The Lagos state house of assembly says it will not repeal the state’s pension law permitting former governors and other public office holders to receive juicy pensions from state coffers.

 

Tunde Braimoh, Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, said that Lagos Assembly would not go the way of the Zamfara Assembly which recently repealed pension law for its former governors.

 

A Federal High Court in Lagos had ordered the Federal Government to recover pensions collected by former governors now serving as ministers and members of the National Assembly.

 

The court also directed the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to challenge the legality of states’ pension laws permitting former governors and other ex-public officials to receive such pensions.

 

Tunde Braimoh, however, faulted the court ruling that ordered Malami to take immediate legal action towards the repeal of the laws.

Forty-eight hours after the abduction of two Catholic priests in Ondo State, the kidnappers have contacted the church and demanded N100m for their release.

 

The two priests, Rev. Fr. Joseph Nweke and Rev. Fr. Felix Efobi from Awka Catholic Diocese were said to have been kidnapped on the Benin-Owo Expressway on their way to Akure, the state capital, for a wedding on Friday evening.

 

Speaking on the matter, the Director of Media and Communications of the Ondo Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr. Leo Aregbesola, confirmed that the abductors had called and demanded the ransom.

 

However, Spokesman to the state Police command, Femi Joseph, said the state commissioner of police had ordered the men of the command to go after the hoodlums.

The United States government has expressed concerns over the rearrest of the convener of the ‘Revolution Now’ protest, Omoyele Sowore.

 

The former presidential candidate of the African Action Congress was re-arrested by operatives of the DSS on Friday barely 24 hours after his release following a 24-hour ultimatum issued by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of a Federal High Court in Abuja.

 

In a tweet, the US State Department urged the Nigerian Government to respect the rule of law, judicial independence, political and media freedom.

 

The Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Tony Ojukwu insist that all those involved in the invasion of the court must face prosecution.

The Presidency has justified the re-arrest of the convener of the #RevolutionNow protests, Omoyele Sowore saying he constitute a threat to national security.

 

It also likened Sowore to the Boko Haram insurgents that are fighting to Islamise the country in the North-East.

 

The Presidency in a statement by Garba Shehu, said that Sowore’s antecedents and actions ordinarily made him a person of interest to the DSS.

 

According to him, the DSS does not need the permission of President Buhari to do its work whenever necessary adding so far it had acted within its constitutional powers.

 

Speaking on a monitored programme, National President, International Human Rights and Development Center, Joshua Alobo said the incident has portrayed Buhari government in bad light.

  

In a swift reaction, Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina said the video being circulated on the incident is doctored.