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Appeal Court Declares Police Act 2020 Illegal, Nullifies Constable Recruitment

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The Court of Appeal has declared the Police Act 2020 unconstitutional and void.

The Police Act 2020, which was enacted in September this year, affects the constitutional mandate of the Police Service Commission.

The Appeal Court ruled that the provisions of the Act was in conflict with Paragraph 30 Part 1 of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution “which empowers the commission to appoint persons into offices in the Nigeria Police Force except for the Office of the Inspector-General of Police.”

The judgment also nullified the recruitment of 10,000 constables carried out by the police authorities last year.

However, the IG, Mohammed Adamu, has appealed the ruling which nullified the earlier order of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The PSC spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani, in a statement on Wednesday, explained that the details of the Appeal Court judgment was contained in the Certified True Copy received on Tuesday.

The statement was titled, ‘Appeal Court declares Police Act 2020 as it affects PSC mandate null and void.’

The statement explained that the judge further declared that “no Act of the National Assembly or law can take away or curtail such power.”

He further noted that, even if the Nigeria Police carried out the disputed enlistment pursuant to a directive or approval of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), “the enlistment would remain contrary to the constitution and therefore, unconstitutional and void. Such a directive cannot repair its unconstitutionality and illegality.”

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum has called for a repeal of sections of the Police Act recently given assent by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), citing constitutional breaches.

This was contained in a communiqué issued after a virtual meeting held by the PDP governors.

The communiqué, which was made available to reporters in Abuja on Wednesday, was signed by the Chairman of the forum, Aminu Tambuwal, who is also the Governor of Sokoto State.

The governors, among other things, implored the President and the National Assembly to repeal Section 4(1) of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund (Establishment) Act, 2019 which “purportedly authorizes the President to deduct 0.5% of the total revenue accruing to the Federation Account for the benefit of the Nigeria Police Trust Fund.”

According to the governors, the said deduction is patently unconstitutional.

The communiqué read in part, “The meeting noted the signing of the New Nigeria Police Act, 2020 by Mr President, Commander in Chief.

“While acknowledging the many important innovations in the new law, the forum emphasized the need to make the Nigeria Police Council, which has Mr. President as Chairman and 36 state governors as members, fully operational and the clearinghouse on all issues bordering on the organization and administration of the Nigeria Police Force as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.”

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How I Killed My Sugar Mummy Over N100,000 — Murder Suspect, Akpoveta School

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The suspect arrested in connection with the murder of a lady, Glory Akpaku, in Delta State, Akpoveta School, has narrated how he allegedly killed the victim by stabbing her multiple times.

According to an interrogation video shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) by the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, on Monday, the suspect disclosed that the victim was his sugar mummy before her demise.

It was gathered from the video that things went south between Akpoveta and the late Akpaku over the sum of N100,000 he allegedly kept with the deceased for safekeeping, but which the deceased allegedly refused to give him when he needed the money.

The suspect claimed that he had gone to Akpaku to demand the money but, instead of receiving it, she insisted that she would give it to him after returning from the market.

The suspect narrated further that he threatened the victim to report their relationship to her son, but the victim threatened back that if he did so, she would not give him the money in her custody.

He added that the threat from his alleged lover infuriated him, which led him to stab her with a knife in the neck, hand, and stomach.

Akpoveta narrated in pidgin English (now translated), “She asked me to save some money with her and that she would return the money to me later. But when I needed the money, she refused to give it to me. Rather, she became angry.

“She asked me to escort her to the market, and I thought she would give me the money, but she insisted that she would give it to me after she returned from the market.

“I told her that I would tell her child, and she said if I told the child, she would not return my money. While she was going in front, I took a knife that I had with me and stabbed her in the neck, hand, and stomach.”

The suspect stated further that he regretted his action but blamed the devil for it.

Reacting to the confession, Edafe urged members of the public to learn from it.

The PPRO wrote, “I share stories like this so we can learn from the mistakes of others. So this suspect allegedly murdered his sugar mummy over her failure to give him back the money she was helping him save. When asked why he did it, he said, ‘NA DEVIL WORK’.”

Meanwhile, giving further updates on the incident, the PPRO noted that the incident happened in April and the suspect would be charged in court upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.

“The incident happened in April. He will be charged in court as soon as the investigation is concluded,” Edafe concluded.

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Kaduna Assembly Probes ‘Multi-Million Dollar Loans’, Projects Under Former Governor el-Rufai

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The committee set up to probe the finances of Kaduna under the administration of Nasir el-Rufai, the immediate former governor of the state, has commenced an investigation.

The committee, which is made up of 13 members, was set up by the Kaduna assembly in April.

The panel is tasked with looking at loans, grants, and project implementation from 2015 to 2023, the period when el-Rufai was governor of the state.

Suraj Bamalli, the media aide to Yusuf Liman, speaker of the Kaduna assembly, announced the development in a statement on Tuesday.

“The adhoc committee set up to conduct a comprehensive fact-finding into financial dealings, the status of executed contracts, loans, grants, and project implementation from 2015-2023 has commenced its clarification session,” the statement reads.

“The committee has engaged in detailed discussions with several key present and past government officials, including former Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Honorable Manzo Maigari; Former KADPPA Boss and Commissioner of Budget and Planning, Honorable Thomas Gyang, Commissioner and Administrator of Zaria Metropolitan Authority, Hajia Balaraba Aliyu, amongst others.

“The Kaduna State House of Assembly appreciates the cooperation and contributions of all individuals involved in this process and assures the public of their dedication to upholding the highest standards of governance during this process.”

On March 30, Uba Sani, governor of Kaduna, said his administration inherited a debt of $587 million, N85 billion, and 115 contractual liabilities from el-Rufai’s administration.

The Kaduna governor said the huge debt burden is eating deep into the state’s share of the monthly federation allocation.

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Rivers APC Asks Assembly To Resume Impeachment Proceedings Against Governor Fubara

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker committee in Rivers has requested that the governor, Siminalayi Fubara, be removed from office by the state parliament.

After President Bola Tinubu voiced his opinion regarding a dispute between the governor and Nyesom Wike, the minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), the house of assembly dropped their notice to impeach Fubara in December.

The two men have been at odds over who controls Rivers’ political system.

Addressing a press conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, Tony Okocha, chair of the APC in the state, accused the governor of “insulting” Tinubu.

“It’ll be foolhardy for us to sit down and see someone way less than Mr President insult him under our very nose,” he said.

“It is also an absurdity to see the governor espouse impunity and intimidation on people who are members of our political party, and we stand akimbo doing nothing.

“As representatives of Mr President we won’t sit here and see the governor insult the President. We won’t sit here to see the governor declare on his own as if he’s a court to declare Assembly members’ seats vacant.

“To that extent, in consultation with my party, we are directing APC members who are in the Assembly to immediately commence the impeachment of Governor Sim Fubara.

“And if they don’t do that, there’s what they call party discipline, and we shall invoke that section of the constitution and deal decisively with them.”

On Monday, Fubara expressed dismay over the attitude of the assembly members to his administration, adding that the lawmakers only exist because of him.

The governor added that he accepted the peace deal offered by Tinubu because it was a political solution to the rift.

In December, 27 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) legislators in the Rivers assembly defected to the APC.  The seats of 25 of the lawmakers were subsequently declared vacant.

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