Protesters have stormed the United Kingdom High Commission in Abuja over a court judgement which granted Process and Industrial Development Ltd to take over $9.6 billion worth of Nigeria’s asset.

The protesters, identified as Coalition of Civil Society Groups, began their protest on Monday and have vowed to continue their action for the next one week until the judgement is reversed.

Some of their placards read: “$9.6bn judgement is a fraud,” “Nigeria and Britain are friends, not enemies,” “No to illegal takeover of our national assets,” “Nigeria rejects fraudulent judgment from British judge.”

Details later…

Former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, has stormed the state house of assembly to answer for alleged misappropriation of local government funds.

Leakers.ng reports that Mr. Fayose arrived at the assembly on Friday despite his media aide, Lere Olayinka, saying his principal would not dignify the assembly with his presence.

The former governor tweeted: “I just left the Ekiti House of Assembly where I met with the Speaker and some Principal Officers. I’m a clear conscience (sic), I fear no accusation.”

The assembly, during plenary on Thursday, had also summoned the former chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) Dapo Olagunju; former Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Kola Kolade; and 16 former local government chairmen.

Former speaker of the house, Kola Oluwawole, was also summoned alongside some suspended members of the fifth assembly over the passage of a N10 billion revised appropriation law towards the end of Fayose’s tenure.

Former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has urged a second Republic lawmaker, Junaid Mohammed, to withdraw his threat on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Mohammed had threatened that IPOB members would pay with their blood if they attempt to attack President Muhammadu Buhari in Japan.

“IPOB will pay with their blood if they attempt an attack on Buhari,” he said.

The group’s leader, Nnamdi Kanu, had on Saturday called on Biafrans to ‘arrest’ and ‘disgrace’ Buhari when he arrives Japan for the seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) holding in the City of Yokohama from August 28 to 30.

In several tweets on Wednesday, Mr Fani-Kayode said Mohammed’s threat shows that Nigeria is on the “brink of a terrible conflagration which could be ignited by just one tiny spark.”

He said: “I have always had immense respect for Mohammed because he has been consistent in his criticisms of Buhari but let it be clearly understood that an attack on the Igbo will be regarded as an attack on the south. This is not 1966 and things are very different today.

“Any attempt to shed the blood of any southerner, for ANY reason, as a consequence of ANY plot or grand northern design will have catastrophic consequences.

“We can agree to disagree on issues and we may not even like one another but we should rule out threats of murder, mass murder, ethnic cleansing and genocide in all our discussions and debates and we should renounce and condemn them.”

The former minister added: “I urge Junaid Mohammed to withdraw his statement and to join the rest of us in renouncing violence and bloodshed.”

The anti-Fakorede group made up of members and leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claim that Fakorede’s father defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and worked against the success of the PDP at the 2019 elections.

They said Fakorede’s nomination does not fit into the zoning arrangement in the state.

But another group, comprising students and representatives of student association bodies, also surfaced at the assembly in support of the nomination.

Mr Fakorede, in a post on social media on Friday, said that the issues raised by the protesters would be settled, calling them his leaders.

“And as regards what happened within the Assembly Complex, just before my screening and confirmation, we are going to settle it — no tension whatsoever. They are my leaders, fathers and mothers; we are going home to resolve everything, amicably,” he said.

Fakorede said he became emotional when he stood before the lawmakers “majority of whom are in their youthful ages.”

He also thanked the governor, Seyi Makinde, for the opportunity to be part of his cabinet.

“With your support, we are going to hit the ground running when we assume office,” he said.

Nurudeen Kama, ex-aide of former governor of Adamawa State, Jibrilla Bindow, has appeared before the Magistrate Court 4 in Yola, Adamawa over a Facebook post which was considered defaming to Senator Elisha Abbo.

Mr Kama was arraigned on Wednesday for using foul words against the lawmaker.

Abbo appeared in a viral video early July assaulting a nursing mother who tried to defend an attendant, Bibra Warmate, at a intimacy gadget shop in Abuja.

Kama wrote in a Facebook post: “Tafawa Balewa was not bisexual. Tafawa Balewa had no record of molesting women.

“Tafawa Balewa had no HIV. Balewa didn’t transmit HIV to any girl deliberately.

“Tarawa Balewa was not a drunk. Tafawa Balewa never took drugs. Tafawa Balewa was not a gay. Tafawa Balewa was not an idiot.

“Therefore, comparing Tafawa Balewa with a intimacy gadget senator is an insult to the late prime minister.”

Magistrate Dimas granted the former aide bail in the sum of N500,000 with two sureties, one of which in like sum.

The case was adjourned until September 9.