The house of representatives is considering a bill seeking to prohibit landlords, property managers and estate agents in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from demanding more than 12 months’ rent as a condition for granting or renewing a tenancy.

The proposed legislation, sponsored by Paul Nnamchi (Enugu east/Isi-Uzo federal constituency) and Ahmed Doro (Bindawa/Mani federal constituency in Katsina), seeks to establish an authority to regulate rental payments and protect tenants from unlawful practices.

The bill also proposes measures to prevent landlords from circumventing the restriction through intermediaries, compulsory service charges, artificial tenancy renewals, separate agreements, or other arrangements designed to compel tenants to pay more than 12 months’ rent upfront.

Under the proposal, tenants could voluntarily pay rent for more than one year if they initiate the arrangement without coercion, threats, discrimination, or retaliation, provided the agreement and payment are documented in writing.

The proposed legislation also requires landlords and authorised agents to provide written tenancy agreements before or at the start of a tenancy, specifying the rent, payment schedule, tenancy duration, refundable deposits, additional charges, and the rights and obligations of both parties.

The bill aims to establish the Federal Capital Territory Rent Regulation and Tenants’ Protection Authority, which would investigate complaints, monitor compliance, facilitate dispute resolution and order refunds of unlawful rental payments.

If the authority finds that a tenant paid rent in violation of the proposed law, it may order a refund of the unlawful amount within 30 days of serving the order.

The bill proposes fines of between N500,000 and N5 million for individuals convicted of knowingly violating the restriction on advance rent payments, while corporate offenders would face fines ranging from N5 million to N20 million.

The proposed law also provides for a fine of up to N1 million for anyone convicted of failing to comply with a valid compliance notice issued by the authority.

Tenants and landlords would retain the right to seek judicial redress, while anyone dissatisfied with the authority’s decisions could appeal to the FCT high court within 30 days.

Last year, the parliament proposed capping rent increases nationwide at 20 percent and urged the federal government to enforce the measure, but the resolution has not been verifiably implemented.

Amnesty International has condemned what it tagged the arbitrary arrest, detention, and rushed sentencing of a 23-year-old journalist Farida Isiak by authorities in Kaduna State.

“Her arrest and subsequent punishment were clearly because of her attempt to expose abuses by the police. Sentencing a journalist to 4-years in prison after a sham trial is a travesty of justice”the human right body said.

“Farida Isiak, a reporter with Nagarta Radio in Kaduna, was taken into custody around 10:00 p.m. on Monday, 20 October, by officers under the command of the Divisional Police Officer of Mararaban Jos, Usman Adamu. The situation began as a minor disagreement between her mother and a neighbour over a 100 naira change dispute during a sale of charcoal. Police officers initially arrested her mother and later detained her father when he went to secure her release, using their detention as leverage to force Farida to come to the police station.

“When Farida arrived at the station, police officers accused her of defaming them because of a Facebook post she wrote criticizing their unlawful treatment of her parents. Even though she complied with police demands to delete the post and apologize in the hope of securing her parents’ release, officers kept her in custody and rushed her to a Sharia Court in Kawo. “The presiding judge sentenced her to four years in prison or a fine of 1.75 million naira on charges of defamation, completely ignoring the initial police misconduct and the abusive actions that led to the incident.” the human right body narrated.

Reacting in a statement it published through its Facebook account on Thursday, Amnesty International said “the arrest, detention, and hasty sentencing of Farida Isiak are a flagrant abuse of power by the police and weaponization of the judicial system to silence free speech and intimidate journalists.

“Arresting and holding a citizen’s parents to force a journalist to hand herself over is an unlawful tactic that violates rule of law” the body said and thus request that the

Nigeria Police Force launch a full and independent investigation into the conduct of police officers involved in the unlawful detention of her family.

Insisting that the sentence be withdrawn including the monetary fine, Amnesty said Nigerian authorities must stop using defamation charges and the legal system to harass journalists and restrict press freedom.

In it’s renewed move to nip criminality in the state, Edo State government has arrested a ritualist and organ harvester in Esan Central Senatorial Districts.

The Zonal Commander Edo State Security Corps SP Johnson Oyameda (rtd) while briefing newsmen on the development on Thursday,said the success recorded in the arrest of the ritual suspect, Ebhata Eromosele was as a result of over a month surveillance.

Report quoted Oyamada as revealing that “the body of a lady mutilated and dumped in a drainage was recovered while still alive. Not up to two weeks another body was recovered again and these incidents led to stepping up surveillance around the area and the surveillance paid off.

“Ebhata Eromosele murdered a lady and dumped the body but my men on surveillance saw him and trailed him to this apartment which has been demolished today”.the Commander said.

He added that the suspect has carried out three ritual attacks and one out of his victims died, one hospitalized while the other one discharged from the hospital.

The Zonal Commander said upon searching the compound, bloodstained bedspread was seen and other incriminating evidence indicating that the suspect has engaged in criminality activities.

He said the suspected ritualists has been arrested and in the custody of the Edo State Police command for further investigation and prosecution.