At least five people on Friday died in Ebonyi State, as a bus filled with passengers caught fire.

It gathered that the incident happened in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State, along the Abakaliki-Enugu Expressway, near the G-hostel junction.

It was not immediately clear where the bus came from into the city.

However, the passengers were said to be Alumni of a secondary school in the state who were coming for an event.

Sources said the bus came into the state around 20 minutes past midnight when it caught fire.

The police spokesperson in Ebonyi, Joshua Ụkandu, confirmed the incident.

He said the vehicle ran into some obstacles on the road placed by a maintenance team renovating some bad sections of the road, and then it caught fire.

Mr Ukandu confirmed that five people were burnt to death.

According to him, seven other passengers suffered severe burns and were receiving treatment at the hospital.

He said: “The incident happened around 00:20hrs. There are some bad spots on the road where some reconstruction is ongoing. The driver may not have been aware and so ran into the obstacles on the road and lost control.

Edo State High Court, Benin, presided over by Justice Mary Itsueli, yesterday discharged and acquitted of alleged rape, a lecturer in the Department of English and Literature of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), in Benin, Dr. Bode Ekundayo, three years after.

Ekundayo, an Associate Professor, was alleged to have demanded sex for marks from a 21-year-old, 400-level student, Miss Anita Adesuwa Efosa, on October 5, 2021.

The youthful lecturer was accused of raping Efosa in his office at UNIBEN’s Faculty Complex during the day, thereby queried and interdicted by the management of the university, which has as Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Lilian Salami, pending the investigation of the allegation by the police and the court’s judgment.

Ekundayo was immediately arrested, detained for some weeks, and arraigned for alleged rape, but he was later granted bail on stringent conditions.

He was, however, discharged and acquitted for lack of substantial proof and evidence against him, in the suit with reference number: B/CD/8CV/22.

Justice Itsueli stressed that the prosecution team failed completely to prove the case against the don beyond reasonable doubt.

The presiding judge noted that even if anyone was to believe the claims of the alleged victim in their face value, there was no substantial proof or evidence whatsoever to establish sexual intercourse or rape.

Justice Itsueli upheld the no-case submission filed by the defense/lecturer’s counsel, Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, a former Edo Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.

The 8th plaintiff, Benue State, in the suit challenging the constitutionality of the laws that established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, currently before the Supreme Court, has officially applied to withdraw from the suit.

The Benue State Government, in an application obtained by our correspondent, dated October 23, 2024, and signed by Fidelis Mnyim on behalf of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order of the state, disclosed its decision to withdraw from the suit.

It read “Take notice that the Attorney General of Benue State, who is the 8th plaintiff hereby discontinues this suit against the Attorney General of the Federation, the defendant”.

Benue State will become the fourth state to withdraw from the suit.

PUNCH Online reported that on Tuesday, October 22, during the hearing of the suit, three states—Anambra, Ebonyi, and Adamawa— informed the open court of their decision to no longer continue with the suit.

Anambra (9th plaintiff), Adamawa (16th plaintiff), and Ebonyi (18th plaintiff) separately made applications for withdrawal before the seven-member panel of justices.

The Attorney General of Anambra State, Professor Sylvia Ifemeje, told the court that she wished to withdraw from the suit, having filed a motion for withdrawal on October 20.

Similarly, the Attorney General of Ebonyi State, Ikenna Nwidagu, said, “My Lord, I filed a notice of withdrawal dated and filed October 21. My Lords, we pray this honourable Court strikes out the name of the 18th plaintiff.”

The Attorney General of Adamawa State, Afraimu Jingi, said, “My Lord, I have filed a notice of withdrawal of the suit. I am praying this Court to allow me to withdraw from the suit.”

The court accordingly struck out their suit following no opposition to their request by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

Meanwhile, the Governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia had on Wednesday, directed the Attorney General of the State and Commissioner for Justice, Fidelis Mnyim, to proceed on an indefinite suspension for unilaterally joining Benue State as a plaintiff in the suit challenging the legality of EFCC.

The Governor gave the directive at the state Government House during a press conference on Wednesday, shortly after the Benue State Executive Council meeting.

He stated that “the suspension was necessitated by Mnyim’s ultra vires decision to join the state in a suit challenging the legality of anti-graft agencies, namely the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission”.

Adding that “No appointee is permitted to act unilaterally. No matter how pressing or urgent the issue is, one must resort to due consultations with me or appropriately brief me and seek my permission before acting, especially in a sensitive matter such as this.

“My administration is holding accountable those who embezzled money and drained our state dry. The EFCC and ICPC are assisting us in this effort.

“How can I now turn around and begin to challenge these watchdogs? I did not permit him to enter an appearance for the state. Because he acted on his own, I hereby suspend him indefinitely pending a satisfactory explanation of his actions.”

Kogi State and now 14 other states with the withdrawal of four, are challenging the legality of EFCC and other anti-corruption agencies in the country.

Nasarawa and Ogun, although parties in the suit, are specifically contesting the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit cash withdrawal limit guidelines.

The suit, which was originally instituted by Kogi State before being joined by other states, argues that the Supreme Court, in Dr Joseph Nwobike vs. the Federal Republic of Nigeria, held that the United Nations Convention against Corruption was incorporated into the EFCC Establishment Act. However, in enacting this law in 2004, the provisions of Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, were not followed.

The plaintiffs argue that when bringing a convention into Nigerian law, the provisions of Section 12 must be complied with.

According to the plaintiffs, the Constitution requires that a majority of state Houses of Assembly must agree to the adoption of the convention before laws like the EFCC Act and others can be passed, which they claim was never done.

The states’ argument in their present suit, which they assert has been corroborated by the Supreme Court in the aforementioned case, is that the law, as enacted, cannot be applied to states that did not approve of it, by the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

Therefore, they argue that any institution established under such circumstances should be considered illegal.