An application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for the arrest of former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode was on Wednesday December 2 rejected by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

This came after EFCC’s prosecuting counsel, Mr Mohammed Abubakar asked for an arrest warrant from the court against the ex-minister following his absence from Wednesday’s proceedings of his trial involving alleged diversion of N26m he received from the then National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, in 2014.

Femi Fani-Kayode’s lawyer, Mr Wale Balogun however opposed the application and also tendered a medical report dated November 24, 2020 in which the former minister was advised to observe some bed rest.

Ruling on the application, Justice John Tsoho, who is also the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court rejected on grounds of FFK’s lawyer showing that he had justifiable grounds to be absent from the trial on Wednesday.

The case was then adjourned till February 23 and 24.

An Assistant Commissioner of Police identified as Egbe Eko Edum has been hacked to death in Calabar, Cross River state capital.

The deceased was on his way home when he was attacked along Murtala Muhammed highway in Calabar around 1am on Wednesday December 2.

Edum who was serving as the commander of 73 police mobile force squadron, was hacked with an axe by unknown assailants who left his corpse on the road.

The state police spokesperson, Irene Ugbo said;

“He dropped off from a public transport and had called his wife to pick him up before he was attacked by the unknown men.

“We are investigating the incident and the family has recovered the body from the scene of the tragic incident. He is not serving here. I think he was coming to see his family here in Cross River, he arrived in Calabar at about 1:am when the incident happened.”

The federal government has inaugurated a new committee to renegotiate the 2009 agreements with lecturers and others, as part of its effort to end the eight-month-old strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Recall that the lecturers who are currently on strike are demanding for funding for the revitalization of universities, earned allowance, the constitution of visitation panels, payment of shortfall in salaries of lecturers, and a stop to the use of the payment platform, IPPIS, for payment of the salaries and allowances of lecturers.

Speaking on Wednesday December 2, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu who inaugurated the committee said public universities will resume activities like their private counterpart soon.

The committee which will re-negotiate the 2009 agreement between the federal government and the university-based unions, will be headed by Professor Munzali Jibril and is categorised into substantive members, advisers and observers.

Members of the committee are the Pro-Chancellor, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, Nimota Akanbi; Pro-Chancellor, Federal University Ndufu Alike, Ikwo, Nimi Briggs; Pro-Chancellor, Federal University, Wukari, Lawrence Ngbale; Pro-Chancellor, FUT, Minna, Femi Odekunle; Pro-Chancellor, University of Calabar, Nkechi Nworgu, Pro-Chancellor, Kaduna State University Shehu Abdullahi and Pro-Chancellor, Kebbi State University, Mamman Magoro.

The advisers are Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC); Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund); Chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVC); Chairman, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of State-owned Universities; Chairman, Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities (ARNU); Secretary, Association of Registrars of Nigerian Universities (ARNU); Chairman, Association of Bursars of Nigerian Universities (ABNU), and Secretary, Association of Bursars of Nigerian Universities (ABNU).

The observer category is composed of representatives from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Federal Ministry of Education, Federal Ministry of Finance and Budget Planning, Federal Ministry of Justice, Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, and Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

Adamu said;

“It has also become necessary and urgent that all hands must now be on deck to restore the confidence reposed in university education by students, parents and the general public.

“As you are quite aware, the federal government and relevant stakeholders, in the past months, have been neck-deep in several meetings with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and others, to resolve the outstanding issues that led to the current industrial action in public universities.

“Government, like other stakeholders, is also worried about the vicious cycle over the years of the myriad of industrial actions by one staff union or the other.

The cumulative effect has been the obvious loss of productive and precious
man-hours direly needed by the universities to fulfil their tripod mandates of teaching, research and community action.

“The terms of reference of the team are to re-negotiate the residual issues in the 2009 Agreements between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the university-based unions, towards a workable and implementable agreement between both parties, such that will facilitate repositioning of Nigerian universities for greater responsibilities in national development.

“Propose and prescribe short, medium and long-term measures for the
sustainable funding and management of federal universities, in order to
restore lasting peace, stability, harmony and progress in the Nigerian
university system; and make any other recommendations.”