By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC) has closed its case at the Edo Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) and it’s candidate, Mr Asue Ighodalo dragged INEC, the All Progressives Congress, (APC) and Gov. Monday Okpebholo to the tribunal challenging the outcome of the Sept. 21, 2024 governorship election.

When the matter was called on Thursday, lead counsel to INEC Mr Kanu Agabi told the Justice Wilfred Kpochi-led three member tribunal that after careful consideration, the commission has decided not to call any witness but to close its case.

A jount security team has found the decomposing body of Hon. Justice Azuka, a member of the Anambra State House of Assembly, at the 2nd Niger Bridge.

Recall on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, gunmen abducted Azuka, the representative of Onitsha 1 North Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly.

Azuka was reportedly kidnapped while returning home on Ugwunaobankpa Road in Inland Town, Onitsha.

The abducted lawmaker, a chieftain of the Labour Party (LP), had regained his mandate after a court ruling ousted the previous winner, Hon. Douglas Egbuna of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who was initially declared the winner of the 2023 election.

Azuka was reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint in a swift operation that lasted less than five minutes on Ugwunaobankpa Road.

“We have arrested the culprits that kidnapped and killed him. They were arrested very late last (Wednesday) night and they now went and showed the security men where they dumped the corpse,” a security source revealed.

“It is sad and tragic. What a huge loss. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Amen. Our condolences and heart-felt sympathy to his family, traditional ruler of Onitsha, Obi of Onitsha, Dr Alfred Achebe and the entire people of Onitsha North Constituency 1.”

This highlights the ongoing security issues in Anambra State, where a sitting lawmaker was abducted in the heart of Onitsha.

“Two nights ago, on Tuesday, kidnappers had a field day along Awka Road in the centre of Onitsha, firing several gunshots during an attempted abduction,” the source added.

Attempts to contact SP Tochukwu Ikenga, the spokesman for the Anambra State Police Command, were unsuccessful. He requested that our reporter send him a message with the questions, but as of the time of filing this report, no response had been received.qs

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

The technology giant had rewritten the principles that guide its development and use of AI which is published online, but a section pledging not to develop tech that cause or are likely to cause harm has now been removed.

That section said the firm would not pursue applications in the areas of weapons or “that gather or use information for surveillance violating internationally accepted norms”

Instead, the new principles feature a section on responsible development and deployment which implement “appropriate human oversight, due diligence,feedback mechanisms to align with user goals, social responsibility, and widely accepted principles of international law and human rights.”

In a blog post, Google senior vice president James Manyika and Sir Demis Hassabis, who lead the firm’s AI lab, Google DeepMind, said the company needed to update its AI principles as they had been first published in 2018 and the technology has “evolved rapidly” since then.

Billions of people are using AI in their everyday lives. AI has become a general-purpose technology, and a platform which countless organisations and individuals use to build applications,” they said.

“It has moved from a niche research topic in the lab to a technology that is becoming as pervasive as mobile phones and the internet itself; one with numerous beneficial uses for society and people around the world, supported by a vibrant AI ecosystem of developers.”

They said this had meant increased international collaborative efforts on common principles, which the blog post said Google was encouraged by.

But Manyika and Hassabis said “global competition” for AI leadership was taking place within an “increasingly complex geopolitical landscape”.

We believe democracies should lead in AI development, guided by core values like freedom, equality, and respect for human rights,” they said.

And we believe that companies, governments, and organisations sharing these values should work together to create AI that protects people, promotes global growth, and supports national security.”

There is an ongoing debate among AI experts, governments, regulators, tech firms and academics about how the development powerful emerging technology should be monitored or regulated.

Previous international summits have seen countries and tech firms sign non-binding agreements to develop AI “responsibly”, but no binding international law on the issue is yet in place.