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Category: Governance

  • $500,000 bribe: Supreme Court affirms Farouk Lawan’s five-year sentence

    $500,000 bribe: Supreme Court affirms Farouk Lawan’s five-year sentence

    The Supreme Court has affirmed the five-year jail term handed to a former member of the House of Representatives, Farouk Lawan by the Court of Appeal.

    Lawan was convicted and sentenced to prison in 2021 for accepting $500,000 bribe from businessman, Femi Otedola, Chairman, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd.

    In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a five-member panel affirmed the 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeal which upheld Lawan’s sentencing to five years in respect of only count three on the three-count charge on which he was tried at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    In the lead judgment prepared by Justice John Okoro but read on Friday by Justice Tijjani Abubakar, the apex count found that Lawan’s appeal was without merit and proceeded to dismiss it.

  • Presidency Replies Atiku Over NNPC’s $3.3 Billion Emergency Loan

    Presidency Replies Atiku Over NNPC’s $3.3 Billion Emergency Loan

    The Presidency has replied to the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, over the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) $3.3 billion emergency crude repayment loan.

    Recall that the repayment loan was secured on August 16, 2023, and was designed to bolster the naira and stabilize the foreign exchange market.

    The transaction, arranged by the African Export-Import Bank, was not only intended to support the national currency but also to aid the Federal Government’s monetary and fiscal reforms.

    Notably, three weeks ago, the Federal Government received $2.25 billion of the $3.3 billion foreign exchange facility from the bank.

    However, in a statement on Thursday, Atiku called on President Bola Tinubu to provide a detailed account of the repayment loan, adding that the only available details were emerging from sources within the NNPCL.

    He highlighted that the transaction is being facilitated by a Special Purpose Vehicle named Project Gazelle Funding Limited, which was incorporated in the Bahamas.

    Reacting to Atiku’s query on Thursday, presidential aide, Otega Ogra said the Tinubu’s administration has taken the time to educate all Nigerians further on the loan at various times.

    He said the loan also known as Project Gazelle, is a financing agreement secured by NNPC Limited to prepay future royalties and taxes to the federal government.

    Ogra stated that NNPC Limited’s project is a forward-thinking financial strategy that aligns operational needs with broader economic goals by utilising future crude oil sales for immediate funding, enhancing liquidity, and contributing to Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves.

    He said the project showcases NNPC Limited’s operational autonomy and financial acumen while ensuring immediate liquidity, minimising the impact on future earnings, and potentially enhancing Nigeria’s credit rating.

    Ogra noted that the repayments are strategically planned and tied to future oil sales, with conservative pricing in oil sales contracts mitigating the risks associated with oil price volatility.

  • Action Alliance: Appeal Court affirms Kenneth Udeze as authentic Nat’l Chair

    Action Alliance: Appeal Court affirms Kenneth Udeze as authentic Nat’l Chair

    The Action Alliance (AA) prolonged National Chairmanship tussle has been put to rest today as the court of Appeal Abuja division has affirmed Chief (Barr) Kenneth Udeze As the authentic National Chairman of the party.

    The three man panel of justices presided over by Hon. Justice H.A. Barka dismissed the Appeal filed by one Adekunle Rufai Omoaje in Appeal number:CA/ABJ/CV/955/2022 challenging the judgement of the FCT High Court in suit number:FCT/HC/CV/174/2022 delivered on 28th day of March,2022 by Hon.Justice Eleojo Enenche hich had earlier Affirmed Chief (Barr) Kenneth Udeze As the authentic National Chairman of Action Alliance (AA) and validated the 14th, March,2021 National Convention of the party.

    The Appeal court also awarded the cost of N4 million against Adekunle Rufai omoaje in favor of Chief (Barr) Kenneth Udeze and other three Respondents.

    In the judgement a three-man panel of justices presided over by Justice. H.A. Barka affirmed Chief (Barr) Kenneth Udeze as the authentic National Chairman of Action Alliance (AA)in Appeal number:CA/ABJ/CV/526/2022 Between one CHIEF UZEWURU NWACHUKWU Vs KENNETH UDEZE AND 2ORS.

    The parties in this appeal submitted themselves to the Court of Appeal where all issues regarding the position of the National Chairmanship of AA was resolved in favor of Barr Udeze

    The spokesman of the party, Rev. Dennis Ubani, shortly after the judgement was delivered said, “With the two Court of Appeal judgements affirming Barr Udeze as the authentic National Chairman of Action Alliance (AA) ,it is now finally put to rest the party prolong legal tustle on the National Chairmanship.

    “We express our profound gratitude to the Nigerian judiciary, that indeed it is the last hope for a common man.

    “We thank our party legal team led by Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa (SAN) former Attorney General and minister of justice for a deligent procecution of the matters .

    “We thank all the party faithfuls across Nigeria and beyond for their prayers and we urge you to have faith and always support Chief Barr Kenneth Udeze led National Executives of the Action Alliance (AA).”

  • Guber Appeals: Supreme Court Affirms Fubara, Kefas, Aliyu elections

    Guber Appeals: Supreme Court Affirms Fubara, Kefas, Aliyu elections

    The Supreme Court of Nigeria, Thursday, affirmed the elections of Governors Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers state, Kefas Agbu of Taraba and Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto state.

    The five-man panel of justices of the Apex court, had in separate judgments, unanimously dismissed the different appeals for lacking in merit.

    RIVERS

    Recall that the Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, had on November 28, 2023, affirmed the election of Fubara as the governor of Rivers State.

    The court had dismissed the petition filed by Fubara of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Patrick Tonye-Cole, against Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    TARABA

    In the case of Taraba state, the appeal was filed by
    Prof. Yahaya Sani of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP) for grossly lacking in merit.

    Prof. Sani had prayed the apex court to set aside the victory of Governor Kefas Agbu, in the March 18, 2023 governorship election.

    He had alleged non compliance with the Electoral Act, irregularities and other malpractices, but the appellate court dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.

    SOKOTO

    Similarly, the Supreme Court affirmed the election of Ahmad Aliyu as governor of Sokoto state.

    Aliyu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was declared winner of the governorship election with 453,661 votes to defeat Sai’du Umar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who secured 404,632 votes.

    But Umar alleged that the governor and his deputy Idris Gobir, forged the certificates they presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The petitioners also alleged electoral fraud during the poll.

    The tribunal in its judgment said the petitioners were unable to prove the six grounds contained in their petition.

  • Burning of Rivers House: Fubara’s loyalists arraigned, sent to prison

    Burning of Rivers House: Fubara’s loyalists arraigned, sent to prison

    The five Port Harcourt-based men accused of burning down the State House of Assembly were, Thursday, arraigned by the Federal Government on terrorism charges, have been remanded at Kuje Prison in Abuja.

    The five defendants are Chime Eguma Ezebalike, Prince Lukman Oladele, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Osiga Donald and Ochueja Thankgod.

    They were also accused of killing a Superintendent of Police, (SP) Bako Agbashim and five police informants at Ahoada community of the state.

    Justice Bolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Thursday, ordered they remain in prison custody till February 2 when their respective bail applications would be determined.

    In the 7-count charges, the defendants were accused of committing alleged terrorism offences by invading, vandalizing and burning down Rivers State House of Assembly during the wake of political crisis that rocked Port Harcourt in October last year.

    The police informants alleged to have been killed are Charles Osu, Ogbonna Eja, Idaowuka Felix, Paul Victor Chibuogu and Saturday Edi.

    Government also accused them of using various cult groups, namely- Supreme Viking Confraternity, Degbam, Iceland and Greenland to unleash mayhem on the people of the state and their commercial activities.

    However, when the charges against them marked FHC/ABJ/CR/25/2024 was read, they all pleaded not guilty to the offences..

    Although the immediate past factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon Edison Ehie was not listed in the 7-count terrorism charges, he was however represented in court by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, Oluwole Aladedoyin on the ground that his name featured prominently in the alleged offences.

    He challenged the allegations that he was at large alongside other suspects.

    Justice Olajuwon did not however allow further arguments on the ground that he was not yet a defendant in the charges.

    Shortly after the arraignment, the leader of the prosecuting team, Audu Garba applied for a date for full blown trial of the defendants.

    However, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, Lukman Fagbemi who stood for Chime Eguma Ezebalike and Prince Lukman Oladele who are 1st and 2nd defendants, sought to move applications for their bail on the ground that they have been in the police custody since last year.

    The government lawyer, Audu Garba vehemently opposed on the reason that he had just been served with the bail applications and needed time to study them and file counter affidavit.

    Justice Olajuwon agreed with the prosecution lawyer that the bail applications were not ripe for hearing and fixed February 2 for hearing of all bail applications.

    Pending hearing and determination of the bail applications, the Judge ordered that the five defendants be taken to Kuje Prison on remand and be returned to court on the adjourned date.

    Specifically, the defendants were alleged to have on October 29, 2023 at Moscow Road in Port Harcourt conspired to commit acts of terrorism by wilful destruction of public properties by invading, attacking, destroying and burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly, an offence punishable under section 26 of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022.

    Part of the charges read, “That you, Chime Eguma Ezebalike, 37 years, business man of Street 5, Radio Estate Ozuoba, Port Harcourt, Prince Lukman Oladele, 47 years of Okocha Street, Port Harcourt, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Hon Edison Ehie and others now at large on 29th of October 2023 at Moscow Road in Port Harcourt, while acting in concert conspired together to commit felony to wit: acts of terrorism by wilful destruction of public properties by invading, attacking, destroying and burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 26 (1) of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022.

    “That you Chime Eguma Ezebalike, 37 years, business man of Street 5, Radio Estate Ozuoba, Port Harcourt, Prince Lukman Oladele, 47 years of Okocha Street, Port Harcourt, Kenneth Goodluck Kpasa, Hon Edison Ehie and others now at large on 29th of October 2023 at Moscow Road in Port Harcourt, while acting in concert and armed with dynamite, iron rods, lighters and other offensive weapons willfully and maliciously invaded, attacked and set fire on the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 1 of the Miscellaneous Offences Act, Cap M17 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

  • Supreme Court affirms Fubara as Rivers Gov

    Supreme Court affirms Fubara as Rivers Gov

    The Supreme Court, Thursday, upheld the election of Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the authentic governor of Rivers State.

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Mr. Tonye Cole, filed to challenge the outcome of the governorship election that held in the state on March 18, 2023.

    The Apex court five-member panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, dismissed the appeal for lacking in merit.

    The court said it found no reason to disagree with the concurrent decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, which upheld Fubara’s victory at the poll.

    It further established that the appellant failed convince the court that the election was not conducted in compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022.

    The APC pulled out from the case against governor Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, while it was being heard by the Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

    Despite the position of the party not to challenge the declaration of Fubara as winner of the gubernatorial contest by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mr. Cole, vowed to prosecute his petition to its logical conclusion.

    INEC had declared that Fubara of the PDP polled a total of 302,614 votes to defeat his closets rival, Cole of the APC who got a total of 95,274 votes.

    Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, Cole approached the tribunal to challenge it.

    The appellant, among other things, alleged that the Rivers State governorship poll was marred by corrupt practices, insisting that it was not conducted in substantial compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2022.

  • Tinubu Departs Nigeria For France On Private Visit

    Tinubu Departs Nigeria For France On Private Visit

    President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, departed Abuja for Paris, France, for a private visit.

    His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, had revealed this in a statement on Wednesday but did not disclose the reasons for the visit.

    According to the statement, Tinubu is expected to return to the country in the first week of February 2024.

    This visit is Tinubu’s third to the country since he assumed office eight months ago.

    On June 20, 2023, three weeks after assuming office, Tinubu opened his foreign schedule in the city he last visited as President-elect, Paris, the French capital.

    In September 2023, the President spent nine days with world leaders in New York, USA, at the 78th United Nations General Assembly, which began on September 19, his first UNGA as President.

    Afterward, he proceeded to Paris, France, where he remained for five days, arriving in Abuja on September 29 ahead of Nigeria’s 63rd Independence Day anniversary on October 1.

  • Presidency Clarifies Tinubu’s Purported Plan To Move Federal Capital To Lagos

    Presidency Clarifies Tinubu’s Purported Plan To Move Federal Capital To Lagos

    The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has debunked reports that plans are underway to move the Federal Capital Territory to Lagos State.

    Onanuga, in a statement via X on Wednesday, described those peddling the reports as dishonest, ethnic and regional champions, attempting to draw attention to themselves.

    He noted that the rumour had made rounds during the presidential campaign in 2023 to stop Tinubu’s presidency, but it was trashed.

    According to Onanuga, Abuja, as the FCT is backed by law and has come to stay, adding the movement of FAAN, a department of the Aviation Ministry, to Lagos does not amount to moving the FCT to Lagos.

    The statement reads, “President Tinubu has no plan whatsoever to move the Federal Capital to Lagos. The rumour first surfaced during the campaign last year by opponents looking for all manners of weapons to stop him. We trashed it.

    “Those peddling it anew are dishonest, ethnic and regional champions, trying to draw attention to themselves. Abuja has come to stay. It is backed by law.

    “The movement of FAAN, a department of Aviation Ministry to Lagos, where it was based before former minister Hadi Sirika moved it to Abuja during the last administration, does not amount to moving the FCT to Lagos. The administrative move should have attracted scant attention, as Lagos is the commercial capital and the hub of aviation business in Nigeria. FAAN should be no where else but near the industry it regulates. FAAN will still maintain some presence in Abuja, as it is not a wholesale movement.

    “Similarly, the movement of some departments of the CBN to Lagos should not trigger any hoopla. The departments concerned, including the bank supervision department, are those dealing with commercial banks, all with headquarters in Lagos. A regulator ought to be close to the businesses it regulates.

    “All those pushing this campaign of falsehood know they are playing politics, albeit a dangerous politics to pit the North against the South.

    “There are many parastatals that are not based in Abuja depending on their mandate. NIMASA is in Lagos. So is NPA. National Inland Waterways Authority( NIWA) is in Lokoja, not Abuja. Will the people opposing the movement of FAAN and some CBN departments want those agencies to be in Abuja, where there is no single port and no maritime activity?

    “Administrative decisions should not be politicized. Let it not look like whenever we are temporarily not at the helm of affairs, we create all manners of dangerous rumours to distract from the bigger picture and emasculate an administration led by a southerner. Let’s stop the dirty politics. We can’t be playing politics with everything.”

  • Feb 3 Bye-Elections: INEC Expresses Concern Over Threats Of Violence

    Feb 3 Bye-Elections: INEC Expresses Concern Over Threats Of Violence

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised worry about threats of violence ahead of the February 3 bye-elections and rerun.

    Speaking Tuesday in Abuja at a meeting of the Interagency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu stated that, based on his experience, conducting isolated elections, such as bye-elections and reruns, can be extremely difficult.

    He said, “We must pay attention to the potentials for disruptive behaviour by some candidates and their supporters. A re-run election conducted in one Polling Unit or a handful of Polling Units can be severely disrupted by acts of thuggery knowing full well that these few locations will determine the outcome of the election.

    “Arising from the reports we received from the States, concerns have been raised about the impact of the prevailing insecurity in some States on the conduct of the elections, made worse by incendiary statements by some political actors. We will present such concerns and reports at this meeting for appropriate security response.”

    Yakubu noted that there are many parties involved in elections and that security agencies must ensure that INEC can deploy staff and materials, protect observers, the media, and the polling and collation agents who represent the candidates and political parties.

    “Without a secure and peaceful environment, the conduct of credible elections is imperiled,” he stated.

    Speaking on the by-election, Yakubu said, “There are two categories of elections. First are the bye-elections arising from the death or resignation of members of the National and State legislative houses affecting two Senatorial Districts, four Federal and three State Assembly Constituencies.

    “The second category is the re-run elections by order of Election Petition Appeal Tribunals. In my remarks at the Commission’s extraordinary meeting with leaders of political parties last month, I reported that the elections affect 35 National and State Constituencies. Since then, four additional orders of the Court of appeal have been served on the Commission in respect of Yabo/Shagari Federal Constituency of Sokoto State, Madara/Chinade State Constituency of Bauchi State as well as Kudan and Kauru/Chawai State Constituencies of Kaduna State.

    “This brings the total number of affected constituencies to 39 which translates to 2.6% of the 1,491 Constituencies for which elections were conducted nationwide in the 2023 General Election.

    “The nine bye-elections are fresh elections covering the entire constituencies. However, with the exception of three Constituencies (Plateau North Senatorial District and Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency in Plateau State and Kachia/Kagarko Federal Constituency in Kaduna State), the re-run elections are to be held in a few Polling Units. In some cases, only one Polling Unit is affected in an entire Federal or State Constituency.”

  • BREAKING: Governor declares 24-hour curfew in Plateau LG

    BREAKING: Governor declares 24-hour curfew in Plateau LG

    Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has declared a 24-hour curfew on the Mangu Local Government Area of the state with immediate effect.

    The development was confirmed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere.

    He said the decision followed the deteriorating security situation in the area.

    The statement read in the part, “Governor Mutfwang took the decision after consultations with the relevant security agencies.

    “He stated that only persons on essential duties are allowed to move within the local government area until further notice.

    “He urged all citizens, especially residents of Mangu Local Government Area, to comply with the directive and assist the security personnel by providing reliable information to restore peace and order in the area.

    “He lamented that some people are still determined to create an atmosphere of insecurity in the state, despite the government’s efforts to end the activities of terrorist elements.

    “He expressed his sympathy to the families of the victims and the injured and assured them that the government will not relent in ensuring lasting peace in the state.

    “He promised that the curfew will be reviewed as soon as the security situation improves.”