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Good morning! Here Are Some Major News Headlines In The Newspapers Today: One killed, scores injured as Rivers APC, PDP supporters clash

Published

1 year ago

April 4, 2023

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1. Violence rocked Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Monday, as supporters of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, clashed along Aba Road in the city over the outcome of the March 18 governorship election. At least one person was killed while several others were injured.

2. The immediate past spokesman of the Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Wapkerem Maigida, is dead. Maigida was reported to have slumped and died in the nation’s capital on Monday.

3. Former Abia State Governor, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, yesterday, announced the death of his wife, Mrs Ifeoma Ada Kalu. The Senate Chief Whip who announced this in a social media post on Monday, urged the public to remember Mrs Ifeoma and her loved ones in prayers during this difficult period.

4. There were strong indications, yesterday, that the tussle for the leadership of both chambers of the National Assembly has unsettled the All Progressives Congress (APC). It was learnt that the ruling party has been divided by various interest groups lobbying for principal officers in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

READ Appeal court dismisses suit seeking disqualification of Tinubu, Shettima, says PDP a “busybody”

5. Several Pro-Tinubu protesters, yesterday, grounded activities at the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and passed a vote of confidence in the electoral umpire. The protesters under the auspices of The Natives, also urged the United State of America, United Kingdom and the international community not to promote insurrection in Nigeria with their utterances on the February 25 elections.

6. The leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has landed in fresh crisis following claims by a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) that the National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu and the Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, have turned the party into an autocratic and retrogressive party. An NWC member, Salihu Moh Lukman, alleged that Adamu and Omisore have violated the party’s constitution and failed to account for the millions of naira raked into the party’s coffers since they assumed office.

7. Heavily armed policemen and officials of the Department of State Service, DSS, yesterday, stormed the residence of embattled Eze Ndigbo of Ajao Estate, Frederick Nwajagu, for the second time, after he was arrested last Friday, following a 49-second video shared on Twitter threatening to invite members of proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, to secure properties of Igbo people in Lagos.

READ Tinubu commences reconciliation moves, sets up committees to meet Atiku, Obi, Kwankwaso

8. The All Progressives Congress, APC, in Delta State, yesterday, announced the expulsion of the Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, from the party. Omo-Agege was expelled for alleged anti-party activities and other unnamed offences.

9. The Kano State High Court 2 presided over by Justice Yusuf Ubale has sentenced two men, Samaila Salisu and Aminu Salisu, to death by hanging for killing one Ibrahim Alhassan. The convicts, who are residents of Magangara village in Kura LGA of Kano State, stormed the residence of Ibrahim Alhassan with the intention to commit armed robbery and in the process shot him to death.

10. Anti-Tinubu passenger aboard an Abuja-Lagos flight, Mr Obiajulu Uja, has been arraigned before the Zuba Magistrates’ Court, Abuja and remanded in prison custody. Uja was on Friday evening carried off a Lagos-Abuja flight, after he started a lone protest, demanding that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, must never be sworn in as president on May 29

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Ifeoma, wife of Orji Kalu, is dead

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

Published

1 hour ago

April 29, 2024

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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 BREAKING: How Atiku, Saraki, Tambuwal, Aliyu, others rebuffed Jonathan’s pleas in 2014 – Wike

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 Gunmen kidnap 18 passengers in Ibarapa

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 PDP crisis: Wike, Ortom, others can't sack me as chairman, Ayu boasts

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.

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

Published

2 hours ago

April 29, 2024

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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:

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. 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 Major news headlines in the papers today: I have no hand in PDP crisis – Jonathan

“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.