Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force have reportedly arrested human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi.

Farotimi’s arrest was disclosed by the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, in a post on his X handle on Tuesday.

Sowore called for the lawyer’s immediate release, stressing that the police should not be used to settle personal disputes.

Sowore wrote, “It is pertinent that the Nigerian police are notified that the institution cannot continue to be used to settle personal scores, and we, the citizens of Nigeria, would no longer tolerate such a situation.”

“Therefore, the police at Zone 2 in Lagos are advised to release Barrister Dele Farotimi immediately.”

However, Punch Online made a phone call to the police spokesperson at the Zone 2 Command, SP Ummar Ayuba, who denied the arrest.

She simply said, “We did not make any arrest. He is not in our custody.”

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police in Ekiti State, Mr. Adeniran Akinwale, informed (Punch Online) that the lawyer was arrested for various alleged offences.

The commissioner said the charges included “defamation of character, cyberstalking, and other things. But those two are fully established.”

“That was why we have been looking for him before we were able to arrest him.”

“We are investigating him. If the suspect is arrested, we will bring him for investigation. We will conduct our investigation and will be able to know his level of culpability or otherwise.”

Credit: The Punch

The Governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has enacted the Lagos Electricity Bill 2024.

This new law presents a comprehensive strategy designed to address challenges in the energy sector and is expected to lay the groundwork for economic and industrial growth in Lagos.

The governor formally signed the bill on Tuesday at the Lagos House in Ikeja.

“The bill is a major step by the state government to ensure a 24-hour electricity supply to every corner of the state, following the Federal Government’s approval for states to generate and distribute energy in 2023,” said the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile, on X.

This development is expected to reduce the state’s reliance on the national grid.

At the signing ceremony, Sanwo-Olu highlighted the significance of the bill in transforming Lagos into a global city with a stable and continuous power supply.

In November, the Lagos State Government invited independent power producers and energy solution companies to submit bids for the construction of gas-fired power plants to address the state’s ongoing electricity shortage.

The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, in collaboration with the Office of Public-Private Partnerships, issued the call as part of an initiative to improve Lagos’s power supply through the Clean Lagos Electricity Market.

The announcement was made jointly by the Commissioner of the Ministry of Energy & Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, and the Special Adviser of the Office of Public-Private Partnerships, Bukola Odoe.

The House of Representatives has called on President Bola Tinubu to direct Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance, to unfreeze all accounts of the National Social Investment Programmes Agency (NSIPA) within 72 hours.

The resolution was passed during plenary on Tuesday, following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker, along with 20 other lawmakers.

The programs under the Social Investment Programmes (SIP) include N-Power, Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT), the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, and the Home-Grown School Feeding Initiative.

The parliament emphasized that unfreezing NSIPA’s accounts would ensure the “smooth” recommencement of all the programs.

Additionally, the House called on the President to ensure the release of funds to NSIPA for the payment of outstanding stipends owed to 395,731 N-Power beneficiaries across the country “without further delay.”

• BACKGROUND

In 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari enacted a law to establish the NSIP, an agency that has been embroiled in corruption since the beginning of the year.

On January 2, President Tinubu suspended Halima Shehu as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NSIPA over alleged financial mismanagement.

On January 8, the President also suspended Betta Edu, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, the ministry overseeing NSIPA.

On January 12, the President suspended all programs administered by NSIPA as part of an investigation into alleged mismanagement.

On March 13, the House of Representatives urged the federal government to resume the implementation of the suspended social investment initiatives.

The Senate is currently considering a bill to place NSIPA under the supervision of the presidency. Tinubu has since appointed Badamasi Lawal to replace Shehu.

• THE MOTION

In presenting the motion, Kalu highlighted that, despite the significance of the social investment programs in poverty alleviation, youth empowerment, and economic inclusivity in Nigeria, the agency’s effectiveness has been hampered by administrative challenges, lack of funding, and frozen accounts.

“The smooth operations of the programmes and the fulfilment of the mandate of NSIPA are hindered due to the suspension/freezing of the accounts of the agency and other administrative bottlenecks, which has remained in force even more than 3 months after the President reconstituted the new management of NSIPA,” Kalu stated.

The Deputy Speaker noted that the frozen accounts contradict Tinubu’s mandate on poverty alleviation, undermining public confidence and causing “administrative paralysis in fighting poverty.”

“As a result of the suspension of accounts of NSIPA, the N-Power programme has been so negatively affected that 395,731 beneficiaries are owed outstanding stipends to the tune of N81,315,440,000 — a fund already captured under the 2023 and 2024 amended Appropriation Acts, which will lapse by the year ending 31st December, 2024,” Kalu added.

He emphasized that restoring NSIPA’s accounts aligns with the President’s vision and ensures that poverty alleviation efforts remain effective, efficient, and impactful, urging swift action to resolve the issue to maintain progress toward the administration’s poverty eradication goals.

The parliament also called for the reopening of all NSIPA warehouses nationwide.

The motion was unanimously adopted following a voice vote chaired by Tajudeen Abbas, the Speaker of the House.

The House agreed to transmit the resolution to the Senate for concurrence.