• Nigeria would’ve been partly sold to China but for Buhari, APC – Yahaya Bello
• Alleged Kidnapper, John Lyon arrested by the Nigerian police
• $23m Abacha loot: Buhari, Malami sued over Nigeria’s agreement with US
• 7, including child, die as commercial bus catches fire in Lagos
• Over 500 houses submerged, millions lost in Kogi

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

Nigeria would’ve been partly sold to China but for Buhari, APC – Yahaya Bello

Yahaya Bello, the governor of Kogi, has said that Nigeria would have been partly sold to China.

He said that President Muhammadu Buhari and the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) stepped in to stop it.

The governor made this comment during an interview on Arise TV.

Bello was asked what the party in power, the APC, plans to do about the economy and joblessness.

His attention was brought to the fact that the rate was over 50% and that 13,000 health care workers had moved to the UK in the past two years.

Bello replied, “The statistics or the numbers you just read out, where are they coming from? What are the processes?

“Most of the time, we question the statistics because I am most affected sometimes in Kogi State

“For instance, the NBS (National Bureau of Statistics), or in the media, or out there, people say you’re owing salaries.

“Even one particular elite put it on his Facebook that I am owing salaries up to 18 months.

“He pulled down the information within hours. There are some information out there that are misleading.

“I am not saying that are there no work to be done on unemployment, improvement of our economy,

“The next thing is: which of the countries of this world is having it rosy now?

“In fact, if anything, without this administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, under APC, probably, Nigeria would have been partly sold…

“..to either Chinese or any other person outside this country, because of how the economy was managed before we came on board in 2015.

“In every system, there are saboteurs, there are Judas. We have them abound within and outside this APC administration of President Buhari”, Bello added.

Alleged Kidnapper, John Lyon arrested by the Nigerian police

The Nigeria Police Force has apprehended John Lyon, a suspected kidnapper operating in Bayelsa state (NPF).

Officers from the Bayelsa police command were said to have taken Lyon into custody on Saturday in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Over the weekend, a social media post showed a video of the alleged kidnapper being put in handcuffs.

Lyon admitted to kidnapping in the less than two-minute video. He also said that he only joined the gang to do two jobs.

He was also seen begging for forgiveness over his alleged crime, saying his wife had just delivered a baby.

“Sir, please forgive me. My wife just born self,” he said in a video while shedding tears.

Lyon’s Facebook page says that he worked at a bank from 2008 to 2014.

He also identified himself as the president and CEO of Lions Interior Hub.

Lyon said he was a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress in a number of Facebook posts also.

Lyon’s social media posts include pictures of expensive things, religious displays, and quotes about success.

In a Facebook post published on April 27, 2020, he told his followers to keep working hard and “stay safe”.

“Nothing good ever cames(sic) from too many people knowing your business. Being private and lowkey is the best way to be.#Hustle Hard #stay safe,” he wrote.

Confirming the arrest, Asinim Butswat, spokesperson of Bayelsa police, told TheCable that Lyon is currently in the custody of the command.

Butswat said the command will provide more details about his arrest on Monday.

$23m Abacha loot: Buhari, Malami sued over Nigeria’s agreement with US

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued President Muhammadu Buhari over the Nigeria-US agreement for the repatriation of $23 million looted by Sani Abacha.

Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, is a respondent in the suit.

The August arrangement follows America’s restitution of $311 million in Abacha money in 2020.

SERAP is asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to order the President and Malami to make the details public in suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1700/2022.

The body wants to know what safeguards are in place to prevent repatriated monies from being mismanaged, misappropriated, or re-stolen.

The repatriated $23 million is subject to mismanagement, according to SERAP, because a significant portion of the estimated $5 billion returned Abacha money since 1999 remains unaccounted for.

Kolawole Oluwadare and Atinuke Adejuyigbe’s lawsuit is supported by the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, and the nation’s international duties.

According to the lawyers, Nigerians are looking forward to the court’s favorable decision since they are entitled to knowledge about the use of public funds.

The hearing date for the suit, which was filed on Friday, has not been set.

7, including child, die as commercial bus catches fire in Lagos

On Sunday afternoon, a commercial bus caught fire in the Iyaana-Oworo, Gbagada area of Lagos State, killing at least seven people, including a child.

An eyewitness reported that the incident took place at around 5:00 pm as onlookers rushed to put out the blazing fire.

Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyitolu, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, confirmed the incident and casualties.

Oke-Osanyitolu said, “Upon arrival at the scene, a commercial bus of 14 passenger Mazda with registration number KJA 699 GY was discovered to have been gutted with fire.

“Further investigation gathered at the scene revealed that the incident occurred due to recklessness and overspeeding by the driver which resulted in the fire with 12 passengers trapped.

“Fortunately, the driver escaped with some burns, three female adults were rescued and rushed to Gbagada General Hospital, while a male adult was attended to by LASAMBUS at the scene.

“Unfortunately, seven victims were burnt to death, including four female, and two male adults and one male child ) in the bus.”

It was said that the LRT paramedics, the Lagos State Ambulance Service, and LASAMBUS officials later put all of the bodies in bags and gave them to the State Environmental Health Management Unit, SEHMU.

After the accident, men from the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, or LASTMA, blocked off the area and took the burned car off the road.

Rescue and security operations were also provided by Nigeria Police personnel.

Over 500 houses submerged, millions lost in Kogi

In Lokoja, the capital of Kogi State, floods have destroyed more than 500 homes and destroyed property worth millions of naira.

From what we’ve heard, it’s hard for cars and people on foot to move around on the Ganaja under Ajaokuta Local Government and Old Market roads in Lokoja because the nearby River Niger floods the roads

Parts of the old market road, Kabawa, and Ganaja-Ajaokuta road are now under water because of the River Niger.

At the Ganaja axis, people used canoes to get from where they were to where they lived.

Also, a lot of people are leaving their homes in flood plains, especially in the Lokoja communities of Gadumo, Ganaja, and Adankolo, which are in the path of the water.

The continuous rise of water in Lokoja, which has caused flooding in numerous parts of the town, including Adankolo, Gadumo, and Ganaja neighborhoods, among others, has pushed helpless families out of their homes, with many stuck and unable to leave their flooded homes.

The destruction happened two weeks after the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) asked people in the town and other flood-prone areas to move to higher ground. This was in response to a warning from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency that a flood was coming.

The Kogi Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Victor Omofaiye, confirmed the latest news and asked people to move to higher ground.

Hon. Victor Omofaiye led his team through the city to talk to people about how important it is to keep drainages clean to prevent clogs and let water flow freely. He said that the state government is working to turn all available schools in Lokoja into camps for people who have been forced to leave their homes because of the flooding that is destroying the state right now.

He expressed concern that hundreds of people had been displaced, but added that, in addition to the accessible schools that would serve as temporary camps, the hostels in Wada Estate are already set up to accommodate displaced people.