• Anti-Tinubu air passenger arraigned, remanded in custody
• Final year student shot dead in UNIBEN
• Labour party condemns invasion of party’s office in Imo
• NEMA receives 144 stranded Nigerians from Niger Republic
• I was slapped, injured at Rivers INEC office – Tonye Cole

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn’t miss:

Anti-Tinubu air passenger arraigned, remanded in custody

An air passenger identified as Mr. Obiajulu Uja, who engaged in a lone protest demanding that President-elect Bola Tinubu must never be sworn in as president on May 29, has been arraigned before the Zuba Magistrates’ Court, Abuja, and remanded in prison custody. The incident occurred on a Lagos-Abuja flight, where Uja was forcibly removed by airport security officers after holding up the aircraft for more than an hour.

According to his lawyer, Ejike Ugwu, Uja was charged with “public nuisance, resistance to a lawful arrest, threatening violence, and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace,” as outlined in sections 396, 267, 188, 172, and 144 of the Penal Code Law.

Despite being admitted to the Muhammadu Buhari Police Hospital, Area 11 Abuja, Ugwu noted that the hospital did not have a psychiatrist doctor or psychologist to examine him. The lawyer further added that a doctor from the National Hospital, Abuja, was invited to examine Uja, but the efforts were unfortunately futile.

Ugwu expressed concern about the way the police handled the matter, stating that the police have not disclosed the result of the tests conducted in the hospital. He also alleged that the police had an interest in the case because Uja was charged in court before the doctors could examine him properly.

Uja’s bail application is set to be heard on Thursday, and his lawyer is hoping that he will be granted bail.

Final year student shot dead in UNIBEN

Tragedy struck at the Hall 3 hostel of the University of Benin when unknown gunmen shot a final-year student in his room, in what appears to be a cult-related incident.

The late student, popularly known as ‘mayor,’ was a resident of the hostel and a member of the kegites group.

The incident, which occurred at around 9 pm, caused panic among students. A picture and video of the victim went viral, showing a smiling young man in what looked like the kegites regalia.

Another video displayed the victim’s shattered face, indicating that he may have been shot at close range in the face region.

The victim was a Public Administration student, and his untimely demise has left the university community in shock.

His remains were promptly moved into an ambulance and taken to the mortuary at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.

Labour party condemns invasion of party’s office in Imo

The Labour Party has condemned the invasion of its office in Imo State.

In a statement on Monday, the National Secretary of the party, Umar Farouk, stated that the secretariat was sealed by the police in alleged connivance with the state government.

The party alleged further that the action was part of a plot by Imo state Governor, Hope Uzodimma, to install a governorship candidate in the labour party and control the LP leadership in Imo.

“The national leadership of the Labour Party is shocked over the Invasion and Occupation, the action of its Secretariat in Owerri, today, Monday, April 3, 2023, by the agents of Imo state Governor, Hope Uzodimma, including thugs and unauthorized policemen drafted fa from the government house,” the statement read.

“Such an illegal occupation is akin to a similar invasion on the same secretariat on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.”

Farouk stated that, unlike the March invasion where no reason was given by the state government on why it took such unlawful action against the party, this time, the government said that the action was due to a court order.

“But as of the moment, no such order to our knowledge was given. No order has been presented to us by the court or its agents. The policemen presently occupying our secretariat have not even shown us the order. At the moment, all our officials and staff have been barred from accessing the secretariat.

“We have contacted the office of the Inspector General of Police on the ongoing development in the state and it has been confirmed that the Force is not aware of any security breach whatsoever in the state to warrant the occupation of our secretariat.

“The Labour Party, however, is not unmindful of the efforts of the Imo state governor, Hope Uzodimma to hijack the leadership of the party in Imo State,” the national secretary said.

Noting that the police had also informed the party that it had not detailed any of their officers and men to the LP secretariat in Imo State and that the officers might have been drafted from the State House in the state, Farouk urged members of the party to be peaceful even in the face of the present provocation.

NEMA receives 144 stranded Nigerians from Niger Republic

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received another set of 144 stranded Nigerians who returned from Niger Republic. The returnees were brought back by SKY MALI Airlines, operated by Ethiopian airline B737-400 with registration number UR-CQX. They arrived at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano State at about 2:30 pm on Monday.

Dr. Nuradeen Abdullahi, the NEMA Coordinator Kano Territorial Office, represented by NEMA Kano Head of Human Resources, Mr. Suleiman Sa’ad-Abubakar, disclosed that the returnees were brought back under the care of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) from Niamey through a voluntary repatriation programme.

The programme was for distressed Nigerians who left the country to seek greener pastures in various European countries and could not afford to return when their journey became frustrated. Among the returnees were 106 male adults, 16 female adults, and 22 children, including 10 females and 12 males, from different parts of the country, including Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Abia, Sokoto, and Edo.

The NEMA Coordinator advised Nigerians to avoid endangering their lives by travelling to seek greener pastures in other countries. He reiterated that no country is better than Nigeria. He further stated that the returnees would be trained on various skill acquisition programs that will integrate them back into society and provide them with seed capital to enable them to be self-reliant.

Receiving the returnees, NEMA officials were on hand to facilitate their transportation and ensure their welfare. The agency has continued to coordinate the safe return of Nigerians stranded abroad, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I was slapped, injured at Rivers INEC office – Tonye Cole

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, Tonye Cole, has recounted his ordeal at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in the state.

According to him, he was assaulted during the fracas that broke out at INEC’s office.

Cole had gone to the office to inspect materials used during the March 18 election.

Some members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) however insisted that both parties would inspect the materials at the same time, resulting in violence.

The PDP candidate, Sim Fubara, had been declared the winner of the governorship election.

Speaking with Channels Television on Monday, Cole said: “They had barricaded the road from GRA junction. They began to assault me. First, they were throwing water, then they began to throw food. The next minute they started throwing stones.

“The next thing, we started hearing gunshots. It took my security people to forcefully evict me. They destroyed our vehicles, they injured me.

“They slapped me, they punched me, they dragged me, and then threw stones at me until I was injured in the back.”