President Bola Tinubu has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a suit that is seeking to compel the National Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against him over alleged rights violations.
The suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1334/2024, was brought before the court by a legal practitioner, Mr. Olukoya Ogungbeje.
The plaintiff, in his suit that has the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, as the 2nd defendant, is seeking six principal reliefs from the court.
He urged the court to declare that alleged persistent suppression of peaceful protests organised by Nigerian citizens, by the President Tinubu-led administration, amounts to an impeachable offence.
For instance, the plaintiff alleged that the government had, between August 1 and 10, 2024, violently clamped down on peaceful protesters across the federation, an action he argued constituted misconduct and a ground for Tinubu’s impeachment from office.
The plaintiff maintained that section 143 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, empowered the NASS to set machinery in motion for President Tinubu’s impeachment.
However, in a joint preliminary objection they filed against the suit, both President Tinubu and the AGF queried the locus standi (legal right) of the plaintiff to institute the action.
Aside from praying the court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent, the defendants insisted that the action failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action to warrant an exercise of judicial discretion in his favour.
In the process, they filed through a team of lawyers led by Mr. Sanusi Musa, SAN; President Tinubu; and AGF further challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter.
More so, the defendants applied for “an order striking out this suit for being incompetent as this suit is not initiated by due process of law having been initiated under a wrong procedure.”
Adducin 18 reasons why the case should be terminated, President Tinubu and the AGF argued that the plaintiff filed the action on behalf of faceless citizens, noting that he did not disclose the persons whose rights were allegedly violated.
The defendants argued that by the provision of Section 46 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, only the person whose right was breached has the right to file an action before the court to seek redress.
According to the defendants, “Pursuant to the provision of Section 46 (3), the Chief Justice of Nigeria has {brought into being the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, which makes ample provision of the procedure to follow in filing an action with respect to a breach of the Fundamental Rights of any Nigerian.”
They argued that the plaintiff’s questions two and three for determination were in respect of the alleged breach of the 1999 Constitution by the 1st defendant (President Tinubu) vis-a-vis Section 143 of the said constitution.
The defendants maintained that the plaintiff failed to disclose any of his rights that were breached.
Likewise, in a counter affidavit that was deposed to one Gbemga Oladimeji, a principal state counsel in the Federal Ministry of Justice, he averred that contrary to the plaintiff’s claim, the President Tinubu-led government has been a promoter of democratic tenets.
He averred that the president had always allowed people to air their grievances and conduct peaceful protests.
“I know for a fact that the protest conducted between 1st August 2024 and 10th August 2024 was peaceful, as there was a court order limiting the protesters to demonstrate within a confined location,” he added.
The deponent added that during the protest, security agents under the control of the president were present to protect the protesters and ensure that their civil action was not hijacked by hoodlums.
“I know as a fact that the 1st defendant has always ensured that law and order are adhered to strictly by the security agencies and institutions of the arm of government.
“Contrary to the deposition in paragraph 26 of the Affidavit in support of the Originating Summons, I know as a fact that the 1st defendant has not violated any provision of his oath of office and allegiance.
“There has been no breach on his part that would warrant his impeachment from office as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he further averred.
Meanwhile, Justice James Omotosho, on Monday, adjourned the case till March 4 to enable the counsel representing the plaintiff, Mr. Stanley Okonmah, to respond to the preliminary objection by President Tinubu and the AGF.
No fewer than 10 passengers have been abducted by gunmen along the Owo-Benin highway in Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The gunmen reportedly attacked the commercial bus the passengers were travelling in after which they were marched into the bush.
It was gathered that the passengers were on their way from Akwa Ibom to Akure when the incident happened.
One of the sources, who craved anonymity, disclosed that the driver of the space bus had initially thought that the gunmen were security operatives but realised that they were criminals when they shot sporadically into the air.
” They were kidnapped on the Owo-Ipele road on Saturday morning at about 12 am. Their vehicles were stopped, and they were dragged into the bush to an unknown destination.
“The hoodlums ambushed them and whisked all the occupants of the vehicle into the bush. All the occupants of the vehicle were abducted and nobody heard anything about them since then.
However, the police image maker in the state, Funmilayo Odunlami, however, stated only seven people were kidnapped.
“The police received information that a vehicle was attacked along the Owo/Ifon road, and seven people were suspected to have been abducted.
“Seven travellers were involved; they were coming from Akwa Ibom State in a commercial bus. Our men are already making efforts to rescue the victims from the kidnappers and arrest the perpetrators.”
justwise: Whoever uploaded that picture made an effort to cover their dignity but you did not do that, you uploaded a picture of a baby with the face showing, a woman’s face and breast showing. That is so disrespectful to the dead and their families
I have seen the mistake 😔
Please if I see a dead Body picture again in any of the Terrible Bad News, I use to come across, how will I go about publishing the pictures here
A Five-Year-Old Boy On Monday set a five-bedroom duplex residence on fire in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.
The incident occurred at Abiodun Adebiyi Close, off Yidi Road, Irewolede area of Ilorin metropolis, at about 5:32 pm.
The fire, according to the spokesman of the state fire service, Hassan Adekunle, was “caused by a five-year-old boy playing with matches who inadvertently dropped a lit stick on a combustible material, which ignited the flames.”
He said the state fire service received a distress call regarding the fire outbreak at Abiodun Adebiyi Close, off Yidi Road, Irewolede area, Ilorin. Firefighters sprang into action, arriving swiftly at the scene to find one room in a five-bedroom duplex engulfed in flames.
“Through sheer expertise and technical precision, the team worked fervently to contain the fire, ensuring it did not spread to other rooms or nearby buildings. Thanks to their exceptional skill and coordination, only one room was affected,” he stated.
The Director of the Kwara State Fire Service, Prince Falade John Olumuyiwa, commended the firefighters for their swift and tactical response.
He urged the public to prioritise fire safety and advised parents to keep matches away from children, emphasising that a single matchstick could destroy an entire building.
attackgat: It was black Sunday in Nkaleha, Ishielu LGA, as armed herdsmen launched a deadly attack on the community. Sunday worshippers were not spared. The Lords Chosen Church, Nkaleha, was attacked and six members of the Church, including their Pastor were brutally murdered. Over 30 people are believed to have been killed so far and several houses destroyed
@Justwise
If I'm the one that publish this photo now, you will get angry towards me.
Just yesterday I took a ₦250k loan that I would pay ₦450k back so I could purchase a power station for 3x this price. I wish I saw this post before purchasing.
Police Operatives attached to the Ogidi Area Command in Anambra State have arrested a man while he was trying to escape with a five years old stolen child.
Anambra State police command’s spokesperson, SP Tochukwu Ikenga who disclosed this in a press release said the arrest was successful because of credible information by indigenes of the area.
He said the suspect, one Joshua Simeon, male, aged 32 years from Ohaozara in Ebonyi State was arrested on 1st February 2025 by 4 pm at Nkpor Central Park, Idemili North Local Government Area.
He said: “The team also recovered a five-year old girl, Nkemdilim Jacob allegedly taken away by the suspect from her parents, living in Umuota Village Obosi, idemili North Local Government Area.
“The suspect had already boarded a commercial vehicle and was en route to an unknown destination when he was arrested.
“Meanwhile, the suspect is in custody and currently undergoing interrogation to ascertain his motives and determine whether this incident is part of a larger child trafficking network.”
Ikenga said efforts are also ongoing to reach out to the parents or relatives of the recovered child for possible reunion.
He added that: “The Command is committed to protecting vulnerable members of society, to combat child abduction/trafficking and to ensure the safety and well-being of all children in the State.”
Crime › Re: 10 Passengers Kidnapped On Owo-Benin Highway In Ondo by NaijaCover(op): 4:34pm On Feb 04, 2025
