Ipigansi Ogoniba, Chairman Of The Maritime Workers Union Of The State Confirmed The Recovery Of The Bodies And Detailed The Ongoing Efforts To Account For All Victims Of The Bayelsa Boat Mishap. Bayelsa – Nineteen bodies have been recovered following a tragic Bayelsa boat mishap that occurred on Wednesday.

The incident took place along the Ezetu I community river in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. The ill-fated cargo boat, which was carrying traders—predominantly women—and their merchandise, departed from the Ezetu I community around 3 pm.

The vessel was en route to Swali in Yenagoa, the state capital, when its engine exploded, leading to a fire and subsequent sinking in the river. Also Read:  Self-Kidnapped Man and Uncle Arrested for N50m Ransom Scam in Delta Reports indicate that at least twenty people, mostly of Igbo descent, were aboard the boat, and the majority have been confirmed dead.

As of the latest update, local divers and marine police have recovered nineteen bodies. Sixteen of these have been transported to the Federal Medical Centre morgue in Yenagoa, while the remaining three are expected to arrive by Saturday morning. Also Read: 

DSS Raid Ogun Court, Arrest Defendants Despite Judge's Warning The Marine Police and the state Commissioner for Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Faith Zibs-Godwin, along with other government officials, received the recovered bodies at the Marine Police station near the Federal Medical Centre. BY MICHAEL A. G. IBOH, Report Afrique

Dorcas Oduor promised to address emerging concerns around public participation, a requirement based on which courts have annulled most legislations drafted by the State.

President William Ruto’s nominee for Attorney General has promised to help the Executive and Parliament  overcome embarrassing nullifications of legislation by courts.

Dorcas Oduor, who appeared before the National Assembly Appoitments Committee on Friday, promised to address emerging concerns around public participation, a requirement based on which courts have annuled most legislations drafted by the State.

Oduor told the vetting committee chaired by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula she will address the matter and offer a way forward to address the tiff between courts and the legislative Houses of Parliament on bills declared unconstitutional.

Bills recently declared unconstitutional over failing to meet the constitutional threshold include the Finance Act 2023, the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) and the Housing Levy.

“It is a concern if bills are being declared unconstitutional when the AG has contributed,” she told lawmakers.

“If approved, I will find out why they have been found unconstitutional, and I will also advise that whenever we come up with a bill, it meets the constitutional requirements,” Oduor suggested.

She proposed that Parliament considers a Public Participation Bill to put in place a framework guiding the constitutionallly-mandated exercise.

“I think there’s a need for a policy to give guidelines and regulations on what public participation is,” she said.

“It is an area that needs urgent attention,” she opined. 

Managing legal fees

Oduor noted that the public participation requirements cuts across bills from across all arms of government and hence the need for clarify to unlcock the preveiling stalemate.

“Most of the contents of these bills contain new jurisprudence not only for the Executive but also for the Judiciary. I take it as a testing time,” she said adding that the issue may be “volatile” but “the law will [be] settled”.

The nominee also promised to ensure the country doesn’t incur unnecessary expenses in legal fees by approving watertight cases once approved into office.

Oduor insisted that she will be hands on in advising Ministries, Departments and Authorities on how they should deal with court matters and consider alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.

“If I’m losing a case because I have a bad case, it would be my responsibility as the Attorney General to make sure that before we go to court, I relook at the cases that we have, I try to mitigate the risk of going to court,” she stated.

The nominee emphasized the essence on risk assessment when filling cases in court on behalf of the government to protect the citizenry from incurring costs on flimsy cases.

Oduor however noted the need to enhance the capacity of the State Law Office saying under capacity often results to inadequate representation.

“I will look at my capacity and the expertise that I have within the Office of the Attorney General,” she said.

“In the ODPP, we initially had private Council assisting us, but with the time, we looked at the capacities that we have, we have to enhance the capacity of our state council,” Oduor noted, alluding to her role as the Principal Deputy to the Public Prosecutor.  By Irene Mwangi, Capital News

Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has asked the United States of America to intervene in the alleged harassment of businessman Jimi Wanjigi as well as the abduction and killing of other Kenyans by the President William Ruto administration.

Speaking at a burial ceremony in Mwingi West on Friday, Kalonzo also accused the State of criminalising demonstrations organized and spearheaded by Gen Zs that have been going on for two months now.

"Jimi has been harassed in this country; this time, even the US Under Secretary is still in the country, she should appeal to Kenya Kwanza to stop disturbing him because he has done the right thing and gone to court," he said.

"They seem to be so determined to arrest him. Without a court order, they raid his house, destroy CCTV and plant teargas and other things on him."

He called on the church to pray for the country, especially on matters of corruption as he lauded the youth for their relentless efforts to liberate the country from what he termed as the claws of bad leadership.

Kalonzo also called for unity stating that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

"You can't criminalise peaceful demos where young people are holding our flags. I want to urge the church to pray earnestly for this land without ceasing so that the revolution continues. We need to be proud of the Gen Zs because they don't want their country to be messed up," he added.

His DAP-Kenya party counterpart Eugene Wamalwa echoed his sentiments stating that there is a need for prayers as over 200 Kenyans have lost lives through extrajudicial killings, most of them being youths.

Wamalwa noted that just like Gen Zs, they stand and support the demos which are geared toward a better country.

"When it comes to issues with the rights to demonstrate under Article 37, these are rights guaranteed by the Constitution and should not be violated," he said.

"We have seen the US Under Secretary of State who has expressed the concern of the US, Antony Blinken and the US Ambassador have all expressed their concerns. The right to demonstrate and protest is guaranteed in the Constitution."

He further stated that the impending exit of ODM leader Raila Odinga from the opposition Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition might be a blessing in disguise.

The remarks come after police on Thursday raided Jimi Wanjigi's home in Muthaiga where they accused the businessman of sponsoring Nane Nane demos.

Acting Police Inspector General later ordered Wanjigi to surrender to the nearest police station but the latter instead sought court orders which barred the police from arresting him. Citizen

 British terror suspect Jermaine Grant who was jailed in Kenya has been deported back to the United Kingdom after completing his sentence.

The police said that Grant was flown to the United Kingdom on Thursday using the National carrier Kenya Airways accompanied by Kenyan security officials and was arrested by British Authorities immediately he touched down at  Heathrow Airport.

This is after a Mombasa court last year ordered Grant to be deported once his prison sentence had elapsed following a case made by prosecutors for him to be sent away back to his home country.

Grant who was linked to the Al-Shabaab terror group and Samantha Lewthwaite, the “White widow” of the July 7 London terrorist bomber Germaine Lindsay was arrested by the police back in 2011 after they found bomb-making materials in his flat in Mombasa.

He was later prosecuted and sentenced to four years in prison in 2019, alongside a separate nine-year sentence for forgery after he forged his Canadian passport.

Police believed Grant was responsible for planning a bombing campaign against hotels popular with foreign tourists as he had previously been apprehended in 2008 over a plot to attack a police base on a bus trying to enter Somalia while dressed in a burka.

Investigating officers found chemicals, switches and a manual on explosives in the apartment, which he is believed to have shared with Lewthwaite, the White Widow on the run being hunted down by the authorities.

During his arrest Grant was found carrying a forged Canadian passport and when the police searched his apartment, Lewthwaite had fled the scene escaping just minutes earlier after Grant allegedly warned her with a text message which read ‘The lions are inside. One of them is very watchful, like a bird watches a stone.’

Lewthwaite, who remains the world’s most wanted person by the Authorities is suspected of orchestrating  several terror attacks in Africa that have killed more than 400 people.