Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers:
1. The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has slammed Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, over a recent statement credited to him where he claimed there were no plans to Islamise the country. The Christian group also frowned at the allegation made by the Minister during a Town Hall meeting in Ilorin where he claimed religious leaders were making alleged inciting comments that could cause disorder in the country. CAN referred to the Minister’s statements as ‘’disparaging, lies and abusive.’’
2. The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit has again commended the Court of Appeal for striking out a motion seeking an injunction to stop hijab usage in the state. The Court of Appeal on Tuesday (today) while hearing the motion on stay of execution filed by the Lagos State Government, struck the case out.
3. The Senate has confirmed on Tuesday that President Muhammadu Buhari has forwarded to it, a fresh letter seeking extension of his medical vacation in London, United Kingdom but refused to confirm whether the letter was personally signed by the President or not. The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC Niger North) said the Senate President, Bukola Saraki briefed him about the letter.
4. The Kaduna State Bureau Chief of the Vanguard Newspaper, Mr. Luka Binniyat, on Tuesday regained freedom after meeting his bail condition. Led by his lawyer, Barrister Samson Bemu, Binniyat regained his freedom after spending a night at the Kaduna Prisons.
5. Ten people have been reportedly killed in a clash involving two groups of illegal miners at Gero village in Gyel District of Jos South Local Government. The spokesperson of Plateau Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Naomi Cishak, said that miners from Gero arrived a lucrative mining spot around their village, but met miners from Bassa who were already at the site, resulting to a fight.
6. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday arraigned a lawyer, Nze Chidi Duru, before Justice Peter Affen of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja on a 4-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust to the tune of N16.2million.
7. A Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has said that going by the constitution of Nigeria, the country does not have either a President or an Acting-President at the moment. According to him, the new letter transmitted to the Senate seeking to extend the powers of the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, to function in as President in acting capacity has not been read on the floor of the Senate, hence a vacuum has already been created.
8. Police on Tuesday announced the recovery of more than N111 million from INEC officials alleged to have been bribed by the Rivers state government during the rerun in the state. An investigative panel set up by the Inspector-General of Police presented its report in Abuja, disclosing that the money was recovered from 23 suspects allegedly bribed to rig the polls.
9. Relatively, the Rivers State Government has challenged the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, to provide evidence that the State Governor, Nyesom Wike bribed some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, with the huge sum of money as alleged by the Force. A statement by the Rivers Commissioner of Information, Tam-George said by using images that sink to the “lowest depths of blackmail and criminality,” the Force has been compromised.
10. The National Agency for the Control of Aids (NACA) has refuted the claim by Maduike Ezeibe, a professor of veterinary medicine and clinical virology at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, that he has finally discovered a new drug for the cure of HIV/AIDS. Dr Sani Aliyu, Director-General, NACA and Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, CEO Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said the claim for a HIV/AIDS cure is not new and that patience taking their retroviral drug should continue.
