Human rights lawyer, Dele Farotimi, has been granted bail by the Ekiti State High Court. The court granted Farotimi bail in the sum of N50 million, with a surety of the same amount.

The court ruled that the surety must possess a landed property and adjourned the matter to January 29, 2025, for further proceedings.

Farotimi was taken to court by Chief Afe Babalola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, after being arrested by operatives of the Ekiti State Police Command.

Babalola, 95, accused Farotimi of defaming him in a book titled Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System.

The arrest sparked outrage across the country, prompting civil society organizations and the Nigerian Bar Association to call for the activist’s release.

There is tension in Anambra State over the whereabouts of Most Rev. Prof. Godwin Okpala (Retired Archbishop of the Niger Province and Bishop of Nnewi).

According to DAILY POST, the Archbishop was last seen on Friday when he embarked on a journey to Umuchu, a community in the State.

As of the time of filing this report, it is unclear if the Archbishop and his driver were abducted.

A prayer alert issued by the Bishop of Nnewi Diocese, Rt. Rev. Ndubuisi Obi on Saturday, urged intercessory prayers for the Archbishop.

It reads,

“PRAYER ALERT from BISHOP Ndubuisi Obi of Nnewi Diocese.

Dearly Beloved people of God,

With a deeply burdened heart, we write to inform you of the distressing news that our revered Father in God, the Most Rev. Prof. Godwin Okpala (Retired Archbishop of the Niger Province and Bishop of Nnewi), has been missing since yesterday morning.

He embarked on a journey to Umuchu accompanied by his driver but, unfortunately, never arrived at his destination. Since then, there has been no communication, and neither he, his driver, nor the vehicle have been located.

We earnestly plead for your fervent prayers for their safety and swift return. The relevant authorities have been contacted, and we are hopeful and trusting in God’s divine intervention for a positive resolution.

Please, join us in prayer of intercession, trusting in the Lord, whose watchful eyes never slumber, to bring our beloved Father in God, and his driver back to us safely.

Thank you for standing with us in this moment of distress.

Ndubuisi Nnewi.”

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Anambra State Command, Toochukwu Ikenga said he was unaware of the development.

The Federal Government has fired some civil servants with degrees from private tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo, JomogNews Nigeria reports.

The directive affected federal workers who graduated from the institutions from 2017 to date.

The Director of Information and Public Relations in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Segun Imohiosen, confirmed the development to one of our correspondents on Wednesday.

In August, the Federal August announced that only eight universities had been accredited to award degrees to Nigerians in Togo and Benin Republic.

This followed an undercover investigation report in which a Daily Nigerian journalist acquired a degree from a university in Benin Republic in two months and used it to participate in the National Youth Service Corps scheme.

Following the report, the government banned the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from tertiary institutions in Benin Republic and Togo.

The Federal Government also set up an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling to probe the activities of certificate racketeers.

The then Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, revealed that over 22,500 Nigerians obtained fake degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo and such certificates would be cancelled.

Mamman explained that the revelation was part of a report submitted to the Federal Executive Council by the investigative committee instituted to probe degree certificate racketeering by foreign and local universities in Nigeria.

He insisted there was no going back on the Federal Government’s decision to cancel the about 22,500 certificates awarded to Nigerians by some “fake” universities in the two francophone countries.

Mamman maintained that the decision to invalidate the certificates was not harsh as Nigerians who obtained degree certificates from such tertiary institutions dent the country’s image.

He said, “Most of those parading the fake certificates didn’t even leave the shores of Nigeria but got their certificates through racketeering in collaboration with government officials at home and abroad.

“The fake universities capitalised on the gullibility of Nigerians patronising such fake schools. The Federal Government, through the offices of the Head of Civil Service and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, would fish out those in the government’s employment with such fake certificates. I also urge the private sector to follow suit.”

Although the exact number of affected civil servants could not be ascertained, it was gathered that the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (Cabinet Affairs) had issued a memo to all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to implement the order.

A source, who pleaded anonymity because she was not authorised to speak on the matter, disclosed that the sacking of the affected workers was based on the inter-ministerial committee’s recommendation.

The official stated, “There was a letter from the SGF cabinet affairs directing all ministries, departments and agencies of government to identify and terminate the appointments of workers employed with certificates obtained from the private universities in the Republic of Benin and Togo from 2017 to date.

“The decision is part of the recommendations of the committee set up to investigate the certificates of people who graduated from the universities.”

Our correspondent also gathered that some agencies like the National Youth Services Corps have commenced the implementation of the directive.

The NYSC Director of Information, Caroline Embu, confirmed to our correspondent that five members of staff had been sacked in line with the SGF’s directive.

She said, “Five members of staff were affected by the directive contained in the letter from the office of the SGF. No more.”