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Several Houses Destroyed, One Person Injured In Another Flooding In Niger State Communities

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SaharaReporters reliably gathered that the affected communities — Manmusa Kodogi, Efuliman Nasara, Emiyagi, and Tako Malam Halidu — were hit hard by the torrential rainfall, which led to flash floods, collapsed buildings and widespread destruction of property.

Several houses have been destroyed and one person severely injured as a midnight flood ravaged four communities in Bida Local Government Area of Niger State following a heavy downpour that began late Friday, 13 June, and continued into the early hours of Saturday.

SaharaReporters reliably gathered that the affected communities — Manmusa Kodogi, Efuliman Nasara, Emiyagi, and Tako Malam Halidu — were hit hard by the torrential rainfall, which led to flash floods, collapsed buildings and widespread destruction of property.

SaharaReporters had lesrnt that though no fatalities were recorded, the flood left behind a trail of damage, displacing residents and leaving one victim with serious injuries.

The injured person is currently receiving treatment at a local health facility.

Confirming the development to SaharaReporters, the acting Director General of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), Hussaini Ibrahim, said: “There are reports [of] several flash-flood [incidents] across Niger State as a result of [the] heavy downpour that happened between yesterday night and this morning.”

He added: “My teams are on ground to ascertain the damages.”

Officials of NSEMA have since been deployed to the affected areas to assess the extent of the damage and coordinate emergency response for affected residents.

SaharaReporters earlier on Saturday exclusively reported that Niger State community, Kpautagi, located in the Mokwa area of the state, has been hit by fresh flooding.

A verified video obtained by SaharaReporters on Saturday showed that the community became flooded after a heavy rainfall which occurred on the morning of Saturday, June 14.

Residents affected by the development stated that the torrential rainfall lasted through the night into the next morning.

They cannot yet confirm the number of casualties or the extent of damage.

SaharaReporters earlier reported flooding in the Mokwa area of Niger State which led to the loss of over 200 lives.

The incident also led to the displacement of thousands of persons.

Eyewitnesses had described a harrowing scene on Thursday morning as bodies were seen in various parts of the town.

Many families have been displaced, while others continue to search for missing loved ones.

SaharaReporters’ earlier review of the budget performance documents for Niger State showed that a sum of N5.7 billion was spent on honorarium and sitting allowances by the state between January 2024 and March 2025.

The state, however, spent less on erosion and flood control during the same period.

In 2024, honorarium and sitting allowances gulped N4.813 billion, while between January and March 2025, N949.2 million was spent on the same purpose. In total, the state spent N5.762 billion on honorarium and sitting allowances between January 2024 and March 2025.

 

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Keyamo Makes Compassionate Moves in Aviation Sector, Announces Release of Emmanson, Reduction of Kwam 1’s Ban

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The Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has announced a series of decisions regarding recent unruly passenger incidents at Nigerian airports. After consulting with stakeholders, Keyamo has decided to withdraw a criminal complaint against Ms. Comfort Emmanson, who was involved in an altercation with Ibom Air staff.

The complaint against Ms. Emmanson will be withdrawn, and she is expected to be released from Kirikiri Prisons.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON) has agreed to lift the lifelong flying ban imposed on Ms. Emmanson.

The flight ban for musician Kwam 1 (Wasiu Ayinde Marshall) will be reduced to one month.

Kwam 1 is expected to be engaged as an ambassador for proper airport security protocol by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will restore the licenses of ValueJet pilots Captain Oluranti Ogoyi and First Officer Ivan Oloba after a one-month ban.

Minister’s Statement on X: Formerly Twitter

Keyamo stated that the decisions were made after reviewing the incidents and consulting with stakeholders.

He emphasized that safety and security in the aviation sector will be taken seriously, but also showed compassion in the cases of Emmanson and Kwam.

Keyamo had previously criticized Kwam 1’s behavior as “totally unacceptable” and likened it to a hostage situation

A retreat will be held next week to retrain aviation security personnel on handling errant passengers and de-escalating potentially explosive situations.

Airlines will also hold a session to focus on staff conduct and attitude towards passengers ².

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Court awards N5m in damages against Ecobank for account restriction

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The Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri has delivered a landmark judgment affirming that Ecobank Nigeria Limited acted unlawfully in restricting a customer’s account without a court order.

It described the bank’s actions as a gross violation of customer rights and a breach of fiduciary duty.

The judgment arose from an appeal filed by Ecobank against a decision of the trial court, which had earlier ruled in favour of the Respondent, its customer, and awarded N10 million in general damages.

Justice Ntong Ntong, who delivered the lead judgment, agreed with the lower court’s findings but reduced the damages to N5 million, deeming the original sum excessive in light of the evidence presented.

In resolving the first issue, Justice Ntong emphasised that no bank has the power to freeze or restrict a customer’s account without a valid court order, regardless of internal policies or compliance procedures such as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Know Your Customer, KYC, regulations.

The court held that while Ecobank claimed it acted under regulatory obligations after a $65,000 cash deposit raised red flags, it failed to demonstrate that such compliance required unilateral restriction of the account.

It cited relevant precedents, including FBN v. DKN Investments Ltd and GTB v. Joshua, to reinforce the principle that banking institutions must operate within the confines of the law, warning against the use of internal policies to override constitutional rights.

On the second issue, the appellate court found that Ecobank had no legal or contractual basis to assert a right of lien over $10,000 in the respondent’s account, which was allegedly owed to a foreign trading partner, Unique International Trading Ltd.

The bank had argued that it restricted the funds to protect itself from potential litigation threatened by the trading firm.

However, the court ruled that Ecobank’s reliance on the threat of legal action by a third party could not justify the exercise of any lien, especially in the absence of any contractual agreement or court order to that effect.

“Self-help has no place in the civilized world,” the court warned, rejecting the bank’s justification as “misconceived and untenable in law.”

On the final issue, it affirmed that Ecobank had breached its duty of care by unlawfully restricting access to the customer’s funds and dishonouring cheques.

However, it found no sufficient evidence to support the customer’s claim of lost business and goodwill due to the restriction.

Accordingly, the appellate court reduced the general damages from N10 million to N5 million, emphasising that while there was a breach warranting compensation, the initial sum was excessive.

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Oyo: Unregistered tanker loaded with 15,000 litres of AGO tumbles in Iseyin

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A tanker without a registration number carrying fifteen thousand litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) has tumbled in Iseyin in Oyo State.

Ekwutosblog gathered that the incident occurred at Odo-Igba, Iseyin – Saki Road in Iseyin, on Sunday.

The tanker was said to have lost control whilst on motion, swerved off the road and fell into a nearby ditch.

The accident reportedly caused a traffic gridlock but the Chairman of Oyo State Fire Service, Maroof Akinwande, who confirmed the incident in a statement said normalcy has been restored on the road.

“It was a trailer tanker with unknown registered no loaded with 15,000litres capacity of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), that lost control whilst on motion and swerved off the road into a nearby ditch.

The firemen quickly swung into action and applied chemical foam compound to neutralize the flammability of the content and prevented it from explosion.

“The normal vehicular movement has been restored back on the road”.

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