Metro
Court Stops Rivers Govt From Withholding LG Allocations

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, stopped the Rivers State Government from withholding financial allocations of the 42 Local Government areas in the state, pending the determination of a suit that was brought before it.
The court, in a ruling Friday, ordered the local government Chairmen in the state and nine others, who had filed the suit to maintain status quo, pending the determination of the matter.
The ruling followed an ex-parte application in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/537/2024, argued by Mr. Aliyu Hussein, counsel to the plaintiffs.
Cited as plaintiffs in the matter are: Dr Chidi LLoyd, Chairman, Emohua Local Government, Hon Alwell Ihunda, Chairman, Port Harcourt Local Government, Dr Nwanosike Samuel, Ikwerre Local Government Area; Barrister George Ariolu, Chairman, Obio-Akpor Local Government; Dr Obbinna Anyawu, Chairman, Etchi Local Government Area; and Hon Chidorom Nwaiwu, Chairman, Omuma Local Government Area.
Others include Dr Hope Ikiriko, Chairman of Ahoada West Local Government Area; Barrister Benjamin Isreal Eke, Chairman of Ahoada East Local Government; and Dr Roland Sekibo, Chairman of Akuku-Toru LGA.
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The presiding judge, Justice James Omotosho, stopped the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Police Commissioner in Rivers, Director General, State Security Service, SSS and its Director, who were cited as defendants in the matter, from withdrawing the security personnel of the LG Chairmen, pending the final resolution of their motion on notice.
Justice Omotosho held that the Rivers State Government should not frustrate or prevent the LG Chairmen from discharging their duties and rendering services to their respective councils till the determination of the suit.
The plaintiffs approached the court, praying for an order of interim injunction to restrain the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Rivers State Government, Attorney General of Rivers and Commissioner for Finance, from withholding the revenue accrued to them.
They also sought an order from the court to restrain the IGP, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers, the SSS, its Director, and the AGF, from withdrawing the security personnel attached to them.
They equally prayed the court to prohibit the defendants from preventing the enforcement or implementation of the newly amended Rivers State Local Government Law N:5 of 2024 pending the determination of the motion.
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In a 33-paragraph affidavit in support of the application deposed to by Dr Chidi LLoyd, Chairman of Emohua Local Government, the Chairmen claimed to have been duly elected in a democratically conducted election for a term of three years under the provisions of the Rivers State Local Government Law.
They asserted that they are autonomous and constitutionally recognised as one of the tiers of the government, adding that the Rivers State House of Assembly enacted the Rivers State Amended Law to guide their affairs and activities.
They claimed that the Rivers State Government, AG and Finance Commissioner, who are not happy with the amended law, have approached the IGP, CP, DG SSS and Director SSS, seeking the withdrawal of policing and other security services from them to frustrate the implementation of the amended law.
The Chairmen alleged that the Police Commissioner in the state, who has the responsibility to advise the IGP on the policing and security needs of Rivers State, is under substantial control of the Rivers State Government and would implement the directive of the state government.
They held that it would be impossible for them to carry out their respective functions and duties without the policing and security services of the IGP.
READ ALSO: Rivers Crisis: Court Turns Down Fubara Loyalists’ Oral Application
They prayed the court to restrain the defendants, especially the Rivers State Government, from taking the law into their hands.
In his ruling, Justice Omotoso ordered all parties in the suit to maintain the status quo pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.
The judge warned that no party should take any step that would make the motion on notice nugatory.
“The plaintiffs are hereby ordered to serve the motion on notice seeking an interlocutory injunction on the defendants to enable them to have the opportunity to respond to the same.
“That this matter is adjourned to the 2nd day of May 2024 for the hearing of the motion on notice,” the court held.
PUNCH
Metro
Ngige Recounts Attack On Convoy By Gunmen

A former Anambra State Governor and ex-Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has narrated how his convoy was attacked by yet-to-be-identified gunmen.
Ngige said the incident occurred when his personal aides were returning from an errand, resulting in the death of a woman, while his police orderly was shot in the leg and stripped of his rifle and uniform.
He disclosed this to journalists on Friday, when the Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, visited him at his country home in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State, to commiserate with him over the attack.
Ngige said he had been in Anambra since Saturday and had sent his personal aides on errands, including taking one of his vehicles for maintenance, when they were ambushed on their way back.
Dispelling rumours of his death, he said, “As you can see, I am alive; I am not dead, so there should be no panic. They attacked my convoy while they were returning around Umuoji. They saw some vehicles racing towards them, which later reversed, chased after them and started shooting.
READ ALSO:JUST IN: One Dead As Ngige Escapes Assassination
“The assailants were all dressed in police and army uniforms. My convoy driver managed to manoeuvre until they ran into a shop. They caught up with my police security man who battled with them until his bullets were exhausted.
“They took away his rifle and uniform after shooting him in the leg.
“They told the two policemen that they were serving a ‘zoo government’. I think something is in the offing. They are seizing arms and mopping up police uniforms.
“I have spoken to the governor of the state, who assured me they will be tracked down. If they are not tracked down, it can lead to potential danger and an unravelling of the calmness we have enjoyed in the state for the past three months.
“You know we are entering the Christmas season and our people will be coming home. They need to be tracked down because this is a gang with a modus operandi of operating in police uniforms.”
On whether he believed the attack was targeted, Ngige said it was possible because his pilot driver and convoy are well known, but added that it might also be coincidental.
“My pilot driver is very well known. Anywhere people see him, they know Ngige is around. He has driven me for 22 years. So, on that basis, I may say they knew it was my convoy and decided to attack.
“On the other hand, it may be that they just saw a convoy with policemen and attacked them to harvest guns and uniforms. So I’m not insisting it was targeted. Anyone who targets me is wasting his time,” he added.
Speaking on the attackers’ reference to serving a “zoo government” and the recent tension surrounding the incarceration of the Indigenous People of Biafra leader, Nnamdi Kanu, Ngige said the situation called for a political solution.
“When they told the security men that they were serving a ‘zoo government’ and should tell their masters they are coming for them, you know what that means.
“My take is that Nnamdi Kanu’s case requires a political solution. I met former President Muhammadu Buhari over it. Governor Soludo has also said he wants Kanu released to him. But even if they don’t want to release him to us, they can release him to Britain.
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“Why I say so is because the symptoms he is exhibiting are bizarre. I am not a psychiatrist, but something is wrong. Even the doctors who conducted the psychiatric evaluation missed something. There is a mania component. In such cases, the court normally discharges the person. This is elementary psychiatry, and I am a medical doctor,” he said.
Also speaking, Obi, who visited Ngige in Alor, thanked God for sparing the former governor’s life and commiserated with the family of the woman who was shot dead while making a video of the incident.
Recall that unidentified gunmen attacked Ngige’s convoy along the Nkpor–Nnobi Road in Idemili North Local Government Area on Thursday.
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According to Ngige’s former media aide, Sir Fred Chukwuelobe, the former governor was not in the convoy at the time of the attack.
A policeman in the pilot car was shot, and his gun and uniform were taken by the assailants, who were reportedly dressed in police and military uniforms.
Eyewitnesses said a woman who was recording the shooting was fatally shot, while a shop owner who rushed out to observe the commotion was also hit but survived and is scheduled for surgery to remove bullets lodged in his body.
“No policeman was killed. The escort leader who was shot has been operated upon and is expected to make a full recovery,” one eyewitness said.
Metro
Househelp Stabs Employer’s Daughter To Death, Takes Own Life

The Rivers State Police Command has launched an investigation into the death of a seven-year-old girl, Alicia Olajumoke, who was allegedly stabbed to death by her minder in Rumueme, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
Details of the incident, which occurred on Tuesday, were scanty as of the time of filing this report.
However, it was gathered that the minder reportedly committed suicide after realizing the enormity of her actions.
Sources said the house help went to the school of her employer’s daughter, picked her up, and took her home before carrying out the act.
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In a statement on Friday, the police spokesperson, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, said the toddler’s mother, Glory Joseph, reported the incident to the police.
Iringe-Koko added that the seven-year-old girl died before reaching the hospital, where the minder, who also took her own life, was confirmed dead.
She further stated that while the corpses of both victims have been deposited at the hospital, the case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCID) of the Police Command for a detailed probe.
The statement read, “Today, 25th November 2025, one Glory Joseph, female, of No. 21 Okabia Street, Agip Estate, Rumueme, reported at the station that her daughter, Alicia Olajumoke, female, aged seven years, was stabbed to death at about 1400 hours by one Success, female, surname yet to be known.
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“She (Glory) further said that the suspect went to the school of the deceased, picked her up, took her home, and stabbed her to death. The suspect also inflicted a stab wound on her own throat.
“The scene of the crime was visited, and photographs were taken. The victim was rushed to the hospital, where she was confirmed dead. The suspect was also rushed to the same hospital and confirmed dead.
“The corpse of the deceased has been deposited at the morgue for autopsy. The case has been transferred to the SCID. Preliminary investigation is ongoing, and further developments will be communicated.”
READ ALSO:Four Suspected Robbers Killed In Gunfight With Police In Delta
Cases of violent attacks on children by household staff are rare but not unprecedented in Nigeria, raising concerns about vetting and supervision of domestic workers.
In one notable case, a domestic worker was sentenced to death by hanging in 2023 for killing an elderly employer and her daughter.
Metro
Police Arrest 26 Over Fake Currency, Adulterated Diesel In Lagos

The Lagos State Police Command on Friday announced the arrest of twenty-six male suspects linked to “the possession of counterfeit currency and the production and sale of adulterated diesel to unsuspecting motorists at Eti-Osa, Lekki, Lagos.”
According to the Command, the suspects were apprehended on 27th November 2025 at about 1330 hours in a joint operation with operatives of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI).
Police said, “Nine Hundred and Fifty-One Thousand, Three Hundred Naira (₦951,300) in counterfeit notes were recovered from their premises.”
All these were detailed in a Friday press release shared on the Command’s official X handle and signed by its Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi.
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Preliminary investigations, the release stated, showed that Abubakar Rilean (40 years), Abubakar Abdullahi (35 years), Adamu Ibrahim Jora (35 years), and Michael John (30 years) were involved in “the production and distribution of adulterated engine oil/diesel, popularly known as ‘rice and beans,’ which they sold to unsuspecting and innocent motorists.”
Two others, Ichapi Moses (30 years) and Samson Adike (28 years), were identified as suppliers of the adulterated petroleum products in the area.
The Commissioner of Police, CP Olohundare Jimoh, warned individuals across the state engaging in unlawful acts to desist, declaring that the Command was “intensifying efforts and closing in strongly on perpetrators.”
He added: “Anyone found engaging in acts capable of endangering public peace, damaging vehicles, or threatening economic stability will face the full weight of the law.”
READ ALSO:Hoodlums Stab Police Officer To Death In Ondo
Reassuring residents, CP Jimoh said the Command remained fully in control of the security situation.
The CP stated: “The state is safe and there is no room for criminals or their unlawful activities. The safety and well-being of all residents remain the Command’s top priority.”
The public was urged to support ongoing security efforts, as the police emphasised that “credible and timely information” remained essential to crime prevention and arrests.
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