Agbaje's Loses Bid to Challenge Ambode's Victory At the Election tribunal

The PDP governorship candidate in the last Lagos State Governorship Election, Jimi Agbaje has lost his bid to challenge Governor Akinwunmi Ambode's victory at the April 11th Govenorship Election.

The Lagos State Election tribunal sitting in Ikeja today July 1st struck out his petition. Justice Muhammad Sirajo who led the three-man tribunal panel, upheld the preliminary objection raised by Chief Wole Olanipekun that the petition was incompetent.

Read More

Photos: EFCC Arraigns two Men For Defrauding American Of $64,000

 

Read the press statement below :

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday July 1, 2015, arraigned the duo of Osaze Akhigbe and Ndekwu Jindu before Justice Lawal Akapo of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja on an 11-count charge bordering on conspiracy to obtain goods and money by false pretence. The defendants, Akhigbe and Jindu were arrested by the EFCC sometime in 2013 based on a petition from one Jolanta K, an American. Jolanta alleged that she met jindu, who introduced himself as a self-employed Caucasian pharmacist, online in June 2012.

Impressed by his profile she “fell in love” with him, and both agreed to get married. She further alleged that in the course of the relationship, the defendant at different times hoodwinked her into parting with over Sixty Four Thousand United States Dollars ($64,000 USD).

Count 2 of the charge reads; “That you, Osaze Akhigbe on or about the 6th of September 2012 at Lagos within the Ikeja Judicial Division with the intent to defraud obtained a total sum of $1,900 (One Thousand Nine Hundred United States Dollars) from one Jolanta K. through western union money transfer under the false pretence that the money represent payment for marriage engagement processes between you and her in Nigeria and which pretence you knew was false”.

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charge when it was read to them. In view of the plea of the defendants the prosecution counsel, A. A Akujo asked for a trial date and prayed the court to remand them in prison custody. Justice Akapo adjourned the case till September 21, 2015 for hearing of the bail application and ordered that the defendants be remanded in Kirikiri Maximum Prison.

Read More

VP Yemi Osinbajo's Daughter Kiki Osinbajo Stuns In New Photo

Photo shot by TY Bello for a magazine feature that is coming soon!

Read More

EFCC Says It Is Shocked At FFK's Acquittal

 

EFCC Press statement below :

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, today received with shock, the ruling of Justice Rita Ofili- Ajumogobia of the Federal High Court Lagos, acquitting Mr. Femi Fani-kayode, a Former Minister of Aviation, of the two count charge of money laundering preferred against him by the Commission. The Commission is making effort to obtain a Certified True Copy of the ruling, to enable it respond appropriately after careful review of the judgment.

Read More

Korede Bello, Reekado Banks & Di'Ja Become Glo Ambassadors

Amazing news! Mavin artists - Korede Bello, Reekado Banks and Di'Ja have been announced as Glo ambassadors. Don Jazzy is officially a genius! He took this unknown singers, made them superstars overnight and now they are ambassadors to one of the biggest brands in Nigeria. Congrats to them...

Read More

Court Dismisses Extradition Case Against Senator Buruji Kashamu

 

 

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed an application for the extradition of Senator Buruji Kashamu, to the United States of America to face illicit drugs related offence trial.

 

The immediate past Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, had filed the application on May 28, 2015 upon an alleged United State government’s request asking the Nigerian government to submit Kashamu for extradition.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole in his ruling held that he lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit in the face of the subsisting orders and judgments of the Federal High Court, Lagos in Suit Nos. FHC/L/CS/49/2010 and FHC/L/CS/508/2015 restraining the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) from entertaining any extradition request from the United States of America against Kashamu on the basis of the same allegations from Kashamu had been exonerated by two British court judgments.

 

Justice Kolawole noted that the various judgments and orders of the British and Nigerian courts had not been appealed or set aside by an appellate court.

 

Justice Okon Abang of the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court had on June 8, 2015 nullified the extradition proceedings which he said were initiated on in contravention of an earlier order of the court.

 

Abang’s orders nullifying steps taken by the NDLEA and AGF were affirmed by Justice Ibrahim Buba in a ruling on June 23, 2015 who said subsisting orders and judgements of the court must be obeyed until set aside by a superior court.

 

Though Justice Kolawole expressed reservations on the Lagos judgments, which he described as “wide and perhaps wild,” he held that it was the exclusive duty of the Court of Appeal to determine whether they were valid or not.

 

Kashamu’s counsel, Mr. Ajibola Oluyede had on June 25, 2015, when the case came up for the first time, urged the court to strike out the extradition application in the light of the previous subsisting judgments.

 

However, Justice Kolawole, who cited several authorities to the effect that the court is enjoined to take judicial notice of developments related to a case, noted that he had sometime in 2013 ruled in another application seeking to register the two British court judgments that even without registering same, the judgments were enough shield for Kashamu against any fresh extradition proceedings.

The judge then dismissed the suit, describing same as an abuse of court process.

 

While the Kashamu’s legal team comprised of Dr. Alex Iziyon (SAN), Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN) and Prince Ajibola Oluyede, the AGF’s team was led by a Deputy Director in the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. M. I. Hassan.

Read More

PDP Criticizes Buhari's 32 days In Office In New Statement

 

Press statement from the PDP below...

As you are aware, today marks exactly thirty-two days of the inauguration of a new administration under the APC, which was elected into power over three months ago on the basis of their numerous promises to the Nigerian people. 

Even though this government has continued to plead for patience, we are worried that indications from President Muhammadu Buhari and his party do not inspire desired confidence in the citizenry that they are adequately equipped and ready to chart a direction for the enormous challenges of governance.

In the last one month, instead of a journey to change as they claim, all we have witnessed are avoidable tension, wrangling within the ruling party, disruption of legislative activities in our National Assembly, painful economic stagnation, pronouncement of voodoo achievements and overall uncertainty in the polity all due to the apparent inability of our respected President to provide leadership.

We have a President and a party that have since thirty–two days been unable to decide on rudimentary appointments such as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief of Staff to the President, ministers and his demand for 15 Special Advisers as approved by the PDP controlled Seventh Assembly since June 5, 2015.

Even the very little intervention made on appointments such as those of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) and the Acting Chairman of INEC, have not shown our beloved President as an evenhanded and patriotic leader resulting in the confusion and crisis of confidence that have trailed the two appointments.

The PDP is particularly disturbed by the development in INEC where President Buhari, who knew all along that the immediate-past INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega would be leaving office by June 30, had to wait for him to handover to one of the national commissioners only to reverse it immediately, thereby injecting bad blood in the commission.

The situation in INEC since the PDP government reformed and granted it operational autonomy has been peaceful, but Tuesday’s untidy overruling of Prof. Jega and appointing of Mrs. Amina Zakari as acting chairman which, we gathered was influenced by personal relationship with the Presidency and one of the new governors of the North West, ostensibly to pave the way for the APC at the electoral tribunals, has completely eroded public trust in the commission.

Whereas the PDP recognizes the right and powers of the President to appoint the Chairman of INEC and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), we reject attempts as in the case of the AGF to paint the process as transparent and objective when such was not the case, but brought to question the sincerity and commitment of the present administration to due process.

In INEC, the PDP states in unequivocal terms that we cannot, as critical stakeholders fold our hands and watch while the Presidency perpetuate actions that diminish the independence of the electoral commission.

The PDP has declared the appointment of Mrs. Amina Zakari as unacceptable and demand that President Buhari changes her immediately.

Our reasons include the fact that due process was not observed in the appointment and that Mrs. Zakari has shown in the last elections that she is manifestly bias in favour of the APC. Finally her appointment is a clear case of nepotism.

We ask, if they trusted Prof. Jega and commended him for conducting free and fair elections, why would they not trust him on who to hold forth in the commission until a substantive Chairman is appointed, rather than appointing someone who is retiring from the commission in the next three weeks?

With the prevailing record of Mr. President on appointments, it is unlikely that a substantive INEC Chairman will be appointed in the next one year.  Is there a hidden agenda? Has Mrs. Zakari been handed a script to act given that we have cases in the tribunals in addition to the forthcoming elections in Kogi and Bayelsa?

Furthermore, the PDP finds it sycophantic, insincere and the height of deceit for the APC to continue to deceive President Buhari by parading voodoo achievements and pretending that all is well with the nation even when it is obvious that the government has not been able to locate its bearing.

The PDP also finds unacceptable APC’s continued playing on the intelligence of the people by dishing out imaginary achievements in the media even when it is evident to all that the nation is stagnating, a clear indication that the ruling party and the President lack direction and capacity to meet the expectations of Nigerians.

It is indeed amusing that a party in power in a press conference on Tuesday claimed progress in the fight against terrorism when the effort has lost steam in the last thirty-two days with insurgents, who under the Goodluck Jonathan administration were already at the verge of surrender in the Sambisa now surging back into the country.

How can a political party attempt to deceive Nigerians and the President when the economy has plummeted under their watch with a terrifying crippling of foreign and domestic investments and the stock market losing over N350 billion because of the prevailing uncertainty and confusion in the system?

More astonishing is the fact that a ruling party and a government of a sovereign nation and strong international voice like Nigeria are parading mere promissory notes from foreign interests as achievements, instead of settling down to galvanize resources and potentials that abound in our country.

If by the declaration of the APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed that President Buhari has done excellently well thus far, then Nigerians should not expect anything from this administration.

The PDP as a responsible political party committed to the national interest, we urge the APC to henceforth desist from unnecessary propaganda which ought to have ended with the campaigns, settle down and help the President form a government and chart a direction for the nation.

Finally, while we restate our respect for the office and person of the President, the Presidency and the APC must know that though Nigerians are wiling to give them time to perform, they are tired of their unfounded excuses of handover notes coming late; of meeting empty treasury, of clearing the so-called Augean Stable among nuances of other frivolous claims.

What Nigerians expect today is a government that will hit the ground running, face the challenges of governance and commence implementation of its campaign promises.

Signed:

Chief Olisa Metuh

National Publicity Secretary

Read More