News

Kebbi Assembly speaks on non-confirmation of acting Chief Judge for ‘being Christian’

Published

6 years ago

June 17, 2019

Eric

Speaker of the Kebbi State House of Assembly, Abdulmumin Ismaila Kamba, has stated that lawmakers did not work against the confirmation of the Acting Chief Judge, Justice Asabe Karatu, for being a Christian.

Kamba explained that she was not confirmed due to alleged alterations in her Primary School Leaving Certificate and that her Date of Birth was also altered on the same certificate from May 1952 to May 1954.

Karatu had written a petition to the National Judicial Council over Governor Atiku Bagudu’s alleged refusal to confirm her as substantive Chief Judge.

Reacting, the Speaker, in a statement, said: “The attention of the Kebbi State House of Assembly has been drawn to a story circulating in the social media with the title: “Kebbi female Acting Chief Judge petitions National Judicial Council over Governor Bagudu’s refusal to confirm her for being Christian.

“In it, it was alleged that the Kebbi State House of Assembly had written to the Kebbi State Governor confirming Justice Asabe Karatu as Chief Judge of Kebbi State on January 17th, 2019. This is not correct. There was never such a communication.

“The Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar A. Bagudu, wrote to the House on June 02, 2018 appointing Justice Asabe Karatu as Chief Judge and seeking the confirmation of the House as required by the constitution. Justice Asabe Karatu was invited by the House on August 1, 2018.

“During the confirmation hearing, which Justice Karatu attended in the company of some Higher Court Judges, it was observed by honourable members that the Primary School Leaving Certificate presented by Justice Karatu was altered severally, including alteration to the date of birth from May 1952 to May 1954. Justice Karatu accepted that she was aware of the alterations but that they were done by the Headmaster.

“On account of the alterations and other inconsistencies in her credentials, the House rejected the request by the governor and declined to confirm her as Chief Judge of Kebbi State.

“Subsequently, and on three other occasions, the governor wrote and sought her confirmation. On all the occasions, the House maintained its refusal to confirm Justice Asabe Karatu as the Chief Judge of Kebbi State on account of the alterations and inconsistencies with the last of such rejection made by the House on May 15, 2019.”

The statement added: “For the record, under our Constitution, it is the House of Assembly and not the governor that has the power to confirm a chief judge.

“At no time did the House, at plenary or an Executive session, confirm the appointment of Justice Karatu as claimed in the social media story. The purported letter mentioned in the story said to be from the House of Assembly addressed to the governor was never written by the Kebbi State House of Assembly.

“The Kebbi State House of Assembly condemns the story in its entirety and there is no truth to allegation of religion as an issue in Kebbi State.”

News

242 Passengers, Crew Feared Killed As Air India Enroute London Crashes

Published

11 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Eric

An Air India plane flying to London’s Gatwick Airport crashed in Ahmedabad in western India shortly after take-off on Thursday, the carrier said on Thursday.

A total of 242 passengers were on board the flight, Reuters has reported. All flights out of Ahmedabad have been temporarily suspended, the news agency said.

Citing local police, the Financial Times said the plane crashed “within 10 minutes” of take-off from the airport in Ahmedabad.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said in a post on social media that it was following reports of a crash involving Air India flight AI171.

The plane was a Boeing (NYSE:BA) 787-8 Dreamliner, Flightradar24 noted, adding that the first flight of the aircraft was in December 2013 and it was delivered to Air India in January 2014. Shares in Boeing were down by more than 6% in pre-market U.S. trading.

“Initial ADS-B data from flight #AI171 shows that the aircraft reached a maximum barometric altitude of 625 feet (airport altitude is about 200 feet) and then it started to descend with an vertical speed of -475 feet per minute,” Flightradar24 said in a post on X.

The signal from the aircraft was lost at 10:08 local time, less than a minute after take-off, Flightradar24 said.

News

Tinubu’s Loyalist Who Turned Against Him, Jesutega Onokpasa Reported Dead

Published

2 days ago

June 10, 2025

Eric

A prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and staunch supporter of President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, Jesutega Onokpasa, has been confirmed dead.

According to TJ News Nigeria, the outspoken APC chieftain, who was also a lawyer and renowned political commentator, died just days after making headlines for vowing to mobilise against President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

The exact cause of Jesutega Onokpasa’s death has not been officially disclosed. Family members and party associates have yet to release an official statement regarding burial arrangements.

Multiple sources from social media have however confirmed the sad incident. The Boss has not independently confirmed the story.

News

Eight Staff of FMC Abuja to Face Probe over Negligence

Published

2 days ago

June 10, 2025

Eric

The Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, on Monday, said eight of its staff members, including four doctors, two nurses, and two attendants, are under investigation for alleged negligence at the hospital.

The hospital, which disclosed this at a press briefing, noted that any staff member found guilty of dereliction of duty would be held accountable.

The Head of Clinical Services at the hospital, Dr. Bioku Muftau, added that the accident victims allegedly abandoned by personnel in a trending video on social media have since been treated and discharged.

Our correspondent had on Sunday reported that the Federal Government launched an investigation into a viral video showing alleged neglect of accident victims at the Emergency Unit of the hospital.

The video, which circulated widely on social media, showed victims of a road accident reportedly left unattended by hospital staff after being brought in by a good Samaritan.

The good Samaritan, who recorded the footage, claimed he found the victims on the road and transported them to the hospital for urgent care.

He alleged that hospital staff refused to provide immediate assistance, with one citing a lack of gloves.

Muftau, however, said the patient with head injury in the video that attracted public outrage has been treated, stabilised, and discharged on the same day he was brought into the facility.

He said the findings of the investigation ordered by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Salako, would be made public upon conclusion.

“All the staff who are there on that particular day are going to be investigated. They are up to eight -Nurses, attendants, doctors, all of them will be investigated; for now, they are four doctors, two nurses, two health assistants,” he emphasised.

Muftau also denied reports that the hospital was overwhelmed by the number of patients at the time of the incident, asserting that the facility is adequately staffed to manage patient care

“In terms of being overwhelmed, this hospital is blessed with a lot of staff. As I speak with you, we have over 100 consultants in various specialities. In neurosurgery alone, the sole speciality of surgery, we have three,” he claimed.