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BREAKING: Supreme Court Sacks APC Senator, Orders Musa As Replacement

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The Supreme Court on Friday sacked David Umar as the Senator representing Niger-East in the newly constituted ninth Senate and declared Muhammed Musa as his replacement.

Umar was the Chairman, Senate Committee Chairman on Justice, Human Rights and Legal Matters, in the last Senate.

In a unanimous judgment of the five-man panel led by the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, the apex court nullified the earlier verdict of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which had validated Umar as the rightful candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the February 23, 2019 senatorial election.

The apex court, after nullifying the Court of Appeal’s judgment, restored the earlier verdict of the Federal High Court which had declared Musa, as the rightful candidate of the party.

Justice Folashade Giwa-Ogunbanjo of the Federal High Court in Abuja had on February 7, 2019, declared Musa as the rightful candidate.

In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, on Friday, the apex court agreed with Musa’s legal team led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), that the Court of Appeal wrongly interpreted the provision of section 285(9) of the Constitution.

Justice Ariwoola held that the Court of Appeal was, therefore, wrong to have struck out the suit filed by Musa before the Federal High Court after adjudging the suit to be statute-barred.

He held that contrary to the Court of Appeal’s judgment, Musa had instituted his suit within time, as the mandatory 14 days period within which the suit ought to be filed, should be counted from the date the Independent National Electoral Commission published the names of candidate and not from the date a winner of the primary was declared.

Justice Ariwoola held, “At the end of the day, as this court has held in some other judgments including the one delivered yesterday (Thursday), that, time began to run not from the time primary election was conducted but at the time the name of the 1st respondent (Umaru) was forwarded to INEC instead of the name of the appellant.

“In the circumstance, the court below was wrong in holding that the action was statute barred.

“The court below was wrong in its interpretation of section 285(9) of the Constitution (as amended) in view of the available facts.

“In the final analysis, this appeal is meritorious and deserves to be allowed. Accordingly, the judgment of the court below delivered on April 8, 2019 is hereby set aside and the judgment of the trial court delivered on February 7, 2019 is restored and affirmed. The appeal is allowed.”

Other members of the panel, including the Acting CJN who headed it, agreed with the lead judgment.

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Ikorodu Teacher Arrested For Physically Abusing 3-Yr-Old Boy In Viral Video [SEE VIDEO]

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The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency has confirmed the arrest of a teacher following a viral video showing the suspect allegedly physically abusing a three-year-old boy at a school in Ikorodu.

The announcement was made in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

The video, shared by Oyindamola, who identifies as #dammiedammie35, captured a female teacher slapping the child’s face.

The video was captioned, “Footage from Christ-Mitots School in Ikorodu, a teacher named Stella Nwadigo was witnessed mistreating and physically abusing a three-year-old boy, Abayomi Micheal.”

The footage has raised serious concerns about the safety and well-being of our little ones in school.”

Reacting to the incident, the Lagos DSVA issued a statement expressing gratitude to those who brought the video to their attention

The statement reads, “We appreciate everyone who brought the disturbing incident of a teacher who was recorded physically abusing a 3-year-old boy to our attention.

We are pleased to inform the public that the teacher in question has been arrested by Owutu FSU, and an investigation has commenced in earnest.

The agency reiterated the state government’s commitment to protecting children, emphasizing that schools must be safe and nurturing spaces.

The statement added, “Indeed, institutions of learning should be safe, warm, and protective environments for all children in their care.

The State Government remains committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of every child by enforcing strict regulations, holding offenders accountable, and working with stakeholders to promote a zero-tolerance policy for abuse in any form.”

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China Development Bank Approves $254m Loan For Kano-Kaduna Railway Project

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The China Development Bank (CDB) has provided a loan of $254.76 million for the construction of the Kano-Kaduna railway project in Nigeria.

In a statement on Tuesday, the bank stated that the funding aims to support the smooth advancement of the infrastructure project.

The CDB highlighted that the construction is being undertaken by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), with financial support from the bank.

“The Kano-Kaduna railway, with a total length of 203 kilometers, is a standard-gauge railway,” the statement reads.

“Once completed, it will provide direct rail connectivity between Kano, an important northern city in Nigeria, and the country’s capital Abuja, offering local residents a safe, efficient, and convenient mode of transportation.”

In addition to enhancing mobility, the bank mentioned that the project is expected to stimulate economic growth along the railway corridor, generating job opportunities and promoting related industries.

“The Kano-Kaduna railway project has been included in the list of practical cooperation projects for the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation,” the CDB added.

The bank stated that the construction is progressing smoothly and reiterated its commitment to collaborating closely with the Nigerian government to ensure the disbursement of funds and effective management of the next phases of the project.

On July 15, 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari launched the construction of the Kano-Kaduna railway project.

The rail project is the third phase of the Lagos-Kano standard gauge railway modernization project.

The first phase (Abuja-Kaduna) and the second phase (Lagos-Ibadan) were inaugurated for commercial operations in July 2016 and June 2021, respectively.

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ICPC Files Money Laundering Charge Against El-Rufai’s Former Commissioner

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The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has charged Muhammad Sa’idu, a former commissioner during the administration of Nasir el-Rufai, ex-governor of Kaduna, to court over alleged “money laundering.”

The Kaduna police command arrested Sa’idu over a petition for alleged diversion of public funds.

Osuobeni Akponimisingha, the ICPC’s assistant legal officer, filed the case against the former commissioner on Tuesday at the federal high court in Kaduna.

Sa’idu served as the commissioner of local government affairs, chief of staff, and commissioner of finance during the administration of el-Rufai.

The ICPC dismissed an earlier claim that Sa’idu had been exonerated of all charges after 10 months of investigation.

The former commissioner is charged alongside Ibrahim Muktar, a staff in the ministry of finance.

According to the suit No. FHC/KD/IC/2025, the defendants are charged on a two-count charge of “money laundering.”

“Sometime in March 2022 or thereabouts, Alhaji Muhammad Bashir Sa’idu, who at that time commissioner of finance, did accept cash payment of the sum of N155m from one Ibrahim Muktar exceeding the amount authorised by law, which sum you received in cash through proxy to wit: Muazu Abdu, your Special Assistant and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section2(a) and punishable under the Section 19(d) of the “Money Laundering(Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022,” the charge sheet reads.

The ICPC also alleged that within the same period, Sa’idu “indirectly took control of the sum of N155m received in cash for and on behalf of you by one Muazu Abdul from Ibrahim Muktar, which he reasonably ought to have known, formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful activity to wit: corruption and you hereby committed an offence contrary to section 18(2)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the “Money Laundering(Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”

The anti-graft agency noted that section 18(3) of the “Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022” states that “any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection(2) is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than four years but not more than fourteen years or a fine not less than five times the value of the proceeds of the crime or both.”

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