……As court sets September 10 for bail ruling.

Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has approved protection measures for witnesses expected to testify in the trial of five suspects linked to the June 5, 2022 bombing at St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State.

The ruling followed an ex parte application by the prosecution, led by Calistus Eze, under the Terrorism Prevention Act 2022.

The accused—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar—face a nine-count terrorism charge related to their alleged ties to the East African terrorist group Al-Shabab. The attack resulted in over 40 deaths.

Prosecutor Eze emphasized the severity of the charges in support of witness protection. The defendants’ counsel, Abdullahi Muhammad, raised no objections.

Separately, Abdullahi Muhammad filed bail applications for the suspects, which the prosecution opposed. Eze argued that due to the suspects’ suspected foreign terrorist links, there was a high risk they might abscond if granted bail. He also cited concerns about potential threats to the six witnesses and doubts over the reliability of any sureties.

The prosecutor informed the court that the Department of State Services (DSS) has approved visitation rights for the suspects’ families while in custody.

During the hearing, Eze also notified the court of the Attorney General’s appointment of Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ayodeji Adedipe as the new lead prosecutor. The case file transfer is ongoing.

Justice Nwite adjourned the matter until September 10 for a ruling on the bail application.

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has hinted at plans to review the salaries of political office holders in Nigeria, describing current earnings as inadequate, unrealistic, and outdated in the face of rising responsibilities and economic challenges.

At a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, disclosed that President Bola Tinubu presently earns N1.5m monthly, while ministers receive less than N1m — figures that have remained unchanged since 2008.

“You are paying the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria N1.5m a month, with a population of over 200 million people. Everybody believes that it is a joke,” Shehu said.

He added, “You cannot pay a minister less than N1m per month since 2008 and expect him to put in his best without necessarily being involved in some other things. You pay either a CBN governor or the DG ten times more than you pay the President.

That is just not right. Or you pay him [the head of an agency] twenty times higher than the Attorney-General of the Federation. That is absolutely not right.”

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has immortalised his late mother, Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, with the commissioning of a 40,000 cubic metre Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) carrier named MT Iyaloja (Lagos) in Ulsan, South Korea.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) management on Monday.

The vessel, owned by WAGL Energy Limited, a joint venture between NNPC Limited and Sahara Group, is a dual-fuel, fully refrigerated LPG carrier.

Its addition brings WAGL’s fleet capacity to 162,000 CBM, including MT Africa Gas, MT Sahara Gas, MT BaruMK and MT Sapet.

At the ceremony, Tinubu, represented by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, commended NNPC Ltd. and Sahara Group for their role in deepening Africa’s participation in the global clean energy value chain.

In his remarks, Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPC Ltd., Bashir Ojulari, described WAGL’s LPG Vessel as a great addition to gas development efforts in Nigeria.

The GCEO, who was represented by the Executive Vice President, Gas, Power & New Energy, Olalekan Ogunleye, added that the vessel will be crucial in realising the impact of gas in Nigeria’s economic development.

(The Sun)