The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is set to arraign former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, his daughter, Fatimah, and two other suspects in court on Thursday.

The suspects are facing charges over alleged N2.7 billion contract fraud uncovered in the Aviation Ministry under Sirika.

The embattled former Minister would be arraigned for trial for the first time, before Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.

Sirika is billed to appear in court with his three co-defendants, his daughter, Fatima; one Jalal Hamma, and Al-Duraq Investment Ltd, on charges of abusing their positions to launder over N2.7 billion.

Details later….

A Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, Delta State, has upheld the powers of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate and prosecute officials of the Delta State Government who allegedly engage in corrupt acts.

The spokesperson for the anti-graft agency, Demola Bakare, made the development known in a statement on Wednesday.

The Attorney-General of the state had earlier filed a suit challenging the powers of the ICPC under Sections 6 and 28 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 (ICPC Act 2000) to investigate the state government’s finances and invite Delta State officials for interviews in the course of investigations.

READ ALSO: Abuja School Closed For One Week Over Death Of Four-year-old

The plaintiff in the suit, FHC/CS/165/2023, also contended that by Sections 120, 121, 122, 123, & 125 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), it is only the Delta State House of Assembly and the Auditor General of Delta State that have the powers to look into the state’s finances and demand documents.

However, the ICPC argued that Sections 6 and 28 of the ICPC Act 2000 empower the commission to exercise its enforcement function on “any person,” including state government officials.

The commission, represented by the Director of the Legal Services Department, Henry Emore, stressed that the ICPC Act 2000 does not discriminate between the state government and the Federal Government in the fight against corruption.

READ ALSO: Air Peace, Seven Countries To Revive Bankrupt Caribbean Airline

“Furthermore, there is no conflict between the provisions of Sections 6 and 28 of the ICPC Act and Sections 120-125 of the Constitution; the two are rather, complementary,” he argued.

In his judgement on Wednesday, May 7, 2024, Justice F. Olubanjo of the Federal High Court, Asaba Division, agreed with the submissions of ICPC in its entirety and held that Nigeria practices cooperative federalism; and as such the fight against corruption is a function of both the states and the federal government.

He also noted that the issues before the court had been settled in a plethora of appellate decisions, among which is the Supreme Court judgment in AG Ondo State vs AG Federation & 36 ORS.

The suit was therefore dismissed with no cost awarded.

The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), on Wednesday, says that a total of 18.3 pupils are out of school in Nigeria.

Dr. Tushar Rane, UNICEF’S Chief of Field Office, Bauchi State, stated this during a two-day regional stakeholders meeting on out-of-school children and retention, transition as well as completion models in Bauchi, Gombe and Adamawa states.

Breaking down the figure, Rane said that a staggering 10.2 million primary school-age children and 8.1 million at the junior secondary level are out of school in the country.

According to him, this trend positioned Nigeria with the challenge of having the largest number of out-of-school children globally.

READ ALSO: UNICEF Moves To Address Out-of-school Children Problem In Bauchi State

“Only 63 per cent of children of primary school age regularly attend school.

“According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2021, only 84 per cent of children effectively transition to junior secondary education after primary school completion.

“Less than 50 percent – about 2.4 million – of the 5.9 million children who commence Primary Grade 1 annually in Nigeria persist to the conclusion of Junior Secondary Grade 3.

“An analysis of the MICS reports between 2011 and 2021 shows an increase in dropout rates across all genders at the primary level especially in the northern part of the country,” he said.

READ ALSO: Adolescent Girls Face Risks Of Sexual Violence – UNICEF

The UNICEF boss explained that this consistent pattern suggested that, compared to a decade ago, the education system in Nigeria faced challenges in retaining students and ensuring their continued education across all the regions, adding that the problem persisted in the Northeast and Northwest.

He said that UNICEF was deeply concerned with the rate of out-of-school children, and low learning achievement in the country, especially in the Northeast and Northwest regions.

To this end, he said UNICEF, in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission developed the National Framework of Action to reduce the number of Out-of-School Children in Nigeria which ensured inclusive and equitable quality education and promoted lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Also speaking, a director from Gombe State Universal Basic Education Board, Yawoji Bala, highlighted some of the factors increasing the number of out-of-school children to include; early marriage, peer group, social norms and beliefs.

The meeting was attended by commissioners of education from Bauchi , Adamawa and Gombe states as well as executive secretaries of SUBEB and other relevant agencies across the three Northeastern states.