Good morning! Here is today’s summary from Nigerian Newspapers of Thursday 20th April 2023
1. Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, on Wednesday, warned that bandits could take advantage of the transition period to launch bloody attacks in the country. He, therefore, advised that security operations against bandits should be increased in the remaining days of the current administration and beyond.
2. The Presidency has said President Muhammadu Buhari personally took steps to address the deteriorating situation in Benue State despite the action of Governor Samuel Ortom who “in many cases” either “roundly ignored them or placed an outright obstruction. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said this in a statement on Wednesday.
3. The House of Representatives adhoc Committee investigating alleged loss of over $2.4 billion in revenue from illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil in 2015 has lamented that the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami and the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed are not cooperating with the committee. This followed Malami’s inability to honour their invitations.
4. The Federal Government has asked the Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Isah Jere, to proceed on retirement. In a letter from the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board, dated 17th of April, 2023, and addressed to the NIS boss, the Federal Government directed him to hand over to the most senior officer in the Service.
5. The President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has urged the police to investigate the controversies that trailed the Adamawa State supplementary governorship election, which saw the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmadu Fintiri returned as the winner. Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State also urged aggrieved candidates who lost out in the election to adopt legitimate means of addressing their grievances.
6. The striking aviation unions on Wednesday vowed to have a total shutdown of the airports after seven days as they staged a procession to the international wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA). Security operatives also took over the venue of the protest where the unions converged on Monday, the first day of their two-day warning strike when the barricaded access roads.
7. The Federal Government has declared Friday, April 21 and Monday 24, 2023, as public holidays to mark this year’s EIdil-Fitr celebration. A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Shuiab Belgore, noted that the Minister, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, made the declaration on behalf of the government.
8. Two construction workers were on Wednesday killed when a perimeter fence around a construction site in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, collapsed. The incident occurred on Ademola Adetokunbo Crescent, in the Wuse 2 area of the nation’s capital.
9. A 45-year-old man, Gbenga Ogunfadeke, has been arrested for allegedly chaining and locking his two children in solitary confinement which led to their death. Amotekun Corps State Commander, David Akinremi, confirmed the suspect’s arrest in a statement on Wednesday.
10. Imo State Police Command has said its operatives wounded several members of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, and its militia arm, Eastern Security Network (ESN) during a bloody shootout. The shootout, which took place at a camp at Ubah Agwa/Izombe tropical rain Forest in Oguta Local Area, left several persons wounded.
