Police in Niger State said one Gimba of Maratu village in Nasko Local Government Area of the state, allegedly killed his wife, Aishatu, after a minor misunderstanding.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Alhaji Adamu Usman, disclosed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Minna on Friday.

Usman said the incident occurred on January 22, about 11:50 p.m. when Suleiman had a minor misunderstanding with his 35-year-old wife Aishatu.

He said the suspect hit Aishatu with a hoe on her forehead, which resulted in her death on the spot.

“Consequently, the suspect fled to an unknown destination, and the corpse was taken to Nasco General hospital for autopsy, after which it was released to the family for burial accordingly to Islamic rites,” he said.

The commissioner said an investigation into the incident had already begun, while efforts were ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspect.

He appealed to members of the public to give useful information that would lead to the arrest of the suspect.

The legal battle between the Federal Government and a British Virgin Island firm, Process and Industrial Development, over the controversial of a $9.6bn judgment against Nigeria resumes at a London court on Friday (today).

A London commercial court had in a judgment delivered on August 16, 2019, validated the award of the sum by a London arbitration panel against Nigeria and in favour of the P&ID.

The Federal Government had since then institute a series of legal actions to have the judgment overturned.

P&ID in an e-mail sent to our correspondent on Thursday stated that “the English Commercial Court has confirmed that a hearing will take place at 10 am on March 24 at the Rolls Building in London.

“Legal representatives from P&ID and the Nigerian Government will be present.”

The $9.bn award was first issued against Nigeria and in favour of the P&ID  in a January 31, 2017 ruling of a London arbitration tribunal, which held that the Federal Government was liable for the breach of a 20-year gas supply agreement signed in 2010  between the P&ID and Nigeria, through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

Under the agreement, the firm was to build in the Niger Delta region, a gas processing plant for the refining of natural gas, also known as “wet gas” into “lean gas” which would be used by Nigeria to generate electricity.

The two parties subsequently approached an arbitration tribunal in London which in January 2017 issued a final award of $6.56bn damages with accumulated interest worth over US$9.5bn in favour of the P&ID.

The Federal Government, through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, had said in a statement on December 6, 2019, that it had filed new processes at the English courts in its bid to upturn the award of $9.6bn.

The AGF, Mr Abubakar Malami, said this through a statement issued by his Special Assistant, Media and Public Relations, Dr Umar Gwandu.

Giving an insight into the case made out in the fresh filing, Gwandu stated that Nigeria argued that the gas supply and processing agreement “was procured on the basis of fraud and corruption, while the subsequent arbitral process was riddled with irregularities and deliberately concealed from the government.”

The minister’s spokesperson also explained that “the Federal Government has recently expanded its legal team, to include leading London law firm Mishcon de Reya.”

The P&ID  had, in its statement reacting to the new filings by the Federal Government last December, described the step by Nigeria as “an act of desperation to try to undo the Court’s sound conclusion that P&ID’s $10bn award is enforceable.”

The popular saying that everyday is for the thief and one day for the owner came to play on Thursday when the Convoy of the Wife of the Governor of Abia State Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu foiled a robbery attack along Okigwe axis of the Enugu -Portharcourt expressway, killing at least one person.

An eye witness who confirmed the development to PUO REPORTS via a text message said the armed Robbers who were operating with a Power bike just before the army check point while coming from Umuahia had already succeeded in dispossessing motorists their belongings before the arrival of the convoy of the Wife of the Abia State Governor Deaconess Nkechi Ikpeazu.