to forestall the disaster.
He emphasized the need for collaboration among all the agencies of government at the states and Federal Government level to tackle floods and other disasters in the country.
Some of Maiduguri communities submerged in flood following a leak in the Alau Dam in 2024.
VP Shettima decried that Nigeria loses 5 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to floods.
However, he disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the sum of N15 billion to be released for emergency responses.
The Vice President, who also condemned the recent heinous attacks in Plateau state, expressed the sympathy of President Bola Tinubu to the affected families.
He, however, advocated a non-kinetic approach to tackling the security challenges on the Plateau and North-East.
According to him, “There can never be a military solution to the crisis in Plateau, North-East.”
Last week, the Federal Government predicted heavy rains and floods in 30 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The high-flood risk states are: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, said coastal and riverine flooding would be experienced in some parts of the South-South geopolitical zone of the country due to a rise in sea level.
Among these states are Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, and Rivers while Akwa-Ibom and Edo fall under the high-flood risk states.