Good morning, Nigeria. Welcome to the Editor roundup of top newspaper headlines in Nigeria for today, Thursday, 23rd November, 2023.
1. Youths believed to be supporters of the New Nigeria People’s Party, NNPP, on Wednesday stormed the Kofar Nasarawa area of the Kano metropolis in protest against the alleged contradictions in the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which sacked the State Governor, Abba Yusuf. The youths after attending a special prayer organised for the governor by the residents of the area at 2 pm started the protest.
2. Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has urged men of the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police in the state to peacefully resolve their differences following an attack allegedly carried out by soldiers on the state police command’s headquarters in the early hours of Wednesday. The Command headquarters in Yola, was invaded by the Nigerian Army, killing an inspector of police identified as Jacob Daniel.
3. The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, on Wednesday, called on the Federal Government to take advantage of Nigeria’s diplomatic ties with Finland to apprehend Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, whom the military has accused of fuelling the insecurity in the South-East.
4. The House of Representatives on Wednesday, tasked the Nigerian Correctional Service to give an account of inmates who escaped from the Medium Security Custodian Centre in 2022. At a plenary session, the House mandated its Committees on Reformatory Institutions, Interior, and Police Affairs to liaise with the heads of the relevant security agencies to produce a comprehensive report on the status of the escaped inmates.
5. Former Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, suffered yet another setback, on Wednesday, as the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) dissolved the Rivers State executive committees of the party at all levels. The NWC constituted a caretaker committee made up of loyalists of a former governor of the state and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
6. The Appeal Court on Wednesday said the Kano State Governor, Abba Yusuf remains sacked. In a bid to clear the air on the controversy surrounding the judgement, Chief Registrar of the Appeal Court, Umar Bangari, maintained that the said clerical error, did not in any way, invalidate or change the unanimous conclusion of the three-member panel of justices that decided the appeal.
7. The Appeal Court sitting in Abuja has fixed Thursday for judgment in the Nasarawa State governorship election dispute. Governor Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressives Congress (APC) had filed an appeal against the verdict of the tribunal which sacked him and declared David Ombugadu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as winner of the election.
8. A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama has granted former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele a N300 million bail. In a ruling on Wednesday, Justice Hamza Muazu asked Emefiele to produce two sureties, who must have landed property in Maitama District of the FCT.
9. No fewer than 191 suspects have been lined up for trial, billed to commence soon, according to sources close to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Also to be prosecuted after the first batch of 191, are 885 suspects. All of them totaling 1,076 were arrested across 35 states during the February 25 and March 18 national and state elections.
10. Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday, challenged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to seek ways of deepening the consumption of locally produced petroleum products. He also called for the establishment of modular refineries and renovation of existing ones “to create a multiplier effect which will include creation of jobs for our teeming youth, and more security for the country.”
