Commuters in Ibadan were, on Wednesday, stranded after commercial drivers, motorcyclists, and tricyclists refused to accept old naira notes.

The situation forced some commuters to trek long distances to their respective destinations, while those who could not simply returned home.

It was also observed that the roads in some areas within the metropolis, like Omi-Adio, Apata, Challenge and Mokola roundabout, were deserted as only a few commercial drivers collected the old naira notes.

The situation was further compounded by the protests that rocked some parts of the state capital over fuel and new notes scarcity.

A commercial bus driver, Mukaila Akanbi, said he refused to collect old naira notes because filling stations rejected old notes from him.

“If I collect old naira notes, how do I spend it? Unfortunately, most banks are not opening for business,” he said.

A trader, Alice Adebola, who boarded a bus and paid with an old naira note, said the driver rejected the money.

She appealed to the government to provide enough new naira notes before the situation escalates.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to do now. I took my wares to the market, but old notes were being given to me. If I reject it, I will not sell and be able to feed my family; nobody will collect it from me if I accept it.

However, a bean seller, Kabir Mohammed, who had many people milling around him for accepting old naira notes, said he decided to do so as a strategy to sell his wares.

“I decided to collect old naira notes with the hope of selling my wares, restocking and reselling again,” he said.

Mr Mohammed urged the government to save the situation by making new naira notes available or, in the alternative, allowing old notes to be accepted as legal tender to bridge the supply gap.

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai and his Kogi State counterpart, Yahaya Bello have arrived at the Supreme Court to monitor proceedings in a suit their states filed against the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Cashless Policy Regime.

The two governors arrived the court room around 8:30am in company of their supporters and top government officials.

The Federal Government is expected to engage in legal battle with three states challenging the implementation of the Cashless Policy Regime introduced by the CBN.

Justice Sedoten Ogunsanya of the Ikeja High Court has sentenced a school teacher, Chukwu Ndubuisi, to life imprisonment for d€filing a six-year-old girl at Mind Builders School in Lagos in June 2016.

Ndubuisi who was an art teacher at the school was arrested after the survivor exposed him to her mother.

The court stated that the survivor was said to have been discussing the viral story of a seven-year-old girl that was d€filed and k!lled with her mum when she opened up about her experience with her teacher and told her mum what the accused used to do to her and even begged her mum not to tell anyone.

The mother informed the father and the matter was then reported at the Omole Police Station where the police carried out a detailed investigation.

Following a test conducted on the survivor at the Ikosi Health Centre, it was revealed the survivor had been defiled.

The court said the survivor had notified the court that sometimes Ndubuisi requested her to remove her uniform and put his “bumbum” into her “bumbum”.

“At another time, he called me into the art room, he put me on the table, parted my panties and put his thing into my thing,” the survivor told the court

The court held that a test carried out at Mirabel center showed that the survivor had been forcefully penetrated as she had torn hymen and reddish vulva.

Following the evidence before the court, the teacher was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar has reacted to the issue of Naira scarcity which has led to controversy across the country.  

The Sultan who appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to address the problem to prevent an uprising, added that it has brought hunger and anger in the country.  

Speaking at a two-day conference by the Kano State government on livestock reforms and mitigation of associated conflicts, the Monarch said;  

“Let’s keep politics aside. The issues of development, especially for the common man, (should be prioritised). These people that God Almighty gave leadership over, one day, God forbid, will rise (against us).

After all the English by professors (at the conference), how do we get these developments down to the common man who is a farmer, the common Fulani man who doesn’t know anything about development?

He only cares about cattle. The people are hungry. is there money? People are angry and hungry. Let’s see how we can douse the tension.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund has urged President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to end child recruitment into armed groups.

UNICEF told the regime to endorse the Paris commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups.

The UNICEF representative in Nigeria, Cristian Munduate, made the appeal in a statement on Monday, on the occasion of the Red Hand Day.

The Red Hand Day is a reminder of the ongoing challenge to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts.

“We applaud the efforts of the government of Nigeria for the signing of the Handover Protocol for children encountered in the course of armed conflict in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin Region,” said the UNICEF statement.

It added;

“This moment is also another opportunity for the Federal Government of Nigeria to endorse The Paris commitments to protect children from unlawful recruitment or use by armed forces or armed groups and the Paris principles and guidelines on children associated with armed forces or armed groups.”

According to the statement, the Red Hand Day, marked annually on Februaey 12, is dedicated to raising awareness and strengthening efforts to end the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts worldwide.

It added that dedpite the international community’s efforts to eradicate this issue, children continue to be exploited by armed actors, with many remaining unidentified and unreported, particularly girls.

“In Nigeria, there have been numerous reports of children being recruited and used by armed groups, with devastating consequences on their physical and psychological well-being.

The Nigerian government, in collaboration with the international community, has made considerable progress in improving legal and policy frameworks to protect children associated with armed actors,” it noted.

“In addition, UNICEF in partnership with other relevant stakeholders will continue to support the efforts of the government to invest in the prevention of child recruitment and use, facilitate and scale-up the reintegration of children, especially girls and including women that exit armed groups in the north-east,” added the statement.

The Paris Principles and Commitments were adopted in 2007 at the ‘Free Children from War’ conference organised by the French government and UNICEF, including a set of political commitments to put in place measures to prevent recruitment and use of children and to support the release, reintegration and recovery of all children who have been recruited and used by armed forces or armed groups.

Suspected members of a cult group abducted and r@ped a pastor’s wife to d£ath in Abarikpo, Ahoada East Local Government Area of Rivers State.

It was gathered that the mother of two, Mrs Chigbewejim Remember Steward, was abducted at about 1a.m. on Sunday,12 February, 2023.

Her lifeless body was found at about 10am in the morning in Abarikpo with multiple injuries and bl00d in her priv@te part.

The victim’s husband, Pastor Lawyer Steward, an Assistant Pastor in Seventh Day Adventist Abarikpo, confirmed the incident in an interview with journalists on Monday. 

“I am the husband of Chigbejim Lawyer who was murd£red by some group of boys after r@ping her, they murd£red her. I am not a cultist, I am an Assistant Pastor in charge of Evangelism in Seventh Day Adventist Church Abarikpo. Everybody in my community knows I am not a cultist,” he said.

“She gave birth to three children one is late. The surviving ones are aged seven, a female and the male aged three years. I am telling the Government that those who murdered my wife should be brought to justice. Though one Aka Sunday, a Cultist claimed he slaughtered my wife that my wife talked against him, that people told him my wife always talked against him. The Sunday is a cultist that is the reason he murd£red her.

“Pastor Steward also said that the Ahoada Police Division in Ahoada town, Ahoada LGA led by the DPO visited the scene on Sunday evening.In an interview with journalists, Mr Ekeakita Hector Chinem, Public Relations Officer of Igbu Akoh Clan Youth Congress, Ahoada East LGA confirmed the abduction and r@pe of the victim. 

“So like we have been having series of killing in Akoh. When they k!ll nobody goes after the bad boys. No security people goes after the bad boys. No Political leaders goes after the issue. People are afraid .You report or don?t report what will happen will happen,” he said. 

“So people are living in fear. The k!lling of the woman is not cult related because she is a married woman. Late last year we witnessed eleven k!lling in that community.

Lucius Ugorji, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) on Sunday urged President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime to review the new CBN cash policy to ease Nigerians’ hardships.

Mr Ugorji made the appeal at the opening of the 2023 First Plenary of CBCN held at the Catholic Secretariat in Abuja.

While expressing sadness over the situation, Mr Ugorji said the policy had resulted into debilitating cash crunch and frustration among Nigerians.

The CBCN president advised politicians to stop engaging in mudslinging, acrimony, arson, buying and selling of votes, threats, intimidation and violence ahead of the general elections.

Mr Ugorji said instead of dissipating energy on negativity, those aspiring for political offices should concentrate on marketing their manifestoes.

He also advised the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to be above board and ensure that the election process is beyond reproach.

“The elections, if well conducted, can be a turning point in our political and economic history. We, therefore, urge all to play their roles maturely and creditably during the period of the general elections,” stated Mr Ugorji.

He added;

“Any candidate who is prepared to shed blood or to spend huge sums of money to buy votes or to compromise INEC shows that he or she is seeking political office for pure self-aggrandisement.”

He reminded Catholics of their civic and moral responsibility of voting during elections.

The president of Christian Association of Nigeria, Daniel Okoh, commended the CBCN for always speaking truth to power.

Mr Okoh said CAN had registered with INEC to observe the forthcoming elections and had trained 1,200 observers.

He explained that the international observers from the All African Conference of Churches would also observe the elections.

“This will be our modest contribution in ensuring a free, fair and credible election in Nigeria this year,” the CAN president said.

The Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama, in his homily advised Nigerians to make informed choices during the elections.

“With our votes in the coming weeks, we can either choose a reasonable and productive use of power towards unity, security, a good economy or just abandon our fate in the hands of people who have neither capacity nor conscience,” Mr Kaigama said.