Category: Judiciary

In view of the press statement from the National Association of Igbo Youths on the Abba-Ukpo land dispute and the attack on the personality of Chimamanda Adichie (a celebrated literary icon of international repute), Abba Elites’ Association, an umbrella association for undergraduates and graduates of Abba community, deem it fit to state some salient facts the National Association of Igbo Youths failed to address or deliberately shied away from addressing:

1. The philanthropic gestures and magnanimous disposition of Prince Arthur Eze is not in dispute. However, his philanthropy does not place him beyond doing any wrong nor does it exonerate him from trying to wrongly take the land belonging to the people of Abba.
2. No sane lawyer in Nigeria will ever think of going back to a High Court to re-address an issue already concluded at the Supreme Court as the High Court will naturally decline to attend to it. It must be clearly stated here that the legal team representing Abba in the land dispute only went to High Court based on the directive of the Supreme Court. And the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) cannot be too blind as to give the legal team representing Abba a 21-day ultimatum on an accusation of judicial rascality as the facts are there for everyone to see.
3. Chimamanda Adichie does not need to have a wide knowledge of the Nigerian legal system or jurisprudence to be able to understand the Supreme Court pronouncement written in a language she has an undisputed command in (English Language). Her article titled ‘My Hometown Under Siege” chronicles the travails of the people of Abba community with clear evidence and facts. With the objectivity expected of a person of her international stature, she even questioned whether Prince Arthur Eze was being ‘unfairly maligned’ and then laid out compelling evidence to the contrary, that can only be ignored by those who do not wish to face the truth.
4. Unfortunately, the issue of Police brutality, harassment and intimidation of the people of Abba community raised by Chimamanda Adichie was not addressed by the National Association of Igbo Youths. The pictures and video footages of the actions of the Police in Oye Abba have since gone viral on social media for the world to see. The mammoth number of Police officers deployed to Abba Junction by the Enugu-Onitsha express road to put up a signpost bearing ‘Ukpo junction’ can only be equaled by the number of joint task force of security personnel deployed to the North – Eastern Region of Nigeria where an insurgency has been ongoing for some years now. Deploying that number of Police officers was meant to intimidate but it was unnecessary and a waste of energy as the people of Abba have always been known as peace loving people.
5. The Igbo Youths failed to address the issue of the Police spuriously in a clandestine commando style arresting and unlawfully detaining some sons and daughters of Abba community without a court order or arrest warrant, and these persons arrested were never charged to court. If this is not harassment and intimidation, we may wish to appeal to be properly educated on what the action of the Nigerian Police is? We would respectfully request the Inspector General of Police and other relevant authorities to look into these issues. Note that most of those arrested are also Igbo youths, so should they be sacrificed on the altar of threat and intimidation because they spoke out against the injustice meted out to them and their community?
6. The Igbo Youths would have gained more prominence if they had addressed the issue raised by Chimamanda Adichie – which is the harassment and intimidation of innocent citizens. Instead they resorted to personal attacks on her. If she raised any issue against your iconic leading light of Ndi-Igbo, Prince Arthur Eze, it behooves you to have upturned her facts instead of attacking her personality. This is highly unacceptable and cannot be said to be the true pictorial behaviour of any average Igbo youth which you have claimed to be representing.
7. Chimamanda Adichie is one of the most celebrated writers in the world today. She is known to speak out about injustice. She is a proud Igbo daughter that has made the Igbo people proud within and outside the shores of this country; one who has demonstrated her love of Igboland in general, a daughter who is also an Igbo youth and presumably your member. To attack her in such a disrespectful manner speaks greatly of how members of Igbo Youth can be treated in situations like this for airing their sincere views.
8. The Igbo Youth went even further to drag the personality of a retired and accomplished professor of international repute in the person of Professor Adichie, Chimamanda Adichie’s father. Professor Adichie is an 87 year old elder, and Nigeria’s first professor of statistics, an innocent man who has done nothing in all this. It was rather very unfortunate and highly disrespectful to an Igbo elder. This is not forgetting that you severally mentioned in your press release of your respect for elders, which is part of the Igbo culture. To speedily make a U-turn and cast aspersion and insult on a renowned Igbo elder is very unfortunate and ill-intended.
9. The National Association of Igbo Youths is purporting to speak for all Igbo youths, and are thereby presumably claiming an affiliation informal or otherwise with Ohanaeze Ndi-Igbo. It is expected that wherever there is any dispute between Igbo brothers and sisters, Ohanaeze Ngi-Igbo as a highly respected organization is meant to intervene through mediation, and as such it would be unfortunate for an organization of such repute to take sides in an issue and make pronouncements before fully considering the crux and nitty-gritty of the issue under contention and hearing from all sides.
10. We wish to plead that people should not allow themselves to be used to attack Ndi-Abba and the personality of Chimamanda Adichie and her family without doing good research and getting hold of facts on the land dispute under contention. We also wish to state that we do not hold any personal grudges against Prince Arthur Eze or any other personality, and we believe same can be said for Chimamanda Adichie. We however want to implore that the focus be placed where it rightly belongs – which is the issues of intimidation and harassment of Abba people. Chimamanda Adichie wrote a well-researched article based on evidence of what is occurring in Abba community. Any responses to her article should focus on the issue and avoid personal attacks. Anyone who supports any form of injustice has invariably joined the team of oppressors and cannot exonerate themselves from any action taken by unjust persons.

 

An FCT High Court, Jabi on Monday dissolved a five-year-old union between Lynda Dike and her husband Jude Ajaero, on grounds that he was legally married to another woman in Germany.

Dike in her petition sought for the dissolution of the purported marriage through Sections 3 (1) (a) (d) and 34 of the Matrimonial Cause Act.

The sections which stipulated that any marriage purportedly celebrated when one of the parties was lawfully married to another when consent was obtained either by fraud or duress would be void.

The Act further stipulated that a petition for nullity can be instituted by the ailing party.

Delivering judgment, Justice Charles Agbaza, held that the sole issue to be determined by the court was whether the petitioner had successfully made out a ground for the court to grant the relief she sought.

The judge further averred that Ajaero, the respondent who was served with court processes , hearing notices did not file nor answer to the petition, but had legal representation and neither did he challenge the evidence of the petitioner, rather he rested his case on that of the petitioner

According to Agbaza, ” the implication of this is that the court will deem the unchallenged and uncontroverted evidence of the petitioner as true,correct ( as long as it is credible) and act on it”.

Agbaza concluded and said “because the evidence brought by the petitioner was not challenged by the respondent,

“this petition succeeds and judgment is accordingly entered in favour of the petitioner in the following terms

“The court hereby pronounce a Decree of Nullity of the purported marriage conducted between Lynda Dike and Jude Ajaero on Oct.2,2014 at the Federal Marriage Registry, Abuja, on the ground that the marriage is void.

” The court hereby grants an order nullifying the said marriage”, he added.

In her petition, Dike said that when she married the respondent, he told her that he was not married.

She further submitted that however, when she traveled to Germany to see the respondent and instead of taking her to the address she knew he lived, he took her to a different address..

According to the petitioner, when she demanded to be taken to the address of where he lived, she was beaten up by the respondent.

She said this action prompted her to tail the respondent to the aforementioned address and that was when she discovered that he lived there with his German wife.

Dike added that she confronted the respondent and he admitted that he was married to the German woman and that they had been married for over a year before he came to Nigeria to marry her.

NAN

The FCT High Court on Monday resumed regular Court activities marking the end of the annual vacation.

The vacation which began on July 8 and ended on Friday, Sept. 6, was announced via a circular and signed by the Chief Judge of FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bello  appointed vacation judges to hear urgent cases during the period.

The vacation judges , Justice Peter Affen in Nyana while Justice M.B. Idris. sat in Jabi  during the vacation.

Lawyers and litigants were seen at the premises of the various divisions of the FCT High Courts.(NAN)

Security was beefed up on Wednesday within the vicinity of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, as the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal delivers judgment in the petition filed by Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar challenging president Muhammadu Buhari’s victory in the Feb. 23 general election.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that security personnel comprising mainly men of the Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps mounted security checks at both ends of the stretch of the road to the court.

NAN reports that lawyers and journalists who arrived the court premises located in the Three Arms Zone, were subjected to checks by security personnel.

NAN reports that tribunal on Aug.21 reserved judgment in the petition after parties adopted their addresses.

Justice Mohammed Garba, Chairman of the five-man panel of justices had stated that the judgment date would be communicated to parties.

NAN reports that the president was declared the winner of the election after scoring 15,191,847 votes as against Atiku’s 11, 262,978 votes.

While adopting his address, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, Counsel for Buhari, had described the petition as a sham as it lacked substance and merit.

“I have handled a few electoral petition cases, this is one petition that yarns for help, for assistance and for evidence but could not get any.

“Apart from the hype the matter has generated, there is nothing in law to support the allegations before the tribunal, Olanipekun said.

On the qualification of the president, Olanipekun said Section 131 (b) had settled that matter.

“I make bold to say that the Constitution and case laws had not compelled the candidates of the election to tendered certificates or attached same to INEC form before submission.

“The laws only mandate any person contesting election in the country to have gone to school up to Secondary School level,’’ he said.

On the issue of election results transmission by electronic means, the counsel said the use of such technology must be provided for in the Electoral Act.

“The allegation on the management of server by INEC is vague. Where is the server? This is a million dollar question that the petitioners could not substantiate.

“My Lords, this petition was not properly diagnosed, the action was ill-advised, I therefore urge the tribunal not to bow to sentiment or public opinion that does not represent the law.

“This petition is liable to be dismissed with a considerable cost’’, Olanipekun said.

On his part, Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Counsel for All Progressive Congress (APC) said he could not help but take the liberty to align himself with the submissions made Olanipekun.

“My Lords it is disheartening to see that this petition still remains watery at this stage.

“The petition made allegations they could not proof. We have done a table showing how the petitioners have proven the case so far.

“The election took place in 119,976 Polling Units, 8,901 Wards in 774 Local Government Areas across the country.

“It is sad therefore to see that the petitioners only called 62 witnesses. Out of this figure, only five witnesses gave direct evidence of what happened in polling units on the day of election.

“I feel sad that this matter has been starved of evidence and therefore deserves to be dismissed,’’ Fagbemi said.

Also, Mr Yunus Usman, SAN, Counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) urged the panel to uphold all of its objections raised against the admissibility of all pieces of documentary and oral evidence led by the petitioners.

Usman submitted that the electoral body conducted the Feb.23 presidential election in total compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

He also urged the panel to disregard the petitioners’ claims that the results of the election were transmitted electronically to a central server managed by INEC, adding that it was the “greatest lie of the century’’.

He submitted that it was laughable when the petitioners made pleadings that suggested that only the PDP and APC and their candidates contested the election.

Usman prayed the tribunal to take judicial notice of the fact that the Electoral Act 2010 prohibited the transmission of election results electronically.

According to him, the law only provides for manual transmission of election results.

Usman said that all the witnesses presented by the petitioners admitted to the fact that transmission of election results electronically had no placed in the country’s statute books at the moment.

In countering allegations that INEC abandoned its pleadings by not presenting witnesses, the counsel said the commission simply extracted salient pieces of evidence from the petitioners’ pleadings to solidify its defence.

“It would have amounted to wasting the time of the tribunal for us to call witnesses when the petitioners could not discharge the burden of proof on allegations they had made,’’ he said.

Usman thereafter prayed the court to dismiss the petition for lack of merit.

Meanwhile, Dr Livy Uzoukwu, SAN, Counsel for the petitioners urged the tribunal to discountenance the addresses of the respondents, adding that the petitioners had indeed discharged the burden of proof.

He said the tribunal must exercise its powers in good conscience to uphold the petition and return Abubakar as president.

Uzoukwu further said the second respondent (Buhari) was unable to present his Secondary School Certificate before the tribunal in order to rest the allegation.

“My Lords, we pray the panel to judiciously and judicially evaluate our evidence in context of whether we have justified our allegation against Buhari’s certificate or not.

On the issue of server, Uzoukwu said INEC had operated, activated and stored the Feb.23 election results in a centrally controlled server.

NAN reports that the tribunal would have to rule on all pending interlocutory applications filed by parties before delivering judgment on the main appeal.

NAN

A couple, Tayo Olaobaju, 31 and Arike Olaobaju, 23, who allegedly murdered a 60-year-old man, Mr Moses Eze, were on Monday sent to correctional custodies by an Ile-Ife Magistrates’ Court.

The Magistrate, Mr Olukunle Owolawi, who did not take pleas of the defendants, ordered the prosecutor to duplicate the case file and send it to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.

Owolawi ordered that the husband, Tayo, be remanded in Ile-Ife Correctional Custody, while his wife was sent to Ilesa Correctional Custody.

He adjourned the case until Oct. 4 for mention.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, ASP. Joseph Adebayo, told the court that the defendants committed the offences on Aug. 21 at about 7:20a.m at Igboya Area of Ile-Ife.

Adebayo said that the defendants assaulted Eze by beating him, which led to his death.

He said the offences contravened Sections 316, 319(1) and 324 of the Criminal Law of Osun, 2002.

By Sani Abdulrahman

A Sharia Court ll, sitting in Magajin Gari, Kaduna State, on Wednesday dismissed a of defamation filed against an engineer, Sulaiman Kabala, who allegedly called his neighbour a witch,

The Judge, Murtala Nasir, dismissed the case, after the complainant, Salamatu Sani,70, wrote to the court on Aug. 22, sent informing it of her request to withdraw the suit.

The Judge said that under  Section 156 (2) of the Kaduna State Sharia Penal Code 2002,the court  has the authority to dismiss such cases as requested by the complainant.

Earlier, the defendant, Sulaiman Kabala, an engineer, through his Counsel, Denis Usman told the court that his client has obliged to the complainant’s request.

NAN reports that Kabala, 37, who lives at Kabala Coustin, Kaduna, was charged with two counts of defamation and threat to life which contravened sections 137 and 232 of Kaduna State Penal Code, 2002.

Sani, told the court that on Aug. 6, Kabala threatened to kill her with a knife.

She claimed that Kabala, accused her of making his daughter ill.

”He called me a witch. I have witnesses and I am ready to present them”, Sani said.

NAN

By Taiye Agbaje

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, refused to grant the motion filed by Mr Omoyele Sowore, Convener, #RevolutionNow protests, challenging his detention for 45 days by the Department of State Security (DSS).

Justice Nkeonye Maya, who declined all applications by Counsel to Sowore,, Mr Femi Falana , SAN, sent the case back to Justice Taiwo Taiwo for further hearing.

Falana, who had asked the court to set aside the exparte order granted by Justice Taiwo, also applied for oral bail when Justice Maha rejected the earlier application.

Sowore. who is presently in detention had, on Aug 9, approached the court, seeking an order to vacate the ex parte order that gave the DSS the legal backing to detain him for 45 days.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Taiwo Taiwo had, in a ruling on Aug. 8 in an exparte application, ordered Sowore’s detention for the said period to enable the DSS carry out and conclude its investigation on allegations levied against him.

The DSS had also, on Aug. 20, challenged the court order, allowing it to detain Sowore for 45 days against its request of 90 days pending investigation.

NAN

The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Wednesday, fixed Sept. 11 to hear a  a motion filed by the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), asking the court to vacate the exparte order it gave on July 26 proscribing its activities in the country.

Justice Nkeonye Maha of Court adjourned the case after hearing the two counsels.

The Solicitor General of the Federation, Mr Ayo Apata, SAN, had applied for more time.

Counsel to the IMN, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, did not oppose the request either.

The court had, upon an ex-parte motion by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), also declared the group a terrorist organisation.

The IMN, in a notice of motion filed, on Aug. 2, by its lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, particularly sought the court to vacate the ”ex-parte order made on July 26, in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/876/2019 between: AGF vs. IMN proscribing the existence and activities of the group in Nigeria under whatever form, either in groups or as individuals by whatever names they are called or referred to.”

The group also asked the court to set aside the order ”restraining any person or group of persons from participating in any manner whatsoever in any form of activities involving or concerning the prosecution of the collective intention or otherwise of the IMN, under any other name or platform howsoever called or described in any part of Nigeria.”

The IMN stated that the reasons for its requests include that “the ex-parte order made on July 26, was made without jurisdiction, as the order was made against a non juristic body.

”This honourable court on July 26, pursuant to an ex parte application brought by the IMN made an order, inter alia, proscribing the existence and activities of the group in any part of Nigeria under whatever form, either in groups or as individuals by whatever names they are called or referred to without affording the Respondent/Applicant the right of fair hearing.

”The said order of the honorable court breached the fundamental right of all members of the IMN in Nigeria to fair hearing guaranteed by Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, Laws of the Federation, 2004 in that no fair hearing was granted the applicant/respondent before the order was made.

”The order ex parte granted by this honourable court has violated the fundamental right of members of the Respondent to freedom of thought, conscience and religion guaranteed by Section 38 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.

”The order ex parte granted by this honourable court has breached the fundamental right of the members of the respondent to freedom of assembly and association guaranteed by Section of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.

”The honourable court did not grant the declaration ‘that the activities of the IMN in any part of Nigeria amounts(sic) to acts of terrorism and illegality,”’ the group said.

According IMN, there was no urgency warranting the grant of the order ex parte.

”No motion-on-notice was filed together with the motion ex-parte.

”The ex-parte order made by the honorable court has determined the fundamental right of the respondent/applicant without affording it fair hearing.

”No undertaking was made as to damages. The order ex-parte was anchored on misrepresentation of material facts and based on suppression of material facts.

”The order ex parte constitutes a gross abuse of the process of this honorable court,” the group stated.

The Federal Government had, July 29, published the order in its official gazette as directed by the court.

It was described in the gazette as ”Government Notice No. 79,” titled: ”Terrorism (Prevention) Proscription Order Notice, 2019.”

Particularly, pages B597 to 602 of the document spelt out details of the enrolled order of the Federal High Court and the Federal Government’s warning against participating in any of the activities of IMN.

It reads: ”Notice is hereby given that by the order of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in suit No. FHC/ABJ/Cs/876/2019 dated July 26, 2019 as per the schedule to this notice, the activities of IMN in Nigeria are declared to be terrorism and illegal in any part of Nigeria, as proscribed, pursuant to Sections 1 and 2 of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 (as amended).

”Consequently, the general public is hereby warned that any person or group of persons participating in any manner whatsoever in any form of activities involving or concerning the prosecution of the collective intentions or otherwise of the said group will be violating the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011 (as amended) and liable to prosecution”.

NAN

A phone seller, Aminu Sani, on Friday prayed a Sharia Court ll, sitting in Magajin Gari, Kaduna State to recover N35,000 from his friend, Abdulrahman Musa.

Sani, who sells phones at Royal market, Kaduna, told the court that he sold Musa  a Samsung Galaxy J5 cell phone for  N35,000.

He told that he sent the phone to Musa through his brother, after he promised send him the money.

”It is four months now and  I am yet to get my money. My friend has been ignoring my calls. I am praying the court to recover my money”, Sani said.

The Defendant, Musa, who resides at Lafia road, Kaduna, denied that he has been ignoring Musa’s calls.

He also denied that the phone he got from his friend was a Samsung Galaxy J5 cell phone.

The Judge, Murtala Nasir, adjourned the case until Sept.  16 for the police to produce a report o their investigations and further hearing.

NAN