Headlines
Serial Killer on the Prowl in Port Harcourt as Police Shut Motel
A motel located in the Rumuola area of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, was on Sunday sealed off after the body of a young woman was discovered in one of the rooms.
It was gathered that an unknown man had lodged in the hotel with the young woman, whose name could not be ascertained as of press time.
The incident is the latest after another young woman was found dead in a hotel on Saturday in Obo, Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of the state.
Sources explained that the murder of the woman in the motel followed a similar pattern of snuffing lives out of women in hotel rooms in the state.
Our correspondent learnt that the lifeless body of the young woman was discovered by one of the cleaners at the motel, who went to clean the room on Sunday morning.
A source close to the motel said the man, who brought the woman to the facility, gave false information regarding his identity while filling the guests’ register before they checked in.
The victim, according to the source, had no means of identification as nothing to link her to any person or place was found on her.
The latest killing was said to have shocked Rumuola residents, who said despite the directive of the Rivers State Police Command that CCTV cameras be installed in hotels, most owners and managers had refused to comply.
Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Nnamdi Omoni, told our correspondent that the manager, desk officer and receptionist of the motel had been arrested.
Omoni explained that they were taken to the station so that they could give vital information to the police to help in the ongoing investigation.
He said, “For now, what the CP said is that we should preserve the place pending when the police will take action. The place is a motel in Rumuola.
“Only the desk officer, the receptionist and the manager of the motel are with us. They just came to make a statement to us. They should be able to help us with information that will lead to the arrest of the suspect.”
He, however, added that the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Mustapha Dandaura, would speak on the matter today (Tuesday).
The Punch
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Hon. Abubakar Gummi from the House of Representatives after he left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker represented the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency in Zamfara State.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the ruling, holding that Gummi’s defection breached the Constitution.
The court said the seat does not belong to any politician but to the political party that sponsored the election.
According to the judgment, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, is barred from recognising Gummi “as a member representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency.”
The judge also instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to “conduct a fresh election” for the vacant seat within 30 days.
The case was instituted by the PDP and its Zamfara chairman, who insisted that Gummi’s move to the APC had no legal justification. They argued that there was no division in the PDP to support his defection, as required by Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Gummi, through his counsel, claimed he left the PDP due to internal crises which he said made it “impossible” to serve his constituents effectively. The judge, however, dismissed his arguments and granted all the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs.
Justice Egwuatu, in a firm comment, warned politicians against what he described as reckless party hopping.
“Political prostitution must not be rewarded,” he declared, adding that lawmakers must not transfer votes won on one party’s platform to another party.
The court also ordered Gummi to refund all salaries and allowances received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment. He is also barred from earning any further benefits as a member of the House.
Additionally, the judge imposed a N500,000 cost against the defendants in favour of the PDP.
