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S’Court Fixes June 13 for Local Govt Autonomy Case

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June 13 is the date the Supreme Court has fixed to begin hearing of of a matter instituted by the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, against Nigeria’s 36 State governors bordering on the need to give full independence to the 774 local governments in the country.

Nigeria’s Attorney General had filed this action at the Supreme Court on behalf of the Federal Government. That this is listed as a criminal matter seems to underscore how important it is to wrest control from of the powerful state governors funds meant for the local government areas.

The 36 State governors are represented by their various attorneys general or their legal representation. Eight had no legal representation. Borno, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, and Sokoto states are in that category.

During proceedings, the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, told the Supreme Court panel of seven justices that the urgency of the matter makes it necessary for it to be heard speedily, adding there is an application in that regard.

He thereby prayed that the Apex Court order the states to within five days give their replies to his case against them. But the states through Ben Odo, Chairman of the States Attorneys General however, asked for 15 days instead because not all the states got the hearing notices on time.

Bending a little, Fagbemi agreed for the Court to give them seven days instead. And in its ruling, the Apex Court panel headed by Justice Lawal Garba agreed to the seven days. It further ordered all parties to conclude by June 10 the exchange of court documents.

June 13 was then fixed for the arguments by all parties.

And some representatives of the Local Governments are hailing the action of the Nigerian government.

This case is particularly crucial as the Attorney General has among other things noted that the failure of the governors to put democratically elected local government system in place, is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution which they and the President have sworn to uphold.

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BREAKING: Many feared trapped, as Building collapses in Ojodu Lagos

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An unspecific number of people are believed to be trapped under an uncompleted storey building which collapsed in Lagos.

The building housing Equal Rights restaurant located at Oremeta Street, Ojodu Lagos, went down on Saturday morning.

It is believed, however, that some people are still trapped underneath the rubble.

Details later….

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Police rescue 10 kidnapped University of Benin students

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Edo State Police Command says it has rescued 10 University of Benin, UNIBEN, students abducted by suspected kidnappers at Ofosu area along the Benin-Ore expressway.

It was gathered that the students were on their way to Babcock University for Annual GYC Africa Conference when they were kidnapped on April 16 at the community bordering Edo and Ondo States.

The Public Relations Officer of the Command, Moses Yamu disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen.

Yamu said the rescued students are eight males and two females.

He said during the rescue operation, one of the suspected kidnappers was killed, while other escaped with bullet wounds.

He also disclosed that one of the Police officers, an Inspector sustained gunshot injury and is currently responding to treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

The statement read: “The Command wishes to update the general public of the unfortunate kidnap of some students who were on their way to Babcock University for Annual GYC Africa Conference on 16/04/2025 at a location bordering Edo and Ondo States.

“On receipt of this information, the Commissioner of Police, Monday Agbonika, immediately deployed operatives of the Ohosu Division, IRT, tactical teams alongside vigilantes and hunters into the bushes for possible rescue of the victims and arrest of suspects.

“During the operation, operatives engaged in a gun duel with these kidnappers. In the process, one of the kidnappers was neutralised, while others escaped with bullet wounds.

“The operatives were cautious to avoid collateral damages as the kidnappers used the victims as human shields. Unfortunately, an Inspector of Police sustained a gunshot injury and is currently responding to treatment.

“This rescue effort eventually paid off as the ten (10) kidnapped students comprising eight (8) male and (2) females were released due to intense pressure mounted on them.”

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WAEC revokes licenses of 574 schools over exam malpractices

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The West African Examination Council (WAEC) in Nigeria has sanctioned and revoked about 574 schools found to have engaged in examination malpractices.

Head of WAEC national office, Dr Amos Dangut, disclosed this while speaking to journalists at the national headquarters in Lagos yesterday.

He stated that the examination body has submitted the list of schools involved to the Federal Government through the Ministry of Education for sanctions.

The schools involved in malpractices would no longer be recognised as WAEC examination centres.

He said, “This year, we have shared with them a total of 574 schools whose recognition has been withdrawn. This measure will also be adopted by all examining bodies.

“These schools are no longer recognised as examination centres by WAEC, and we will not conduct exams there.”

Ahead of the 2025 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), scheduled from Thursday, April 24 to Friday, June 20, 2025, Dangut revealed that 1,973,253 candidates from 23,554 schools have registered for the examination.

This is an increase of 158,627 candidates compared to last year.

He said there are 979,228 males, while 994,025 are females.

Dangut highlighted WAEC’s commitment to leveraging technology, introducing the first-ever Computer-Based WASSCE (CB-WASSCE) for school candidates.

He disclosed that no two candidates will receive identical questions to discourage cheating.

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