Headline
Land Dispute: Malami Confirms Sending Policemen To Magodo, Slams S’West Govs

The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Wednesday, said policemen were dispatched to Magodo Phase 2 Estate area of Lagos State because the state government refused to implement a Supreme Court judgment.
Malami also faulted the criticism of the South-West governors, saying nothing was unruly about the operations of the police officers’ presence at the estate.
This was contained in a statement by Malami’s Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Umar Gwandu.
For days, policemen besieged the estate in the company of suspected land grabbers and members of a family who had planned to demolish property in the choice estate to execute a Supreme Court judgment. The development caused commotion at the estate as landlords and tenants panic over their fate.
Recall that a Chief Superintendent of Police, Abimbola Oyewole, on Tuesday openly defied the order of Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to vacate the estate.
The CSP had told the governor that he and his armed colleagues were at the estate on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba; and Malami.
The South-West governors had in a statement signed by Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, on Wednesday faulted the alleged roles of the IGP and the AGF.
“We condemn, very strongly, this brazen assault on decency. We call on the IGP to explain the justification for this intrusion. This is not acceptable. Any expectations of rapprochement between so-called federating units and federal security agencies are becoming forlorn, progressively, due to deliberate acts which mock our very avowal to ethics and professionalism.
“We condemn, in very clear terms, the role of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami SAN in this act of gross moral turpitude,” the governors said.
But reacting in a statement Malami said, “It is important to state that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation belongs to the Executive arm of the Government. The Supreme Court belongs to the Judiciary.
“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice takes exception to the Southwest Governors unjustifiable insinuation of impunity against the office of the Attorney General over execution of a judgment of the Supreme Court.
“The role of the executive is, in this respect, simply to aide the maintenance of law and order in due compliance with rule of law arising from giving effect to the judgment of the apex court of the land.
“Let it be known that the issue is regarding a Supreme Court Judgement that was delivered in 2012 long before the coming of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in office at a time when Malami was not a Minister.
“The judgment was a reaffirmation of the judgments of Court of Appeal and High Court delivered on 31st December, 1993.”
“It is widely reported in the papers that the Lagos state Governor was quoted to have said “I’ve spoken extensively with the Inspector-General of Police and the Honourable Attorney-General, and we’ve resolved all the issues”.
“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, would appreciate if the coalition of the Governors will help to unravel the circumstances preventing the Lagos State Government from enforcing the court order despite several attempts from 2012- 2015 and so-called settlement initiative started in 2016.
“Some of the cardinal pillars of democratic Government are the doctrine of separation of powers and obedience to the rule of law inclusive of Court Orders.
“It is a common knowledge that execution of the judgment and orders of Courts of competent jurisdiction, and the Court of last resort in the circumstances remains a cardinal component of the rule of law and the office of the Attorney General wonders how maintenance of the law and orders in the course of execution of the judgment of the supreme can be adjudged by imagination of the governors to be unruly.
“We want restate that sanctity of the rule of law is not a matter of choice,” the statement added.
(PUNCH)
Headline
Welcome Home, Israel Confirms Return Of 20 Hostages From Gaza

Israel said that the last 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday had arrived in the country.
“Welcome home,” the foreign ministry wrote in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.
READ ALSO:Trump Gives Update On Israel, Hamas Peace Deal
AFP
Headline
20 Members Of Gang Blacklisted By US Escape Guatemala Prison

Twenty members of a gang designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday.
The members of the Barrio 18 gang “evaded security controls” at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference.
He received “an intelligence report” on Friday warning about the “possible escape” from the prison, which is southeast of the capital, Guatemala City.
Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption.
READ ALSO:China’s Trade Surges Despite US Tariff Threats
Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking.
The US embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as “utterly unacceptable.”
“The United States designated members of this heinous group as the terrorists they are and will hold accountable anyone who has provided, provides, or decides to provide material support to these fugitives or other gang members,” the embassy said on X.
It called on the Guatemalan government to “act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists.”
READ ALSO:US Threatens To Sanction Countries That Vote For Shipping Carbon Tax
According to Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez, there are about 12,000 gang members and collaborators in Guatemala, while another 3,000 are in prison.
The country’s homicide rate has increased from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 to 17.65 this year, more than double the world average, according to the Centre for National Economic Research.
According to the Salvadoran government, the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, are responsible for the deaths of about 200,000 people over three decades.
The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80 percent of El Salvador, which had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.
Headline
South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

At least 40 people, including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe, were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.
The bus travelling to Zimbabwe crashed around 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border on Sunday after the driver apparently lost control, Limpopo province transport minister Violet Mathye said.
“They are still working on the scene, but 40 bodies have already been confirmed to date,” Mathye told the Newzroom Afrika channel. The dead included a 10-month-old girl, she said.
READ ALSO:South African Court Finds Radical Politician Malema Guilty On Gun Charges
Thirty-eight people were in hospital and rescuers were searching for other victims, she told eNCA media.
The bus was travelling from the southern city of Gqeberha, around 1,500 kilometres away, and its passengers included Malawians and Zimbabweans who were working in South Africa. The crash may have been caused by driver fatigue or a mechanical fault, the minister said.
South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network with a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.
AFP
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