The ECOWAS Court of Justice on Wednesday, 11th December 2019 dismissed, for failure to prove the claims, a suit brought by the leader of the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Mr. Nnamdi Kanu, alleging torture, assault, inhuman treatment and the violation of his property rights by the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Delivering judgment in the suit, Honourable Justice Dupe Atoki who read the judgment of the Court also held that Nnamdi Kanu’s arrest and detention were not unlawful and arbitrary as claimed by the Plaintiff.

The three member panel of the Court also dismissed the request of Mr. Kanu for monetary compensation.

While the Court acknowledged that Mr. Kanu had the legal capacity to approach the Court for the alleged violation of his human rights, it adjudged that without a mandate, he lacked the legal personality to represent the IPOB before the Court.

On the issue of proper parties before the Court, the names of the second and third defendants (Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, and Director General, State Security Service) who are not signatories to the ECOWAS Revised Treaty, were struck out of the suit as improper parties, leaving the 1st defendant, the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the sole defendant in the case.

In the initiating application of the suit no ECW/CCJ/APP/06/16 filed before the Court on 3rd March 2016 by his counsel, Mr. Ifeanyi Ejiofor, the plaintiff claimed that his rights to life, personal integrity, privacy, fair trial, freedom of movement, freedom of expression, personal liberty, freedom of association, private property, right to existence and right to self-determination were violated following his arrest and detention by agents of the defendant State.

The plaintiff also alleged that he was a victim of arbitrary arrest, detention, torture inhuman and degrading treatment while in detention and that his personal belongings were confiscated by the defendant through its agent.

Mr. Kanu, who is also the Director of Radio Biafra, registered under the regulatory laws of the United Kingdom and the United Nations, demanded monetary compensation in the sum of $800 million US dollars.


But Counsel to the government of Nigeria, Mr. Abdullahi Abubakar averred in defence that the country was obliged to enforce the rule of law as stipulated in its Constitution, Treaties and Protocol which included defending the sovereignty of an undivided Nigeria.

The counsel added that the activities of IPOB were secessionist in nature as it instigated a separationist agenda among the people of the country’s South-East and South-South using its Biafra Radio.

Mr. Abubakar further averred that the acts of the plaintiff were intended to garner support for war against the defendant and carve out a geo-political area to be declared “Republic of Biafra.” Consequently, he said the defendant initiated an investigation into the allegations against the plaintiff which led to his arrest and discovery of illegal firearms and radio transmitters in his possession, items that posed security risk to the country.

The defendant also submitted that the plaintiff was investigated while in detention for offences of criminal conspiracy, managing and belonging to an illegal society and that though granted bail whose conditions he could not meet, he was detained on fresh charges of treasonable felony instituted at the Federal High Court against the plaintiff.

Counsel to defendant avowed that although the plaintiff and some members of IPOB had severally threatened the peace of the nation with their demands, the defendant gave no orders to its agencies to kill members of IPOB nor did any such killings occur but that the defendant has remained committed to upholding the rule of law while recognizing and protecting the fundamental rights of its citizens and all groups including the IPOB.

The defendant therefore urged the Court to dismiss the case.

Also on the panel were Justices Edward Amoako Asante and Keikura Bangura.

MCEBISCOO.COM

The Senator representing Adamawa North Senatorial Zone, Sen. Elisha Abbo has received an award of excellence from members of inter-community awareness for change and development initiative in his office in Abuja.

The lawmaker, who made headlines recently for assaulting a nursing mother in a intimacy gadget shop in Abuja, assured that he is committed to serving humanity, using his office as a distinguished senator of the federal republic of Nigeria.

The Senator thanked the group for finding him worthy of such a prestigious “ICON of Democracy” Awards.

According to the lawmaker, his pending case of assault won’t deter him from providing dividends of democracy to his constituents and Nigerians in general.

CLICK HERE>> https://www.mcebiscoo.com/after-beating-up-nursing-mother-senator-abbo-receives-award-of-excellence/

MCEBISCOO.COM

The Chairman of Ukum Local Government Area of Benue state Hon. Tor-Tyokaa Ibellogo, yesterday raised the alarm over continued killings and destruction of property in the area by Jukun militia.

He disclosed that since the crisis broke up, no fewer than fifteen persons have been killed while properties worth millions of naira have also been destroyed by the armed Jukun militia.

The council chairman told journalists that places affected by the crises include Tse Atsenga, Igbongom, Ayali village, and New City, a community occupied by displaced persons owing to attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

Hon. Ibellogo also accused the Fulani militias of colluding with their Jukun counterpart to unleash mayhem on his people, adding that people who made attempts to return were been attacked by the armed Fulanis.

He said he had met with his Wukari local government counterpart to dialogue on how the crisis could be nipped in the bud, but that the meeting deadlocked as the Jukun militias still stormed the area shooting sporadically, a development that forced all his people to scamper for safety.

According to him, a follow-up meeting was held at the Palace of the paramount ruler of the Jukun, the Aku Uka with both council chairmen in the affected areas in attendance where he said a ceasefire agreement was reached.

The local government chairman expressed disappointment that the Jukuns who were part of the peace deal would renege and continue to attack Benue communities at the border areas leading to wanton killings and destruction of properties.

He said already, there is a humanitarian situation owing to the displacement of about 10, 000 persons.

He lamented that the attack has come when farmers are supposed to be planting their crops, saying such a situation is capable of causing food crises in the state and the country at large.

He appealed to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to complement the efforts of the state government to help the victims with a view to alleviating their suffering.

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/11/15-killed-houses-burnt-as-militia-attack-benue-community/

As the race for the Senate presidency hots up, Senator Ali Ndume, has said that he has not bowed out of the contest.

Ndume spoke to State House correspondents yesterday after a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the presidential villa in Abuja.

The lawmaker is forging ahead with his ambition to become the next Senate president even when the leadership of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) has anointed Senator Ahmed Lawan for the office.

At the end of the one-hour meeting with Osinbajo, when asked if he had withdrawn from the race, Ndume retorted: “Me! I am still consulting.”

On his visit to Osinbajo, the senator said that “this is not the time to talk because I am still holding consultations.”

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/09/senate-presidency-defiant-ndume-meets-osinbajo/

Barely two months after the controversial resurrection of Brighton Elliot , by South African prophet Alph Lukau, he has finally died .

There was wide spread outrage after Lukau claimed to have ressurected the Zimbabwean man in February.

According to H-Metro, Brighton died last week in a village called St Luke’s in South Africa.

Unfortunately for him, Pastor Alph Lukau was not there to facilitate another resurrection. A close family member who spoke to H-Metro, said Elliot was buried on Saturday.

The relative said Elliot’s stomach started swelling and didn’t stop for three days and on the third day, he died. He is reportedly survived by his wife.

According to other reports, when Brighton joined Lukau’s church there were reports that he was HIV+ and he had kidney failure and tuberculosis.

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/08/man-raised-from-the-dead-by-prophet-lukau-finally-dies/

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) House of Representatives members-elect to back Majority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila as the Speaker of the 9th Assembly.

Ajimobi, who hosted the nine APC members-elect in his Ibadan residence on Sunday, advised them to toe party line by following the decision reached by the leadership of the Party in determining the leadership of the 9th Assembly.

In a statement on Monday by Akeem Adeyemi, the APC Southwest Coordinator of Gbajabiamila Speakership Campaign Council, the members-elect assured the governor of their loyalty and determination to ensure that the House Leader succeed as the Speaker of the next Assembly.

“The nine members-elect appreciated the Governor for providing sound leadership and positive direction for the party, and; however, promised the Governor their full cooperation, after each member had spoken in acceptance of the Governor’s endorsement of the House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila,” the statement reads in part.

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/08/ajimobi-advises-oyo-reps-to-back-gbajabiamila-for-speaker/

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote during an interview during te 2019 Mo Ibrahim governance weekend in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, revealed that he once withdrew $10Million cash, just to look at it.

Dangote continued saying that he did that so as to affirm that he is indeed rich.

Watch the video below; https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv8i0p6lMpi/?utm_source=ig_embed

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/07/i-once-withdrew-10million-just-to-stare-at-it-dangote/

NOllyWooD actress , Tonto Dikeh appeared to take a swipe at Kenyan songstress,Victoria Kimani following her #fvckyouchallenge song .

If you recall,Kimani used it as an opportunity to diss Tiwa Savage whine she accused of trying to stop her blessings .

Kimani also said Tiwa achieved her success by sleeping around,not through hard work .

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/06/tonto-dikeh-shades-victoria-kimani/

Another Nigerian, Saheed Sobade, could be executed in Saudi Arabia after reportedly being caught with 1,183 grams of cocaine powder in Jeddah, a Saudi Arabian port city on the Red Sea and gateway for pilgrimages to the Islamic holy cities Mecca and Medina.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa made the revelation on Friday while speaking on Arise Television.

Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa expressed disappointment that this was coming shortly after a Nigerian lady was executed in the same country for a related offense. She said:

“The sad thing is that in the midst of talking of about 20 Nigerians on death roll, even as eight had been executed, just yesterday another Nigerian, Saheed Ayinde Sobade, was arrested at Jeddah airport with about 1.138g of cocaine.

“The latest one would be added to those that could be executed.

”We keep appealing to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ensure the trial is fair.”

On April 1, Saudi authorities executed Kudirat Afolabi, a Nigerian a widow and mother of two, for drug-related offenses, sparking outrage from the Ministry of Foreign affairs, which said the Saudi authorities did not inform the Nigerian mission in Saudi Arabia of the arrest and prosecution of the executed Nigerian.



Noting that the Saudi government does not spare drug convicts, she warned Nigerians resident in the Asian country to be of good conduct. She also appealed to those back home not to tribalize crime”.

“It’s a sad commentary that at this point in our lives we are tribalising crime,” she lamented.

“Crime is crime. We should not debase the green passport. We should not allow a few bad eggs to spoil the bond. The Dubai thing was all over the place. We saw the faces released to the public; only the eyes were covered and also the names.

“So, there’s no reason why it will not be mentioned. However, for the Saudi incident, the woman that was executed, we had to tell the family first before making an announcement. So after informing the family, the Minister for Foreign affairs issued a statement stating her name, Kudirat Adesola Afolabi, a lady and a mother of two.”

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/06/another-nigerian-saheed-sobade-risks-execution-in-saudi-after-he-was-caught-with-coacaine/

For the second time, the Supreme Court on Thursday shifted hearing in the four appeals on the rivers state APC primary election for the nomination of candidates for the 2019 general election to Monday, April 8th and Thursday, April 11th for a hearing.

The Apex Court adjourned hearing in the matters for various reasons but mainly for the absence of counsel to INEC who was said to have missed his flight from Port Harcourt.

The Appeals are those of Senator Magnus Abe against INEC and others, Mr. Tonye Cole against Senator Magnus Abe, the all progressive congress against the Peoples Democratic Party and the last one by the ap. Seeking consolidation of all the pending appeals.

Senator Magnus Abe in his appeal prayed the Apex Court to make a pronouncement on the authenticity of the direct and indirect primaries of the APC in Rivers State for the nomination of candidates.

The appellant specifically wants the court to determine which of the two appeals is known to law and should be recognised by INEC.

However, when the matter came up counsel to Senator Abe, Mr. Henry Bello, informed the Apex Court of his motion seeking to amend his appeal.

The matter was stalled as a result of the absence of the INEC counsel who is the first respondent.

Although Bello sought an order to stand down the matter to enable the counsel who was said to be airborne arrive, the Acting CJN who presided over the panel ruled that the Apex court does not stand down matters for anybody or group.

This prompted the Acting CJN to adjourn the matter to Monday, April 8.

In the two other appeals by Mr. Tonye Cole, a factional governorship candidate of the APC and the party, Justice Mohammad shifted hearing in the matters to April 11 to enable parties file and exchange necessary processes.

The Acting CJN who led the seven-man panel of the Apex court also abridged time for the parties to file and exchange papers because the matters are time bound, being pre-election matters.

However in a fourth appeal by the APC seeking a consolidation of all existing appeals relating to the primary elections, the court adjourned the matter indefinitely for the party to regularise their processes.

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/04/supreme-court-fixes-new-date-to-hear-appeals-on-rivers-apc-primaries/

The Nigerian Army on Wednesday graduated 152 ex-insurgents undergoing 12 months de-radicalisation training in Gombe State.

Col. Beyidi Martins, Coordinator, Operation Safe Corridor, disclosed this in Malamsidi, Gombe State, during the ceremony.

Martins said the programme was a clear attestation to the Federal Government’s action against using combat in depleting the manpower of Boko Haram.

He said the programme would enhance the acceptance of the clients in the society having been subjected to several vocational pieces of training that would make them more useful and self-reliant.

“The Federal Government is using this programme to cut the abilities of the sect to recruit more members and also ensure defection into the programme by other insurgents.

“By the time this is achieved, the government will be able to reduce the numbers of free hands the sect recruits to fight it.
READ ALSO: Nigeria MUST Remain One - Katsina Emir

“Based on the assessment, the programme has done a lot in reforming the fighters against the government.

“The programme has achieved more compared to other similar programmes in Somalia and Saudi Arabia, where de-radicalization programmes are being implemented. There are no records of de-radicalized members going back to the sect,” he said.

Martins said the government was employing other non-combat approaches to fight the insurgents.

The programme coordinator said with sustained efforts and partnership with international organizations, the end of Boko Haram was in sight.

Mr. Abba Umar, a member of Bama Community, commended the federal government and the Army for the love shown to their brothers.

“We are happy that the federal government is doing this. If not that we are here, it will be difficult to believe what we have seen. We are satisfied with everything here.

“We thank the government for the rehabilitation and vocational training that will make them breadwinners after leaving the camp.”

Mr. Zanna Yakubu, who spoke on behalf of Bama Community, commended the federal government for equipping the ex-insurgents with the skills to be self-reliant.

Yakubu said the training would help in debunking criticisms in the foreign media on government’s efforts to end the insurgency in the country.

Mohammed Modu, a graduate of the programme, lauded the government’s efforts in rehabilitating the ex-insurgents.

He said he was going back to the society as a repentant Boko Haram member, adding that he would tell people how good the government had been to them while in camp.

Modu said one of the problems of the insurgency was that many youths do not trust the government, adding that this had made it easy for the sect to lure them into its den.

He stressed that with the love demonstrated by the government during the training, no one would be able to deceive him again.

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/03/army-graduates-152-ex-boko-haram-members-in-gombe-state/

An angry father has accosted his son at Babcock University and flogged him mercilessly for scamming him.

An angry dad yesterday stormed Babcock University to flog the hell out of his son for allegedly scamming him of N800,000.

It was gathered that the student lied to his father that he needed the money to sought some school issues.

He collected the money and never did as he said. His father found out, stormed the school and gave him serious beating.

Watch video below: http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/02/babcock-student-flogged-mercilessly-by-father-for-scamming-him-of-n800000-video/

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/02/babcock-student-flogged-mercilessly-by-father-for-scamming-him-of-n800000-video/

According to reports, two persons were killed in a fatal accident after the motorcycle they were riding, collided with a Pick-up van.

It was gathered that the accident happened yesterday night at Amelia’s Ward, Linden in South American country, Guyana.

The victims were said to be a couple, and persons who knew them claimed that they were an item. A woman told the Critic, “the two of them were like peas in a pod, is sad to see them dead, both of them really loved one another.”

The young lady who died had her face crushed as the vehicle was said to have ran over the couple after the motorcycle which was allegedly on speed – lost control on the road. .

Watch the video below.

https://web.facebook.com/GuyaneseCritic/videos/605650336600213/

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/02/couple-crushed-to-death-after-being-involved-in-fatal-accident-photos-video/

The Rivers State Police Command has said that security has been beefed up in the State as INEC commences the collation of the Gubernatorial and House of Assembly Election Results, scheduled to begin tomorrow 2nd April 2019.

The State Commissioner of Police and the Chairman of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), CP Usman .A. Belel, after a meeting of the Agency and other bodies superintending over the Elections, agreed to put in place adequate security measures, to ensure that the entire process is transparent and seamlessly carried out.

Part of the security measures put in place, as agreed by the Agencies, include:

“Massive deployments of Police Personnel and other Sister Security Agencies to the venue and the outer perimeter of the Collation Centre.

“Total closure of the PH/Aba Express Road, the stretch from the Waterlines to the GRA junctions, both in and outwards of the roads. Diversions only, to Olu Obasanjo and Polo Club Roads.

“The Commissioner of Police has noted with concern, the temporary hardship the closure will occasion and hereby appeals to the public to show understanding and bear with us, as the closure is done in the overall interest of the public and intended to provide a conducive atmosphere for the Collation Exercise.

“Politicians, Candidates and indeed unauthorized persons are seriously warned to stay clear from the Collation Centre, as any person or group whose act or omission undermines the process will be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the Electoral Act”.

The CP reiterated the Command’s avowed determination to provide adequate security for the resumed Collation Exercise and ensure that the process is open, credible and stands the test of time.

He also solicited the unalloyed cooperation and support of the people as the prosecution of the last lap of the collation gets executed.

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/02/security-beefed-up-in-rivers-as-inec-collates-election-results/

In what can be described as a huge shock the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar has just called President Buhari to congratulate him on his victory at the last presidential elections held in February.

Atiku made the historic call at exactly 9 45 pm on Sunday.

Our sources who were present when the call was made also informed us that Atiku has directed his lawyers to withdraw the electoral petition against Buhari ,APC and INEC saying it is in the best interest of the Nation.

The President was said to be elated and immediately gave instructions for a National Broadcast to be held by 7am On Monday morning, April 1st 2019 which happens to be APRIL FOOLS DAY.

LOL today is April Fools day and we just pranked you ,the story is a hoax .

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/04/01/the-reason-why-atiku-makes-u-turn-congratulates-buhari-withdraws-election-petition-see-shocking-details/

The recently published report by Steve Hanke, an economist from John Hopkins University in Baltimore, United State, listed Nigeria among the first ten (10) miserable countries in the world.

According to the report Venezuela was listed as the most miserable country in the world. Reacting to this Hanke said, “Venezuela holds the inglorious title of the most miserable country in the world in 2018, as it did in 2017, 2016, and 2015.”

However, Argentina jumped to the No. 2 spot after yet another peso crisis. Since its founding, Argentina has been burdened with numerous economic crises. Most can be laid at the feet of domestic mismanagement and currency problems (read: currency collapses).

Iran took third in the ranking, before Brazil that made it to the fourth position. Turkey took the fifth position as the giant of Africa Nigeria emerged sixth.

The Misery Index was calculated using economic indices including unemployment, inflation and bank lending rates.

For Nigeria, unemployment rate was the major contributing factor to its miserable state.

According to Hanke, “The first Misery Index was constructed by economist Art Okun in the 1960s as a way to provide President Lyndon Johnson with an easily digestible snapshot of the economy. That original Misery Index was just a simple sum of a nation’s annual inflation rate and its unemployment rate. The Index has been modified several times, first by Robert Barro of Harvard and then by myself.

My modified Misery Index is the sum of the unemployment, inflation and bank lending rates, minus the percentage change in real GDP per capita. Higher readings on the first three elements are “bad” and make people more miserable. These are offset by a “good” (GDP per capita growth), which is subtracted from the sum of the “bads.” A higher Misery Index score reflects a higher level of “misery,” and it’s a simple enough metric that a busy president, without time for extensive economic briefings, can understand at a glance.

The accompanying table contains Misery Index rankings for the 95 nations that report relevant data on a timely basis. For consistency and comparability, and with few exceptions, data were retrieved from the Economist Intelligence Unit.”

See the data below:

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/03/31/breaking-nigeria-ranks-6-miserable-country-in-the-world/

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp accepts the Premier League title contenders will face "problems," but he played down any pressure.
Klopp's men will head into Sunday's clash at home to Tottenham in second in the table after Manchester City's win over Fulham.
But the German dismissed any pressure, telling his players it was only normal for them to encounter difficulties at different stages in matches.
"We will have problems in the football game. You have to accept you will have problems," Klopp told UK newspapers.
"We have had a lot. That has allowed us not to feel the pressure. I don't feel the pressure. We just go for it.
"Let us do it again, again and again. Don't hesitate. That is the plan."
City hold a one-point lead atop the table, while their goal difference (plus 60) is better than Liverpool's (plus 52).
But with seven games remaining in the Premier League season, goal difference is not yet a concern for Klopp.
"You score when you score, I don't tell the boys to go out there and score six because it is disrespectful," he said.
"I'm happy if we just score the first goal and then the second.
"We score quite a lot of goals, anyway. People say it is not the same football as last year but we have not lost a lot of games.
"We have not been punched in the face yet like we were in Kiev, Basel or wherever in the last couple of years, but we have had a few difficult moments and tried to overcome them. That's all you can do really."

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/03/31/klopp-accepts-liverpool-will-face-problems/

Serving governors and other political stakeholders have been accused of stockpiling arms and ammunition ahead of the general election in the country.

The Director General of National Taskforce on Small Arms, Light and Chemical Weapons ( NATFORCE), Dr Emmanuel Okereke, who raised the alarm, said the alleged stockpilling of ammunition by desperate political players ahead of the poll which is about 30 days away, was facilitated by the porous nature of Nigeria’s border and non existence of a specific body to tackle the menace.

“Due to lack of a legally established specific body or commission as obtainable in 14 out of the 16 countries in the West African Subregion, all manner of ammunition have been illegally brought into the country ahead of the coming elections by high class political players including some state governors”, he said.

According to him, for Nigeria to effectively tackle the menace of proliferation of ammunition in the country with its attendant crimes, a National Commission for the Prohibition of Illegal Importation of Small Arms, Ammunition and Light Weapons and other related matters, must be established as already done by other West African countries except Nigeria and Gambia.

The Commission, he added, was recommended for all West African Countries through a resolution passed to that effect by the Economic Community of West Africa States ( ECOWAS) in December, 2017 .

“Unfortunately, while 14 out of the 16 member sub regional body have complied, Nigeria and Gambia are yet to do the needful in that direction,” he lamented . Okereke explained further that even before the ECOWAS resolution, a bill for the establishment of such commission had long been sponsored by his outfit called National Taskforce.

The bill which is currently before the 8th Senate, has passed second reading in the House of Representatives but not yet in the senate, having failed to scale through the required legislative processes in the 6th and 7th National Assembly .

The Commission when established, he added, would not be a burden on the finances of the country but a revenue generating one.

He therefore called on the Senate as it resumes plenary on Wednesday, to fast track legislative business on the bill for the commission to be in place as soon as possible


https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/01/15/govs-stockpiling-arms-for-election-says-natforce-dg/?amp

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory sitting at Maitama, has okayed accelerated hearing of a suit seeking to compel the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to arrest and prosecute the First Lady of Kano State, Dr. Hafsatu Abdullahi Ganduje, over alleged role she played in a $5million bribery scandal involving her husband.

The court, in a ruling by Justice Yusuf Halilu, further ordered the EFCC, the Kano State government and the All Progressives Congress, APC, who were listed as 1st to 3rd Defendants, to show cause why all assets owned by and or traceable to governor Ganduje and his wife, should not be temporarily forfeited, pending the hearing and disposal of a suit that was lodged before it by a Non Governmental Organisation.

Likewise, the court ordered the APC, through its National Working Committee, to equally show cause why it should not be directed to immediately remove and substitute governor Ganduje’s name as its candidate for the 2019 general election in Kano State.

The orders followed a suit marked CV/344/18 and a motion ex-parte marked M/887/18, which was lodged by a group under the aegis of the Incorporated Trustees of Hope Development and Empowerment Foundation.

Though the plaintiff had in the motion ex-parte it filed through its lawyer, Mr. Johnmary Jideobi, prayed the court to order EFCC to temporarily seize all assets traceable to governor Ganduje and his wife, pending the determination of the suit.

However, Justice Halilu declined the request, even as he directed service of all the processes on the Defendants to enable them to appear before the court on January 31 to show cause why the orders should not be made.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/01/alleged-5m-bribe-court-okays-suit-seeking-arrest-trial-of-gov-gandujes-wife-2/

An emergency meeting of the governors of the states of the South South geopolitical zone, held at the Bayelsa State Governor’s Lodge, Abuja on Sunday.

The meeting, called at the instance of the Governor of Bayelsa State, Henry Seriake Dickson, who is also Chairman of the South South Governors’ Forum, was attended by the Governors of Cross River State, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Delta States.

The meeting deliberated on the recent happenings at the Supreme Court, involving the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen and resolved that the action against him constitutes a setback to the gains of the nation’s democratic experience of 20 years.

A communique the governors jointly signed reads: “We note that under Section 158(1) of the 1999 Constitution, the National Judicial Council, has ample powers to deal exhaustively with matters pertaining to allegations of misconduct and discipline of Judicial officers. Specifically, the NJC has the powers and clear procedures for investigating allegations, and recommending appropriate sanctions or disciplinary measures against judicial officials as a matter of first instance before any further steps.

“The judicial pronouncements in the cases of FGN Vs Justice Sylvester Ngwuta of the Supreme Court (January 9, 2018) and Justice Ngajinwa Vs FGN 2017 at the CCT have given validation to the express provisions of the constitution on this issue.

“We note that the attempt to drag the CJN to the CCT is also a grave and dangerous escalation of the assault on institutions of state including the National Assembly and the judiciary

“We believe that the President, Muhammadu Buhari has a constitutional responsibility and huge moral obligation to defend our democracy.

“Therefore, we consider this step, which is directly aimed at humiliating the nation’s highest judicial officer and a prominent son of the region, as totally unacceptable as it is reflective of the South South story of endless marginalization and intimidation. The unceremonious removal of former Acting Director General of the Department of State Service, Mathew Seiyefa and his replacement is still very fresh.

“We note that the unfortunate action against the CJN further reinforces the perception that the Buhari administration has no regard for the sentiments of Nigerians, in particular the people of Niger Delta, and the rule of law

“It is a fact that this administration has a penchant for flagrant disobedience of and disregard for legitimate and valid court orders.

“We expect President Buhari to know that democracy cannot survive without respect for the constitution, strict adherence to the rule of law, and separation of powers as enshrined in the constitution.

“We strongly believe that the regrettable development at the Supreme Court at this critical time, when preparations for the general elections are wobbling (with serious concern about INEC and security agencies) is capable of causing avoidable anxiety, tension and possible breakdown of law and order in the country.

“We note further that the action undermines confidence not only in the judiciary but also the electoral process that has already commenced, in view of the pivotal role that the judiciary plays in the process of electoral adjudication.

“We affirm President Buhari should know that the continuous assault on critical institutions of state is a defining feature of a dictatorship, and that the President is obliged to live up to his word that he is a born-again democrat, as he assured Nigerians in 2015.

“Based on the foregoing, we hereby call on the President:
1) To condemn without any equivocation, this assault on the CJN and the judiciary especially coming after similar assaults on the National Assembly, to save the country from this embarrassment and global contempt.

2) We call on the CJN to ignore this so-called Court summon from the CCB and the provocative call for his resignation in some quarters.

“While we are not opposed to a genuine fight against corruption, such an action must always be anchored on the rule of law.

“We also decry the massive buildup of arms by APC leaders and members across the Niger Delta with the intent to cause mayhem and a general breakdown of law and order during the elections.

Dated this day January 13, 2019

Signed

The Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State
HE Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State
HE, Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade, Governort of Cross River State”
HE Udom Emmanuel, Governor of Akwa Ibom State
HE Sen. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, Governor of Delta State.

http://mcebiscoo.com/2019/01/13/breaking-cjn-onnoghen-details-south-south-governors-gathering-develop/