Headlines
Extra-Judicial Killings: Police Now to Work Eight Hours Daily
The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, has directed that policemen across the country work eight hours daily to curtail work-related stress to reduce the misuse of firearms and extra judicial killings.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the shift duty structure of the Nigeria police is currently a 12-hour, two shifts system against the eight hours three shift standard.
Mr Adamu gave the directive at the opening of a two-day Conference of Heads of Police Medical Facilities on Thursday in Abuja.
The theme of the conference is: ‘Stay Healthy To Secure the Nation’.
“I have ordered that with immediate effect, the shift duty structure of the Nigeria police which is currently a 12-hour, two-shifts system should be reverted to the traditional eight-hours, three-shift standard.
“For purpose of clarity, henceforth, no personnel should be made to perform any duty exceeding 8-hours within a space of 24 hours unless there is local or national emergency,” he said.
He said that this new system would reduce cases of misuse of firearms and other misconduct by policemen which is caused by stress.
The police boss said the only time the duty structure would exceed eight hours was during local or national emergency.
Mr Adamu said policing was a highly demanding job physically, mentally and psychologically, required a good state of mind.
He explained that the directive was specifically given to address a major age-long occupational stress which long hours of duty engenders among personnel of the police.
Mr Adamu urged the police medical services to complete the leadership of the force by striving to guarantee a healthy work life of officers.
He charged personnel of the unit to continue to discharge their duty with high sense of commitment and responsibility.
Earlier, Obembe Modupe, the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Force Medical, said there was a need to evaluate the mental conditions of candidates during recruitment.
She also called for mandatory, periodic and regular assessment of the health resilience of officers during training and while in service.
Mr Modupe said this measures would reduce the prevalence of sudden deaths and misuse of firearms contrary to section 237 of the Police Act and Regulation.
He said there was also the need for continued capacity training for officers for improved healthcare services.
(NAN)
Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has withdrawn from the case filed by the suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against the leadership of the senate.
Justice Egwuatu, recused himself from the matter on Tuesday after lawyers to the parties in the suit announced their appearances.
He said he was stepping down from the matter because of the petition written by Senate President Godswilll Akpabio, alleging he was biased.
The presiding judge said he would will return the case file to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, so the matter could be reassigned to another judge.
Justice Egwuatu had on March 4, given an an interim order that stopping the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions from going ahead with the disciplinary proceedings started against t Akpoti-Uduaghan who was alleged to have broken senate rules.
The judge gave the senate leadership 72 hours to show cause why it should not issue an order of interlocutory injunction to stop them from probing the plaintiff for alleged misconduct, without affording her the privileges stipulated in the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Senate Standing Order 2023, and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act.
But the Senate Committee still went ahead to hold its sitting where it recommended Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan for six months suspension.
However, the judge later amended the interim order by vacating the aspect that stopped the Senate from from taking any action pending the outcome of the suit.
By Eric Elezuo
Following the pronouncement of former President Goodluck Jonathan as the winner of the 2025 Sunhak Peace Prize, President Bola Tinubu has sent his hearty congratulations.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, the President acknowledged Jonathan’s pro-democracy stand, and efforts across the globe to sustain democratic principles. He noted that Jonathan has been a consistent advocate for “peace, harmony, and communality, a patriotic endeavour that has earned him global recognition”.
While thanking the organizers of the Prize for recognizing the ‘efforts of those working hard to improve the world’, he recalled Jonathan’s 2015 act of single-handedly supervising the transition of power to an opposition government, stressing that “it bolstered the nation’s democratic profile”.
The statement in details:
“President Bola Tinubu congratulates former President Goodluck Jonathan on winning the 2025 Sunhak Peace Founders’ Award.
“President Tinubu applauds the former President for his consistent advocacy for peace, harmony, and communality, a patriotic endeavour that has earned him global recognition.
“The President states that Dr Jonathan’s winning the Sunhak Peace Award affirms his bold efforts in peacebuilding and promoting democracy in Africa and beyond.
“The President recalls the former President’s historic acceptance of the results of the 2015 presidential election and his peaceful handover of power to an opposition party, which bolstered the nation’s democratic profile.
“President Tinubu celebrates this landmark achievement with former President Jonathan and thanks the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee for recognising the efforts of those working hard to improve the world.”
The Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA) of Nigeria has criticised the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, and Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, for alleging that Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, is connected to militant activities in the Niger Delta.
The group described the claims as baseless and lacking credible evidence.
In a statement issued on Monday in Abuja, HURIWA’s National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, addressed remarks made by Fagbemi last week, accusing Fubara of “tele-guiding militants” to sabotage oil installations.
Onanuga, in a separate opinion piece, supported the Federal government’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing intelligence reports suggesting militant threats linked to the governor.
“These are serious allegations that can destabilise not only Rivers State but the entire Niger Delta, yet no concrete evidence has been made public to substantiate them,” Onwubiko said, faulting the officials’ reliance on unverified intelligence.
HURIWA highlighted Governor Fubara’s denial of the allegations in an official statement earlier on Monday, where he rejected any ties to militant groups and labeled viral videos alleging explosions on oil and gas facilities in Rivers State as “fake and malicious.”
The group praised Fubara’s call for security agencies to investigate the videos’ origins and prosecute those responsible.
“Governor Fubara’s insistence on peace and constitutional governance has been clear in all his public engagements. It is disheartening to see such character assassination being perpetuated from the highest levels of the federal government,” Onwubiko stated.
The association questioned why federal authorities have not presented tangible evidence if it exists, arguing, “As far as we are concerned, the dissemination of these unproven claims is not just unprofessional but a dangerous precedent in the democratic space.”
HURIWA also challenged Fagbemi and Onanuga to avoid “pettiness and rumour mongering,” urging them to base their statements on facts.
“It is disgraceful that at a time when Nigerians are yearning for stability and good governance, top officials of the federal government are busy engaging in baseless accusations, further tarnishing Nigeria’s image before the international community,” the statement added.
The group further criticized the state of emergency in Rivers State as “unconstitutional, unnecessary, and politically motivated,” asserting that no evidence of war or a breakdown of law and order, as required by Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, has been shown.
“The AGF and other federal agents must be reminded that the Supreme Court judgment, which is now being used to justify executive overreach in Rivers State, does not license rumour-based governance,” HURIWA noted.
HURIWA urged Fubara to pursue legal action against those making the claims, stating, “even if the judiciary is seen by some as compromised, it is essential to set the record straight by taking advantage of available legal avenues.”
The association called on security agencies to launch a transparent forensic investigation into the allegations and incidents in Ogoniland and other parts of Rivers State, insisting it must remain free of political interference.
“The dangerous game of labeling peaceful citizens as militants without evidence is not only reckless but risks plunging Rivers State into avoidable chaos. Nigeria’s democracy deserves better,” the group concluded.
