News

I did not authorise closure of Lagos Independence Bridge – Umahi

Published

3 months ago

April 3, 2025

The Minister of Works, Sen. Dave Umahi, on Thursday said the closure of Independence Bridge in Lagos for urgent rehabilitation of the collapsed retaining wall was made without his knowledge or authorisation.

Umahi said this while apologising to Lagos residents and President Bola Tinubu for the disruption caused by the sudden closure of the bridge on Wednesday.

Umahi who spoke when he toured the bridge in Lagos said: ” Unfortunately, when the bridge was to be closed, I was not informed. It is very unfortunate because for a bridge to be closed, especially in Lagos, as has been the tradition, I should be informed as the minister.

“We should also have studied the implication of it even in an emergency situation. We would have deployed emergency evaluation of the implication of closing the bridge.”

Umahi warned that controllers of works and engineers would face disciplinary action if such an incident would happen again.

“I use the opportunity to warn all controllers and engineers all over the country. Never you close a road or close any bridge without running through the permanent secretary, who will seek for permission from the honourable minister of works,” he said.

The minister acknowledged the efforts of Lagos State Government in managing traffic flow during the closure.

He also took responsibility for the error, saying: “I take responsibility for it, even though I did not order it, but every action by any staff of the ministry of works, I take responsibility for it.”

Umahi said that the closure, which caused significant traffic congestion, was avoidable.

He said: “If we were to do this properly, there would have been a different kind of method deployed and it wouldn’t have necessitated the total closure.”

According to him, even if closure was necessary, it would have been done in a way that it would take three days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and necessary remedial work would have been put in place.

“What we are doing now is to restore the bridge temporarily within the next three days. By Sunday, this place will be totally open.”

He added that a permanent solution would be implemented after a two-week assessment.

“Then, after two weeks, we will look at the settlements, and then we will take out three days to put the permanent structure. That is what we are going to do,” he said.

The minister emphasised the competence of the contractor handling the project, Build Well.

“Build Well is a reputable company, and they have been restoring a lot of failures on our bridges in Lagos, some of them 53 years old.

“Some bridges’ spans have been lifted, especially Eko Bridge, Marina Bridge, and even the Lagos-Ibadan Bridge. They are also intervening in all of them,” he added.

The minister also said that the design of the bridge would be varied to address the emergency situation.

He said: ” The design will be varied according to the emergency situation we have on ground, and the contractor is going to cooperate with us.”

He pledged to personally oversee the restoration efforts, saying, “I am not going until the bridge is fully restored by Sunday, we will work day and night to restore it, and then we will evaluate it.”

The bridge was initially closed on April 1 for essential maintenance and rehabilitation works, with the government planning to complete the repairs by May.

News

EFCC Arrests Nine Suspected Illegal Miners in Niger

Published

15 hours ago

July 8, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Operatives of the Kaduna Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested nine suspected illegal miners in Niger State.

They were arrested in Kaniyan Village, Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, following actionable intelligence on their illegal mining activities.

The suspects comprise five Chinese and four Nigerians.
The Chinese suspects are: Wu Ping, Xu XianLiang, Xu Aimin, Xeu Cihuo, Liu Changhua, while the Nigerians are, Ibrahim Abdullahi, Sunday Oladele, Destiny John, and Bulus Samuel.

Items found in their possession upon their arrest include, one Stamford power generating set, one super quality power generating set, Inlong power generating set, three industrial crushing machines, three small industrial crushing machines, one Quangutaigaajing JIareshebei gold melting machine, four small dumper trucks, three pay loaders, three Elepaq water pumping machine, one Tacoma truck, one Lexus 470 SUV, three diesel rubber tanks, one Taiyo power generating set, one Senwei SP6800 small power generating set, one Laison 40000x power generating set, one welding machine (Bx1-400), one 25.2kg activated carbon chemical, four drilling machines and one kaishan KSCY-33018 power generating set.
Others are: one JMC power generating set, one Yuchai power generating set, one filing machine, four gas powered power generating sets, one extractor, two big gas cylinders, one Honda pumping machine, one Super Zandaz water pumping machine, one Max Mec welding machine, two cartons of explosives, three cap for blasting stones, a white-coloured detection device, two small scales, two mining head gear/safety cap, a laptop computer and seven bottles of chemicals.

They will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.

News

Court to rule on Yahaya Bello’s application to travel abroad for medical July 17

Published

21 hours ago

July 8, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Justice Maryann Anenih of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Tuesday, fixed July 17 for ruling on an application filed by the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello seeking to travel out of the country on health grounds.

At the resumed hearing of the money laundering case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against the former governor, his counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, told the court that he had filed an application, dated 19th June, 2025 and filed on June 20, 2025.

“It seeks an order for the release of the 1st defendant/applicant’s international passport by the Registrar of the court to enable him to travel for medical attention,” he said.

The counsel said the application was predicated on 13 grounds in the face of the motion paper and supported by 22 paragraphs affidavit deposed to by Yahaya Bello himself.

The EFCC Counsel had filed a counter-affidavit, saying granting the request could delay further proceedings.

Daudu, SAN, in response to the prosecution team’s counter-affidavit, said the Defendant’s team had also filed a further affidavit of 20 paragraphs, filed on July 7, 2025, and deposed to by the applicant himself with two exhibits.

“Exhibits C is the Certified True Copy of the ruling of your lordship, admitting the defendant to bail and Exhibit D is the ruling of the Federal High Court also admitting him to bail.

“We adopt these documents in urging your lordship to grant our application,” he stated.

Responding to the Prosecution’s argument that the application was an abuse of court process in the sense that a similar application was filed at Federal High Court, Daudu argued that it could not be an abuse of court process.

He hinged his argument on the fact that it was the complainant that instituted the two separate charges in the separate courts.

“It will be a futile exercise to apply in one court and not to apply in the other court,” Daudu, SAN submitted.

The prosecution counsel, Chukwudi Enebele, SAN, while defending the EFCC’s counter-affidavit, said Yahaya Bello should have put his sureties on notice with regard to his application to travel out of the country.

According to him, the sureties need to decide whether they would want to continue to stand as sureties for him when he travels.

He added that by filing the same application at both the FCT High Court and Federal High Court, the Defendant’s Counsel were setting the courts on a collision course.

“If Federal High Court refuses that application and my lord grants it, it will make mockery of our Judicial system,” the EFCC lawyer argued.

Responding, Daudu SAN said, on the issue of suretyship, the sureties were already aware.

“We need not put them on notice,” he said.

“Finally, on the interpol matter, Daudu said that the issue of Interpol likely to arrest the applicant is a dead argument, the applicant having submitted himself for trial.

“He has never flouted your lordship’s order. They themselves have even forgotten about those red alerts,” the lawyer added, urging the court to grant the application.

After listening to both parties, Justice Anenih adjourned the case to July 17, 2025 for ruling.

News

Kano emirate tussle: Bayero’s supporters attacked my palace, removed my gate – Emir Sanusi

Published

21 hours ago

July 8, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, has alleged attack on his palace gate by supporters of the deposed 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero.

Sanusi alleged that Bayero’s supporters removed one of his palace gates during the attack.

A statement by the Kano Emirate Media Team, signed by Sadam Yakasai, said Aminu’s supporters struck the Kofar-Kudu palace, where Sanusi resides.

The statement said: “They broke the gate and attacked the guards, injuring some of them. They smashed the police vehicles in the palace.

“Aminu deliberately passed through the emir’s palace road instead of taking the proper route from Koki to Nassarawa, and his hoodlums decided to attack Gidan Rumfa.

“This is not the first time he has passed through the area. He had done that previously after he visited his Mandawari residence. He did that to intimidate the people of the area.”