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Overcrowding blamed for worshippers’ deaths at Abia church feast

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By Francesca Hangeior

The Catholic Diocese of Aba has said that the stampede that claimed the lives of several worshippers during the annual Christ the King Feast happened due to overcrowding during the procession.

Reports said those who died during the feast held on Sunday included two elderly women.

An eyewitness stated that the crowd “was too much that there was little or no breathing space.”

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However, in a statement dated November 25, 2024, and signed by the Bishop of the Diocese, the Most Rev. Augustine Echema, the church described the incident as unprecedented.

It assured all that investigations are ongoing to uncover the full details of the tragedy, including the identities of the victims and the exact cause.

The statement read in part, “It is with deep regret and sadness that the annual joyful celebration of our Diocesan Feast Day ended in the most tragic way. Some of our devout and gallant Catholics, who joined the Eucharistic procession in a joyful mood, met their death due to overcrowding.”

The diocese extended condolences to the families of the deceased and sympathised with those injured in the incident.

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“We condole with the deceased families and sympathise with those injured, who are still receiving treatment in the hospital.

“We pledge our support to the affected families and individuals during this time of grief and emergency,” the statement added.

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Kano budgets N100m for law reforms

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By Francesca Hangeior

The Kano State Law Reform Commission has earmarked not less than N100m for the reforms of various laws of the state in 2025.

The commission’s Chairman, Justice Lawal Muhammadu, disclosed this shortly after he defended the commission’s 2025 budget before the Committee on Judiciary at the state House of Assembly.

According to him, many laws in the state need reforms, a project that started earlier in the year but was unfortunately damaged and burnt during the August protest in the state.

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He said the entire work is starting all over again, with a total budget of N100 million to reform all the laws in the coming year.

“There are many laws that are old; some were made since before Nigeria’s independence and are as old as since 1837 and based on England law. Some of them are not even used in the country, but we still have them here.

“Those are some of the reviews we want to do. The ones that are not useful will be withdrawn, and the ones that need reform will be reformed,” he noted.

Others who defended their budgets are the Kano State Radio Corporation, the state Ministry of Information, Kano Pillars Club, Abubakar Rimi Television, the Triumph newspaper, the Kano Printing Press, Kano Film and Censorship Board, among others.

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They reinstated their commitment to utilising the resources committed in their budget to improve outputs.

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Like Senate, Reps move to remove CCT Chairman Umar

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By Francesca Hangeior

Like the Senate, the House of Representatives has invoked the provision of paragraph 17 (3), Part 1, fifth schedule to the constitution for the removal from the Office of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, FCT, Umar Danladi. 

Hon. Julius ihonvbere who moved the motion drew strength from paragraph 17 (3), PT 1, Fifth Schedule of the Constitution and section 22(3) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act Cap , that the President is mandated to act on an address supported by a two-thirds majority of the Senate and House of Representatives for the removal of the chairman for misconduct.

The house drew attention to the conduct of the CCT Chairman, who recently engaged in a public brawl with a security guard at the Banex Plaza Shopping Complex, Abuja, necessitating an invitation from the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions.

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The lawmakers said after his first appearance, where he admitted to having been involved in the brawl, he refused to attend subsequent sittings, thereby frustrating the efforts of the committee to investigate the allegations against him.

The house noted that a statutory institution of such magnitude is expected to be an epitome of moral rectitude and virtues of integrity, probity, and accountability.

However, the official conduct of Umar has fallen short of the requisite standard of a public officer to conduct the affairs of such a tribunal.

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Tinubu not presenting 2025 budget Wednesday – NASS

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By Francesca Hangeior

The Director of Information, Secretary, Research and Information (SR&I), National Assembly, Mr Bullah Bi-Allah, has denied the purported budget presentation by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday.

Bi-Allah said this in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday following the news making the round that the president was billed to present the budget on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

He said such news credited to him was fake, baseless, and unfounded, urging the public to disregard it.

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He said: “The attention of the Secretary, Research and Information (SR&I), National Assembly, Dr Ali Barde Umoru, has been drawn to the purported fake news credited to him.”

He added that the news alleged that “His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, will tomorrow Wednesday present the 2925 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly.”

According to him, the news circulating on both social and mainstream media and other outlets is false and should be disregarded.

“The secretary advised that any official inquiry and clarification should follow the official communication channels of the National Assembly.”

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He said that NASS was yet to approve the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper, forwarded to both chambers of the National Assembly by Tinubu.

He clarified that the MTEF approval would come before the official presentation of the 2025 budget.

He said, “In view of the above, the SR&I warns peddlers of such information to desist forthwith from using his office to mislead members of the public.”

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