By Suleiman Yakubu

The Suleja Senior Magistrate Court Number Three, on Wednesday, ordered the remand in federal correctional custody of a court tegistrar and a banker.
The presiding senior magistrate, Hajiya Halima Alhassan, who gave the order, turned down the bail application moved by banker defence counsel, Barr Nuhu Edah.
The two defendants were arraigned on two separate charges by the men of the 'A' Divisional Police Command in Suleja on the allegation of forging court affidavits for unsuspecting members of the public in Suleja.
Abdullahi Ismaila, a banker, and Aliyu Ismaila Evuti, a court registrar with the Niger State Judiciary, were separately standing trial on three counts charges: using a genuine forged document, impersonation, and forgery.
The court registrar was separately arraigned on two count charges, which bothered on breach of trust and negligent conduct, which contravened sections 314 and 196 of the penal code law.
While the banker was also separately arraigned on three count charges, which included using a genuine forged document, impersonation, and forgery, which are punishable under sections 179, 321, and 366 of the penal code.
According to the charge sheet marked Sul/Smc/Cr/41/2023, on October 23, 2023, the "above-mentioned case was referred from Chief Magistrate Court Suleja for Investigation.
"That on October 20, 2023, you Abdullahi Ismaila, also known as "Man of God," used a genuine forged court affidavit you signed as the Commissioner of Oath and issued it to one Sunday Bitrus of Zuba FCT Abuja, who came to UBA Bank to effect a correction of his names.
"During the police investigation, you confessed to the commission of the crime and also said you have used this method to collect money from three different unknown persons.".
When the charges were read to them by the presiding Senior Magistrate, Halima Alhassan, they both pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the prosecutor, ASP Saidu Ibrahim Katakpa, objected to the bail of the defendant on the ground that the offence for which the defendant was charged was not bailable and requested their remand at the correctional custody.
The second defendant in the case, the prosecutor, ASP Agwajinya Smart Solomon, told the court that investigations into the case had been completed and urged the court to give them a date to commence a full trial.
However, both defendants were represented by lawyers, and they orally applied for bail with the assurance that they would produce a reasonable surety that would stand for them throughout the trial.
At this point, Senior Magistrate Halima Alhassan, while granting the request of the prosecutor, refused the bail of the banker as his charge was not bailable, while she adjourned until 7 to rule on the bail application moved by the counsel of the court registrar and ordered their remand until November 22, 2023.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Operatives of Nigeria Police, Bosso Division of Niger State Command, have arrested a 14-year-old girl, Joy Afekafez, a resident of Gbeganu, Minna, over the killing of a lecturer with the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, Dr. Funilola Adefolalu.
The suspect, Joy, was the housemaid of the slain lecturer.
The deceased, according to Niger State police command spokesman DSP Wasiu Abidoun, in a press release made available to newsmen Tuesday, said the late lecturer was killed on Sunday at her residence in Gbaiko, Area of Minna.
DSP Abidoun disclosed that on October 29, 2023, at 100 hrs, some friends and church members of the deceased visited her residence in the Gbaiko area of Minna, as she was not seen at the church service and was not responding to phone calls put to her. On getting to the house, they met her lying in a pool of blood with marks of injury on her body.
The police spokesman said that it was at this point that police operatives in the Bosso division, who swung into action and visited the scene, saw two knives with blood stains suspected to have been used to stab her by unknown persons, while the body was taken to IBB Hospital, where she was confirmed dead.
DSP Abidoun further disclosed that the men and officers of the division swung into action and carried out a series of interviews with neighbours and friends of the family, while an investigation led to the arrest of the housemaid of the late lecturer on October 30, 2023, who resided at Gbeganu.
During the investigation, the suspect admitted working with the deceased for a period of three weeks as a housemaid before she was sacked for her misdeed.
According to her, she narrated her ordeal to her classmates after her sack, and one Walex and one other by name Smart, who along with her, went to the house of the late Dr. Mrs. Adefolalu on October 28, 2023, at about 1600 hrs, where she informed the victim that she came with two boys on the pretext of begging her for forgiveness.
Thereafter, the woman asked them to enter the house, from where they beat her and stabbed her with a knife, which Walex took along with him to the house, while Smart took a knife from the kitchen in the house and used it to stab her severally, as well as remove her phone and laptop and a battery of a vehicle parked, and went away with those items.
"The suspect will be transferred to SCID for discreet investigations while efforts are underway to apprehend the fleeing others", said the press release.