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BREAKING; Supreme Court delivers judgment Fubara’s suit seeking to sack 27 pro-Wike lawmakers

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the suit by Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara seeking to remove 27 members of the State House of Assembly on ground of their alleged defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Justice Uwani Aba-Aji delivered the judgment following the dramatic withdrawal of the appeal by Fubara through his lead counsel, Yusuf Ali, SAN.

Fubara in the notice for withdrawal of the case simply informed a three-man panel of justices of the court that events have overtaken his suit and that the lawmakers are their friends.
The request for the withdrawal of the contentious suit was not opposed by the Rivers States House of Assembly and its Speaker, Martin Amaewhule who were represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN.
Olanipekun, however, demanded for outright dismissal of the suit on the premise that parties have filed and exchanged their brief of arguments and thus, joined issues with each other.
He argued that the proper order to be made in the circumstances is the dismissal of the case which the court agreed with.
Following no objections from parties, the apex court dismissed it and awarded two million each against Fubara to be paid to the House of Assembly and Amaewhule.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the dismissal of the suit, Ken Njemanze, SAN said that the coast has been finally cleared for the 27 lawmakers to take over the House of Assembly fully.
Njemanze said that all steps taken by Fubara in the absence of the 27 lawmakers, including presentation of the 2024 and 2025 budgets to only four lawmakers among others, have become a nullity.
The Court of Appeal had on October 10, 2024 dismissed Fubara’s an appeal on the same matter.
The Federal High Court in Abuja
presided over by Justice James Omotosho on January 22, 2024, also nullified the passage of Rivers State’s N800 billion 2024 budget by four members of the House of Assembly.
The court had described the bill’s passage by the four lawmakers, led by Hon. Ehie Edison, as an aberration and illegality.
It consequently ordered Fubara to re-present the budget to the Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly.
The suit filed by the 27 members of the Assembly loyal to former governor of the state and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike filed the suit which got the blessings of the lower court.
Listed as defendants of the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023 are the National Assembly, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Clerk to the National Assembly.
Others include Governor Fubara, Hon. Edison, the Rivers State Civil Service Commission, and the Inspector-General of Police(IGP).
Justice Omotosho had while ruling on an ex-parte motion by the 27 legislators issued an interim order restraining Fubara and his agents from obstructing the pro-Wike legislators from carrying out their constitutional duties.
He also restrained the governor from removing/redeploying the Clerk of the Assembly and withholding funds meant for the Assembly, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The governor had also prevented the pro-Wike legislators from sitting by demolishing a part of the Assembly complex and withholding funds for legislative functions.
Delivering judgment, Justice Omotosho had held that the four lawmakers’ passage of the budget and other actions taken while the 30 November 2023 order subsisted amounted to a nullity.
He said the governor acted like a tyrant in the manner the Assembly complex was partially demolished and funds for legislative activities withheld.
The judge had issued an order restraining Fubara from frustrating the Assembly-led by Hon. Amaewhule from sitting or interfering in its activities.
He also described as unlawful, Governor Fubara’s redeployment of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk out of the Assembly, stating that the action amounted to an affront on separation of power.
The judge ordered the Clerk and the Deputy Clerk to resume office immediately and unhindered.
Apart from also asking Fubara to promptly release all monies standing to the credit of the Assembly, he also ordered the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to immediately deploy his operatives to the Assembly complex.
The judge had also barred the National Assembly from taking over the Assembly or accepting or treating any request by Governor Fubara on any matter affecting the Legislature. (NAN)

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New born Baby allegedly sold for N3.5 million, Mother given N600, 000

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New born Baby allegedly sold for N3.5 million, Mother given N600, 000

The Delta State Police Command has arrested three suspects linked to an alleged baby factory operation in the state.

In a video released by the Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, on Monday, February 10, he revealed that the Force is intensifying efforts to crack down on illegal baby trafficking networks.

One of the suspects, identified as the child’s mother, reportedly handed over her newborn to an unidentified woman, who later sold the baby for ₦3.5 million but gave the mother only ₦600,000.

The police have vowed to continue their crackdown on such criminal activities.

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Captioning the video, Edafe wrote: “The girl with long hair got pregnant, and people took care of her, but after some time, they saw her without the pregnancy, what happened to your baby, she said a woman helped her sell the child and gave her 600k. Watch and see how much she sold the baby. This baby factory business thing, we are clamping down on it seriously.”

Explaining how they sold the baby, the seller said: “I sold the Baby for 3.5 million naira, I gave the mother six hundred thousand, the thirty thousand was the money she took from me earlier on. I gave her six hundred thousand for her business, the remaining money is in my account, I didn’t touch it. She said she didn’t want to breastfeed, that she didn’t need the relationship.

The buyer, on her part stated that: “I’m from Ika, there’s a lady in my area, I told her I wanted to adopt a child in a legit way. I paid the seller four million naira. She told me that the document is in process that she’ll bring it.”

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Female Teacher stabs eight-year-old Student to death

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Female Teacher stabs eight-year-old Student to death

A female teacher in her 40s on Tuesday stabbed an eight-year-old student to death at an elementary school in the central city of Daejeon.

Authorities also said that after the teacher stabbed the minor she inflicted wounds on herself.

Earlier, police found the two with stab wounds on the second floor of an elementary school building in Daejeon, 160 kilometers south of Seoul, at around 6 p.m. after the student’s parent reported her missing from an after-school art class.

Rescuers transported the girl to a hospital in an unconscious state, but she later died. The teacher, who sustained stab wounds to the neck and arm, reportedly remained conscious.

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Police later said the teacher admitted to the crime during a subsequent investigation, with officials determining that she might have inflicted the injuries on herself afterward.

The student was staying at the school at the time of the crime for its after-class child care session before heading to a private art class.

Police found that the teacher had taken a leave of absence due to depression and returned to the school late last year.

The teacher underwent surgery for her stab wounds, and the police said they will resume questioning her as soon as the operation is concluded and she regains her health. (Yonhap/NAN)

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I dont have affair with any Big Brother Naija star –Governor cries out calls it fake

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I dont have affair with any Big Brother Naija star –Governor cries out calls it fake

Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has firmly dismissed viral rumors circulating on social media that he fathered a child with Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) reality star, Nengi.

The rumors, which began circulating on Monday, claimed that the reality star had recently given birth to the governor’s child, with some reports even alleging that he has four wives.

In response to the rumors, Nengi took to social media platform X, addressing the claims head-on. “Let me be clear, I’m not pregnant for any governor,” she wrote in a series of posts, attempting to put the speculation to rest.

However, the rumors continued to spread across the internet.

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Reacting to the unfounded gossip, the Director-General of New Media to Governor Diri, Dr. Samuel Kolawole Oredipe, condemned the rumors in a Facebook post.

He labeled the reports as false, emphasising that Nengi has no personal relationship with the governor.

Oredipe further suggested that the rumors were part of a concerted effort by the governor’s detractors to create distractions amidst events celebrating Diri’s 5th year in office.

Oredipe also criticised the use of social media to spread misinformation, urging the public to disregard the false claims.

“Political enemies of His Excellency Senator Douye Diri, Governor of Bayelsa State, are at work again. What a wicked set of people spreading falsehood on a day the Prosperity Administration commenced activities marking its 5th anniversary.

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“Nengi Rebecca Hampson has no personal relationship with the governor. Nengi has come out on social media to debunk the lies. This is a distraction, and some of us are very justified in the many reasons offered to regulate the use of various social media.”

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