Many prisoners serving time at the Suleja Correctional Centre, located in Suleja Local Government of Niger state, fled the facility after a rainstorm brought down a part of the inner fencing.

This incident happened as a result of the heavy rainfall which fell on Wednesday night. This led to a cell being torn down, providing incarcerated individuals with a chance at freedom.

Reporters gathered that security forces fired many shots in the air, attempting to scare the inmates out of hiding.

While the State Comptroller of Prisons declined to speak to the press, it has been noted that security has been beefed up on the Minna-Suleja and Suleja-Kaduna roads, including the Madalla axis to Abuja road, which is a likely escape route out of the state for the inmates.

The embattled immediate past Governor of Kogi state, Yahaya Bello, says he would have appeared at the Federal High Court in Abuja to answer to the 19-count charge preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, but is afraid he would be arrested.

Though Bello was absent for his arraignment today April 23, His team of lawyers addressed the court on his behalf.

A member of his legal team, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, had this to say on his behalf;

“The defendant wants to come to court but he is afraid that there is an order of arrest hanging on his head,” Adedipe, SAN, submitted.

Adesipe then appealed to the court to set aside the exparte order of arrest it earlier issued against the former governor. The lawyer contended that as at the time the order of arrest was made, the charge had not been served on his client as required by the law.

He argued that it was only at the resumed proceedings on Tuesday that the court okayed substituted service of the charge on the defendant, through his lawyer.

“As at the time the warrant was issued, the order for substituted service had not been made. That order was just made this morning. A warrant of arrest should not be hanging on his neck when we leave this court,” counsel to the defendant added.

According to him, the Federal Government did not consult the 36 States of the federation before it enacted the EFCC Act through the National Assembly. He argued that section 12 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, required the various Houses of Assembly of states to ratify the Act before it could become operative.

“This is a very serious matter that borders on the constitution and the tenets of federalism. It has to be resolved because as it stands, the EFCC is an illegal organization,” Bello’s lawyer added

However, EFCC’s lawyer, Mr. Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, urged the court to refuse the application, insisting that the warrant of arrest should not be set aside until the defendant makes himself available for his trial.

The minister of Finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun has announced that Nigeria has secured a $2.25bn World Bank loan with a 1% interest rate.

While speaking at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group on April 20, Edun disclosed that the loan was approved by the board of directors of the World Bank, and offers a 40-year term, a 10-year moratorium, and a one percent interest rate.

He said;

“If you look at the fact that we have qualified for the processing, just this week to the board of directors of the World Bank of a total package of $2.25 billion.

“There is no such thing as a free lunch but it is the closest you can get to free money. It is virtually a grant. It is about 40 years, 10 years moratorium and about one percent interest. That also is part of the flow that you can count.”

He added that Nigeria also secured similar budgetary support and low-interest funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB). Edun said;

“Clearly, there are also ongoing discussions with foreign direct investors. Some of these things take longer than you expect but they are relatively advanced discussions on major foreign direct investments flows into the country, specific transactions with specific companies, institutions, and authorities.”

This news has however stirred different reactions from citizens as not everyone agrees with the idea of Nigeria borrowing money.