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Supreme Court Ruling Provoked Imo Attacks –Ex-INEC Commissioner

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A former National Commissioner with the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Lai Olurode, has said that the Supreme Court ruling of January 2020 provoked the attacks on some INEC offices in Imo State.

According to him, it is antithetical for the courtroom to take the position of the electorate which is an expression of the popular will of the people.

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The don, who spoke on Wednesday while featuring on PUNCH Online interview programme, The Roundtable, also said a fresh election should have been ordered in Imo State for the sake of peace.

The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Supreme Court nullified the election of Emeka Ihedioha as the Governor of Imo State.

READ ALSO: I warned Nigerians In 2015 That Buhari Is A Dictator – 93-year-old Man

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A seven-man panel of the apex court led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad, had unanimously declared Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress as winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship election and the validly elected governor of the state.

Imo State has been in the eye of the storm after the judgement as rampaging hoodlums raze INEC offices, vehicles, generators, as well as police stations in the state and its environs. Cases of assassination have also been recorded in the state.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Tuesday, condemned the attacks on police stations, prisons and INEC offices, warning that those supporting insurrection and violence in the country will be treated in the language they understand.

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Speaking on the attacks on INEC structures during The PUNCH programme, Olurode described the situation as unfortunate but said the isolated attacks on INEC offices should not be taken as an attack on democracy.

READ ALSO: Buhari Must Resign Or Step Aside Now – Afenifere leader, Adebanjo

He said, “Attacks on INEC buildings could not be taken as an anti-democratic move or expression of lack of support for our democratisation project. One must be able to make a distinction.

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“In some of the states where this has happened, there have been some elements that are disgruntled, social discontent has been heightened and they are just looking for a symbol of democracy that they could attack just to communicate their grievances that could not have been communicated otherwise.

“It is unfortunate that they have chosen that symbol for attack which may appear as if Nigerians are tired of democratisation but that is exactly not what is being expressed.

“If you look at Imo State, for example, I think they are trying to communicate certain grievances that what they have in the state is a kind of judicial victory and legitimacy is still outstanding and there is no correspondence between judicial victory and legitimacy which is majority of the people expressing their preference for political parties.

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“Having judges decide a governor cannot be taken to be synonymous with the expression of popular will through the ballot box. The ballot box should remain sacrosanct.

“There is no way the courtroom and their lordship can take the position of the electorate; it is antithetical, it is not going to work because the ballot box is an expression of the popular will of the people.

READ ALSO: State Of Nation: Stop The Bleeding, End Carnage Now, CSOs Urge Buhari

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“In India, they have warned that the court should not take over the role of the electorate, it is antithetical, it is obnoxious. It is like annulling the will of the people. People will look for other means of expression, it is not that it is good because it is like returning to the law of the jungle which should not be allowed but when the court annuls the popular will of the people, this is going to create its own effect which may be damaging.”

Continuing, the former INEC commissioner said, “The judiciary can only sit down and make rulings when there is peace but when there is no peace, nobody can do anything and that is why the clamour for peace should be the primary goal. So, an election should mediate conflict and not provoke conflict. We had the same thing in 1983, Ondo State burnt. The court should not assume the role of the voters.

“We can order a fresh election if we are not sure of what to do rather than now annulling the popular wish of the people.”

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(PUNCH)

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Tension As Unknown Gunmen Kill Police Informant In Imo Community

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By Qosim Sulaiman

Palpable tension engulfed the residents of Nkwogwu community, Aboh Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State following the killing of an elderly man, Pa Albert Nwanchukwu, believed to be a police informant.

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The assailants, numbering about eight, who reportedly stormed the home of the late Nwanchukwu at about 10pm on Tuesday, 22 April, 2025, were said to have met him where he was relaxing in his compound and immediately opened fire on him.

According to our source who pleaded anonymity, before his assassination, the late Nwanchukwu, had reportedly went to a police station in the locality to inform them of the activities of the gunmen, just as he pleaded to the police to get them arrested.

Our source disclosed that the late Nwanchukwu never knew that some policemen are accomplished in the act, adding that the policemen no doubt informed the gunmen who in anger came and killed him.

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READ ALSO: Again Unknown Gunmen Kill One In Imo, Set Govt Vehicle Ablaze

Our source narrated: “They were about eight in number. They came with different weapons – guns, machetes. They were all masked except their leader.

“It was late but the floodlight from the streetlight was bright. They drove dangerously and went straight to Mr Albert Uwandu Nwachukwu house. The man was relaxing in the front of his house. Immediately they saw him, they opened fire,” he died on the spot”, an eyewitness who saw the entire scene from the balcony of his house recounts.

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Our source added: “Further investigations proved that the spy had informed this notorious gang of late Pa Nwachukwu’s visit to the police, thereby leading to the attack on his household.”

After killing the man, the gang reportedly went inside the house searching for other family members.

READ ALSO: One Killed As Unknown Gunmen Attack Hotel, Set Vehicles Ablaze In Ebonyi

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While it was evident that the gang intended to eviscerate the entire members of the family, three of his children – Victor Onyedikachi Nwachukwu, Promise Rita Nwachukwu Yakubu and Blessing Nzebechi Nwachukwu escaped.

“I saw the three of them. They ran through the back door. Since that time, we have not seen them again”, the same eye-witness disclosed to our correspondent.

This particular incident has thrown the entire community and Aboh Mbaise Local Government in general, into mourning.

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While some questioned the safety of police informants, other believed the incident shows the rot in the police force of the country.

Expressing his disappointment in the police, the chairman of Aboh Mabise LGA; Honourable Barrister Iheukwumere Henry Alaribe vowed a major crackdown on the unknown gunmen.

The Commissioner of Police, Imo State Command, CP Aboki Danjuma promised a total clampdown and return of sanity to the community.

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Protect Oil Palm Host Communities; Address Spate Of Kidnapping, Violence, Govt Told

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By Joseph Ebi Kanjo 

A non-profit organization – African Law Foundation (AFRILAW), has appealed to the government at levels to ensure the protection of oil palm host communities and address the spate of kidnapping and violence in such areas.

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AFRILAW further urged the governments to ensure that communities’ rights and privileges are respected in land deals with oil palm companies to avoid human rights violations.

Okereke Chinwike Esq,
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, AFRILAW, made the appeal in Benin on Tuesday at the Public Presentation and launching of ‘The Community-based Report on Human Rights Violations in the Palm Oil Supply Chain in Edo State.’

INFO DAILY reports that the event is part of AFRILAW activities under the “Promoting Human Rights in Palm Oil Supply Chain in Nigeria Project,” being implemented by AFRILAW in partnership with Zero Tolerance Initiative (ZTI) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with funding support from True Cost Initiative (TCI) USA.

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READ ALSO: SERAP To Court: Stop CBN From ‘Implementing ‘Unlawful, Unjust ATM Fee Hike’

According to the AFRILAW founder, addressing companies’ human rights violations from their operations in host communities require evidence-based research, hence the research and report presentation.

The Report we are presenting today documents evidence of community rights violations by major oil palm companies operating in the state. The research is informed by the increasing spate of violence and community protests against the operations of oil palm companies operating in Edo state, and provides greater understanding of the prevailing cases of community and human rights violations and nature of conflicts,” he noted.

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He, therefore, urged the government to
put in place a mandatory binding CSR laws and guidelines for companies to ensure that community rights and privileges are protected.”

He further appealed to the government to “ensure effective implementation of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights and set forth clear expectations for business enterprises regarding the importance of respecting the rights of human rights defenders, indigenous people and communities in Nigeria.”

READ ALSO: Woman Who Accused Jay-Z, Diddy Of Rape Drops Lawsuit

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On his part, Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Anthony Ojukwu (SAN), described the report as essential, stressing that beyond normal advocacy, research-based advocacy is more efficient and effective.

Represented by Mrs Mary Okoh, Deputy Director, Legal/Focal Point Business and Human Rights, NHRC, Ojukwu said beyond Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) organization should take seriously major issues of mainstreaming human rights into their operations.

“That means anyone who wants to set up a business must put into consideration the needs of the people and not what the organization or company needs. We have found out that this is where human rights violations start.

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“Let them be part of the discussion and planning in the setting up of the business. Let them know what is at stake for them,” he said.

Goodwill messages were delivered by government agencies and ministries, while the presentation and launching also attracted security agencies including the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Customs Service, and the Nigeria Immigration Service among others.

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#EndBadGovernance: Police Manhunt Activists, Others, As Artist Cries Out For Help In Benin

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The suspect, Osarenkhoe Destiny Oghosa,

The Nigeria Police Force has launched a manhunt for suspected sponsors of the #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria protest that swept round the country last week.

Though police had arrested scores of such protesters across the country, many, especially vocal personalities and civil rights activists who have been criticising policies of the Tinubu administration in Nigeria have been penned down for arrest.

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Also of interest to the police are those alleged to have massively produced and supplied Russian flags that were displayed during the protests, as they have vowed that none of the suspects would be spared.

It was gathered that undercover policemen are closing in on the social critics including one Osarenkhoe Destiny Oghosa, a vocal music artiste in Benin City.

READ ALSO: #EndSoldier Shoots 16-year-old #EndBadGovernance Protester Dead In Kaduna

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This has raised fears and trepidation in that circle with many going underground for fear of being arrested by the police.

Oghosa is accused of masterminding an attempted jail break in the Benin metropolis similar to the End SARS protest in 2020, experience that resulted in the prison break and escape of prisoners and detainees alike.

Oghosa, in an interview with our correspondent, lamented that his music which focuses social justice, equality, societal ills among others in Nigeria, is now being as a crime.

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He further lamented that despite several tactics to beat the security tab on him by agents of the government, he had faced persecution from invincible nocturnal groups.

READ ALSO: #EndBadGovernance: Protesters, Police Clash Averted In Rivers

Further lamenting how the government is hell bent in silencing voices speaking for the masses, Oghosa recalled how he was called at midnight to stop production of his song titled “OBI”, adding that he was seriously warned .

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In a related development, Ahmed Bello, one of the suspect producers of the Russian flag hoist in some cities in Nigeria has been attested.

The Force Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday at the Strategic Communications Interagency Policy Committee joint press briefing.

He added that the police were on the trail of other suspects, especially the sponsors of the protest which led to the destruction of government properties in Kaduna and Kano States.

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Adejobi said the suspects committed a treasonable felony, offence by waving a foreign country’s flag in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Tinubu To Address Nigerians Sunday Amid #EndBadGovernance Protests

He said: “So, we need to set the record straight. It is important for us to know, so far so good we have been able to arrest some individuals who were engaging themselves in what I call a treasonable felony, while we are still going after their sponsors.

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“To carry the flags of a foreign country in another country is a criminal offence. We have them arrested. Just this morning, we arrested one Ahmed Bello from Kano State fuor producing a large quantity of Russian flags given to young Nigerians to hoist for reasons best known to him.”

The police added that protesters in Benin City had made attempts to invade the DSS office in the state with the intention to free persons who in their opinion were being unjustly detained there-in forcing the law enforcement agencies to disperse them.

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