• Supreme Court asked to sack President Tinubu based on ‘Lis Pendens’
• NBS reveals oil revenue rose by 83% within the third quarter of 2023
• Nasarawa and Cross Rivers earn larger shares as states receive ₦135 billion aid
• Police Command charges officers to arrest anyone with a suspicious source of wealth
• UK introduces new and strict immigration rule, cuts down expectancy of Nigerians, others

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

Supreme Court asked to sack President Tinubu based on Lis Pendens

The Hope Democratic Party (HDP) has requested that the Supreme Court fire Bola Ahmed Tinubu from his position as president of Nigeria.

HDP and its 2019 presidential candidate, Chief Ambrose Owuru, stated that Tinubu should be sacked for unlawfully presenting himself as president despite being aware of a pending appeal against the conduct of the 2023 presidential election.

HDP claimed that according to the doctrines of ‘Lis Pendens,’ it was not time for Tinubu to occupy the seat of power.

Therefore, the 2023 elections have been rendered unlawful and irrelevant.

NBS reveals oil revenue rose by 83% within the third quarter of 2023

The Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that the country’s foreign trade in the third quarter of 2023 increased by 53.16% year-on-year to ₦18.8 trillion.

The revenue for crude oil shot through the roof by 83.23% to ₦8.5 trillion in the quarter under review. Compared to last year (2022), crude oil revenue was ₦4.66 trillion.

According to the NBS report, “Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at ₦18.80tn in Q3, 2023. The value indicates an increase of 54.62 per cent over the amount recorded in Q2, 2023, as well as by 53.16 per cent compared to the value recorded in Q3 2022.”

Nasarawa and Cross Rivers earn larger shares as states receive ₦135 billion aid

The federal government recently disbursed ₦135.4 billion to the 36 States and the FCT shortly after the Independent Assessment of Results acquired under the Nigeria Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus.

The National Coordinator of the NG-CARES Programme, Dr Abdulkarim Obaje, revealed that fund allocation was connected to the results of states and the FCT in their efforts to aid the underprivileged under the NG-CARES initiative.

He also mentioned that Nasarawa, Cross Rivers, and Zamfara were ranked as the highest performers as they earned ₦13.6 billion, ₦10.9 billion, and ₦10.2 billion, respectively, in the second round of the assessment.

Police Command charges officers to arrest anyone with a suspicious source of wealth

The Delta State Police Command has charged its officers to arrest and investigate anyone with a suspicious source of income due to the overbearing rise of ritual killings, kidnappings, and internet fraud in the state.

Bright Edafe, the spokesperson for the police command, stated that these investigations and arrests should be viewed as a way of ensuring the safety of the people.

“It is an unfortunate trend that people feel it’s wrong to question the suspicious wealth of persons who can not claim any justifiable means of income. We have cases of ritual killings, Kidnapping, and even internet fraud. We tell our men to do the right thing and not take it as an avenue to extort,” Bright said.

UK introduces new and strict immigration rule, cuts down expectancy of Nigerians, others

The British government announced its new strict immigration rules, reducing the number of immigrants by a wide margin.

On December 4, the British government, through Home Secretary James Cleverly, highlighted the new rules to abide by if immigrants decide to move into the UK.

The new law states that immigrants would have to earn more before applying for a work visa and no longer have the opportunity to bring relatives.

These prospective immigrants would earn around £38,700 to get a skilled work visa instead of the previous £26,200.

From 2024, University graduates would no longer be permitted to bring their relatives to the UK as these measures would cut down about 300,000 people moving into the UK.