News

Igbo leaders resolve to support Tinubu’s administration

Published

2 months ago

February 22, 2024

admin

Leaders of the South-east say they have resolved to support the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

The leaders made the resolution at the end of their emergency meeting in Enugu on Thursday.

The meeting was chaired by the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, and attended by serving and past National Assembly members from the South-east, traditional rulers, and other members of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, among others.

Support for Tinubu
In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, the leaders said, as law-abiding citizens of Nigeria, they have resolved to support Mr Tinubu given that the Supreme Court has affirmed his victory in the 2023 general election.

“Meanwhile, an expanded meeting of Igbo leaders comprising all the South-east governors will soon be convened to develop options and proffer solutions and guidance to all the sons and daughters of Igbo land on the way forward,” the communique read in part.

READ IPOB insists on April deadline for Fulani cow ban in South-East

Connecting the dot

Mr Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared the winner of the 25 February presidential election after polling a total of 8,794,726 votes.

Two other leading candidates in the election – Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi – came second and third respectively.

Mr Obi and Atiku challenged Mr Tinubu’s victory at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, Abuja, and later at the Supreme Court.

But Mr Tinubu won in all the courts which affirmed his victory at the last year’s general election.

Meanwhile, before the presidential election, there were calls from South-east leaders that the region should be allowed to produce a Nigerian president for the first time in 2023.

The hope of many residents of the South-east was dashed when the ruling APC and the main opposition PDP, the two dominant political parties in Nigeria, picked their candidates outside the region during their separate presidential primaries in May, last year.

READ Nnamdi Kanu speaks on sit-at-home, killings in South-east

But the hope was later rekindled after Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, dumped the PDP and defected to the LP where he later emerged as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election.

Although Mr Obi was not the only presidential candidate from the South-east, the LP candidate enjoyed swelling support across the country ahead of the election, mainly in South-east and South-south regions.

Up Next

Troops kill notorious kidnap kingpin, Boderi in Kaduna

Don't Miss

FG stops gas exports to crash price, end scarcity

Click to comment

News

Court knocks FG for lack of diligent prosecution in Tukur Mamu’s terrorism financing case

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

admin

A federal high court in Abuja has reprimanded the federal government for lack of diligent prosecution in the charge filed against Tukur Mamu, publisher of Desert Herald newspaper.

At the court session on Monday, David Kaswe, prosecution counsel, was not in court despite having entered his name on the cause list, indicating his presence.

Abdul Mohammed, Mamu’s counsel, urged the court to stand down the matter to await Kaswe’s return.

However, the prosecution lawyer was still not in court when the case was called again after the judge had delivered a judgment.

Inyang Ekwo, the presiding judge, expressed surprise over “the miraculous disappearance” of the federal government’s lawyer in court.

“I am also aware that the prosecution was in court this morning, but as to the miracle of the disappearance of the prosecution as at the time this matter comes up for hearing is beyond my understanding,” Ekwo said.

“This antic of the prosecution is only being tolerated in today’s proceeding.

“If the prosecution demonstrates that they are not ready to prosecute this matter either diligently or expeditiously, the court will make the right decision at that point.”

READ Senate passes Electoral Act Amendment Bill, approves electronic transmission of election results, direct primary

MAMU ASKS TO BE TRANSFERRED TO KUJE PRISON

Mamu’s lawyer moved an application to transfer his client to the Kuje correctional facility.

He said the prosecution had already responded to the motion.

In the application, the defence counsel said the Department of State Services (DSS) has refused to obey a previous court order which directed that Mamu should be allowed access to his doctors.

He said Mamu would get proper medical attention in Kuje prison.

“This application is brought so that we will take the defendant to the prisons because they always obey court orders there so that if we go there, he will have access to his medical officer,” he said.

“It is completely within the discretion of the court and we do not want to bring an application for contempt as that will take time.

“Therefore, we want the court to vary the order and the defendant will stay in the Kuja correctional facility. That is what we are asking for.”

READ #Oniduro mi: I advised Tope Alabi to apologise to Alaseyori, says Telemi

The judge adjourned the matter until May 20 for ruling on Mamu’s application.

BACKGROUND

Mamu is standing trial for allegedly aiding the terrorists who attacked the Abuja-Kaduna train in March 2022.

After his arrest in 2022, the federal government said $300,000 was found in his possession.

He was arraigned in March 2023 by the office of the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism.

However, in March, he pleaded not guilty to all the counts and denied having allegiance to the terrorists.

Mamu is alleged to have received $120,000 as ransom payments on behalf of the Boko Haram terrorist group.

The monies were said to have been received from families of hostages kidnapped during the train attack.

He was also accused of exchanging voice note communications relating to the hostages with one Baba Adamu, a Boko Haram spokesperson.

The federal government also tagged the $300,000 found in Mamu’s possession after his arrest, as terrorist funds.

READ Demand for Nnamdi Kanu’s release is heavy, but I will consider it – Buhari tells Igbo leaders

Mamu, an aide to Ahmad Gumi, a popular Islamic cleric, was involved in negotiations for the release of the passengers abducted during the attack on a Kaduna-bound train.

News

Abuse of office: Emefiele challenges jurisdiction of Lagos court to try him

Published

3 hours ago

April 29, 2024

admin

The Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has deferred till the end of trial, its ruling on the application filed by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, challenging the jurisdiction of the court to try him on the charges brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Through his lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olalekan Ojo, Emefiele submitted that he cannot be tried in the high court of any state in Nigeria for alleged acts of abuse of his office as this raises issues of constitutionality and legality.

The former CBN governor also noted that counts 1-4 of the 26 counts charge filed by the EFCC against him are unconstitutional as they are not contained in any law in Nigeria.

His counsel asked the court to make an order striking out counts one to four of the charge on the grounds that:

READ 2021 POLICE RECRUITMENT: Low turnout, as Lagos, South-East shun police jobs

. the Honourable Court has no jurisdiction to try the offence of abuse of office in relation to the office of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria which the 1st Defendant occupied at all times material to the commission of the offences and

ii. the 1st Defendant’s/Applicant’s acts said to constitute arbitrary acts resulting in abuse of office are not offences known to law as mandatorily required by section 36(12) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.

The EFCC through its counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Rotimi Oyedepo, however, countered these arguments.

Citing decided cases of the Supreme Court, he asked the trial judge, Justice Rahman Oshodi, not to defer or prevent the trial of the case on the basis of objections challenging the particulars of the counts of the information.

“That approach is intended to take us back to where we are coming from as this were the basis for Section 1 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA and the purpose for which Administration of Criminal Justice Law, ACJL was intended. The intention of our collective resolution as a nation was to to prevent undue delay in our criminal cases.

READ Again, bandits kill 8, kidnap 18 others in Kaduna villages

“I urge my lord to refuse this invitation, trial has commenced, this application to prevent the trial today is unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional and I urge the court not to depart from the decision of the apex court as to do so would amount to judicial rascality,” Oyedepo stated.