Federal High Court
Court fixes date to hear suit seeking to oust ex-Speaker Dogara from House over defection to APC
Twitter The Federal High Court, Abuja, will, on February 4, hear a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asking for the declaration of the seat of Rep Yakubu Dogara vacate on account of his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Justice Okon Abang fixed the date on the grounds that it was not convenient for the court to take the matter. Newsmen report that while the PDP and its Bauchi State Chairman, Hamza Akuyam, are the plaintiffs, Dogara, who was the immediate-past Speaker, House of Representatives; the speaker of the House; the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF); Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC are 1st to 5th defendants respectively in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1060/2020. NAN reports that Dogara, who represents Dass, Tafawa Bal...
PDP hails court verdict on Governor Obaseki’s case as triumph of justice
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Saturday described as a triumph of justice, the Federal High Court, Abuja, ruling on the alleged certificate forgery case against the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki. The court had on Saturday morning dismissed the case filed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the governor for lack of merit. Justice Ahmed Mohammed, who delivered judgment in the case, said APC could not prove its claim that Obaseki forged his academic certificates submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the September 19, 2019 governorship election in the state. In its reaction to the ruling, the party in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the judgment was a seal on Obaseki’s landslide victory in...
Edo APC to appeal Abuja high court judgement
The chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Col David Imuse (rtd), has said that the party would appeal Saturday’s judgement by the Federal High Court, Abuja, which dismissed the alleged certificate forgery suit filed against Governor Godwin Obaseki by the party. The presiding judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, had on Saturday dismissed the suit filed by the APC and a chieftain of the party, Williams Edobor, on the conclusion that the plaintiffs failed to prove their allegations of forgery against Governor Obaseki as it is expected in every criminal matter. “Allegation of forgery borders on crime which must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. In the instant case, no iota of evidence talk-less of a proof beyond reasonable doubt was bro...
Igbo group writes Nigerian government to request extradition of Nnamdi Kanu for ‘treasonable felony
YouTube An Igbo professional group, Coalition of South East Professionals’ Network in Nigeria and Diaspora (CSEPNND), has written an open letter to the Federal Government of Nigeria, urging it to immediately write the Government of the United Kingdom and Israel, requesting for extradition of leader of Indigenous People of Biafra,Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,to face the law over his involvement in alleged treasonable felony. The group whose request was contained in the open letter dated January 8th, 2021, and addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, explained that its action was predicated on Kanu’s ceaseless treasonable activities in the country. Noting that Kanu possessed citizenship of the two foreign nations, the coalition, according to the letter signed by its National President, Prof. Madumere Ch...
Edo election: APC, deputy governor bicker over court case
Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Deputy Governor of the state, Rt. Hon Philip Shaibu has engaged in a war of words over a pre-election matter in the court as Shiabu alleged that the former National Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole had recently said that the Supreme Court would give his party victory like the case of Imo state. But in a statement yesterday by the State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Chris Azebanmwan, the allegation which he described as weighty was false and that Shaibu was engaging in a smear campaign against Oshiomhole. He said, “The statement which he credited to Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is a blatant falsehood as no such words emanated from the elder statesman. It is a smear campaign that is aimed at tarnishing the pristine i...
Justice Tsoho: Why court froze #EndSARS promoters’ bank accounts
The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, on Tuesday said that contrary to the belief in some quarters that the court intentionally froze the accounts of #Endsars promoters, it only played its part as an interpreter of the law. The CJ noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria had approached the court to ask for an order freezing certain accounts of corporate bodies and names of individuals over suspicion bordering on alleged money laundering. He however stated that the CBN did not attach any names to the applications. Justice Tsoho, spoke at the opening of the 2020/2021 legal year, Abuja on Tuesday. He noted that CBN’s request came about three months before the ENDSARS protest. The CJ was reacting to the speech by the chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olumid...
Shiites call for release of Sheikh Ibraheem el-Zakzaky
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shiites, have called for unconditional release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, along with those still in detention. Recalled that the convoy of Army Chief of Staff, Lt. General Yusuf Buratai had clashed with members of IMN in Zaria on December 12, 2015, leading to death of several persons on the fateful day. Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife and some Shiites have been detention, and undergoing court trial since the incident happened. In a statement on Sunday by the IMN media Spokesperson, Ibrahim Musa to mark the 5th anniversary of the Zaria killings, it noted that five years in detention amounted to systematic oppression of Zakzaky and other members of the Movement. “As we mark the fifth anniversary of this Zaria Genocide Memori...
Court stops COSON from general distribution practice
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has declared that the General Distribution which is practised by the Copyright Society of Nigeria, COSON, is illegal. The practise involves the annual distribution of the same amount of music royalties, usually about N30,000 each, to thousands of the organization’s members. This practice was challenged in court by the Music Publishers’ Association of Nigeria, MPAN, in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1418/2019; Green Light Music Publishing Ltd, Chocolate City Music Ltd, Premier Music Publishing Company Ltd v. Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte. The judgement which was delivered on November 25, 2020, by Justice Oguntoyinbo also ordered COSON to stop further distribution of royalties “in a manner known as ‘General Distribution’ or how so ever called which does not re...
Police arraign kidnap kingpin, seven others for terrorism in Calabar
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has remanded 8 persons for kidnapping, terrorism and possession of illegal firearms at the Afokang Correctional Service centre. Five were arraigned by the Nigeria Police Force for kidnapping, terrorism and possession of illegal fire arms on a three count charge in Charge numbers FHC / CA / 94c / 2020 and three others on a two count charge of charges number: FHC /CA/95c / 2020 for three others. The Presiding Judge, Justice S.M Shaibu ordered that the 8 defendants be remanded at Calabar Correctional facility on a three count charge and two count charge respectively levelled against them by the police . He ordered that the 8 of them be remanded till 25 of February 2021 at the centre pending their trial at the Federal High Court 1 ,Calabar . Recall that ...
Court remands Abdulreasheed Maina in prison custody
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, remanded the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, Abulrasheed Maina, in prison custody. The remand order came barely 24 hours after Maina who is answering to a 12-count money laundering charge, was arrested at Niger Republic and extradited back to the country by the Interpol. The former pension reform boss jumped bail since September 29 and refused to appear for continuation of his trial. Following his arrest, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday, produced him Defendant in court. The anti-graft agency, through its lawyer, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, further applied that he should be remanded in custody of the Nigerian Correctional Service. Mohammed reminded the court that Maina’s re-appearance was sequ...
Cross River bye-election: Court affirms Stephen Odey as PDP candidate
A Federal High Court sitting in Calabar on Thursday affirmed Dr Stephen Odey as candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the Cross River North Senatorial bye election. Ruling in the suit with number FHC/CA/CS/87/2020, presiding judge, Justice S.A. Amobeda held Odey was the validly nominated candidate of the PDP for the said bye election. Relying on relevant provisions of the the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), provisions of the Electoral Act 2020 and Articles of the PDP guidelines for conduct of its primaries, Justice Amobeda ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publish the name of Odey as the duly nominated candidate of the People’s Democratic Party to contest the election. Citing the relevant provisions of the const...
Nigerian National Assembly spends billions of naira on constitution review
The perennial constitution amendment exercise by the National Assembly is characterised by proposals that keep resurfacing despite gulping billions of naira yearly, an analysis has shown. The federal parliament had from the 5th to the current 9th National Assembly made several attempts to amend some provisions of the 1999 Constitution to no avail. At every session, the parliament officially spends N1 billion shared equally between the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are reports that the lawmakers spend more than what is appropriated for the exercise. While some amendments were successful, several others suffered serial failures but kept appearing in new proposals. Considering the huge spending, lawyers and civil society groups have pointed out that no significant amendments ...