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Tajudeen Abbass, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, declared on Saturday in Zaria, Kaduna State, that the 10th National Assembly would give traditional leaders in the nation a constitutional role.

When he paid respects to Ambassador Ahmed Bamali, the Emir of Zazzau, the Speaker made this statement.

Abbas, who was welcomed to the palace with a vibrant durbar, claimed that the majority of the current House of Representatives members understood the significance of the country’s traditional institution.

He noted that members would do the needful to ensure a role was created for the traditional rulers in the constitution.

The Speaker said, “I am aware that about three years ago, there was a paper by the Traditional Rulers Council across the six geo-political zones where they clearly stated how they want the traditional institutions to function in this present dispensation. We thank God that today your son is the Speaker of the House of Representatives and in the position to revisit the position of the traditional rulers.

“I want to assure you today that my colleagues and I who are from traditional ruling houses and others who share similar sentiments will go back and look at the position paper written by the traditional leaders in order to ensure that the traditional institution has a place in this current political dispensation.

“We will work assiduously with the various state houses of assembly in order to ensure that the glory of the traditional institution is restored.

“I am here with over 70 members of the House of Representatives to receive your blessing, the blessing of other traditional rulers and Nigerians on the need to unite Nigerians for the progress and development of the country. We will from time to time seek your advice because we in government are like football players on the pitch who are bound to make mistakes.”

He expressed appreciation to the Emir, the traditional chiefs and the people of Zazzau Emirate for the warm reception accorded him on his first homecoming as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

In his remarks, the Emir of Zazzau said the request for roles for traditional rulers in the constitution was not an attempt to create another tier of government.

He said, “The Zazzau Emirate has nothing to say than thank God for the blessing He has bestowed on the Emirate. The Emirate has produced a reasonable percentage of prominent Nigerians from the Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, Vice-President, Namadi Sambo, several Ministers, the Secretary to the Government of Federation, and now the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

“The role of the traditional institution cannot be overemphasised. The traditional institution has played important roles from the first republic, the second republic, and even today. I am aware that the majority of the members here have direct or indirect relationships with the traditional institution.

“What is surprising us is that people will come to us to seek our blessing when seeking election, but when they win, they will disappear until another election, they now begin to see us as their stumbling blocks. Up till now, we are really shocked as traditional rulers why they behave like that, but what they failed to understand is that the traditional institution has come to stay whether we are alive or not. Wherever you go, you will still come back to us.

“We are aware that, the fear of most of these politicians is that, we want to create another tier of government. I speak on behalf of other traditional rulers, the Sultan of Sokoto, Shehu of Borno, and other traditional rulers. We discussed this issue of traditional rulers extensively.

“We went to Abuja, wet the former President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives. We presented our position under the chairmanship of Emir of Lafia who is a former Supreme Court Judge with experience. We drafted our position and submitted it to the former Senate President, and we were surprised that the bill was abandoned.”

The Federal Government has been urged to uphold the principles of the rule of law, fairness, and justice in the case against suspended Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele by the Nigerian Bar Association, human rights advocates, and civil society organisations.

According to reports, they argued that the recent charge of gun and ammunition possession was politically motivated and criticised the Department of State Services for arresting and holding Emefiele for almost a month.

On June 10, a day after being fired by President Bola Tinubu, Emefiele was detained at his home in Lagos. Even though he was detained on the direction of an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court, the DSS immediately filed a criminal complaint against him.

Emefiele was charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a single-barrel shotgun and ammunition without a license under the Firearms Laws of the Federation 2004. The Department of State Services claimed to have found the items during a search of Emefiele’s Ikoyi residence. According to Vanguard, the former President of the NBA, Joseph Daudu, urged the government to respect the decisions of the courts regarding Emefiele’s arrest and detention.

He said: “I do not think that the President, Bola Tinubu, who is a newly minted President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, will like to start his administration with the organisations under him disobeying court orders.” Daudu insisted that Emefiele’s trial should follow legal procedures. Meanwhile, Abuja-based human rights activist Abdulazeez Tijani criticized the prolonged detention of Emefiele while the DSS was still investigating his case. Tijani pointed out that the DSS had been trying to arrest Emefiele for more than four months, and they should have concluded their investigation by now.

“The DSS cannot hide under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, to hold a Nigerian citizen till eternity because ACJA is inferior to the 1999 Constitution.” The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Section on Public Interest and Development Law, Dr. Monday Ubani, has also called the charge against Emefiele false and misleading. He said: “I think these people are taking us for granted. They believed we are all fools. Did they not tell us that Emefiele was involved in financing terrorists? What has happened to that allegation? What has happened to the allegation of misappropriation of the money for printing new currency? What has happened to the allegation of stamp duty money allegedly squandered by Emefiele? What has happened to the allegation of manipulating our foreign exchange with Buhari cabals? What has happened to the allegation of operating several secret accounts not known to the Federal Republic of Nigeria?” Human rights lawyer Barrister Jones Akpan argued that the charges of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition should be handled by the police.

He said, “The DSS cannot be seen to be prevaricating and blowing hot and cold. Are they just waking up to the realization that Emefiele is in possession of firearms just only when the Courts have ordered his release? Is it within their statutory powers to charge for illegal possession of firearms?” Constitutional lawyer and Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), Chima Williams, believed that the charge against Emefiele was politically motivated. He said: “Some of us see his travail as political more than any other thing. I had predicted that Emefiele will be in trouble if Tinubu becomes the president of Nigeria and there are no two ways about it, and I am not disappointed because what we thought will happen is happening. “If we are going to move our nation forward we should look beyond the individuals and look at the laws because that is what would guarantee freedom, safety and people’s respect for institutions.” Vanguard also reports that another constitutional lawyer, Mr. Evans Ufeli, said: “The DSS is making a mockery of itself and the presidency over Emefiele’s case though his conduct as a CBN governor was nothing to write home about, the many allegations of terrorism financing and possession of firearms should be proven in court.

“I think the DSS has been very unprofessional with the discharge of their duties as a security apparatus. Under our law, a suspect is presumed innocent until the contrary is proven. Why should the DSS act like it is a law unto itself under a democratic government? Whoever is leading this security agency is not working in the interest of Nigeria.

” The Chair of the Board of Trustees for Amnesty International (Nigeria), Auwal Rafsanjani dismissed the charges against Emefiele as lacking substance and a distraction from more pressing issues. Rafsanjani criticized the DSS for prioritizing such frivolous allegations while the country was dealing with severe challenges such as insecurity, economic instability, and social unrest. “It begs the question of whether this is an attempt to divert public attention from more pressing issues that require urgent resolution.” Auwal Rafsanjani, who is also the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, CISLAC, called on the DSS to concentrate on resolving the pressing issues affecting the country. Director of the Initiative for Research, Innovation and Advocacy in Development, Princess Hamman-Obels emphasized the significance of following due process and respecting individual rights.

On Friday, the National Judicial Council made 23 candidates for nomination as Nigeria’s Federal High Court judges.

The Council’s Director of Information, Soji Oye, made this announcement in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

At its 103rd meeting, held in Abuja under the chairmanship of Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Council recommended the appointments.

In addition to the 23 candidates for the Federal High Court, the NJC sought the appointment of one Kadi for Kaduna State and four additional Kadis for the Sharia Court of Appeal for Kano State.

Those recommended as Federal High Court Judges are Ekerete Udofot Akpan, Hussaini Dadan-Garba, Egbe Raphael Joshua, Anyalewa Onoja-Alapa, Aishatu Auta Ibrahim, Ogazi Friday Nkemakonam, Ogundare Kehinde Olayiwola, Onah Chigozie Sergius, Hauwa Buhari, Ibrahim Ahmad Kala and Hauwa Joeph Yilwa. Others are Amina Aliyu Mohammed,Sharon Tanko Ishaya, Chituru Joy Wigwe-Oreh, Musa Kakaki, Owoeye Alexander Oluseyi, Abiodun Jordan Adeyemi, Agbaje Olufunmilola Adetutu and Salim Olasupo Ibrahim. The rest are Dipeolu Deinde Isaac, Ariwoola Olukayode Jnr, Abdullahi Muhammad Dan-Ige and Mashkur Salisu. The NJC noted that Hon Kadi Muhammad Aminu Danjuma is to be appointed as Grand Kadi for Kaduna State. Others to be appointed as Kadis for Kano State Sharia courts are Muhammad Adam Kadem, Salisu Muhammad Isa, Isa Idris Sa’id and Aliyu Muhammad Kani. The council also recommended candidates are expected to be sworn-in after the approval of the NJC’s recommendations to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and their respective State Governors and confirmation by their States Houses of Assembly as the case may be.

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On Friday while participating in a normal training exercise, a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) FT-7NI trainer jet crashed in Makurdi, Benue State.

The incident was verified in a statement by NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet.

According to Gabkwet, there were no casualties or property losses in the vicinity of the impact.

At the NAF Base Hospital in Makurdi, he said that two of the aircraft’s pilots had survived and were being treated.

A Board of Inquiry has been established by Air Vice Marshal Hasan Abubakar, the Chief of Air Staff, to ascertain the immediate and indirect causes of the disaster.

A NAF aircraft made an emergency landing at Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos in February 2023.

The Cessna Citation CJ3 aircraft, it was learned,

Meanwhile, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hasan Abubakar, has constituted a Board of Inquiry to determine the immediate and remote cause of the crash. In February 2023, a jet belonging to NAF made an emergency landing at Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos. It was gathered that the aircraft, a Cessna Citation CJ3 was on a routine flight to Ilorin when it lost its tyres. The incident, however, forced the aircraft to land on its underside without the aid of a landing gear.

Ahmed Aliyu, the governor of Sokoto State, launched a judicial commission of inquiry on Thursday to look into some of the decisions made by Aminu Waziri Tambuwal’s previous administration while it was in office.

Within two months, the panel, which is presided over by Justice Muazu Abdulkadir, a former chief justice of Gombe state, is expected to present its findings.

The state governor, Ahmed Aliyu, spoke as he administered the oath to the panel members and urged them to carry out their responsibilities in accordance with the law.

He emphasised that maintaining accountability and transparency was a key component of his campaign platform and would play a significant role in both his administration and the previous one.

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The governor claimed he made the decision to form the judicial panel of inquiry in response to the state’s citizens’ demands that they be informed of how their resources were used under the previous administration.

“We decided to look for a very competent personality outside the state to be the chairman of the enquiry in order to let people know that I will not compromise.

“For this reason, we choose a former Chief Judge from the distant Gombe State to serve as the chairman. You’ll all concur with me, I’m sure, that every member of this panel was a man of the highest moral character, he continued.

Just moments after taking the oath of office, Justice Muazu Abdulkadir Pindiga, the panel’s chairman, assured reporters in his remarks that the panel would carry out its duties impartially and without favour.

He pointed out that the government properties that were sold by the most recent administration will likely be investigated by the judicial panel of inquiry.

“Others include indiscriminate allocation of lands to people, as well as to confirm how the payment made for such items were utilised,” he continued.

The judicial commission of inquiry also consists of Chief Jacob Ochidi SAN, Usman Abubakar, Lema Sambo Wali Esq, Alhaji Haliru Dingiyadi, and Nasiru Mohammed Binji Esq, who will likely act as the commission’s secretary.