Category: Northern Reports

Kaduna State High Court has adjourned ruling on jurisdiction in a suit filed by a former Zazzau Emirate’s kingmaker, Alhaji Ibrahim Mohammed Aminu, seeking dethronement of the 19th Emir of Zazzau, Amb. Ahmed Nuhu Bamalli.

The former Kingmaker, Alhaji Aminu, who participated in the appointment process of the Emir, had dragged the Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai and 13 others to the state High Court, seeking removal of Emir Bamalli.

Bamalli, who is the former Nigeria Ambassador to Thailand, was appointed the 19th Emir of Zazzau on October 7, 2020 by Governor El-Rufai outside the recommendation made to him by the Zazzau Emirate Kingmakers.

Alhaji Aminu, who held the position of Wazirin Zazzau, a title that qualified him as one of the kingmakers, is seeking nullification of the appointment of Bamalli and his removal as the Emir of Zazzau.

Meanwhile, Counsels to the respondents had filed preliminary objections before the High Court 4 presided over by Justice Isah Aliyu, saying that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the case, even as the plaintiff lacks the locus standi to challenge the Emir’s appointment and enthronement.

Sokoto State House of Assembly yesterday passed a Bill to regulate marriage expenses in the state.

The bill, sponsored by Alhaji Abubakar Shehu (APC-Yabo) and Faruk Balle (PDP- Gudu), was earlier referred to the House Committee on Religious Affairs.

Shehu, who is the Chairman of the committee, presented the report of the committee at plenary, which was unanimously adopted and passed into law.

The bill seeks to control extravagant spending in marriages, naming, circumcision and other ceremonies across the state.

Shehu said while tabling the report, the committee met with necessary stakeholders who made positive contributions, which were captured in the Bill.

After deliberations at the plenary presided by the Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Abubakar Magaji, the Bill was unanimously passed by the lawmakers.

• Honours Sultan of Sokoto, Indimi

The Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, has concluded the process of conferring degrees on 4,638 graduating students, 63 of them first-class.

The university is also to award 40 doctorate degrees to postgraduate students who have concluded their PhD programs, as Well as four honorary PhDs to prominent personalities, among them the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar.

At a pre-convocation briefing yesterday, Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Abdullahi Tukur named the others to receive honorary degrees as a business mogul,  Alhaji Muhammad Indimi, who will receive Doctor of Management (Honoris Causa); a former Adamawa State governor, Boni Haruna who will receive Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa); and Alhaji Dahiru Bobbo, a seasoned administrator and educationist who will be conferred with Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa).

The VC added that in the category of higher degrees, 72 are postgraduate diplomas, 480 with masters’ degrees and 80 with PhDs.

The former President of Malawi, Dr Joyce Banda, has indicated her interest to study how the FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was able to record zero deaths during last year’s flooding.

Its Head of Public Affairs, Ms Nkechi Isa, in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja, said Banda, said this when she met with the Director-General of the agency, Dr Abbas Idriss.

Banda, also the ambassador for Climate Change and Justice, commended FEMA for its efforts in mitigating flooding in the nation’s capital.

She said Malawi and the FCT had faced similar climatic conditions in 2022, adding that heavy floods and Cyclone Freddy devastated Malawi, killing scores of people and displacing two million people.

Banda said that Malawi required $700 billion to recover infrastructure damaged by the floods.

She lamented that the whole of Africa was paying the price of climate change.

“The people that were swept away by heavy floods on March 11, 2022 in Malawi were ignorant people, who did not contribute to global warming. The global north and global south must sit down and address climate change. The north must invest to fight climate change,” she said.

Responding, the FEMA boss, Idriss, said that devastating floods in 2022 claimed about 600 lives in the country, but no lives were lost in the FCT.

He attributed the achievements to several assessment visits to flood affected areas conducted by the agency immediately after the rains.

“In some places it could be due to infrastructure decay, the box culvert is too small causing flooding. The general cause of flooding in the FCT is human induced such as building on waterways and erection of embarkment on the back of a river there by blocking the free flow of water,” he said.

The General Superintendent, Deeper Life Bible Church worldwide, Pastor Williams F. Kumuyi, has concluded plans to hold a mega crusade with over 60,000 youths, adults faithful expected to be in attendance.

Addressing reporters in Abuja, the State Overseer for Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Pastor Elijah Adebiyi, said the crusade would hold in Abuja at the main bowl of the Moshood Abiola National stadium.

Adebiyi said the program is non- denominational, adding that it’s a movement of the entire Christian community in Nigeria and beyond.

He said the Youth Wing of the Christian Association (YOWICAN), Fellowship of Christian Students, Children Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), Children Evangelism ministry (CEM) are main stakeholders.

He said: “The main bowl capacity is 60,000 and we are expecting 60,000 participants.

Some residents of Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) yesterday said they stopped using kerosene as alternative means of cooking because of its high cost.

The residents, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said health hazard was also a major setback to the use of kerosene.

Miss Hannatu Baya, a student, said that kerosene was too expensive and out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians, adding that most times, the product was unavailable for people to buy.

According to her, struggling to get the product made her search for alternative means of cooking.

She said: ” I have a 5kg gas cylinder that takes me almost a month before refilling, and this is because I alternate with an electric cooker once there’s power, it is better for me than a kerosene stove.”

Madam Charity Okonkwo, who sells charcoal and firewood, told NAN correspondent that she once sold kerosene but stopped after the product became too expensive.

“We used to go and queue at the filling station for days before the product was made available. When it will finally come, we will fight; it was a struggle, yet, we will buy it at a high cost to sell at a higher cost too. After a while, people started to use charcoal, which does not need much kerosene to light up, so the demand for the product from my customers dropped. That was how I changed to selling charcoal and firewood and the patronage has been better,” she said.

She also said that kerosene presently costs about N1,180 per litre at the filling stations and is being sold by retailers in the community from N1, 250 to N1,500 per litre.

Mrs Grace Ishaya, a housewife and mother of five, said that she stopped cooking with kerosene for over four years after one of her children accidentally inhaled the emissions from the cooking stove while sleeping.

“I don’t know if the kerosene was adulterated with something else, but the flames brought out so much black smoke that filled the kitchen and extended into other parts of the house. I tried to regulate it but to no avail, until one of my children ran to tell me that they had been trying to wake their brother who was sleeping, to play football, but he was not responding.

“My neighbours heard the chaos and came to help and one of them took us to the general hospital where they confirmed that my son had inhaled so much smoke in his system. We thank God because at the end of the day, he was resuscitated.

“Since then, I prefer to use cooking gas and charcoal, even though they both are expensive, we manage to buy according to our means,” Ishaya said

From Gbenga Omokhunu, Abuja

Owners of unapproved structures camouflaging such properties as indigenous houses, may have to come up with another format, as the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) said it is out to deal with those involved.

This is as the FCTA demolished structures and shanties at the Kabusa village.

Addressing reporters during the demolition exercise, the Senior Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Monitoring Inspection and Enforcement, Comrade Ikharo Attah, said while the administration will respect the rights of the original inhabitants to resettlement and compensation, it will not hesitate to pull down all illegal houses belonging to non-indigenes.

Attah, while warning mischief makers inscribing ‘Gbagyi House’ on structures marked for demolition to desist from that, also warned those who collect money from non-indigenes to provide cover for them that will not stand.

He said:  “We are not touching houses of the indigenous people; we are clear on that. They have rights to resettlement and compensation but those who are non-indigenes who have become so mischievous to go and write all over their houses, ‘Gbagyi House’ ‘Gbagyi House’ we see that there and when we get there, we know the indigenous houses, we have men who are undercover agents and have been living there and have guided it. So those who are non-indigenes and are writing indigenes’ houses on their building, we will remove all of them.

“The original indigenes are here. The chiefs are here, the SSA to the Minister on Youths and Community Relations is here. They know their houses and we also know the indigenous houses as well. Those who collect money from non-indigenes to give them cover will not stand”.

On why the team was back to Kabusa, the minister’s aide said the team will sustain the operation until all batchers, shanties and illegal structures fuelling insecurity in the neighbourhood are removed.

“There have been cases of kidnapping around some key estates around here stretching down to the Apo axis which we will be taking down the batchers and shanties and every illegal settlement around here, even baban Bola colonies. We will be doing all of that and continuation of what the Department of Development Control started. That’s the removal of illegal structures where FCTA allocate lands and people sold the land to other people without papers and they built upon it, that’s why you are seeing real busy work going on today and that’s what we are doing throughout today,” he said.

A pro-democracy group, All Progressives Congress (APC) Northern Alliance for Good Governance has urged the President-elect, Bola Tinubu to assess individuals lobbying for positions, based on personal track record and public trust.

In a statement in Abuja yesterday by the group’s Convener, Sani Mudi, the group said it was concerned about the personality of those jostling for the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

The pro-democracy group said such a position was of immense significance, adding that anybody who emerged as SGF must be a viable partner in driving the policy of the government.

“Such a position should be manned by an experienced hand, with a trajectory of excellent service delivery,” the statement said.

The group called on the President-elect and other APC stakeholders to cede the position to the North Central and make the immediate Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council and Plateau State Governor, Simon Bako Lalong, the next SGF.

“The dust raised by the same-faith ticket of the APC had really shaken the fabric of the country. As such, the APC should look to the direction of a northern Christian, for balance, inclusiveness, and equity.

“Lalong fits in perfectly and is cut for the position, he has the capacity and wherewithal to do the job. He has sacrificed and done a lot for the party. He lost his Senatorial ambition and invested hugely his time, resources and put in everything for the victory of the APC. As such, no amount of compensation is too much,” the statement read.

It also urged party chieftains from different regions to join in the call, and intensify efforts in ensuring Lalong got the position.

“The unity of the country is paramount; we must concentrate on things that will unite us. So let’s balance the equation and do the right thing,” the group added.

The Jigawa government has banned tree felling for firewood and charcoal to protect forest resources and the environment.

This is contained in a statement by Mr Lawan Ahmed, Managing Director, Jigawa State Environmental Protection Agency (JISEPA), yesterday in Dutse.

He said the agency banned tree felling across the 27 local government areas of the state, without approval as enshrined in the law establishing it.

Ahmed said the measure was imperative to check indiscriminate felling of trees by loggers for fuel wood and charcoal.

“JISEPA is mandated by law to discourage, prevent and stop indiscriminate/illegal felling of trees across the state with a view to safeguarding the environment.

“The agency observed and received reports of incessant and indiscriminate felling of trees for unauthorised and illegal logging, uprooting of trees for fuel and charcoal.

“The menace ravages the state’s existing and fragile trees with potential deforestation on farm yields, livelihood and public health.

“Trees provide life support systems, play vital roles in economic and social lives, carbon sequestration and global climate regulation as well as regulating local air quality and rainfall patterns.

“Deforestation, fragmentation and degradation destroy the biodiversity, now many trees, shrubs, herbs and habitats for some animal species have been depleted, while some are endangered,” he said.

According to him, the consequences of cutting down trees are enormous, ranging from decreased biodiversity,  climate change, desertification, loss of water and soil resources, psychological, social consequences, among others.

Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri has sworn in Justice Hafsat Abdulraman as the first substantive female chief judge in Adamawa State.

Also sworn in on Monday were Ibrahim Sudi and Audu Balami as the state Grand Khadi, Sharia Court of Appeal and President Customary Court of Appeal respectively.

The three justices were appointed separately in Acting capacity in 2022 by Fintiri, after which their nominations were sent to the state House of Assembly which confirmed them recently.

Fintiri said the new chief judge is a consummate person who rose through the ranks with an unblemished record.

“We are making history as a government by having the first female chief judge in the history of the state. Her emergence is therefore a watershed development in gender mainstreaming and a testament that the girl-child is at liberty to rise and become anything with merit, devoid of any man-made barriers in Adamawa State,” Fintiri said.

To parents, he advised, “I must say, if we are looking for a role model for our daughters, this is a perfect place to come to – merit, right, truth, hard work, dedication, fairness and justice.”

Fintiri added that Justices Sudi and Balami, Grand Khadi and President of the Customary Court of Appeal respectively, are equally cutting-edge judges in their own rights.

He said: “The appointments of their lordships are based on our recommendation to the National Judicial Council (NJC). This recommendation was hinged on our assessment of their suitability and performance which meets NJC’s criteria for appointment of judges.”

Justice Abdulraman hailed Governor Fintiri for acting promptly on the recommendations of the NJC.

She said the newly inaugurated judges would do their best to promote the cause of justice in the state in accordance with the dictates of the judicial oath they had subscribed to.