Governor Sule Reacts As Nasarawa Students Die During Stampede

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has mandated a thorough investigation into the tragic stampede at Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), which led to the deaths of two female students. The incident occurred on Friday during the state government’s distribution of palliatives to students across the state, an initiative aimed at alleviating the economic challenges faced by students. Reports from the scene indicated that the tragedy unfolded at the NSUK convocation square, the designated venue for the palliative distribution. The overcrowding and ensuing chaos resulted in suffocation and the unfortunate demise of two students, with several others sustaining injuries of varying severity. Governor Sule, in a statement conveyed by his Chief Press Secretary, Ibrahim Addra, expressed profound sorrow over the loss of lives. “I pray their souls rest in peace. Our thoughts and condolences go to their families and friends at this moment of grief,” he said. Describing the deaths as painful, Governor Sule emphasized the importance of uncovering the circumstances that led to this unfortunate event and ensuring such a tragedy does not recur. The governor’s directive has prompted NSUK authorities and security agencies to initiate an immediate inquiry into the incident to identify the factors and individuals responsible for the stampede. In solidarity and concern, the state deputy governor, Dr Emmanuel Akabe, visited the injured students to offer support and ascertain their recovery progress. The palliative distribution initiative, praised for its intention to support students financially and nutritionally, had been successfully executed without incident in other educational institutions within the state, including the Federal University, Lafia, and the Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic, Lafia, among others.

Police Denies Involvement In Formation Of Vigilante Group

The Commissioner of Police in Nasarawa State, CP Shehu Umar Nadada, has dismissed claims of the police command’s involvement in the creation of a Fulani Nomad Vigilante team.  This comes in response to the recent formation of a 1,144-member security team by the President of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, Abdullahi Bello Bodejo. During a courtesy visit by members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, CP Nadada clarified that the command had no prior knowledge of the establishment of the Fulani Nomad Vigilante team and cannot be held responsible for their actions. While acknowledging that the police provided security during the inauguration ceremony, CP Nadada emphasized that it was done solely to prevent potential disruptions and maintain law and order. Residents had expressed concerns about alleged collaboration between the police and the nomad vigilante group, but the Commissioner affirmed that the police only secured the event venue and had not officially endorsed the vigilante team. In his statement, CP Nadada asserted, “We have been working with some vigilante groups that are recognised by the government, but we will not work with any vigilante that is not recognised by the government.” The Chairman of the NUJ, Nasarawa State Council, Salihu Alkali, congratulated the CP on his recent posting and pledged cooperation to ensure the success of the police command’s programs.

S’Court reserves judgment on Nasarawa guber appeal

The Supreme Court of Nigeria, Tuesday, reserved judgment in the Petition seeking to sack the incumbent governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule of the All Progressive Congress (APC). The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Hon Emmanuel David Ombugadu, is praying the apex court to set aside the November 23 judgment of the Court of Appeal which upheld Sule as the lawfully elected governor. The Petitioners, through Kanu Agabi SAN submitted that the October 2, 2023 judgment of the Nasarawa State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal in favour of PDP and Ombugadu be restored. According to him, the Court of Appeal unjustly nullified the Tribunal’s judgment and unjustly declared Sule as winner of the March 18 gubernatorial election. Agabi specifically called that the Supreme Court should allow the votes of Nasarawa state people to count and be meaningful be declaring PDP and Ombugadu as winners as rightly done by the Tribunal. However, Sule and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and APC, prayed court to dismiss the appeal for want of merit. APC lawyers, led by Akin Olujinmi SAN while adopting his brief of arguments asked the apex court to carefully looked into the cited authorities to back up their request for dismissal of the case. After taking arguments from lawyers, Justice Kekere-Ekun announced that judgment has been reserved and that the date for its delivery would be communicated to parties involved. The Appeal Court had on November 23 last year reversed the sack of Gov Sule by the State Election Petitions Tribunal in its judgment delivered on October 2. The Appellate Court held that the Tribunal headed by Ezekiel Ajayi acted in grave error in using witness statements on oath, not front-loaded as required by law to arrive at the unjust conclusion of nullifying the election of the governor. In a judgment delivered by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam, the Court of Appeal had said the Tribunal was legally bound to act on witness statements filed along with the petition or front-loaded within 21 days stipulated by law. The Court held that no petition can lawfully be amended outside the 21 days allowed by law as wrongly done by the Tribunal. “Since the statements used by the Tribunal to sack the Governor were not front-loaded in compliance with the law, the statements were a product of illegality with no probate value for a law Court to act upon”. The Court also dismissed the over-voting issues used to annul the election, adding that the allegations were not established by law. Justice Onyemenam held that the petition by the Governorship candidate of the PDP was a nullity and invalid on the grounds that the jurisdictional issues raised by the governor were unlawfully ignored by the Tribunal. The Court of Appeal ruled that the Tribunal denied the Governor a fair hearing by not considering and making findings on the issues of jurisdiction raised at the hearing of the petition. Justice Onyemenam agreed that the denial of a fair hearing against the governor was fatal and tendered all decisions of the Tribunal invalid. In all, the Court of Appeal reversed all orders made against the governor and INEC and affirmed Sule as the lawfully elected governor of the state. INEC had declared Sule the winner of the governorship election on the grounds that he polled a total of 347,209 votes to defeat his closest opponent David Emmanuel Ombugadu who secured 283,016 votes.