A judge of the Federal High Court, Asaba, Delta state, Justice Olatunregun Ishola, has warned politicians against bringing trivial matters to court.
The judge made this known when she delivered judgement in a case brought by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate in the last governorship election, seeking to disqualify the candidates of three political parties – All Progressives Congress, Accord Party and Labour Party.
The PDP had approached the court to nullify the candidature of the three parties because they violated the section of Electoral Act that stipulates that parties must notify Independent National Electoral Commission 21 days before holding “any convention, congress, conference or meeting convened for the purpose of electing members of its executive committees, other governing bodies or nominating candidates for any of the elective offices specified under this act.”
Dismissing the case, the judge said while the plaintiff’s case had merit, it did not show enough evidence to prove its rights had been violated and warned the parties to desist from using the court as a “playground”, adding that they should take their case to the state Election Petition Tribunal.
Akinnolu Timothy Kehinde, cousel to the PDP, said the judgement would be looked at and a decision made afterwards.
Former aviation minister and immediate past spokesman of Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential campaign, Femi Fani-Kayode, is set to know his fate on the seven-year N100 million money laundering trial on July 1.
Justice Rita Ofili Ajumogobia of the Federall High Court in Lagos said she could not deliver judgement on Thursday, because the absence of lead prosecution counsel, Festus Keyamo, and thus deferred ruling to July 1.
“It is proper for the entire parties to be around for the judgment, I feel this is the right thing to do… it is better to have everyone present for the judgment,” Justice Ajumogobia said, according to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Fani-Kayode is standing trial on a two-count charge of money laundering while he was minister of culture and tourism and later minister of aviation. The N100 million case, which began since 2008 before Justice Ramat Mohammed of the same court, saw 38 of the original 40 count charges levelled against him dismissed on November 17, 2014, by Justice Rita, who succeeded Justice Mohammed.
Keyamo, represented by Festus Afiyen, was said to be attending another matter to which he was a principal witness, could not be present at Thursday’s hearing and though defence counsel, I.A Adedipe, asked the court to postpone ruling till 1pm, as Keyamo had told him he would be present by then, the judge declined, preferring to adjourn till July 1.
The Edo State Election Petition Tribunal on Thursday upheld the victory of Peter Akpatason, the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in the last election into the Federal House of Representatives in Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency.
The tribunal, led by Justice A. R. Ozoemena, dismissed the petition filed Bankole-Balogun of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on the ground that it was not filed in line with the Electoral Act.
“As it seems there is no petition before the Tribunal since there was no attempt by the PDP or its agents to sign on behalf of the party. The petition lacks merit and therefore struck out in its entirety,” Justice Ozoemena declared.
Ken Mozia, counsel to Akpatason and the APC, said it was a judgement that gave victory to democracy, adding, “The panel were meticulous in their judgment.”
Candidate of the PDP in the election, Bankole-Balogun has, however, said he is considering appealing the judgement of the tribunal.
Fourteen foreigners arraigned for illegal oil bunkering by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have been told they will face trial after the court dismissed their application seeking to quash the case.
The suspects, facing a four-count charge of conspiracy and illegal dealing in petroleum products, on Thursday. asked Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos, to dismiss the case against them because the prosecution had failed to secure the permission of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, as provided for in the Exclusive Economic Zone Act of Nigeria.
The EFCC, however, earlier argued that it had the power to prosecute the accused under the Miscellaneous Offences Act, which they violated. Justice Buba agreed with the anti-corruption agency.
“This court does not find any merit on this application, it is hereby dismissed,” the judge said, signalling commencement of trial.
Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel to the EFCC, presented the first witness, Captian Chiedozie Donald Okedi, a staff of Nigeria Sailing Ship, Centenary, Victoria Island, Nigeria, who narrated how the accused were arrested.
According to Okedi, while carrying out a routine patrol of Lagos waters, his team noticed the loitering vessel, which had its radar switched off. When asked, the captained said he was not aware the radar was off and said the vessel was having trouble performing a ship-to-ship function.
Suspicious of the explanation, Okeid said his team decided to inspect the vessel and found 3000 metric tonnes of low pour fuel oil, LPFO, and about 1, 500 metric tonnes of Automotive Gas Oil, AGO, popularly called diesel. It was discovered that “the vessel was not registered with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA,” the EFCC said.
Nine foreigners and one vessel were on Thursday arraigned for oil bunkering by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The foreigners, made of four Filipinos and five Bangladeshis – Axel Joseph Gibo Jabone, MD Zahirul Islam, Juanto Camireno Infantado, Suarin Fernando Alave, Gatila Jaypee Gadayan, Islam Shahinul; Islam Rafiqul, Shaikh Shibli Nomany and Rolando Jose Comendador – were arraigned alongside MT Asteris, the vessel involved in the illegal act.
They are standing trial on charge of conspiracy and illegal dealing in petroleum products before Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos.
According to the anti-graft agency, the vessel and crew were arrested by the Nigerian Navy on March 26, 2015, in Lagos with 3423.097 metric tonnes of crude oil without the documents permitting such lifting, and upon interrogation, the captain of the crew said the ship had sailed from Benin Republic and was empty.
However, further investigation showed it carried crude and the captain could not say who it belonged to or where it was headed.
The accused pleaded not guilty and were granted bail in the sum of N50 million with two sureties in like sum, who must deposit their international passports with two recent passport photographs.
Justice Buba adjourned the case to June 23, 2015, when trial is expected to begin.
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed condolences to the people of Chad after the twin suicide bombings in N’Djamena that left 23 people dead and over 100 injured on Monday. The attack, according to the country’s police, was carried out by Boko Haram insurgents.
“Chad has been on the frontline of the regional fight against the Boko Haram terrorists,” Buhari said in a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity. “They have stood by us through the worst and most difficult times of the challenges we have faced with terrorism. You also have our support during this difficult time.”
According to Shehu, the President called his Chadian counterpart, Idriss Deby, around 5:30pm on Wednesday and expressed regret that the insurgents had taken their attacks outside the country.
The President also condoled the people and government of Borno State over the loss of over 60 lives caused by abandoned explosives in Monguno town.
While condoling the people of the state, the President assured that it was only a matter of time before the insurgency ravaging the northeastern states of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, becomes history. “Crushing Boko Haram will remain a priority of my government,” the President assured.
The European Union, EU, has called on the Federal Government to put in place adequate measures to ensure that the effects of climate change do not hamper the growth and development of the country.
It advised the current administration to positively utilize the huge amounts of carbon dioxide and quantities of gas flared in the Niger Delta by using such to feed power stations that would generate electricity.
It said this would reduce dependence on power generators and ensure reduction in greenhouse gas and enhance rapid economic development.
This advice was contained in a joint statement issued by the EU ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Arion, and his counterparts from France, Denys Gauer; Denmark, Torben Getterman; Britain, Andrew Pocock; and Germany, Michael Zenner.
The diplomats issued the warning at the EU Climate Diplomacy Day, which held in Abuja on Wednesday.
Arion, who spoke on behalf of the diplomats, said the event, which holds simultaneously in many countries around the globe every June 17 was aimed at alerting host countries of the dangers posed by climate change.
He noted that while Nigeria had done a lot in tackling climate change, more needs to be done to curtail its devastating effects.
“Climate change is for real. And we have to do something urgent about it. It is just like the proverbial elephant in the room that must be evacuated. It is not a plot hatched against Africa by the Western nations as being insinuated in certain quarters. It is possible to grow our economy and also contain gas emission which is injurious to development in the long run,” Arion noted.
He added that the challenge was not for developed nations alone.
“It must be seen as a global issue that affects everyone especially developing nations which will suffer more at the end. It is a task for everyone,” he noted.
He also said that in about six months from now ,the EU will meet in Paris to sign an international agreement that will shape future commitments in the area of climate change.
“The work to achieve that agreement has begun. It is up to us to ensure that we create the momentum needed to finish the job,” he explained.
Arion also said the EU has already made a separate commitment aimed at reducing greenhouse emission by at least 40% based on the 1990 levels.
He said Nigeria should equally toe the same line in view of the fact that it also faces huge climatic challenges in the areas of encroaching desertification, flooding, coastal erosion and changing weather patterns affecting agriculture.
He said it was gratifying to hear the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari identify international engagement as a priority for Nigeria in the next dispensation.
“As one of Africa’s leaders, Nigeria has an opportunity and a responsibility to encourage and support African partners in developing progressive regional position. That global engagement will need to be backed with a clear national commitment. Nigeria is developing its own national plan and we urge the Nigerian government to set ambitious, concrete targets for reducing carbon emissions,” Arion said.
The French ambassador, who spoke briefly, said his country is waiting earnestly to host the world when it gathers in France to fashion out ways to meet the 2020 goals set for global containment of greenhouse emission and climate change challenges.
He said the conference which he tagged as, ‘It will not be business as usual,’ would focus on goals such as having a universally binding agreement on climate change, identifying specific contributions by nations worth commending, financial implications of a successful global campaign and laying down a solid legal and political framework for the global agenda.
The Nigerian representative at the event, A Adejuwon, assured the international gathering that Nigeria is doing a lot to mitigate the effects of climate change and reduce gas flaring. He said Nigeria already has in place an institutional framework to guide its role in addressing the issue.
He noted that an inter-ministerial platform had been set up to tackle the issues of climate change.
“Nigeria also has a formidable linkage center on climate change in Federal University of Technology, Minna. It has developed a Nigeria Climate Change policy. There is equally a national adaptation strategy in place. We also have a national climate change media network aimed at strengthening advocacy and campaign structures. There is equally a policy of zero tolerance on gas flaring which though has not been totally implemented but is gradually recording success,” Adejuwon said.
Three films depicting the horrifying effects of climate change on social and economic lives of nations were aired at the event which had in attendance, diplomats, environmental activists, representative of oil firms, NGOs and the media.
The scandal involving the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, has continued to worsen, with the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, and Bureau of Public Procurement, BPP, trading blames over the award of a contract to a legal firm for the liquidation of the company.
BPE claimed it was right to award a contract, valued at N929.6 million, to Messrs J.K. Gadzama & Co for legal consultancy because it got a “No Objection” certificate from the BPP.
However, Thomas Odemwingie, BPP’s head of media, has denied that his agency issued such certificate, saying the certificate referred to by the BPE was withdrawn and cancelled.
“On the advice of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation the BPP had earlier on September 22nd 2014, rejected the request for the issuance of certificate of “No Objection” to contract award. The BPP Certificate Ref. BPP/S13/VOLVIII/190 dated 2nd September 2013, referred to by the BPE in favour of the legal firm was withdrawn and cancelled,” Odemwingie said in a statement made available to the www.icirnigeria.org.
According to Odemwingie, following its cancelation of the certificate, the Attorney General replied and asked the BPP to reconsider its position and re-issue the certificate but it refused. The BPP “approved only the engagement of Messrs. Ora Egbunike and Associates for the asset valuation services in the sum of N517,694,100,” the BPP spokesperson said.
“This approval for the engagement of Messrs Ora Egbunike and Associates was subsequently approved by the Federal Executive Council. There was no approval, to our knowledge, by either the President or Federal Executive Council for the engagement of the legal services,” he added.
According to the Public Procurement Act, a contract awarded by any government agency can only be valid when the BPP awards a certificate of “No Objection.”
The Borno State government has reviewed the curfew imposed on the state for the purpose of this year’s ‘Ramadan commencing today, Thursday..
The announcement, made by Governor Kashim Shettima will see movement extended to 9:30pm, as against 7pm.
Borno State, which has been under curfew for over two years, has always reviewed the curfew during Ramadan to enable residents go for prayers and other activities. This year’s review, however, is only for residents in the state capital and Jere Local Government Area.
“The curfew is only applicable to the residents of Maiduguri metropolis and Jere Local Government Area, while those wishing to enter the town (from) outside the metropolis will be restricted on or before 7pm,” the governor announced, referring to 7pm to 6am curfew that will continue in other parts of the state.
Shettima, however, warned residents against doing anything inimical to the security of the state and advised them to be vigilant, law abiding and to use the Ramadan season to pray for peace in the state.
The vice chancellor of the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Professor Ibrahim Njordi, has called on the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to come to the aid of indigent students in the school, particularly the ones affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
Njordi made the call when the Director-General of NEMA, Sani Sidi, visited the school.
“Seventy per cent of my students came from the North-east, which is being faced with Boko Haram insurgency. These are most displaced persons hence the need for your agency to assist the indigent and displaced student,” Njordi said
He called on the emergency agency to emulate a foundation, Abdul Kabi Foundation, which gave each of 100 students scholarship to the tune oforth N100, 000 and assured Sidi that the school would continue to work with NEMA, especially through the Disaster and Risk Management Centre, a joint effort between the school and the agency. The Centre has graduated 250 post-graduate students since inception, the vice chancellor said.
Sidi, who said Borno State accounts for over 70 per cent of the more than 1.5 million displaced persons, assured that NEMA will partner with the university, especially with regards to efforts to rehabilitate communities destroyed by the insurgency.
“I am in Maiduguri to see how fast we will relocate the IDPs back to their communities. We will continue to partner with the university through the disaster and risks management centre established in collaboration with NEMA.”
