News Roundup

Ekiti State Police Command has confirmed that Human Rights Lawyer, Dele Farotimi is in its custody. The Command spokesman, Mr Sunday Abutu, made this known in a statement in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital last night. There have been concerns over the whereabouts of the human rights lawyer who was reportedly arrested yesterday morning.

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The Senate on Tuesday, passed the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP). It also approved the expenditure framework with a total spending of N47.9 trillion for 2014 and a new borrowing plan of N9.22 trillion which constitutes both domestic and foreign borrowings.

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The House of Representatives witnessed a rowdy session on Tuesday following a passing remark a member, Akin Rotimi (Ekiti, APC), made in support of the contentious tax reform bills. Rotimi, who is the spokesman of the House, incurred the wrath of his colleagues when he made a passing remark declaring support for the contentious tax reform bills when he was called to present a report to the House.

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Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have killed a clergyman, Apostle Ranti Ige-Daniel, of the Royal Assembly Sanctuary, Lagos at Isanlu community in Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State. The Lagos-based clergyman, said to be from Mopa, was abducted with three others on Thursday between Idofin and Makutu road, a few kilometres to Isanlu, the headquarters of the local government.

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. A Nigerian pastor whose church was shut down over an alleged £1.87 million fraud has lost his fight against deportation, despite claiming it would breach his human rights. An immigration tribunal has ruled that Tobi Adegboyega, 44, the cousin of John Boyega, the Star Wars actor, should be deported back to his native Nigeria after investigations exposed misuse of funds by his church.

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The Naira on Tuesday appreciated to N1,725 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,730 per dollar on Monday. However, the Naira was stable at N1,672.69 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.

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Court papers filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission have linked the immediate-past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to the massive Abuja property with 753 duplexes and other apartments located in the Cadastral Zone area of the Nigerian capital city.

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Deposit Money Banks in the Federal Capital Territory have increased their maximum over-the-counter withdrawal limit to N50,000 per day. A survey conducted on Tuesday revealed that banks, including Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank, have increased the withdrawal limit, enhancing it from N5,000 that was allowed to customers last month.

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The Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, will on Monday in Benin, the state capital, commence sitting/pre-hearing on the petitions challenging the declaration of the All Progressives Congress candidate, Monday Okpebholo, as the winner of the September 21, 2024 poll. The Secretary of the Tribunal, Muazu Bagudu, disclosed this on Tuesday in Benin.

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Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration will stop hunger and fight insecurity in the country. He urged Nigerians, especially Abuja residents, to be patient with Mr. President, assuring them that things would get better soon.

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Following the surging security crisis in the country, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Police Command has vowed to impound all vehicles with tinted glasses.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Olatunji Rilwan Disu disclosed this during a press conference at the command’s headquarters in Abuja on Tuesday.
According to him, nobody has the right to tint vehicle glasses, stating that “tinted glasses are contributing to a lot of lawlessness in the country.

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The Nigerian government has explained that it is yet to take action on 60 private jets that operate in the country without payment of import duties amounting to several billions due to various court cases.
The Nigeria Customs Service spokesperson, Abdullahi Maiwada, disclosed this on Tuesday while filing questions on the verification exercise for private jet owners.
Recall that in October, NCS had announced an extension of the exercise by a month to November 14, 2024.
However, despite the expiration of the deadline, NCS is yet to take action against the private jet owners.

Reacting to the development on why NCS has not grounded the private jets, Maiwada blamed several court cases.
“There are issues that border on some court processes, and any disclosure will very much interfere with the processes, and that is why we cannot update the public about it.
“So we don’t want to interfere with the investigations and outcome of the process,” he said.
In June 2024, the NCS summoned nearly 80 privately owned aircrafts in Nigeria to present their import documents or face grounding.
In November 2022, reports emerged that owners of foreign-registered private jets, comprising top business moguls, leading commercial banks, and other rich Nigerians, dragged the federal government to court seeking to prevent the government from grounding their planes for allegedly refusing to pay import duty on the jets.

from dailypost