The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Election petitions: Elections tribunal declines to compel Sanwo-Olu’s appearance

    The Lagos Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Ikeja on Wednesday declined to subpoena Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to appear before it in an election petitions filed against his election by the governorship candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Chief Owolabi Salis and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Chief Ifagbemi Awamaridi.

    The three-man panel, chaired by Justice Terhemen Asua, held that Governor Sanwo-Olu is covered by the immunity clause in the constitution as a sitting governor and that “because of the provisions of the constitution, he cannot be compelled to appear in the court”.

    The tribunal gave this verdict while ruling in separate ex parte motion filed by the duo of Salis and Awamaridi.

    They are challenging the victory of Sanwo-Olu in the March 9, 2019 election held in the state.

    Aside from Sanwo-Olu, other respondents are Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), All Progressives Congress (APC), the Lagos Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the Returning Officer (RO), the Commissioner of Police and the Army.

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu to commissioners, special advisers: ensure Lagos remains top destination

    Salis and Awamaridi had filed separate motion ex parte, asking the governorship election tribunal to compel the governor and INEC to appear and testify before the court.

    The motion ex parte was brought pursuant to order 8, rule 1(3) & (4) of the Electoral Act (as amended) 2010 and under the inherent jurisdiction of the tribunal.

    In their separate applications filed by their counsel, Mr. Bola Aidi and supported by a nine-paragraph affidavit, they averred that they made several attempts to serve some of the witnesses listed in their petition, but they were to no avail.

    They alleged that Sanwo-Olu, INEC, the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner for Lagos State and the Returning Officer were evading service to frustrate the hearing of their petition.

    Their counsel, Aidi, prayed the tribunal to consider the time-frame within which the petitioners are to call their witnesses and provide evidence in the petition.

    He said:  “It is imperative to serve some of these persons by way of substituted service.”

    Aidi, on behalf of the petitioners, therefore, prayed the tribunal “for an order for the subpoena duces tecum/testificandum on the listed persons by way of substituted service to wit serving their counsel representing them”.

    The tribunal, however, granted the petitioners’ request to serve the returning officers of the 20 local governments’ councils by way of pasting the court documents on the wall of INEC office in Lagos.

    “Upon perusing of the motion ex pàrte, we are satisfied that the good cause has been shown by the petitioners.

    “The prayer to serve the subpoena duces tecum/testificandum shall be served as prayed on the other respondents.

    “But as far as the first respondent (Sanwo-Olu) is concerned, he is covered by the immunity clause as a sitting governor; he cannot be compelled to appear in the court,” the tribunal held.

  • Suspected kidnappers of Chief Imam’s son, others nabbed

    The police in Ogun State have arrested four suspected members of a gang that kidnapped three persons on Eid-el-Kabir (Sallah) day.

    The victims included the son of a Chief Imam.

    It was gathered that the suspects were nabbed yesterday by operatives of the command’s anti-kidnapping unit at Ijebu Waterside.

    Their victims, identified as Adamson Bamidele, Adam Jelili and Sanni Azeez, who were kidnapped on August 11, were rescued five days later inside the creek where they were taken to.

    One of the suspects was arrested that day.

    Confirming the arrest of the four suspects, police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), said Commissioner Bashir Makama ordered the squad to arrest the fleeing suspects.

    Read Also: Oyo NURTW offers to tackle kidnappers, insurgency in South West

    “The operation to rescue the victims was led by the police commissioner. The command’s helicopters and other intelligence arsenals were deployed to survey the creeks and smoke the suspects out of their hideout.

    “They were forced to release their captives when they could not withstand the attack anymore. The command did not stop at reuniting the victims with their families, as the anti-kidnapping unit was deployed to fish out other members of the gang.

    “They have been transferred to the command’s headquarters for further action. This is a warning to other criminals that there is no hiding place for them in Ogun State,” he said.

    The police also arrested two suspects, Lekan Odusote, 27, and Monday John, 22, for allegedly killing a motorcyclist in Ijebu-Ode on Tuesday.

    The suspects were said to have killed the unidentified motorcyclist before stealing his motorcycle, which they sold for N120,000 at Ijebu-Igbo.

    It was learnt that the suspects lured their victim to Ikangba at Obalende in Ijebu-Ode where they killed him, took his body to an uncompleted building, dug a shallow grave and buried him there.

    Trouble, however, started following their disagreement over the sharing formula, which caused an argument.

    The Nation gathered that as they threw tantrums, some of the words they used made people around to be suspicious and the police were alerted.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Obalende was said to have dispatched his men to the scene upon receipt of the information and the suspects were arrested.

    “They confessed to have lured the motorcyclist to an isolated place, killed him and took his motorcycle, which they sold.

    “The suspects have taken the police to the uncompleted building where the victim was buried and the body has been exhumed and taken to the mortuary.

    “The commissioner of police has ordered the transfer of the suspects to Homicide Section of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) for further investigation and prosecution,” said Oyeyemi.

  • Shehu Sani loses at tribunal

    The National and State Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Kaduna has dismissed the petition of Senator Shehu Sani of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) challenging the victory of the elected Kaduna Central Senator, Uba Sani of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), for lack of merit.

    Chairman of the tribunal, Justice A. H. Suleiman, in a two hour judgment on Wednesday, described the sitting as successful based on evidence presented to the tribunal.

    Read Also: Tribunal orders arrest of Kano INEC’s witness’ attackers

    The lead counsel to Senator Uba Sani, Frank Ikpe, said the tribunal upheld the election of the APC senator based on the evidence before it.

    Also commenting on the tribunal’s judgment, the second lead counsel to Senator Uba Sani, Sulaiman Shu’aibu, described the judgment as appropriate, urging those that are not satisfied with the verdict to go to the Court of Appeal.

  • Sanwo-Olu elevates Akosile to chief press secretary

    Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday elevated his Deputy Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, to Chief Press Secretary (CPS).

    On assumption of office as governor, Sanwo-Olu appointed Akosile as his deputy chief press secretary, giving room to speculation that a substantive chief press secretary was still coming.

    But, all that speculation and expectation ended yesterday afternoon immediately after the swearing-in ceremony of the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Kazeem Alogba, when the Public Affairs Officer at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Mr. Sukomi Idowu, broke the news of Akosile’s elevation to reporters.

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu to commissioners, special advisers: ensure Lagos remains top destination

    Akosile was the media assistant to Sanwo-Olu as the APC gubernatorial candidate in the last election, and together with the media team, he assisted with media engagement, perception management and content creation for public engagement.

    Upon victory at the polls and resumption as governor, Sanwo-Olu appointed Akosile as his Deputy Chief Press Secretary on May 30, 2019.

    Akosile’s career timeline has focused on public enlightenment, perception management, media relations, public relations, social and political development.

  • Kwara governor urges youth to shun drug abuse

    Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has called on youths to shun drug abuse and other vices that could affect them from realising their potentials.

    AbdulRazaq gave the advice on Tuesday evening in Ilorin, the state capital, when he received members of the Scouts Association of Nigeria, Kwara State Chapter, led by its commissioner, Deacon Olabisi Afolayinka, at the Government House, Ilorin.

    The governor, who recalled his days as a Scout boy in the Capital School, Kaduna, said the association had contributed to nurturing youths to becoming good citizens and contributing to societal growth.

    Read Also: Identify, solve problems in your spheres of influence, youths urged

    “This is an association that prepares youth on how to be good citizens and how to relate with fellow citizens. These are virtues that the youths should maintain today. In our days, there were no rampant cases of drug abuse,” he said.

    He urged the youths to use their energy for productive ventures and  to join the Scout to make positive contributions to society.

    AbdulRazaq, who was announced as the association’s Ambassador of Peace, promised to live up to expectations by giving the necessary support to the body through relevant government agencies

    Afolayanka said the constitution of the body automatically makes the governor of any state its patron and the president its grand patron.

    He lauded AbdulRazaq for the audience extended to the body, saying that was the first time any governor was hosting them in Kwara State for the past 21 years.

    He said the association had been founded to build young boys and girls to make useful contributions to the country, saying cultism and other vices were not known in schools in the past when Scouts held sway.

    He urged the governor to support the association to carry out its mandates in Kwara State.

  • Muslim group seeks greater focus on security

    The Muslim Association of Nigeria (MAN) has called on the three-tier of government to shift greater attention on security.

    The association, at the end of its national officers’ meeting in Lagos, listed armed banditry, kidnapping, ritual killings, incessant clashes between herdsmen and farmers, rape and other forms of threats to security as serious issues calling for more attention from governments, especially at the federal and state levels.

    Read Also: Bandits are not Muslims, Buhari tells Katsina IDPs

    In a statement signed by its president, Alhaji Tajudeen O. Ojikutu and national publicity secretary, Alhaja N. Adebayo, the association urged the Federal Government, in particular, to weigh the consequences of insecurity to lives and properties of the citizens, the effects on good governance and, therefore, take purposeful actions.

    The MAN urged deployment of more hands in the country’s security architecture, including use of modern equipment of information gathering and more funding and decentralisation of policing and other security sector activities as possible ways forward.

    In addition, the association advised the local, state and the federal governments to create employment opportunities to meaningfully engage the youth.

  • We’ll take proactive initiatives to end flooding, says Makinde

    Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has expressed the readiness of his government to take proactive measures that would help put an end to flooding.

    Makinde, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Olubamiwo Adeosun, made the pledge at the closing ceremony of the workshop on Ibadan flood forecast, early warning and implementation support programme in the state capital.

    The governor stated that his administration would readily support the implementation of the Ibadan Urban Flood Management and other ongoing intervention projects (IUFMP).

    Read Also: Flooding: Edo commences removal of illegal structures on waterways, moats, others

    A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, hailed the IUFMP on the flood forecast initiative, which he said “will furnish our people with prior alerts about impending flood disasters”.

    He added that the scientific initiative would alert the people on any looming flood disaster.

    Makinde described the lUFMP as a people-oriented project set up to change the narrative of incessant and ravaging flood disasters, adding that the project was in consonance with his campaign promises.

    The statement added that the governor had at earlier meetings with the IUFMP team gave assurances that government would take the necessary steps to protect the people.

    He advised the stakeholders on the project to ensure that all hands were on deck to achieve the effective implementation of the initiative.

  • Tribunal orders arrest of Kano INEC’s witness’ attackers

    The Kano State Governorship Tribunal, headed by Justice Halima Shamaki, has ordered the arrest of the suspected perpetrators of an attack on Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) worker Halima Sambo Hassan, who gave evidence in respect of the state governorship election before the court on Tuesday.

    The judge described the attack on Hassan as barbaric and  she ordered appropriate security agencies to begin investigations into the incident. She also ordered security operatives to apprehend those behind the attacks, investigate and to exercise necessary criminal actions against those suspected to be behind the attacks.

    Justice Shamaki warned that the tribunal would not condone any act of court contempt from supporters of  the parties before the court.

    She cautioned that the court would not accommodate the slightest threat to its proceedings.

    “If the life of a witness is threatened,  we cannot sit down and pretend that all is well,” she warned.

    The judge said she has a letter in her file, written by lead counsel in the matter and requesting the tribunal to relocate to Abuja “because Kano is not safe”.

    “From now, any slightest sign of insecurity, I will write to Abuja for the sitting of this panel to be relocated from Kano,” Justice Shamaki warned.

    Counsel representing INEC Adedayo Adedeji informed the court that Halima, who appeared and gave testimony before the tribunal was a victim of harassment and intimidation.

    Read Also: Abaribe closes case at tribunal after calling four witnesses

    Adedeji alleged that photographs of the witness have gone viral on the internet accompanied by threats to her life and inhuman comments were been made against her.

    The counsel said: “My lord the photograph of the witness, when leaving this court was taken; this is contempt. We seek the protection of this court. For a witness to come and give evidence is not a crime. I have all that transpired on my phone. I am ready to tender it in evidence.”

    He urged the court to stop party supporters from attending court sessions, if they  fail to desist from their unruly attitude.

    “Why should a witness not be able to sleep in his or her house; this has to stop,” Adedeji said.

    The People’s Democratic Party, Kano state chapter also condemned the verbal assaults, a threat to life and criminal intimidation against the witness.

    Counsel representing the PDP flagbearer  during the 2019 governorship elections, Abba Kabiru Yusuf,  Maliki Kuliya Umar, while addressing the court on the incident,  condemned the attacks on the witness.

    He noted that such nefarious acts against the court would not be tolerated. He called on party supporters to respect the sanctity of the court of law.

    Maliki averred that lawyers in the suit would converge to work and ensure that similar incident did not occur.

    Also counsel to Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Offiong Offiong (SAN), described the attack on the witness as contemptuous, emphasising that the act is serious and has a serious consequence to the administration of justice.

    Offiong appealed to the relevant security organs to conduct discreet investigations to unravel the suspects and drag  the suspected perpetrators before the law.

  • Driver accuses LASTMA officials of N10,000 extortion

    A taxi driver, Sunday Hunkokoe, has accused officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), of N10,000 extortion.

    Hunkokoe alleged that the officials, who wrongly accused him of not wearing his seatbelt, also broke one of his headlamps.

    He said the incident occurred on August 7, at Iponri in Surulere, Lagos Mainland.

    Hunkokoe, who said he was in his car with his wife that morning, narrated how the officials, who were on duty at Cassette bus stop, Ijesha, Lagos, claimed that he only wore his seatbelt after seeing them.

    “It is still paining me. I have gone to their area office twice to report to their commander, but I did not meet him. They accused me wrongly and the next thing, they seized my car and drove it to Iponri.

    “I was taking my wife to work and also intended to start the day’s business when I saw from my side mirror that the LASTMA officials were chasing someone. I actually thought it was the vehicle behind me. The next thing, one of them ran to my car, opened it and jumped inside.

    Read Also: LASTMA: An agency in need of new life

    “I know one of them very well. So, I asked him what was the matter and he said I did not wear seatbelt. I was surprised and asked what he meant by that since I had my seatbelt on and only removed it when I went down to ask what the issue was.

    “He said I saw them before wearing it. Then they started dragging my steering. On getting to Adelabu, I told them to allow my wife alight because she was already late for work.

    “But I remembered that I didn’t give her transport fare to return home in the evening and I quickly ran after her to do so. Before I could turn back, they had driven off with my taxi. Since the money I had was inside the car, those officers made me trek from there to their Iponri area office.

    “On getting there, I did not see my car and I did not see the two of them. I was told to go to a nearby beer parlour and that was where I saw them drinking beer that early morning.

    “I asked them why they would do something like that and they said I should go and bring N10,000 or else they would give me ticket of N50,000,” the driver said.

    He said his appeals fell on deaf ears, as the men were not ready to listen to him, adding that he was also not ready to allow them waste his entire day.

    “I had to run around to raise the money. I even called my wife to help borrow money and send, which she did. I gave them so that I could start work. But as I was about to leave, someone told me that they had broken my headlamp. I checked and it was true.

    “I asked them why they would do that to me, knowing that I did nothing wrong, but they said nothing. They even shared the money inside my car and left.”

  • Police arrest five suspected bandits

    The Katsina State Police Command on Wednesday in Katsina paraded five suspected bandits responsible for robbery, cattle rustling, kidnapping and attacks on villages, including Danbago, Zango, Bela and Chediya in Kankara Local Government.

    Acting police spokesman Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Anas Gezawa told reporters during the parade at the command headquarters that the arrest followed a tip-off by patriotic citizens.

    He added that during investigation, the suspects confessed to being bandits and that they had been attacking villages.

    Gezawa listed the suspects to include Aliyu Musa, 20, Salamanu Isah, 18, Murtala Umar, 22, and others at large.

    Read Also: Banditry, Kidnapping, cultism: NEC sets up Security, Policing Committee

    He said: “The suspects attacked the villages, robbing their victims. They stole eight cows. They confessed to killing one person at Santa village. The criminals stole six sheep and food items at Bela and Zango villages. They killed 20 people and rustled two cows.

    “They went to Omodo village where they killed five people, rustled eight cows and six sheep. Other gang members, Sirajo and Bishir, are still at large.’’

    The police also paraded three suspected thieves, who specialised in breaking shops in the Katsina metropolis.

    The spokesman said their arrest followed a tip-off by a shop owner, Alhaji Garuba Shehu of Kofar Marusa quarters, Katsina.

    He said the criminals burgled the shop, stealing MTN, AIRTEL and GLO recharged cards worth N3million and a Techno phone.

    Gezawa went on: “Based on credible intelligence, the command arrested the following suspects, Sanusi Hassan, 19, Abbas Samaila,18 and Aminu Yusuf alias Mashai, the receiver. They confessed to committing the crime. One hundred and ten thousand Naira was recovered from them.”

    The command appealed to the public for support, to rid the state of crimes.