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Lagos Lawmakers Want Buhari, Others To Defend Democracy
Plateau Assembly Crisis: Lagos Lawmakers Want Buhari, Others To Defend Democracy
Sahara Weekly Reports That The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday condemned the crises in the Plateau and Imo Houses of Assembly calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to rise up in defence of the country’s democracy.
The lawmakers, who spoke during plenary, condemned the alleged interference of the executive arm of the Plateau state government in the legislature.
They also called on the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and others to ensure that the crises are resolved and all those who took part in the impeachment of the Plateau Speaker brought to book.
The lawmakers further urged the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Nigeria to stop recognising any lawmaker who emerges Speaker from such illegalities like it happened in Plateau where only six members supposedly impeached the Speaker, Nuhu Ayuba Abok.
Speaker of the Lagos Assembly, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the sitting, said every well-meaning Nigerian must speak against the impeachment of the Plateau Speaker, which has led to the Assembly being under lock and keys.
According to him, the manner he was impeached leaves more to be desired.
“The parliament is the eyes and ears of the people. The impeachment is something we all have to rise up against. It happened in Edo and it has not been resolved as we speak. The roof of the Assembly was removed. The majority members are now residing in Abuja while the minority members are in charge.
“Now we have Plateau and we are talking about Imo state. Where is our democracy?
“It shows that it is not a fluke that the Lagos Assembly is above the common standard of excellence. If we don’t criminalise this across the country, it will continue,” he said.
Obasa also commended the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, for removing the police commissioner in Plateau after allegations that the latter played a role in the crisis.
He called for the opening of the House for plenary activities, because, according to him, no state can be without a parliament in a democracy.
Hon. Rotimi Olowo, who moved the motion under ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’ said he was worried that in Plateau, the legislature which is the bastion of democracy is under attack.
According to Olowo, a situation where the executive tried to trample on the legislative arm is not good enough.
He noted that the Speaker of the state was impeached because he and others raised issues about insecurity in Plateau.
“Everyone is now pointing fingers at the governor of the state who was also impeached as Speaker and who is supposed to know more about the sanctity of the parliament,” he said.
“With the concurrence of my colleagues, I want to say we condemn the invasion of the House and we also condemn the purported impeachment of the Speaker,” he said.
Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Wasiu Eshinlokuni-Sanni, also condemned the impeachment of the Plateau Speaker noting that the position of Lagos Assembly when the constitutional review committee visited Lagos was that undue interference of the executive in the legislature should be criminalised.
He said even the policemen who took part in the whole issue should be prosecuted adding that the judiciary can also help hasten related matters brought to the courts.
The Leader of the House, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, said impunity is developed anywhere illegality is condoned.
He said he expects the Speakers Conference to dissociate itself from what he said should be treated like a coup with the beneficiaries prosecuted.
In his contribution, Hon. Adewale Temitope said after over two decades of democracy, it was shameful what happened in Plateau state.
“It goes to show that we are not ready to uphold the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended,” he said adding that what happened was condemnable and saddening.
Hon. Setonji David argued that where there is no legislature, there is no democracy.
He said it was illegal for six people to conduct the business of the day.
“We must not ridicule our democracy. We must not truncate democracy. How can we degenerate to this level?” He asked.
Others who condemned the crisis in the Plateau Assembly include Hons Lukemon Olumo, Owolabi Ajani, Richard Kasunmu
Kasunmu, Victor Akande and Femi Saheed.
More than ₦3 billion was targeted, but about ₦677 million reached the culprits, with recovery and prosecutions underway, reflecting how banks are responding to more sophisticated fraud risks.
Nigeria’s expanding digital banking sector is facing increasingly sophisticated fraud attempts, as financial institutions adapt to faster transactions and broader online services.
A recent case involving First City Monument Bank (FCMB), linked to fraudulent activity detected in December 2025, has drawn attention to how banks are responding to such incidents, with a focus on limiting exposure, recovering funds and working with law enforcement.
According to findings referenced in proceedings before the Lagos State Special Offences Court, the incident involved unauthorised transactions tied to a digital product. Early reports erroneously suggested more than ₦3 billion was lost. Subsequent clarification shows that over ₦3 billion was targeted, ₦2.4 billion was blocked and recovered, while ₦677 million got into the possession of the culprits. This outcome reflects the bank’s cyber security and monitoring capabilities, as well as improved collaboration among regulated financial institutions and with law enforcement agencies. Several suspects and beneficiaries have been apprehended, while recovery and prosecution efforts are ongoing, led by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Proceedings at the Lagos State Special Offences Court have resulted in convictions, including that of a repeat offender, with restitution orders issued. Related matters are also being handled at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where additional suspects are being tried in connection with the scheme. This process is aimed at ensuring that bad actors are identified and permanently blacklisted from the financial system.
Authorities say recovery efforts are continuing as additional funds are traced.
Analysts note that the pace of legal action reflects closer coordination between financial institutions and enforcement agencies in addressing cyber-related financial crime.
The case comes as banks contend with more complex fraud methods, including social engineering and automated exploitation of system processes.
As digital products and platforms expand, so too does the risk associated with cyber-crime and related fraud.
“The scale of digital banking means risks are evolving alongside the systems,” said a Lagos-based financial analyst. “Institutions are now judged by how they manage these events.”
Observers say the sector is moving toward a stronger focus on response and recovery, rather than prevention alone.
This includes improving monitoring capabilities, strengthening transaction controls and enhancing collaboration with regulators and law enforcement. The FCMB case, with limited exposure relative to the amount targeted and ongoing recovery, reflects that shift.
For customers, the primary concern is the safety of their funds. In this case, there has been no indication of losses affecting customer deposits. Maintaining that level of protection remains central to sustaining trust in the financial system.
Nigeria’s financial sector continues to grow, supported by digital innovation and expanding access to banking services.
However, analysts say fraud attempts are likely to persist as systems become more complex and interconnected.
They say institutions will increasingly be judged not only on their ability to prevent incidents, but on how effectively they respond and recover when they occur.
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Ex-APC Deputy Guber flag bearer, Joshua MacIver backs Tinubu, express fears over implosion in Bayelsa APC
….congratulates new State Party Chairman, Warman Ogoriba
APC Deputy Governorship Candidate in the 2023 general elections in Bayelsa State, Great Joshua MacIver has declared his total commitment to the re-election of President Bola Tinubu come 2027, declaring that the Tinubu re-election project is non-negotiable.
Great Joshua MacIver, in his statement titled ” BAYELSA APC CONGRESSES: GOING FORWARD, A CALL TO LOOK INWARDS” and made available to newsmen in Yenagoa, warned APC leaders in the state to look Inward and take note of certain factors which may hinder or cut short our victory.
According to Great Joshua MacIver, such noticeable pitfalls include the imbalance in the united front being put up by the State Governor,Senator Douye Diri among various political blocs in the state.
In the statement issued at the weekend. Great Joshua MacIver stated that “First, before His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, joined the APC in the state, there were clearly two political blocs that made up the party, with the approximate population ratios of the blocs standing at 95% to 5%.”
“After the entrance of His Excellency, Senator Douye Diri, ONLY THE SMALLER BLOC IS BEING CARRIED ALONG IN THE AFFAIRS OF THE PARTY, leaving the greater percentage to their fate, and this situation has the potential to build anger and dissatisfaction in our dear party.”
” The consequence of this has been the high level defection we have witnessed in the party recently and we believe more may likely follow, if we do not put our house in order.”
” If we do not pull together as a party, we may witness a situation where we will lose key stakeholders, especially after the State and National Assembly Primaries as well the Gubernatorial Primaries.”
“Finally, while it is very clear that we are the party to beat in the 2027 elections and that our loyalty to Mr. President IS NON-NEGOTIABLE, we must make haste to say that we cannot afford to create situations or loopholes in our unity which will be exploited by other political interests in the state. We cannot afford to under-rate anyone.”
“Our core interest remains the re-election of Mr. President, a project to which we have committed our all. We also pledge our total loyalty to the party as we have no alternative to the APC. However, our concern is that we must, as a party, look inwards and ensure that we do not create loopholes that can impede our common goal.”
Great Joshua MacIver, however congratulated the newly elected State Executives of the APC in Bayelsà State led by Hon. Warman Ogoriba, saying their emergence is welcomed at this critical time in our national history.
At least 23 people were killed in a series of suspected suicide bombings, police in Nigeria’s northeastern city of Maiduguri said on Tuesday.
https://www.stanbicibtcbank.com/nigeriabank/personal/products-and-services/all-loans/stanbic-ibtc-mreif-home-loans
More than 100 other people were injured in the blasts that took place on Monday evening in the capital of Nigeria’s restive Borno state.
No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attacks.
The deadly blasts come after a military post was attacked overnight Sunday to Monday, which authorities blamed on suspected Islamist militants.
This sad incident is coming barely two weeks after Primate Elijah Ayodele, the Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church specifically warned against attacks in some states. He mentioned these states while calling on security operatives to pay close attention to them.
These were his words:
“Another attack is coming up in these following states where the military must watch carefully and intelligently; Kano, Kaduna, Zamfara, Kebbi, Niger, Borno, Kwara and Kogi state. They want to do a deadly attack, it’s preventable but it depends on how they will handle it. I have told you about the danger coming up.”
@primateayodele
Unfortunately, some of our military agencies don’t believe spiritual intelligence can save the country from so much danger hence, their neglect of this prophetic warning but now, it has been fulfilled with the miliary losing credibility by the day while Primate Ayodele continues to gain momentum.
Likewise, At least 26 passengers and crew sustained varying degrees of injuries on Monday following an accident involving the Kaduna–Abuja train, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).
Opeifa explained that the train departed Rigasa in Kaduna at 7:15 a.m. and was approaching Asham station around 9:16 a.m. when a loud bang was heard after the power car and trailing locomotive collided with one of the passenger coaches.
In July 2025, Primate Ayodele asked nigerians to pray not to see train mishap on the Kaduna-Abuja route.
@primateayodele #nigeriantiktok🇳🇬 #fulfillment #train #abuja #primateayodele
“Let’s pray not to see train mishap in Abuja-Kaduna, Kaduna-Abuja route.”
This has also been fulfilled.
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