News

LG Autonomy: S-Court Gives Governors 7 Days To Respond To FG’s Suit

Published

1 year ago

May 30, 2024

The Supreme Court, on Thursday, ordered the Governors of the 36 States of the Federation, to within seven days, enter their defence to the suit the Federal Government filed to secure full autonomy for the 774 Local Government Areas, LGAs.

The order followed an application that FG, through the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, for accelerated hearing of the matter and for the abridgment of the time allowed for all state governors to file their response to the suit.

In its ruling, a seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Garba Lawal, said the AGF should upon receipt of the processes containing defence of the governors, respond to it within two days.

The panel fixed June 13 to commence full-blown hearing of the matter.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the body of Attorneys General of the States, Mr. Ben Odoh, who is the Attorney General of Ebonyi State, was present during the proceeding.

Mr. Odoh told the apex court that he was not opposed to the request for the abridgment of the hearing date.

However, he requested for the respondents to be allowed to file their defence to the matter, within 15 days.

While declining to extend the time for the respondents, Justice Lawal said the decision of the apex court was hinged on the fact that the matter is of utmost national importance as well as the urgency of the case.

The court directed that filing of all processes and exchanging of same must be completed before the next adjourned date.

Those that had no legal representation even though they were served with the hearing notice, were the Attorneys General of Borno, Kano, Kogi, Niger, Ogun, Osun , Oyo and Sokoto states.

The Justice Lawal-led panel orders that they should be served with a fresh hearing notice to enable them to attend the next sitting.

FG had in the suit marked SC/CV/343/2024, prayed the Supreme Court to okay full autonomy for all the LGAs in the country as the third tier of government.

It prayed the court to issue an order, prohibiting state governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.

As well as for an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channeled to them from the Federation Account in line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by governors.

Besides, FG, prayed the Supreme Court for an order, stopping governors from further constituting Caretaker Committees to run the affairs of local governments as against the Constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system.

It equally applied for an order of injunction, restraining the governors, their agents and privies, from receiving, spending or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefits of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the states.

Governors of the 36 States were sued through their respective Attorneys General.

News

NECO To Streamline English Exam, Slashes Questions

Published

3 hours ago

September 3, 2025

Editor

The National Examinations Council has announced a reduction in the number of objective questions for the English Language Paper III in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination Internal. Effective from the 2026 SSCE Internal exams, the total number of questions will be reduced from 100 to 80.

In an official notification made available to The PUNCH on Wednesday, signed by the State Coordinator for Osun State, Sunday K. Bolaji, dated September 1, 2025, stated that the new paper structure includes six sections.

Antonyms (10 questions), Appropriateness of Registers (10 questions), Appropriate Interpretation of Idioms, Phrasal Verbs, and Foreign Words (10 questions), Synonyms (10 questions), Grammatical Structures (30 questions), and Cloze Text (10 questions).

The time allocated for Paper III will also be adjusted to 50 minutes. This change aims to streamline the examination process and enhance the testing experience for students.

Previously reported by The PUNCH, on August 29, NECO confirmed it will fully transition from the traditional paper-and-pencil examination method to a computer-based testing system, starting with the November/December 2025 SSCE external.

This shift aligns with the Federal Government’s July 2025 directive to deploy private and public CBT centres nationwide for school-based SSCEs by 2026.

NECO has invited interested CBT centre operators across Nigeria to apply for accreditation, subject to strict technical, infrastructural, and security requirements to ensure examination integrity and smooth implementation.

This move aims to modernise Nigeria’s examination system, reduce malpractice, and improve operational efficiency while expanding digital education access nationwide.

News

JUST IN: Ex-Ondo SDP Governorship Candidate Dies

Published

6 hours ago

September 3, 2025

Editor

The candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the November 16, 2024, Ondo State governorship election, Bamidele Akingboye, is dead.

His death was confirmed on Wednesday in a statement by his aide, Oyeniyi Iwakun.

According to the statement, Akingboye died earlier on Wednesday at his residence in Victoria Garden City, Lagos.

The statement read, “Known for his unwavering integrity, humility, and generosity, Akingboye left an indelible mark as a successful businessman and a mentor to many across Nigeria and beyond.

“He is survived by his wives, children, grandchildren, and siblings. The family has requested privacy during this period of grief, adding that burial arrangements and further details will be communicated in due course.”

Akingboye contested the November 2024 governorship election but lost to the incumbent governor and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

After the poll, Akingboye and the SDP rejected the result, alleging widespread irregularities.

The party claimed its agents were harassed and chased away from polling units, while voters were intimidated.

Akingboye himself insisted that the exercise was marred by malpractices and urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to cancel the election.

News

VIDEO: Police Arrest Syndicate Hypnotising Victims Under Guise Of Seeking Directions In Delta

Published

6 hours ago

September 3, 2025

Editor

The Delta State Police Command has arrested seven suspects specialised in defrauding victims under the guise of seeking directions.

The command’s spokesperson, SP Edafe Bright, disclosed this in a post on X.com on Tuesday, explaining how the syndicate approaches their victims, hypnotises them and cart away with their money and valuables.

He wrote, “Have you ever come across people who pretend like they are looking for direction? Have you ever met a victim who they lured and ended up taking all their money, phones and jewellery? Watch till the end to find out their strategy, and please share for others to learn.”

In the accompanying video, Edafe added, “We’ve been hearing of this syndicate that usually acts in the guise of looking for direction and eventually manages to hypnotise their victims, lure them, collect their money, phones and even their jewellery. It is no longer a fairy tale because today we have about seven suspects who are very good at that, but the hands of the law have finally caught up with them.”

One of the suspects in the video described the act as a “419 business” that requires three persons called Cashama, Jejeti and Citama, respectively.

The suspect went ahead to explain the strategy they use in defrauding their suspects and the role of the three members in the scheme.

Another suspect added that the gang has netted about N2.7 million through this tactic from five victims.

One of the victims, identified as Fullness, recounted his experience, stating that he was approached by a man who seemed lost and was ignored by other people. He took pity on the man and agreed to help.

He noted that upon entering their vehicle, he lost all sense of awareness and was later defrauded of ₦2.5 million in cash, a phone worth ₦1.6 million, and another phone valued at ₦400,000.

Another victim, identified as Daniel, also explained how the gang collected jewellery and gadgets worth over N7 million from him.

Watch the video below:

https://x.com/MobilePunch/status/1963169979609551162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1963169979609551162%7Ctwgr%5Ea8a95bacc0b76a0da87621d733811182f7c60d86%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpunchng.com%2Fvideo-police-arrest-syndicate-hypnotising-victims-under-guise-of-seeking-directions-in-delta%2F