Wednesday, 16 December 2015

How Appeal court dismissed Wike’s appeal






How Appeal court dismissed Wike’s appeal
By Evelyn Okakwu

The court of Appeal in Abuja, Monday, dismissed the appeal filed by the River State governor, Nyesom Wike contesting the ruling of the state’s election tribunal which nullified his election on October 24.

Counsel to Mr. Wike, Emanuel Ukala, had filed an appeal, on November 3, requesting the court to set aside the tribunal’s ruling on seven grounds.

In a unanimous judgment, however, a five man panel led by justice. M. B. Dongban-Mensen dismissed all seven grounds of the appeal for lacking in merit.

"Haven dismissed all seven motions of this appeal, I find the appeal lacking in merit, and the appeal hereby dismissed," said Mrs. Dongban-Mensen.

Mrs. Dongban-Mensen further said the decision of the tribunal which nullified Mr. Wike's election is valid and within its jurisdiction.

She frowned at the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which sought to contest the use of its own card readers, describing the act as dangerous for the nation's electoral process.
Ms. Dongban-Mensen noted that card readers were introduced by INEC to ensure a free and fair election and therefore it was disastrous for the same INEC to negate the principle laid down by its self.

“INEC is not allowed to shift grounds on the elections conducted by it”, the court said.

Mr. Ukala, had in the November 3rd appeal told the court that tribunal failed to conduct a pre-trial conference after the removal of the first chairman; hence it aired in its judgment.
He also said his client was denied the right to fair hearing.


But the appeal court ruled that: "What happened in this case is not a change of tribunal, but a change of chairman”.

It therefore held that the tribunal’s ruling cannot be questioned on the basis of the involvement of a new chairman.
The appeal court also ruled that Mr. Wike was not denied his right to fair hearing, stressing that the 21 days’ notice given cannot be open to challenge with regards to the ruling of the tribunal


Mrs. Dongban-Mensen therefore ruled that the election conducted in the state in April was null and void and requested INEC to conduct a re-run in 90 days.


Another of Mr. Wike’s counsel, Ifedayo Adedipe, who was at the appeal court told news men after the sittings, that his client will study the ruling of the tribunal upheld by this judgment and proceed to the Supreme Court.
“I can assure you that we will like to have a second opinion in the Supreme Court on the various legal issues raised by the nature of this petition”, he said; referring to the petition by the All progressive Congress (APC) and its governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside which led to the ruling by the tribunal.








Biafra: 13 IPOB supporters to be arraigned tomorrow


Kanu and his supporters






By Evelyn Okakwu

13 supporters of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB) have approached the Abuja Magistrate court demanding their release from Keffi prison.
The men, led by a certain Agbo Moses were arrested on December 2, by the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) during a protest at the Magistrate Court.
According to the counsel for the 13 men, I. C. Ejiofor, his clients issued the petition, following the courts remand order to the NPF requesting it to arraign them on December 17.
“When the police arrested the 13 men; they approached the Magistrate court for an order to have them remanded in prison.”
“In that order, the Magistrate court asked that they be produced in court on December 17”.
He therefore noted that his clients have issued the petition with reference number, CR/132/2015, to demand their release from prison once they are arraigned.
The 13 IPOB agitators are: Agbo Moses, Oruna Okechukwu,  Ede Uchenna, Ede Emeka, Chidi Ogo, Ani Chukwuemeka,  Ezenwankwo Obumneme,  Chukwunonso Ekwonu,        Anioke Charity,                 Oko Ugochi, Adibe Dorathy,        Aluma Samuel, and Ochor Chigozie.



Biafra: Court 'discharges' Kanu







Nnamdi Kanu


By Sani Tukur and Evelyn Okakwu


A Magistrate Court sitting in Abuja on Wednesday, December 16, discharged the cases against the leader of the Indigenous People Of Biafra Nnamdi Kanu.

At the ruling the chief magistrate, Shuaibu Usman struck out all criminal charges leveled against Kanu.

Mr. Usman said that since the State Security Services (SSS) through its lawyer Moses Idakwo had filed for a discontinuation of the case, the accused is thereby discharged.

Citing section 108 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act, he said the case is struck out due emerging facts by the prosecutor on the matter under investigation.

The SSS had On Monday, November 23 filed an application for the discontinuation of the case against Kanu.

Mr. Idakwo had, during his submissions, said the facts emerging from ongoing investigation by his client - the SSS - show that the case against the Biafra agitator cannot be entertained by the magistrate court.

He said that the magistrate court lacked the jurisdiction to handle such case.

Kanu was arrested on October 14 on arriving Lagos, Nigeria from the United Kingdom.

Following his arrest, he was arraigned by the SSS before chief magistrate Usman.

But during the trial process, the SSS obtained an order from the Federal High Court to keep Kanu in their custody for a period of 90 days.
This; the SSS said, will enable it conduct investigation on Kanu following allegations of terrorism and terrorism funding.

But in an objection, Kanu's counsel, Egechukwu Obetta also applied to the same Federal High Court presided by Ademola Adeniyi to revoke the order it had given to the SSS.

He said the prosecutor had fraudulently obtained the order during an ongoing trial of the accused person at the magistrate court.

Adeniyi is expected to rule on the matter on Thursday, December 17.

Kanu has also asked the court to strike out the criminal charge with reference number FHC/ABJ/ CS/873/2015 leveled against him by the SSS.


Monday, 19 October 2015

Controversy as appeal court fails to deliver judgment on Saraki’s Code of Conduct trial




By Evelyn Okakwu

The Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Monday reserved judgment on the appeal filed by the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to try him over false declaration of assets.
The court had fixed today (Monday, October 19) for judgment.
But when parties arrived the court Monday, they were reportedly told judgment was not ready, and the court therefore failed to sit.
The counsel to the respondent, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told PREMIUM TIMES parties were told judgment was not ready and that they would be given a new date for hearing.
Mr. Saraki’s lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, told PREMIUM TIMES the development was strange.
“They said they will deliver the judgment when they are ready.”
“We were here in the morning and they said they will read the judgment. When we got there at 2pm, they said they will read the judgment when they are ready,” he said.
“But we know the judgment is ready, it is a strange situation.”
However, counsel to the respondent, Rotimi Jacobs, said his team was not privy to any information relating to the readiness of the judgment.
“What we were told is that the judgment is not ready and the court says they will give us a date when it is ready,” he said.
The appeal was filed on October 6 by Mr. Saraki’s lawyer, J.B.L Ufoh, challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to proceed with hearings on Mr. Saraki’s case.
Mr. Ufor had told the appellate court the tribunal ought to have stayed proceedings when it got an order from a Federal High Court directing it to do so.
He argued that the CCT was not a superior court to the Federal High Court, and therefore urged the court to set aside all proceedings, including the charge against Mr. Saraki on the grounds that the tribunal was not properly constituted.
Counsel to the respondent, Rotimi Jacobs, however made a counter appeal in a brief filed on October 12, stating that there was no order by the Federal High Court compelling the Code of Conduct Tribunal not to sit.
Mr. Jacobs insisted that the law was being misinterpreted and urged Justices M.A.A Adumien, J.E Ekanem and M. Mustapha to dismiss the appeal as “it lacked merit”.


Source-Premium Times

10 quotes from Africa's legend, who died today in history





Machel

Today, 29 years ago, Africa lost one of its most celebrated liberation heroes and revolutionary leader, Samora Moisés Machel who perished in a fatal plane crash in 1986

Affectionately referred to as “President Samora”, Machel was a freedom fighter and socialist revolutionary leader of the Mozambican liberation movement FRELIMO and the country’s first president. He dedicated his life to fighting colonialism, exploitation and injustices.

We celebrate the legacy of one of Africa’s founding heroes and remember the words he left us with in his quest to see the liberation and development of Africa.


1. “The rich man’s dog gets more in the way of vaccination, medicine and medical care than do the workers upon whom the rich man’s wealth is built”.

2. “The Emancipation of women is not an act of charity, the result of a humanitarian or compassionate attitude. The liberation of women is a fundamental necessity for the revolution, a guarantee of its continuity and a precondition for its victory.” Speech delivered in 1973.

3. “Personalities and fame pass; the revolution must remain”.

4. “International solidarity is not an act of charity: It is an act of unity between allies fighting on different terrains toward the same objective. The foremost of these objectives is to aid the development of humanity to the highest level possible.”


5. There is no place for White racism, as there is no place for Black racism, because racism, racism, in its essence, in its essence racism is an organised attitude, a reactionary attitude”. Beira speech, 14 June 1975. Translated from Portuguese by Colin Darch and David Hedges.

6. “All races, all peoples in the world want liberty, want independence”. Beira speech, 14 June 1975. Translated from Portuguese by Colin Darch and David Hedges.

7. “To ensure national unity, there must be no Shonas in Zimbabwe, there must be no Ndebeles in Zimbabwe, there must be Zimbabweans. Some people are proud of their tribalism. But we call tribalists reactionary agents of the enemy”. Speech delivered in Harare, Zimbabwe, 1980.

8. “The state must be the first to be organized and totally committed to serving the interests of the people”. Speech given in Maputo, February 7, 1980.

9. “It is essential to link enterprises on the basis of objective laws of a socialist economy and legal system”.

10. “Salaries and wages must reflect the reality of the enterprise’s economic performance; deviations from the planned performance should be reflected in pay”.


Source: This is Africa