TOP 10 NEWS MAKING THE ROUNDS IN NIGERIA TODAY, FRIDAY

TOP 10 NEWS MAKING THE ROUNDS IN NIGERIA TODAY, FRIDAY

 

1. They Must Have Had Inside Help, The Seat Of Power Is No Longer Safe – Ahmad Lawan Speaks On Kuje Prison Attack

Senate President Ahmad Lawan has lamented the implications of Tuesday’s terrorist attack on the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abuja.

Speaking on Thursday when he led a team from the Senate to visit the facility and evaluate the extent of the attack, Lawan said the attackers couldn’t have executed the operation without some inside help.

He also called out the security operatives for failing to pick up signals or intelligence reports about plans to attack the facility, summing it up as the failure of the nation’s security system.

Lamenting further, the Senate President said the large numbers of escaped terrorists from the facility has made Abuja which is the seat of government unsafe.

2. 2023 Presidency: Atiku Abandoned June 12 Movement, Only Tinubu Fought – Keyamo Speaks

The Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, has alleged that Atiku Abubakar was one of the first Nigerians to abandon the June 12 struggle.

Sharing his thoughts via a series of tweets, Keyamo insisted that no 2023 presidential candidate played an important role in the June 12 struggle except for Bola Tinubu and Omoyele Sowore as a student leader then.

He went on to state that Olusegun Obasanjo who was initially against the movement later benefitted from it.

He added that Obasanjo was not the choice of Yorubas in the 1999 polls because of the part he played in the June 12 struggles.

3. Kuje Prison Attack: Kidnap Kingpin, Wadume Among Escapees

Notorious kidnapper, Hamisu Wadume has been listed as among the inmates that escaped from Kuje prison on Tuesday night.

Terrorists (Boko Haram) on Tuesday invaded the facility to release their members.

Wadume was remanded in custody at Kuje prison, for armed robbery, kidnapping and gun running.

The kidnapper, who was apprehended by operatives of the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), could not be found after the attack on the facility.

According to Daily Sun, Wadume was not among the prisoners recaptured by the security agencies.

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4. Doyin Okupe Withdraws As Labour Party Vice-Presidential Candidate, New Running Mate To Be Announced

Former presidential aide, Doyin Okupe has formally withdrawn as the vice-presidential candidate of Peter Obi.

The Labour Party would announce a substantive running mate soon.

Doyin Okupe made this known in a post on his Twitter page on Thursday.

According to the former running mate, he has submitted his withdrawal letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He wrote: “This afternoon I submitted my withdrawal letter from the position of the Vice Presidential candidate of the Labour Party to INEC.

“A replacement will be announced by the national chairman of the party shortly. I feel greatly blessed to have been part of the foundation of success for the Labour Party.“

5. Eid-El Kabir 2022: FG Declares July 11th And 12th As Public Holidays

The Federal Government on Wednesday admonished Muslims to take advantage of this year’s Eid-el-Kabir holiday to promote peace, love and kindness.

The government made the call while declaring Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th July 2022, as public holidays to commemorate the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael as an act of obedience to God’s command.

Making the announcement on behalf of the government on Thursday, the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola congratulated all Muslims and Nigerians both at home and in the Diaspora on this year’s Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

The Minister also admonished Nigerians to be security-conscious and as well ensure they report any suspicious individuals and criminal activities they observed around them to law enforcement agencies.

6. Gov Sanwo-Olu Suspends Lagos Abortion Guidelines

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has retracted the “State Guidelines on Safe Termination of Pregnancy for Legal Indications” earlier issued by the Directorate of Family Health and Nutrition in the Ministry of Health.

Sanwo-Olu said the state has resolved to maintain the existing National and State laws and policies if there are indeed justifications and medical reasons to offer abortion to a woman whose life is threatened by a pregnancy.

The government made the decision known on Thursday in a statement by the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi.

The statement titled “Retraction on guidelines relating to safe termination of pregnancy for medical reasons in Lagos State” said the new guidelines would not be implemented until adequate deliberation.

7. Soludo Explains Why He Demolished Odumeje’s Church

The Governor of Anambra State, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has revealed why state officials demolished the church of popular cleric, Pastor Chukwuemeka Odumeje.

The Anambra government officials were seen in a viral video on Thursday beating the general overseer of the Mountain of Holy Ghost Intervention Deliverance Ministry World Miracle Center.

Odumeje, as seen in the video, received slaps from the government officials who afterwards bundled him out of the church premises.

The development has generated a barrage of reactions on social media as Nigerians condemned the handling of the self-proclaimed prophet.

Responding to the series of backlash, Governor Soludo in a press release signed on his behalf by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Christian Aburime, said Odumeje’s church was demolished for failing to comply with the government directive.

The government said it had earlier issued a directive for the removal of the illegal structure he built on a waterway.

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8. What Aregbesola Said About Kuje Prison Attack

The Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has reacted to the terror attack on Kuje Medium Correctional Center in Abuja on Tuesday night.

Recall that the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists had invaded the prison facility and released not less than 600 prisoners.

In a statement on Thursday by his spokesman, Sola Fasure, Aregbesola condemned the attack on the federal facility which claimed the lives of four inmates and an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The minister stated that appropriate actions would be taken if complicity is established in the ongoing investigation into the attack on the facility.

9. Court Sacks Sherrif Oborevwori As Delta PDP Governorship Candidate

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, disqualified Sherrif Oborevwori as the Delta State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2023 governorship elections.

The ruling was delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo in a suit brought before the court by Olorogun David Edevbie challenging the emergence of Oborevwori, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly as the PDP candidate.

He argued that Oborevwori didn’t emerge from a properly conducted party primary election as the PDP violated both its constitution and the Electoral Guidelines during the primary election.

Edevbie, therefore, approached the court to restrain the PDP from forwarding Oborevwori’s name to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and to also restrain the electoral body from receiving or recognising him as the duly nominated candidate of s the party for the election.

He also sought an order to restrain Oborevwori from parading or carrying himself as the governorship candidate of the PDP in the state.

The PDP and INEC were listed as defendants in the matter.

The relieves sought were granted by Justice Taiwo who submitted that the case has merit.

10. Ekweremadu, Wife Remanded In Prison Till August 4, Court Rules ‘Organ Donor’ Not A Minor

The trial of former deputy Senate president, Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice has been adjourned till August 4, 2022.

The couple were arraigned at Westminster Magistrate’s Court on the grounds of alleged human trafficking and organ harvesting on Thursday.

The defence insisted that there was no form of exploitation and the donor, David Ukpor lied about being a minor.

He said, “We deny that there was exploitation or intent to do so,”

However, the prosecution insisted that the Ukpor is a minor.

The court then ruled that the victim is not a minor.

Based on the judge’s ruling, the victim, David Ukpo, is no longer considered a minor in the trial.

The defendants’ lawyers have informed the court that a bail application will be submitted before the next court date — August 4.