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JUST IN: Judge steps down from Natasha’s case after Akpabio’s petition
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has stepped down from a case involving suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Justice Egwuatu was assigned to hear the suit, but on Tuesday, he announced that he would no longer handle the matter.
He made this decision after Senate President Godswill Akpabio wrote a petition questioning his impartiality.
Although the case was scheduled for hearing, when the court clerk called it up, the judge ruled that he was stepping aside.
He said he would return the case file to the Chief Judge, who would assign it to another judge.
On March 4, Justice Egwuatu issued an interim order stopping the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions from proceeding with disciplinary actions against Akpoti-Uduaghan.
She was accused of violating Senate rules.
The judge ruled that the disciplinary process should not continue until the case was decided.
He also gave the defendants 72 hours to explain why the court should not stop them from investigating the senator without following the rules laid out in the 1999 Constitution, the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.
Justice Egwuatu allowed the senator to serve legal documents on the defendants using substituted means.
The court ordered that the documents be given to the Clerk of the National Assembly or pasted at the National Assembly premises.
They were also to be published in two national newspapers.
The interim order came after the senator filed an urgent application.
However, despite the court’s ruling, the Senate Committee still held its meeting and suspended her for six months.
Later, after the defendants applied, Justice Egwuatu amended his earlier order.
He removed the part that prevented the Senate from taking any action while the case was ongoing.
Meanwhile, Akpabio’s legal team, led by Kehinde Ogunwumiju, questioned the court’s authority to interfere in Senate affairs.
News
Governor Sanwo-Olu Approves Recruitments of Additional 150 Firefighters
Adeseye also informed that the newly recruited 150 firefighters, employed in November 2025, have since resumed intensive training at the upgraded Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service Fire Academy.
Photo: LSFRS Controller General, Margaret Adeseye, inspect the parade during the training
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olushola Sanwo-Olu, has approved the recruitment of an additional 150 able-bodied men and women into the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFRS), as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen emergency response capacity and enhance public safety across the State.
This was disclosed by the Agency’s Controller General, Margaret Adeseye when she flagged off the LSFRS Squad 23 training exercise in Ikeja, Lagos.
This latest recruitment underscores the present administration’s sustained commitment to building a resilient, well-equipped, and professionally trained fire and rescue service.
It follows earlier landmark recruitments under the Sanwo-Olu-led government, including the engagement of 100 firefighters in 2020, on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, to bolster frontline emergency response.
In 2022, the administration recorded the single highest recruitment in the history of Fire Service with the enlistment of 435 firefighters.
Their Passing Out Parade formed part of the week-long Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Service in October 2022.
The milestone event also featured the commissioning of 62 fire apparatuses, the unveiling of new fire stations at Ajegunle, Ebute Elefun and Oba Oniru – Lekki, as well as the commissioning of a purpose-built ultra-modern Headquarters at Alausa, Ikeja.
Adeseye also informed that the newly recruited 150 firefighters, employed in November 2025, have since resumed intensive training at the upgraded Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service Fire Academy.
They are currently undergoing the Professional Basic Firefighting Competency and Short Service Course, designed to mould them into disciplined, highly skilled and operationally efficient emergency responders in line with global best practices.
She concluded that the Lagos State Government remains resolute in its determination to continually invest in human capacity development, modern infrastructure and operational equipment to ensure the safety of lives, property and environment across the State.
News
I’m Proudly Nigerian, says Fashola
Former Lagos State Governor and immediate past Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, made the declaration on Tuesday in Abuja during his keynote address at the Nigeria Reputation Summit 2026, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, where he spoke extensively on national identity, migration, patriotism and Nigeria’s global image.
” I remain firmly Nigerian by choice, conviction and identity.”
Former Lagos State Governor and immediate past Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, made the declaration on Tuesday in Abuja during his keynote address at the Nigeria Reputation Summit 2026, organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, where he spoke extensively on national identity, migration, patriotism and Nigeria’s global image.
He stressed the need for Nigerians, at home and abroad, to take collective ownership of the country and its problems.
“I don’t think we own Nigeria enough. So, I heard some of our colleagues and our compatriots who, by virtue of the 1999 Constitution, have dual citizenships. But I have only one,” said Fashola.
“And when they talk to me, they say, your country. I say, stop. It’s our country. Your problem is our problem. There must be a common ownership on every platform. If we have common ownership, we will solve it. So, from my childhood experience, I tell people I’m not just a proud Nigerian, I’m an arrogant one. I’m arrogant about my country.“I tell people that I have not received one day’s education outside this country.
All my education was here. So, proudly made in Nigeria. Arrogantly, too. So everything, every inch that we think that we have lost, we can get back if we decide to,” he stated.
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Opral Benson is alive, safe and not missing – AREF , Family
AREF confirms that Mrs. Benson is currently in Liberia, her presence there is voluntary and known.
The African Refugees Foundation (AREF) and family source said that its president, Opral Benson, popularly known as the Iya Oge of Lagos, is alive, safe and not missing.
Her family earlier said that the 90-year-old was last seen on January 13 and had not returned home since then.
However, a statement , titled, Dear Friends, RE: My Mum, signed by her daughter, Bimbo, confirmed that Benson was in Liberia.
Also, the chief executive officer of AREF, Olujimi Olusola III, Said that Benson is hale and hearty, and there is no cause for concern.“
AREF confirms that Mrs. Benson is currently in Liberia, her presence there is voluntary and known.
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