Court
IPOB’s lawyer reacts to Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest, extradition
The lead counsel to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has said the arrest and arraignment of Nnamdi Kanu earlier Tuesday was without his knowledge. “We have just confirmed through a correspondence from the Federal High Court Abuja about the arrest and the extradition of my Client- Mazi Nnamdi Kanu by the Nigerian State,” Mr Ejiofor said in a statement on Tuesday evening. “He was brought before the Federal High Court No 2 Abuja today on an Eleven count charge, though without our knowledge,” the attorney added. He said regardless of the offences or charge against his client, he is still presumed innocent of the allegation under the law. Mr Kanu, who is being prosecuted on charges of treasonable felony, was re-arrested and returned to Nigeria on Sunday, the A...
Appeal court affirms sentence of Gombe ex-commissioner
The Court of Appeal, Gombe Division, has affirmed the conviction of a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Chairman of Shangon Local Government Area, Samuel Bulus Adamu. The ex-commissioner had on July 23,2020 been convicted and sentenced to 32 years imprisonment over a case of fraud, cheating and money laundering brought against him by Gombe Zonal Office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. The lower court had ruled that the EFCC proved its case beyond reasonable doubt and consequently convicted and sentenced Adamu to a cumulative 31 years imprisonment on the seven count charge preferred against him. Adamu, was convicted for awarding N97.64 million contract to a non-existing company, inflation of contract and payment of contractor above his threshold. But diss...
Ogun council poll: Lawyer petitions governor over APC primaries
A lawyer, Fazaz Daud, has written a petition to the governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, asking for his urgent intervention over the replacement of his client, one Osularu Olabanjo Muyiwa, who was said to have won the All Progressives Congress (APC) councillorship primaries for Ward 5, Iperu-Remo. In the petition dated June 28 and titled ‘Manipulation of Result and Unlawful Replacement of Mr. Osularu Olabanjo Muyiwa, the Winner of APC Councillorship Primaries for Ward 5, Iperu Remo, Ikenne local government with Mr. Efuwape Olaitan Muhammed, Osularu’s name was said to have been replaced with Efuwape Olaitan Muhammed, the incumbent Vice Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Ikenne Local Government. The letter, a copy made available to Daily Sun, on Tuesday, in Abeokuta, was also addressed to the...
Facebook hits $1 trillion valuation for first time
Social media giant, Facebook, has hit a $1 trillion valuation, following a dismissal of two antitrust lawsuits against the company. Facebook’s stock closed higher on Monday at $355.64 per share which contributed to the trillion-dollar valuation, Business Insider reported. The rise came after a United States court dismissed complaints by the Federal Trade Commission and a group of state attorneys generals against the social networking company. The FTC has claimed that Facebook is exercising monopoly as the social media giant controls over 60% of the social-networking market. In the ruling of the case, US District Judge James Boasberg in Washington dismissed the claim, as he explained that there was no proof to support their claim. In a separate case, 46 state attorneys general formed a coal...
Lagos assembly warns local councils against extorting courier, logistics operators
Pool Photo The Lagos House of Assembly on Monday ordered local government councils and local council development areas (LCDAs) in the state to desist from extorting and harrassing operators of courier and logistics services in the state. Mudashiru Obasa, the House speaker, said the local councils do not have the power to tax logistics and courier services. He said the power of the councils was limited to the registration of bicycles as dictated by the Constitution. Mr Obasa said it was important to act against the action of the councils because it affects the ease of doing business in the state. “We have to make them understand that going out to disturb well-planned and organised businesses that stand to create employment for our youth especially with the rate at which students graduate wi...
Somali execute 18 al-Shabab militants
Hamza Mohamed/Al Jazeera Eighteen al-Shabab militants were executed on Sunday in Galkayo town of Mudug, the Puntland State of Somalia, after being sentenced to death earlier by the court. The Chairperson of Puntland state court, Mohamud Abdi Mohamed, said that the court proceedings followed through different stages before the execution. “Puntland State Court of Armed Forces executed 18 al-Shabab militants this morning. “The convicts were all behind the killings of many of our important people here. “The court took the right action against them,’’ Mohamed said. Al-Shabab militants termed the execution as a massacre of innocent civilians by the Puntland state. The militant group has carried out a series of assassinations and bombings in Galkayo and other parts of the Mudug region. Puntland o...
Lagos traders send SOS to police, governor over planned market raid
Traders, shop owners and stakeholders operating under the aegis of Balogun Business Association (BBA) in Lagos have raised the alarm over a rumoured threat to raid their market by thugs loyal to a former chairman of the association. The aggrieved traders who addressed reporters yesterday at the Association Secretariat at the popular Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Badagry Expressway, Ojo, alleged that credible intelligence at their disposal indicates that the planned invasion of their peaceful market would take place between Sunday, June 27 and Wednesday, July 28. Warning of imminent bloodshed of innocent traders should the alleged invasion happen, the Principal Stakeholders, recalling that similar attacks by the same person in the years 2005 and 2007 had led to the loss of lives, ...
Jeta Amata again bemoans ex-wife’s disappearance
Nollywood filmmaker, Jeta Amata, has continued to express concern concerning the whereabouts of his ex-wife, Mbong. The filmmaker took to his Instagram page on Thursday to express some worry at Mbong’s disappearance. He also uploaded screenshots of the last chat conversation he had with the actress before her “disappearance.” He wrote: “I wonder when you all would realize how serious this is. See my last conversation with Mbong. She has not been seen. I suspected late last year and insisted on hearing her voice. That’s when she went dark. We weren’t quarrelling before. “I invited her mother to Abuja to see Veno and she lied and came with policemen. Veno opened the door. She’s been trying to kidnap her since. When her other daughter was pregnant as a teenager, her husband drove them out. Th...
Plateau council poll: PDP accuses PLASIEC of plotting to exclude party in election
File Photo The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Plateau State, has raised the alarm over plan by Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) to exclude the party from the October, 2021 Local Government Election in the state. Secretary, PDP Caretaker Committee, Plateau State, Hon. Patrick Ogbu disclosed this on Friday during a press briefing in Jos and vowed that the party will resist such attempt. He noted that the Caretaker Committee was drafted to the state following a court judgment that ordered fresh State Congress to elect officers of the party and on resumption, the committee invited PLASIEC to participate in their up coming local government party primaries but didn’t show up. “Based on the election guidelines and timetable released by PLASIEC, our great party in line wit...
Amnesty: Nigerian government highly sensitive to criticism
The country director of Amnesty International (AI) Nigeria, Osai Ojigho, says the federal government is “highly sensitive to criticism” and only focuses on appearances. Ojigho stated this on Thursday while addressing the topic “Is Freedom of Speech in Danger in Nigeria?” during a virtual conversation, tagged ‘Thursday Talks’. The virtual conversation, which is a monthly programme focused on engaging thought leaders, was moderated by Adeboye Adegoke, senior programme manager at Paradigm Initiative. The AI country director described the government’s ban on Twitter and its proposed amendment to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) code as attempts to gag criticism. “What we are seeing is a government that is highly sensitive to criticism and, as such, seeks to work more on the public re...
Trader docked for ‘cheating’ businessman
A trader, Salisu Sani, 30, on Thursday appeared in an Upper Area Court in Gwgwalada, FCT, for allegedly cheating a businessman of N76,000. The police charged Sani, who lives in Kwali, FCT, with two counts of criminal breach of trust and cheating. The prosecution counsel, Abudullahi Tanko, told the court that the complainant, Amachi Theophilus, of opposite Rhema Hospital, Kwali, Abuja reported the matter at the Kwali Police Station on April 29. Tanko said that the complainant gave the trader four bags of rice and he sold and converted N76,000 to his personal use. He said that the offence contravened the provisions of sections 312 and 322 of the Penal Code. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charge. The judge, Sani Umar admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N80,000 with one reaso...
‘Hotel Rwanda’ hero never joined rebels – co-accused
Paul Rusesabagina, the ex-hotelier immortalised in the film “Hotel Rwanda”, never belonged to a rebel group that sought to overthrow President Paul Kagame, one of the former rebels accused with him of terrorism told a court on Wednesday. “Rusesabagina was never a member of the National Liberation Front (FLN), he was a civilian … He is not a soldier,” former FLN spokesman Callixte Sankara told the court in Kigali. He said the prosecution had presented no evidence to substantiate its claim that Rusesabagina had given orders to the FLN, which has claimed responsibility for attacks in past years that it said were aimed at ousting the president. Sankara is one of 20 Rwandans being tried alongside Rusesabagina, who is 67. Prosecutors describe them as fighters for the FLN. Most were captured in s...
