RE: INTRODUCTION OF HISTORY IN LAGOS STATE SCHOOLS
I have the directive of the DG (OEQA) to inform you that the teaching of History as a stand-alone subject is back to schools.
In line with the directives from the Nigerian Education Research and Development Council (NERDC), the subject has been re-introduced in the National Curriculum and in the current Lagos State Unified Schemes of Work for primary and junior secondary schools.
You are to note that while the subject (History) is compulsory for both primary and junior secondary school classes, it is an elective subject in the senior secondary school.
To this end, I am further directed to inform you that the subject should be taught in primaries 1 and 2 and JSS 1 and 2 classes in the 2022/2023 academic session.
Kindly give this notice the widest publicity it deserves.
Thank you. Pelemo, E.I (Mrs) D (Research) 8th August, 2022
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, is interested in redesigning its current logo as part of ongoing reforms.
This is therefore a call to creative minds who can best channel their ideas into a new pictorial respresentation (logo) that depicts the NDLEA's mission: 'To deploy all resources at our disposal for the total eradication of illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, by cutting off the supply of illicit drugs and bringing suppliers to book, reducing the demand for illicit drugs and other substances of abuse and tracing and recovering drug-related proceeds, through effective drug law enforcement' Interested participants should be aged 30 years and below, A winner and 2 runners up will be selected and cash prizes presented as award.
Submission and full details should be sent to the email address below dma@ndlea.gov.ng
Checkout Oluwole Oluwabukunmi's WAEC and JAMB results!
Oluwole Oluwabukunmi is a student of Greater tomorrow School in the Akoko area of Ondo State, he cleared his WAEC in all distinctions and scored 324 in JAMB. Let's make this kid viral.
We are pleased to announce the renewals of our OMLs 133 (Erha) and 138 (Usan) deepwater leases for a further 20–year period. This includes extensions of Production Sharing Contracts with our partner NNPC Limited
These renewals validate @ExxonMobil_NG earlier commitment to maintain a significant deepwater presence in Nigeria, via Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited.
These are among the first post Petroleum Industry Act deepwater lease renewals, and we applaud the @FMPRng Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the @NUPRCNigeria and @nnpclimited for providing the focused leadership and partnership that has led to this achievement.
Further, these extensions enable us and our partners to unlock the potential value in these OMLs and to bring forward additional investment.
If you’re in doubt that the Buhari govt is clueless, listen up. Garba Shehu told BBC Hausa today that they gave the Abuja-Kaduna train attackers all their demands, but they refused to free their victims. That’s because the terrorists outsmarted them. Here’s what Garba Shehu said.
First, the gang leader demanded the release of his pregnant wife who’s in jail. The govt took her to a hospital, where she birthed twins at taxpayers’ expense and all 3 were freed. He refused to free his victims, but demanded the release of 6 or 7 members’ children from prison.
Not only did the govt release them from jail, it sent a plane to fly them from Adamawa, where they’re detained, and delivered them to the terrorists. Again, they refused to release the victims. Instead, they asked for money! This is the worse negotiation I’ve heard of in my life.
You had their wife and 10 children and you gave up all without taking yours? You’re not dealing with a trustworthy partner, so cash-and-carry should be no brainer. But the Buhari admin thought they could trust terrorists, so they kept giving them before taking anything. Clueless!
In the end, the terrorists received 11 members through “negotiation”, freed 69 from Kuje by force & made over N1bn in ransom. Yet, 31 passengers are still in captivity. Who knows how much more they’ll make? And with all these resources, imagine how big their next attack could be.
Peace mass transit paid the sum of NGN500,000 because of a fare as little as NGN700.
Here's how a no refund policy can cost your business thousands of naira.
A thread �
According to a judge's ruling in the high court of Enugu in April 2022, PMT was ordered to pay NGN500,000 in fees in a case of a refusal to refund.
The provisions of Sections 120, 104, 129 (1) (a) and (b) (iii) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, says that a no refund policy is void and illegal in Nigeria.
“I want a refund” has to be among the top 5 sentences business owners dread to hear and it’s not number 5 or 4.
Dealing with a refund or returns case can be complex, especially if you don’t have the policy to cater to it.
Here are 5 reasons you should create a refund policy:
1. It’s illegal to operate a no refund policy.
According to laws of the federal competition and consumer protection act 2018, it is illegal for businesses to operate a no refunds policy. This means that if a customer wants a refund and you refuse to grant them one if it falls within the T and C of your business refund policy, you can end up in court.
But how can your business sift between what customer to grant a refund or not if you don’t already have a refund policy with T&C's?
In cases like this, having a well-thought-out refund policy that all customers are aware of before making a purchase is of greater benefit to your business.
2. It builds customer trust. In this age of what I ordered vs. what I got, people approach shopping online with a lot of hesitancy and scepticism and you can’t blame them.
A refund policy gives your customers a greater sense of security because because it lets them know that if something has gone wrong in line with these specified conditions, they can get a return or a refund. Also, if a customer has made a purchase they aren’t too pleased with and can’t find any semblance of a return or refund policy, their chances of being a return customer are next to none. If you want to increase retention rates + build trust, you need a return policy.
3. It attracts new customers thereby increasing sales.
A 2017 Narvar Consumer survey found that 49% of customers actively check for a return Policy before buying anything. In addition, consumers who are informed of their rights to refunds are more likely to make a purchase.
Even though businesses don’t exist on what could have been, just imagine how many potential customers you may have scared away with your bold NO REFUNDS ❌ plastered all over your business site or social media.
People view a return policy as a sign that the product will be good, or else they can get their money back as customers know businesses don’t want to lose.
4. Manages customer expectations. Having a well-explained return policy prevents situations where customers might be trying to outsmart you. It’s not enough to say we offer refunds.
To protect your business against customers that may try to take advantage of you,
you must clearly state under what terms or conditions a refund is liable to be carried out.
Doing this will help you avoid future disagreements or mistakes.
5. It will help you save time
Whether it's time away from lawsuits or time not expended on explaining over and over to every customer what your business stance on refunds is, having a policy will save you time.
A simple document you can always refer customers to or an Instagram highlight where all the T&C’s are documented will save you time and unnecessary back & forth.
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Saraki, who was the Senate President to President Buhari was caught with supicious and doubtful looks ever since Buhari's unusual delayed return from an abroad treatment.
Saraki became more suspicious when Buhari's fingerprint could no longer open his own office in Aso Rock.
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Minister of Health to turn around the incidence of brain drain in the health sector.
Buhari disclosed this on Tuesday while receiving the new executive members of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President said he had directed the health minister, Dr Osagie Ehanire, who led the medical practitioners to the meeting, to find ways to convert the "brain drain" being experienced in the sector into "brain gain".
According to Buhari, this could be done by engaging top Nigerian medical professionals in the diaspora in knowledge and skill repatriation.
He urged the medical association and other stakeholders to support his government’s initiatives in the sector.
Buhari also said, through the Central Bank of Nigeria, his administration has loaned local pharmaceutical producers and healthcare investors N100 billion to increase their capital bases and boost local production of medicines and medical consumables.
‘I commend our medical professionals for their contribution to Nigeria’s exemplary management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the control of malaria, HIV and Tuberculosis, and other feats also achieved by Nigerian doctors in the diaspora,” Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity quoted the President as saying.
"Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been praised internationally and your members are key parts of this success.
“I recall that in the last quarter of 2021, the immediate past NMA Executives visited me and presented recommendations for the health sector, which included, the review and amendment of the NHIS Act; upgrading and equipping existing health institutions; loans to fund hospital equipment; the repeal and re-enactment of the Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Act; and Appeal for more funding for the four (4) newly established Universities of Medical Sciences.
“I am pleased to inform you that most of these recommendations have been addressed, whilst further action is being taken to study those involving cross-cutting administrative processes with legal implications.”
The NMA in April 2022 said Nigeria lost over 9,000 medical doctors to the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America between 2016 and 2018.
“Brain drain worsens the already depleted healthcare resources in developing countries like Nigeria and widens the gap in health inequities worldwide. Healthcare workers generally migrate from developing countries to more developed countries, leaving a scarcity of health workers where the need is greatest,” the immediate former NMA President, Innocent Ujah, stated during the Maiden NMA Annual Lecture Series in Abuja.
According to him, Nigeria has a doctor-to-population ratio of about 1: 4000-5000, which falls short of the WHO recommended doctor-to-population ratio of 1:600.
The Islamic Movement of Nigeria, on Monday, said security agents killed at least six of its members and injured about 40 other followers of its leader, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky.
In a short statement, IMN stated that the incident occurred during the group’s Ashura mourning procession in Zaria, Kaduna.
“Security forces have, today, Monday, gunned down at least seven followers of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky (H), and injured over 40 others during the Ashura mourning procession in Zaria which was observed peacefully across Nigeria and different parts of the world,” the statement read.
Also, the leader of the movement in Zaria, Abdulhamid Bello, alleged that a combined team of security operatives shot indiscriminately at the members.
Bello identified those killed to include Jafar Jushi, Kazeem Magume, Ali Samaru, Muhsin Zakzaky, Umar Fatika and another member who he could not identify as of the time of filing this report.
He added that the total casualty figures had yet to be ascertained, noting, however, that “a lot of them have been rushed to St Luke’s Hospital, Wusasa, while those in critical condition were taken to ABU Teaching Hospital, Shika l, also in Zaria.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer, [b]DSP Mohammed Jalinge, said he was aware of the incident [/b]but had yet to be briefed.
Meanwhile, the procession, which also took place at the everbusy Leventis Roundabout in Kaduna metropolis and Kawo Bridge, was said to be peaceful with no cases of casualties.
A leader of the IMN, Aiyu Umar, who led the procession in Kaduna, said, “Today, we came out in order to commemorate the day of Ashura.
“The importance of the day is a day of seeking justice as Imam Hussein did. We use this date to remind the people that this day is the day of justice and people should emulate Imam Hussein in seeking justice.”
Two policemen have been arrested after being caught on camera harassing people by forcefully checking their phones.
A Twitter user, Chinedu had taken to his timeline to share a video of the policemen harassing one of his friends.
“Is there anything new under the sun?
“My friend was harassed by the police today while he was on his way for a photo shoot,” he captioned the video.
Explaining how the incident happened, the voice of a man suspected to be the victim, was heard saying: “So, I was going for a job, this policeman stopped me, collected my phone and was searching me. But the Inspector-General of police said on Twitter that you should not search my phone. Why are you searching my phone?”
Speaking on the matter, the Lagos Police Command said the officers searched the phones under the guise of carrying out a stop and search.
One of the officers was identified as Opeyemi Kadiri, with force number 509745.
Displeased with the policemen’s conduct, Lagos Police Commissioner Abiodun Alabi ordered the immediate arrest of the officers, as he vowed not to tolerate harassment by his men.
Sharing an update on the matter, the Police Spokesperson in Lagos, Benjamin Hundeyin said the officers would be investigated and prosecuted.
“The officer who searched the civilian’s phone has been handed over to the provost for disciplinary action, pending their transfer to Force Headquarters, Abuja, for further disciplinary measures.
“The video clearly shows assault on the part of the officer. Further, it was established that there was no extortion, nor was there any arrest or detention,” Hundeyin added.
Prior to this development, the Lagos police spokesperson affirmed that no office has the right to search the phones belonging to members of the public.
According to Hundeyin, any officer that engages in such is not a policeman, but a scavenger.
Train attack: I’m still strong supporter of Buhari, says passenger freed from captivity
Hassan Usman, a lawyer and one of the victims of Abuja-Kaduna train attack, says he is still a strong supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari.
On March 28, a Kaduna-bound train was attacked by gunmen, with several persons killed, injured and abducted.
Hassan was among four passengers that were released from captivity on July 25.
Speaking in an interview with ICIR, he said although the present administration has failed in the area of security, he is still a “strong supporter” of Buhari.
“I am still a strong supporter of Buhari, but in terms of security, I can score this government below average, because one of their major responsibilities is to see that the lives and property of citizens are being guaranteed by the government,” he said.
“But as it is now, I can say that the government has failed woefully in that area. Despite the huge resources allocated for security in Nigeria, there is nothing to write home about.”
He added that his experience while in captivity was a terrible one.
“It has been a bitter experience I must say,” Hassan said.
“Since when we were captured, we had to walk long miles for almost three days before we reached a camp where we were detained for close to four months and being there is a bitter experience actually.
“Since we arrived that camp, we killed more than 10 snakes and some other reptiles like scorpions or what have you.”
Information minister Lai Mohammed instructed the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to penalize Trust TV with a N5 million fine for its factual March 5 documentary titled “Nigeria’s Banditry: The Inside Story” after former BBC journalist Kadaria Ahmed wrote a tendentious, professionally questionable screed questioning a subsequent July 25 BBC Africa Eye documentary titled “The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara.”
In the aftermath of Kadaria Ahmed’s article, Lai Mohammed, who had been fishing for excuses to muzzle the news media whose reporting dramatized the inability or unwillingness of the government to resolve the progressively festering problem of banditry in the North, told State House correspondents on July 28 that the[b] BBC “will not get away with” its insightful documentary which nonetheless embarrassed the government, and that “appropriate sanctions will be meted to both the BBC and the Trust Tv.”[/b]
On August 3, the NBC imposed a N5 million fine not just on Trust TV but also on such domestic TV stations as NTA-StarTimes Limited and MultiChoice Nigeria Limited (which owns DStv and TelCom Satellite Limited—TStv) for broadcasting BBC’s documentary. (I wonder if Lai will also impose fines on YouTube, Facebook, and other social media platforms from where most people watched the documentary).
In an earlier article and during an appearance at her August 1 RadioNow 95.3FM news show, I told Kadaria Ahmed to be ashamed of being the enabler of unjustified governmental tyranny against the news media of which she is a part.
The core of Kadaria’s argument is that the BBC’s documentary became “a tool for terrorists, even if unwittingly, by amplifying the faces, voices and stories of killers and marauders who are still operating with impunity across Nigeria.” That’s some warped logic!
She wanted the BBC to have done its documentary without interviewing the terrorists. She doesn’t want the world to know the motive forces that animate the terrorists. As I told her during her radio show, that won’t be journalism; it would be propaganda. To circumscribe for reporters which newsworthy sources they must erase or suppress is to operate outside the province of journalism.
Lai Mohammed and his headless lackeys at the NBC ineptly mirrored Kadaria’s professional and sociological illogic in their groundlessly draconian post-publication vengeance on Trust TV and Nigerian TV stations that broadcast BBC’s documentary.
NBC’s Director General by the name of Balarabe Shehu Illela said the section of the Broadcasting Code that Trust TV, NAT-StarTimes, DStv, and TStv violated states that, “No broadcast shall encourage or incite to crime, lead to public disorder or hate, be repugnant to public feelings or contain offensive reference to any person or organisation, alive or dead or generally be disrespectful to human dignity.”
I watched both documentaries, and there’s nowhere they come even remotely close to encouraging or inciting crime; precipitating violence; inspiring hate; hurting public feelings; or singling out a person, a group of people, or an organization for public ridicule.
As the reader can see, Lai only used Kadaria’s article as a propaganda prop to execute a predetermined course of action that he didn’t have the intellectual resources to justify on his own.
Well, Kadaria’s claim that by giving airtime to terrorists, their cause is being amplified and that it would serve as a tool for recruitment has no basis in evidence. Terroristic banditry doesn’t need the media to grow; it needs only the absence of consequences, which the government is responsible for.
Since kidnapping for ransom took roots years ago, transmuted into terrorism, and finally morphed into the full-scale Hausa-versus-Fulani ethnic war that we’re seeing in places like Zamfara and Katsina, only Trust TV’s March 5 and BBC Africa Eye’s July 28 documentaries have highlighted the issues that drive the conflict in the course of which they spoke with terrorist ringleaders.
The fact that the conflict keeps exacerbating over the years in spite of relative media neglect of terrorist ringleaders until this year is sufficient proof that media reporting is immaterial to its escalation.
Kadaria’s claims sprout from a long-discredited media theory called the hypodermic needle, which assumed that the influence of mass media messages on receivers resulted from a direct, unmediated access to media messages and that the media are like social syringes that can inject attitudinal changes in people with immediate and dramatic effects.
Research after research has shown that this “big-effect” conception of the media isn’t supported by any empirical data anywhere in the world. People who aren’t already inclined to terroristic violence won’t start taking up arms to join banditry because they saw a “glorifying” interview with a terrorist leader on the BBC or Trust TV. That’s a very simplistic and reductionist understanding of human behavior.
In my debate with Kadaria, she also brought up issues of “professionalism” and “journalistic ethics.” Well, as journalists and journalism professors know, professional journalistic ethics aren’t frozen in time and space; they vary from country to country, culture to culture, and circumstance to circumstance. That is why our professional ethics are voluntary and have no force of authority.
For example, although mainline American news media have imposed on themselves the ethical burden to conceal the names of rape victims or criminals who are minors, they sometimes flout this code when the circumstances warrant it. British media ethics are also different from American or Chinese media ethics.
So, Nigerian journalistic practice isn’t bound by what BBC would have or wouldn’t have done in Britain. Nigeria isn’t Britain. For one, it’s inconceivable that the British government would allow domestic terrorists to luxuriate on the fringes of their society, take over vast swaths of land relatively unchallenged, and murder innocent, unarmed men, women, and children with impunity.
Were that to happen in Britain, the British media would be professionally irresponsible, not to mention unpatriotic, to not do what Trust TV and Yusuf Anka did in their documentaries. It’s the government’s responsibility to not allow terrorist kingpins to build terror fiefdoms in the country. Had the Nigerian government taken that responsibility seriously, neither Trust TV nor the BBC would have had any terrorist leader to interview and, to borrow Kadaria’s phraseology, glorify or amplify.
The news media don’t create the news; they only report it. It is irresponsible to guilt-trip and penalize them for not ignoring an ugly but incontestable truth that makes an inept government and self-important private people uncomfortable.
Although journalism ethics are variable, there is a three-question template that most journalists use to navigate the professional dilemma publishing or broadcasting a contentious news story, and it goes thus:
“Is the information of such overriding importance that it can help people avoid harm?” The answer is a definite yes in the case of Trust TV’s and BBC’s documentaries. Knowing what motivates the terrorists to do what they do and the methods they deploy to inflict evil will help many people avoid harm.
“Can the information be obtained through public records or other means?” No, there is no alternative to interviewing the terror leaders to get the same effect as speaking to them directly.
“Are you placing innocent people at risk?” Nobody was at risk in the documentaries. But in my debate with Kadaria on her radio show, she took issue with the fact that the BBC didn’t interview the Hausa vigilantes who fend off or fight the terrorists. Doing that would have been the real ethical violation because terrorist honchos would know who they are and target them.
Kadaria also cherrypicked her facts about the British media’s reporting of its domestic terrorists. Here’s the response of Dr. Abdulbasit Kassim who just completed his PhD in Religion at Rice University and earned a master's degree from the UK:
“BBC and Channel 4 conducted interviews with active British fighters of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra in Raqqa and Mosul during the heyday of the IS Caliphate, including the 2013 interview at Idlib with the Nigerian-born Khadija Grace Dare.
“The same BBC gave constant media appearances to Anjem Choudary (the teacher of Michael Adebolajo who beheaded Lee Rigby in 2013), and the Hindu-born convert Siddhartha Dhar, both of whom played a pivotal role in the migration of Muslim Youths from Britain to the Islamic State.
“Abdul Bari al-Atwan and Al-Jazeera also conducted interviews with Bin Laden, Mustapha Abu Yazeed, and the American convert Adam Gadahn, all of whom were active members of al-Qaida. The same Al-Jazeera also interviewed Abu Muhammad Al-Julani, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Syria in 2013.
“In 2021, Martin Smith of PBS sat down for a two-hour interview in Idlib, Syria, with Julani, not to mention all the interviews Bilal Abdulkarim (On the Ground News) conducted with foreign fighters for CNN, BBC, and Al-Jazeera during the peak of the Syrian Jihad.”
Finally, it is our sense of collective low self-worth as a people that makes us pay more attention to what foreigners say about us than what we say about ourselves. When Trust TV did its documentary and interviewed terrorist ringleaders (including Lai himself), neither Kadaria nor Lai were bothered.
They are only worried because the BBC also did what Trust TV did. That betrays a deep-rooted inferiority complex. I hope Trust TV and other stations will appeal the fines because Kadaria’s article that inspired them is meritless and Lai is an irresponsible blabbermouth who will latch on to anything to control the media.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered the trial of Police Corporal Okoi Liyomo, the Policeman officer caught flogging a man with cutlass in Cross River State.
Recall that earlier in the week, viral video of policeman using the side of a cutlass to flog an individual trended in social media handles and consequently attracted the attention of the hierarchy of the Nigerian Police Force.
Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi made this known in a tweet saying Liyomo met with the IGP in Abuja on Thursday and will face trial over the incident.
The tweet said, “PC Okoi Liyomo, the policeman who was caught in the viral video flogging one man with a cutlass in Cross Rivers State has been brought to the Force Headquarters Abuja.
“He met with the IGP today. The IGP has ordered for his trial. I await the outcome of the trial.
“We will update you asap. We still reiterate our commitment to sanitising the NPF, no room for nonsense, as we will not condone any act of lawlessness, unprofessionalism, corruption, harassment and incivility.”
Amazon Prime Video today announced the launch of the localized version of its streaming service in one of Africa’s biggest markets: Nigeria. Just as it did in Southeast Asia some days back, the tech giant is attempting to boost its subscriber push in new markets like Africa by increasing its investment in local production, unveiling slates of localized originals and introducing discounted Amazon Prime membership offerings to customers.
Amazon Prime Video launched in Africa in 2016 as part of its global push across more than 200 countries worldwide, bringing some serious competition to Netflix’s global plan launched that same year. However, versions of the service available in the region have never featured the local-language interfaces, subtitling and original content offerings typical in more developed markets.
That changes today in Nigeria and the whole of Africa as the company plans to launch in other markets like South Africa. In a tweet by its official account, Prime Video Naija, the company said that customers in Nigeria can stream more than 20,000 original TV shows and movies within its ecosystem, such as “The Boys,” “All or Nothing,” “Reacher” and “All the Old Knives.” According to its website, the service will cost ₦2,300/month (~$4) after a seven-day trial. Thus, for the first time, users in Nigeria will be able to subscribe to Prime Video using their local currency, and unlike how most have accessed the platform for region-specific content in the past, they would not require a VPN to stream content on the service.
Prime Video and other streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+, Canal+ and Showmax are vying for Africa’s 2026-projected 15 million video-on-demand subscribers. According to Digital TV Research, an analytics firm, Prime Video has 600,000 subscribers in Africa and might add 1.5 million new subscribers compared to Netflix’s 3 million subscribers in the next four years.
To gain more market share amid a streaming war for African content and eyeballs, Prime Video has been collaborating with filmmakers and content creators in Nigeria regarding the production of original and licensed content. The past couple of months has seen the service make strategic moves, such as closing theatrical outlet agreements with Anthill Studios, Inkblot Productions and Evoke Studios, hiring Insight Publicis as its creative agency and recruiting senior executives like Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, head of Nigerian Local Originals, to develop original video content in Nigeria, Africa’s largest film industry.
Amazon Prime Video’s first Nigerian show is “Gangs of Lagos,” a local original crime action movie that follows three friends’ lives as they navigate the streets of Isale Eko in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city, scheduled to be ready for launch later this year.
The weirdest part of this ASUU strike is that it’s even affecting those of us that have already graduated, alot of people can’t process their transcripts and English proficiency letters, academic referees as well, everybody’s life is just somehow linked to this strike��
Last week, I provided an update on the efforts being made by the @NigBarAssoc towards securing the release of our colleague, Mr. Inibehe Effiong, who was remanded in custody on the order of the Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State on account of alleged contemptuous conduct in court.
Unfortunately, attempts to secure Mr. Effiong’s release through sustained engagements at different levels have been unsuccessful with the Chief Judge indicating that she was unwilling or unable to further entertain the matter.
In the circumstance, the NBA is left with no choice but to work on an appeal against the decision of Her Lordship, and I have instructed the NBA team to work with Mr. Effiong on an immediate appeal.
This is not the outcome that we had expected because there is a high chance that Mr. Effiong would serve out his one-month custodial term before the end of the appeal.
Regardless of the conduct of Mr. Effiong in the courtroom on the date of the proceedings that led to his committal, one thing that has come out from the various accounts that the NBA has so far received is that the Court did not follow due process in the committal proceedings.
Mr. Effiong was not put in the dock, told what his wrong or contempt was, given fair hearing or even an opportunity to recant or purge himself (a courtesy that the Bench should, at the minimum, extend to counsel where counsel’s conduct is said to be contemptuous).
This on its face not only runs afoul of known practice and procedure in such cases but is also unconstitutional. In view of the foregoing and depending on the outcome of our ongoing investigations, the NBA may be forced to take this matter up with the National Judicial Council.
Education › Lagos Orders Reintroduction Of History Into School Curriculum by nlfpmod(mod): 9:59am On Aug 14, 2022
