Author: The Nation

Gunmen operating a tricycle have reportedly snatched two guns from police officers of Abia Police Command in Aba the commercial nerve of Abia State.

The incident, our correspondent gathered, happened along Faulks road by Osusu junction in Aba North local government area on Wednesday night while they were on a stop-and-search operation in the area.

Unconfirmed reports said the policemen were attached to the Eziama Police Division in Aba North LGA.

While reports have it the gunmen arrived in a Hilux SUV, others claimed that they arrived in a commercial tricycle, catching the police officers on duty off guard.

They were reported to have made away with the guns after overpowering the police team.

Residents and shop owners in the area said the incident forced them to close shops abruptly to avoid being caught in the web of the melee.

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Abia Police spokesman Geoffrey Ogbonna did not pick up calls or respond to text messages by The Nation.

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has approved the imposition of an immediate ban on the operational hours of commercial tricycle operators in the state.

Ikpeazu, in a statement on Thursday by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Barr. Chris Ezem, said the ban on Keke operation starts from 7pm to 6am daily till further notice.

Ikpeazu, who cited the rise in crime wave in the State reportedly committed by hoodlums operating in commercial tricycles, directed security agencies to arrest, detain and prosecute offenders.

Justice Olalekan Oresanya of an Ikeja High Court has awarded N5million damages against a singer Ikuforijimi Olaitan Abdulrahman, aka Oxlade over a leaked s3x tape with a woman on social media app, Snapchat.

In a judgement dated 24th January 2023, and trending online, Justice Oresanya described the action of the singer, in secretly recording an explicit s3x with a woman and thereafter leaking it online as “despicable, horrendous, distasteful and classless.”

The sex tape of the singer had surfaced online in February 2022, without the knowledge and consent of the woman we involved in the video.

The leaked video sparked public outrage, and forced Oxlade to tender an apology to his fans and to the woman in the video.

The woman, John Blessing had filed a suit before the court on March 15, 2022 seeking N20million damages and a declaration that the respondent (Oxlade’s) act of recording his explicit sexual acts without her knowledge and consent amounted to flagrant contravention of enabling laws and a gross violation of her fundamental rights to dignity, privacy and freedom from discrimination guaranteed under Sections 34 and 37 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended); and Articles 5 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement), Act, CAP A9, LFN, 2004.

After hearing counsel for the claimant, E. T. Idemudia and O. S. Mabekoje with U. R. Michael for the respondent, the judge had set for judgment when parties agreed to opt for amicable resolution via a consent judgement.

Delivering judgment in the matter, Justice Oresanya chastised the singer and cautioned him against such act in his relationship with the opposite sex in the future.

“The action and attitude of the Respondent (Oxlade), who is said to be a celebrity, is despicable, horrendous, distasteful and classless. The Respondent is admonished strongly to act with utmost circumspection in his relationship with fellow humans, especially the opposite sex. “what goes around comes around”. I need not say more,” the judge said.

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In the course of trial, the judge berated Oxlade for treating the judicial process with disrespect and accused his lawyer of aiding him to desecrate the temple of justice.

“The attitude of the respondent towards the proceeding leaves much to be desired.
“The Respondent failed to appear in this court and the only reason given for the respondent’s absence by his former counsel was the celebrity status of the respondent which to my mind cannot be equated to that of many notable celebrity artistes in this country who have comported themselves well respectably both within and outside of this country.

“Counsel, as ministers in the temple of justice, should never encourage any party to a law suit or client in treating the temple of justice with disrespect and disdain no matter the status of the client in the society.

“Client comes and client goes, the legal profession and institution remains. It is also disturbing to note as part of the tardiness of the r espondent and his counsel that this terms of settlement was filed after the Honourable Court had concluded the hearing of the matter and on the verge of delivering its Judgment on the merit fixed for January 16, 2023.”

Justice Oresanya said the court would have awarded exemplary and aggravated damages far greater than the agreed settlement sum of N5 million against the respondent for the alleged “cruel violation of the privacy of the claimant via the online/internet publication of an explicit sex tape involving the claimant and the respondent on 9th February, 2022.”

The judge thereafter entered the Terms of Settlement dated January 11, 2023 as the judgment of the court.

By the consent judgement, Oxlade is to pay the N5million damages awarded against him to the claimant in two instalments of N2million and N3million respectively.

The court judge gave an order of perpetual injunction against the claimant from initiating any further legal process or any process in respect of the facts and matters giving rise to the suit, and from instituting or discussing the issues constituted in the claim on any platform, and before any third party.

Justice Oresanya admonished parties, their privies, assigns, agents, successors, legal counsel, and personal representatives agree to maintain confidentiality of all non-public information and materials pertaining to the suit, and the Terms of Settlement.

He ordered that failure of either party to adhere to the terms shall entitle the affected party to damages for such breach, including any and all injuries incurred as a result of such disclosure.

The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) has assured Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) will be sufficiently  available across the country in the next few days.

Its Executive Secretary, Mr. Clement Isong, told The Nation: “So, I am hopeful that within the next few days, the distribution challenges will be surmounted  and the product will be available throughout the country.”

He said the product was available offshore and the challenge was conveying it onshore because of the financial implication.

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He however noted that there were already discussions on how to transport the it onshore.

According to him, following the meeting, more transporters were willing to provide the vessels to convey the petrol to onshore.

According to him: “We should be able to work with the transporters better to bring the product to the stations.

” But it may take a few days for the queues to clear but we think that the queues will clear. 

“There is enough supply but the bulk of the supply is marine in the vessels.”

Justice Binta Nyako of the Abuja division of the Federal High Court had granted the application of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to access medicare.

Subsequent upon this development, the embattled Kanu can now apply for an order of mandamus compelling the Department of State Service (DSS) to allow him to have unhindered access to his doctors.

In a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/ 2341/2022, Kanu said he would need his doctors to conduct an independent examination to ascertain his state of health.

Kanu listed some of the records he would require from the DSS to include his admission records, medical and clinical notes, nursing notes, observation charts and documentation during treatment or stay-in-hospital, laboratory test results, pharmaceutical records, radiological scans, images and reports, blood transfusion records, physiotherapy and rehabilitative treatment records, clinical findings, as well as diagnosis and treatment prescribed records.

The ex parte application among others sought an order granting him leave to, “apply for judicial review in the form of an order of mandamus, compelling the respondents to allow him unhindered access to his medical doctors to enable them to conduct an independent examination of his present deteriorating health condition, as earlier ordered by the Federal High Court, Abuja, Coram, Hon. Justice BFM Nyako, on October 21, 2021; and as required by the express provisions of section 7 of the Anti-Torture Act, 2017.”

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“An order of the Court granting leave to the Applicant to apply for judicial review in the form of an order of mandamus, compelling the Respondents to avail the Applicant with all his medical records, from the 29th day of June 2021, till date.”

After hearing from Kanu’s legal team headed by Prof. Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, Justice Binta Nyako granted the application.

After adjourning the matter till February 21, the court further directed Kanu’s legal team to serve all the relevant processes on both the DSS and its Director General, who were cited as 1st and 2nd Respondents in the matter.

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