Top Nigerian Newspapers Headlines For Today, Thursday

1. Reps Ask Buhari To Declare National Emergency Over Ritual Killings

President Muhammadu Buhari has been asked to declare a national emergency on ritual killings across the country.

It was reported that the House of Representatives made the call during its plenary on Wednesday.

The development was part of the resolutions reached by the lawmakers on a motion of urgent public importance entitled ‘Need to Curb the Rising Trend of Ritual Killings in Nigeria’.

There have been several cases of ritual killings in Nigeria recently, Naija News understands.

The most recent of the disturbing ritual killings that generated reactions in the country is the case of four teenagers who allegedly killed a 20-year-old girl identified as Sofiat Kehinde.

2. Buhari Govt Responsible For Insecurity – Ortom Fires FG

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State has blamed the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for the high rate of insecurity in the country.

Ortom made this known in a statement on Wednesday when he received the team from the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) led by a representative of the Director-General, Mrs Cecilia Gayya at Government House in Makurdi, Naija News understands.

The Benue governor stated that the issue of insecurity in the country is man-made, disclosing that the actions of alleged highly placed individuals were the cause of insecurity.

3. Buhari Govt To Probe Import Of Adulterated Petrol

The Muhammadu Buhari-led government has announced its decision to investigate the import and supply of adulterated Premium Motor Spirit also known as Petrol.

It was reported that since Monday, fuel scarcity hit some major cities like Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan and other places due to contaminated petrol products in circulation.

On Tuesday, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) confirmed that adulterated petrol with methanol quantities above the country’s specification was discovered in the supply chain.

The authority said to ensure vehicular and equipment safety, the limited quantity of the contaminated product has been isolated and withdrawn from the market, including the loaded trucks in transit.

Addressing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said the government will get to the bottom of the incident.

The minister added that President Buhari gave the order to investigate the matter and directed the immediate handling of the issue after briefing him on Tuesday.

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4. ‘No One Cares’ – Northern Elders Decry Rising Insecurity In Kaduna, Others

The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has decried the rising security challenges being experienced in the North-Western region of the country.

In a tweet via his Twitter handle on Wednesday, NEF spokesman, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said the activities of bandits in the region have not been seriously addressed by the Nigerian government.

Baba-Ahmed stated that villages in the region are being emptied by the bandits, stressing that families of victims in big towns now cater for displaced villagers, which is deepening poverty.

THE NEF spokesman, however, claimed the Nigerian government does not care about the lives of residents in the region.

5. Two Soldiers Dead, Two Injured As Nigerian Army Kills Four IPOB/ESN Fighters During Gun Battle In Anambra

There were casualties when troops of the Nigerian Army and fighters of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra/Eastern Security Network engaged in a gun battle in Anambra State.

A statement on Wednesday by the Director of Army Public Relations, Brigadier General Onyema Nwachukwu revealed that the clash happened when the troops moved to stop the IPOB/ESN fighters from enforcing an illegal sit-at-home order in Ihiala town of Anambra.

He narrated that following a distress call, the troops responded to restore normalcy in the area but the IPOB/ESN fighters engaged them in a serious gun battle.

During the fight, the IPOB/ESN leader identified as Ejike and three other members of the group were neutralized by the troops.

However, an accident involving one of the combat vehicles conveying the troops following a technical fault resulted in the death of one gallant officer and a soldier.

Two other soldiers also sustained injuries and are currently responding to treatment at a military hospital.

6. Dismiss Appeal To Swear-In Atiku As President, Buhari Tells Court

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to throw out an appeal seeking to nullify his election.

The Nigerian leader also asked the appellate court to dismiss the appeal to swear in former vice president Abubakar Atiku as President.

It was reported that the Nigerian leader was reacting to an appeal filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the Civil Society Observatory for Constitutional and Legal Compliance (CSOCLC) before the appellate court.

The civil society organization in an appeal claimed that the affidavit made by the President in the 2019 general elections was false, asking the court to order the swearing-in of Abubakar.

It stated that all the academic qualification documents as filled by the President in his Presidential Form which is currently with the Secretary, Military Board as at the time of the affidavit are false.

The group said in the event its reliefs succeeds, the appeal court should nullify the election that produced President Buhari and withdraw the certificate of return to office issued to him in 2019.

It also wants the court to issue a new certificate of return to Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), being the candidate who came second in the 2019 general elections.

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7. Reps Consider Bill Seeking To Jail Families Of Kidnap Victims Who Pay Ransom Without Govt Approval

The House of Representatives is considering a bill to jail families of kidnap victims who pay any ransom without the approval of the Federal Government.

It was reported that the bill under consideration is titled: ‘Control of Small Arms, Light Weapons and Restitution of Victims of Abduction, Kidnappings, Banditry Bill, 2022’.

The 25-page bill, which seeks to tackle the menace of small arms, light weapons in the country and curb the issue of kidnapping and banditry, passed first reading at the Green Chamber on Tuesday.

The proposed legislation is sponsored by Hon. Tajudeen Adefisoye, a lawmaker representing Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency in the National Assembly and a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

8. DPO Killed, Army Commander Injured As Bandits Attack Katsina State

A fresh attack by bandit terrorists on Jibiya Local Government Area of Katsina State has resulted in the death of a Divisional Police Officer identified as Deputy Superintendent Abdullahi Rano.

An Army Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Masoyi was also injured during the attack by the terrorists in the early hours of Wednesday.

Rano was said to have led the police response when the gunmen attacked but unfortunately lost his life in the process.

It was gathered that the insurgents stormed Magama Jibiya about 2 am and started shooting sporadically. The terrorists were said to have gone to the house of one Haliru Mai Bakin Mai and kidnapped his wife.

9. 2023: Wike Meets Jonah Jang, Useni Over PDP Crisis

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State on Wednesday met with the former Governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Lt Gen Jeremiah Useni (rtd).

The Rivers governor met behind closed doors with the two PDP chieftains at the private residence of the retired General Useni in Jos, the state capital.

It was reported that Wike was in Plateau to resolve the crisis between Jang and Useni over the control of the party structure in the North Central state.

Earlier, Wike had attended the court session at the resumed trial of Jang alongside Yusuf Pam, an ex-cashier in the office of the Secretary to the Government of the State on alleged fraud charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

10. FG Grants Nigerian Citizenship To 286 Americans, Others

The Nigerian Government has granted Nigerian citizenship to 286 foreigners including Americans, Europeans, Arabs, among others.

This was made known by the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, on Wednesday, in a chat with State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Aregbesola disclosed that the approval for the foreigners came following security clearance by the relevant authorities in the country.