Judgment
AGF: Ohanaeze legal monitoring group on Nnamdi Kanu not necessary
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has said the legal team formed by the umbrella group for Igbo people, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to monitor proceedings of the trial of leader of the prescribed Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, was not necessary. He, however, welcomed the Ohanaeze team, saying it was in line with the doctrine of the right of fair hearing rooted in Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution. Recall that the separatist leader was arrested in June 2021 outside the country. Kanu is facing charges bordering on treasonable felony instituted against him at the court in response to years of campaign for the independent Republic of Biafra through IPOB. He had been granted bail in April 2017 but jumped bail. After his re-arrest in June 202...
AGF Malami meets with Ohanaeze over Nnamdi Kanu
The legal team of the Ndigbo Group has met with the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to monitor the proceedings relating to the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu. This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations to the Office of the AGF, Jibrilu Gwandu. The statement stated that the position of Ohanaeze Ndigbo on the issue of Kanu demonstrated their recognition of belonging to Nigeria and succumbing to the rule of law. “The group showed a mature departure from the mindset of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra when Ohanaeze said they ‘do not support the use of any form of violence’ while channelling concerns and presenting demands. “By urging the youths to be law-abiding a...
Obudu contract debt: Appeal court reserves judgment against Cross River
The Abuja division of the Court of Appeal has reserved judgment in the appeal filed by a private firm, Zedici Capital Ltd, against the Cross River State Government over a N3.8 billion contract debt. The appellant, Zedici Capital Ltd, is the firm that remodelled the Obudu Mountain Resort in Cross River State, now a subject of litigation. The three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, headed by Justice Peter Ige, reserved the date after counsel to the parties had adopted their legal submissions for and against the appeal, that is challenging the judgment of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), which had in 2019, refused to affirm the arbitral award to Zedici Ltd over its investment of N3.8 billion in the resort. Justice Ige announced that a date for the judgment would be comm...
Anambra election: 22 political parties storm INEC office, want participation
Twenty-two political parties, on Friday, stormed the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Abuja, to submit names and particulars of candidates for the November 6 Anambra governorship election. The parties, which were part of the 74 political parties deregistered by INEC last year, insisted that they must be on the ballot as they had obtained a declarative judgment by the Appeal Court quashing their deregistration by the INEC. The electoral body, however, rejected their request, insisting that the parties remained deregistered. It would be recalled that the parties had, on March 18 this year, submitted letters of notice for the conduct of the governorship primaries for the Anambra poll. But INEC, then, in a swift reaction, signed by INEC National Commissi...
Coronavirus: England to lift mask, distancing rules July 19
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday revealed plans to lift most of England’s legal coronavirus restrictions, including face masks and social distancing from July 19, urging personal responsibility rather than government edict. Johnson had initially aimed for a full reopening on June 21, but was forced to push back the date because of a surge in the highly contagious Delta variant. That variant now accounts for nearly all new Covid-19 cases in Britain, and infection rates have soared, sparking concern. But mass vaccinations have stopped a resultant surge in hospital admissions or deaths. “This pandemic is far from over, it certainly won’t be over by the 19th,” warned Johnson. “We must reconcile ourselves, sadly, to more deaths from Covid. “There’s only one reason why we can contemplate g...
IMN: Sheikh El-Zakzaky is not an enemy of Nigeria
The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) says that its leader, Sheik Ibraheem El-Zakzaky, is not an enemy of Nigeria. The Islamic group also says that the message of El-Zakzaky differs from the struggle by leader, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, and the secessionist, Sunday Igboho. The Coordinator, Resource Forum of IMN, Prof. Abdullahi Danladi, gave the clarification on Saturday, following the recent social media pictures of El-Zakzaky, Kanu and Igboho displayed side-by-side. “Recently, the social media went awash with the pictures of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky framed on both sides with the pictures of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Igboho. “Beneath the pictures is the caption: ‘Buhari is respecting Federal Character in the fight against the enemies of Nigeria’ was posted. “First, Shei...
My wife lost her memory the two times she had our children – man tells court
A Sharia Court in Magajin Gari, Kaduna, Kaduna State, has granted the prayer of one Aminu Abdulkareem, a business man for divorce on grounds that he no longer loved his wife, Aisha Sanusi. According to newsmen, Aminu, who resides in Mahuta, Kaduna, in his petition, said his wife also lost her memory whenever she was close to giving birth. Delivering judgment, the judge, Nuhu Falalu granted Aisha custody of their six-year-old child and ordered Aminu to pay N15, 000 monthly for the upkeep of the child. He also ordered Aisha to allow the child’s father see him without any restriction. Earlier, Aminu said: “The love is no longer there. I want to divorce her. I also want custody of our two children.” Aisha, who lives on Abeakuta Street, Kaduna, through her counsel, Elizabeth Yayok, did not obje...
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...
PDP cautions Zamfara governor, lawmakers over plan to defect to APC
The Peoples Democratic Party has cautioned the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, members of the Zamfara State House of Assembly, and those of the National Assembly from the state against defecting to the All Progressives Congress. Newsmen reported that Matawalle will dump the PDP for the APC tomorrow. Reacting, the PDP stated that Matawalle defecting to the APC amounts to a decision to vacate office. According to the party, “No law allows him to cross over to any other party with the governorship mandate statutorily given to the PDP through the ballot box.” This was disclosed in a statement titled, ‘Zamfara: PDP Cautions Matawalle, NASS, SHoA Members Against Defection,’ signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan. It read, “The PDP is watching developments i...
Ogun council poll: OGSIEC cancels nomination fees for chairmanship, councillorship candidates
Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) has cancelled the nomination fee deposit for Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates in the forthcoming local government elections in the state for all political parties. OGSIEC’s Chairman, Babatunde Osibodu, made this known while fielding questions from newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Saturday. He explained that though, OGSIEC had in the guidelines released earlier, stipulated the payment of non-refundable deposit of N200,000 and N100,000 by intending candidates nominated and cleared to contest the chairmanship and councillorship elections in the LG poll, the fees have now been cancelled by the electoral body. “You will recall that we had earlier asked male Chairmanship and Councillorship candidates to make a non-refu...
House speaker: APC must be committed to its manifesto to succeed
The speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, says the All Progressives Congress (APC) must be committed to its manifesto for it to succeed in governance. Gbajabiamila said members of the party must also not forget that they will answer for “what we have done with our time in government”. A statement from Lanre Lasisi, the speaker’s spokesman, quoted him as saying this at the progressives youth conference organised by the APC in Abuja on Monday. He described manifestoes as “statements of vision and vision is the foundation of all achievements.” “For a nation such as ours to succeed, we must first define a common vision that will inspire us, bring us together, and provide the focus that allows us to persevere through the inevitable difficult times,” the speaker said. “As i...
SSANU threatens strike over Nigerian government’s directives on workers of staff schools
The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) has advised the Federal Government to withdraw the circular directing that workers of the Staff schools should not be captured in the 2022 budget. The President of SSANU, Mohammed Haruna, gave the advice while speaking with newsmen on Sunday in Abuja. He threatened that the union would embark on industrial action if government refused to heed the union’s request. Haruna was reacting to the alleged circular from the Budget Office directing that teachers in Staff Schools should be removed from the Consolidated Salary Scale, CONTISS, in the 2022 budget. He said that the reopening of the matter that had been decided by the National Industrial Court would affect the industrial harmony being enjoyed in the universities as there a subsi...
