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Tag: Abuja

  • Woman killed while preaching early morning in Abuja

    Woman killed while preaching early morning in Abuja

    A female early morning preacher was yesterday found dead in Bolar – pipeline area of Kubwa in Abuja.

    The woman is believed to be a wife of a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).

    Residents of the area claimed that they heard her preach as usual around 5am but found her lifeless body around 6am.

    A male resident, who sought anonymity said, he heard her voice early in the morning.

    He said: “I heard her voice as usual in the morning around 5am preaching and at a point, her voice faded.

    “By the time I woke up to start my morning chores, I started hearing people say that a dead body has been found in my area.

    “On getting there, I discovered that it was the body of the woman preacher. She is such a nice and jovial person, she doesn’t deserve to die at all and if at all, not in that manner.”

    On how the woman was found, he said: “She was practically slaughtered. Her legs were injured and she was lying in the pool of her own blood before policemen came to evacuate her body.

    Another resident simply known as Idris said: “I heard her preaching today like every normal day.

    “Later on, I heard someone screaming but because of the security situation in the country, I decided not to come out.

    “By the time I came out, I saw people gathered discussing the death of the woman. I believe if most people had come out when she screamed, she would have been saved.

    Another resident, Uju lamented the security situation in the area despite paying for security levies.

    She said: “To think that we pay for security and this place is not protected is saddening.

    “What is the work of the security men? Most times when you are coming home late, you will find them sleeping and in some cases, you don’t even see them at all.

    “I think something has to be done urgently to beef up the security in this area because no one deserves to be killed.

    When a call was placed to the security outfit in charge of the area, Sam & Co to get the details, its head Mr. Sam, said: “I saw a deep cut on one side of her stomach and her leg.

    “She was not stabbed. I feel if she was stabbed, we would have met her gasping for breath. But when we got to her place because we heard someone shouting blood of Jesus repeatedly, she was already gone.

    “The community has two points of entry and we were asked to close one of the entries because a meeting was to be held in the morning. So, we were there doing that around 5am when Muslims were going for prayers and the Christians who went for vigil were returning.

    “This is a woman who preaches every morning. She always admonishes people to repent and that the kingdom of God is at hand.

    “We heard someone shouting the blood of Jesus and we noticed that the rate at which the person was calling the blood of Jesus was too much. But before we got there, she was in the pool of her blood.”

    He said her corpse was taken to phase four police station for further investigations.

    The FCT command’s Spokesman, ASP Anjuguri Manzah told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) some suspects have been arrested over the incident.

    “We have made some arrests and they are helping in our investigation.

    “The commissioner of police has ordered the homicide section of the command to take over the investigation of the case,” he said.

    The spokesman, however, did not mention the number of suspects arrested.

    He said that personnel of the command had visited the scene of the incident and investigation had started.

     

    Contacted, the Federal Capital Territory Police Public Relations Officer, ASP AnjuguriManzah initially said he was not aware of the incident.

    Hours later when our reporter called back, Manzah said: “I have not confirmed because they changed the DPO and I don’t have the new DPO’s number.”

    He however pleaded for more time to get details.

    All efforts to reach him for updates as at the time of filing this report proved abortive.

  • Abia: Court upholds INEC’s issuance of Certificate of Return to Ogah

    Abia: Court upholds INEC’s issuance of Certificate of Return to Ogah

    *Refuses PDP’s motion for stay of execution

    *Insists on Ikpeazu’s sack   

    *Judge slams Ikpeazu over Abia court’s order

    Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja on Friday upheld the certificate of return issued to Sampson Ogah as the Governor of Abia State by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The judge also refused an application by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for stay of execution of its judgment sacking the incumbent Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu.

    He described as an abuse of court process, the two applications for stay of execution filed by the PDP, and proceeded to dismiss them.

    The judge berated Ikpeazu for going before the Abia State High Court, Osisioma to obtain an ex-parte order, with the intention of frustrating the execution of the judgment of his court.

    Justice Abang spoke while delivering two rulings on Friday in relation to the applications by Ikpeazu and his party, the PDP for the stay of execution of the court’s judgment in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1086/2014 and filed by a PDP member, Obasi Uba Eleagbara.

    The proceedings lasted about seven and half hours, from 9am to 4:30pm.

    The court had on June 27 gave two judgments sacking Ikpeazu on the ground that he was not qualified to contest the last PDP primary election in the state having made false representation about his tax status to INEC. The suits were the one by Eleagabara and Sampson Ogah.

    When the case by Eleagbara was called, Ikpeazu’s lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) told the court that he was not ready to argue the application for stay of execution filed on behalf of his client.

    Olanipekun sought an adjournment on the ground that he was new in the case and had not studied the application.

    But, lawyer to the plaintiff, Alex Iziyon objected to an adjournment and insisted that the application must be argued.

    On sensing that the judge was inclined to hearing the application, Olanipekun applied to withdraw the application. Iziyon did not object to Olanipekun’s application to withdraw, but told the judge to dismiss the application.

    Ruling, Justice Agang noted that having taken steps to circumvent the execution of the court’s judgment, the court could no longer indulge. Him.

    “Dr. Ikpeazu slapped the court in the face; went to a different court that is of coordinate jurisdiction and obtained another ex parte order that has the effect of neutralising the order of this court.

    “He slapped the court in the face, he cannot expect the court to grant him an indulgence. I so hold.

    “You cannot flout an order of court and expect the court to listen to you and grant you a discretionary indulgence. It is a serious matter to slap a court,” the judge said.

    While dismissing the applications for stay of execution by the PDP, Justice Abang he the party’s decision to file two application at the same time was an abuse of court process.

    He said: “The judgment of this court was given in favour of Dr. Sampson Ogah. One of the orders directed the PDP to forward the names of the person with the second highest votes at the PDP primary, Okezie Ikpeazu having been disqualified from contesting the primary, to INEC as the party’s candidate for the election.

    “The order made against Ikpeazu was rightly made. It subsists until it is set aside on appeal.

    “There is no issue of stay of execution. The judgment having been enforced by INEC, there is nothing to stay.

    “The judgment has been executed, certificate of return has been issued in favour of Ogah as Governor of Abia State.

    “There is no evidence that the motion for stay was served on INEC before it issued the certificate of return. Therefore, INEC lawfully issued the certificate of return to Ogah, which was issued in compliance with the orders of the court,” Justice Abang said.

    The judge awarded N40,000 cost against PDP to be paid to Ogah before it could take any further steps in the case.

    Earlier in relation to the case by Ogah, the judge elected to suspend further proceedings on the application for stay of the judgement in the case filed by Ikpeazu.

    The judge said his decision to stay further action in the case pending appeal, was informed by the concession by Iziyon that the appeal filed against the judgment had been entered at the Court of Appeal and that records of appeal had been complied.

    The judge said he would have proceeded to hear the applications pending before his court, including the one by the Ogah, which sought to set aside the order made the Osisioma High Court, but for the concession of Iziyon that the appeal having been entered, the trial court should stay all actions.

    Justice Abang, who drew a distinction between when a trial court could or could not stay proceedings because appeal had been entered at the Court of Appeal, said where it was an appeal against a final judgment, the trial court has the jurisdiction to hear an application for stay of execution.

    He relied on the provision of Order 7 Rule 3 and 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules to hold that a trial court could only stay proceedings where an appeal is entered at the Appeal Court if such an appeal was on an interlocutory decision.

    Justice Abang further held that where the decision appealed against was a final judgment of the trial court, such a court has the jurisdiction to first determine an application for stay of execution before such application is filed at the appellate court where the trial court refuses it.

  • Court adjourns Metuh’s case to Oct 27

    Court adjourns Metuh’s case to Oct 27

    The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday adjourned the case of the embattled PDP spokesman, Mr Olisah Metuh, till Oct. 27 and Oct. 31.

    The judge, Justice Okon Abang, while announcing the new date for the case at about 4:45 p.m said that the case had to be adjourned because he would not have judicial time to hear it.

    “The matter was adjourned on July 4 to July 7 for continuation of trial at the instance of the parties but the Federal Government declared July 7 as a public holiday.

    “I directed my secretary to call all the parties in the matter and inform them that the matter will be heard today. All the parties are in court including the defence witness.

    “I have no judicial time to take this matter as the court has sat all day and the time is far spent.

    “Today is the last day before the court’s vacation that will be commencing on July 11 so the matter will be heard after the vacation.”

    Abang added that even though he was a vacation judge, the matter could not be heard during the vacation except with the consent of the parties.

    Mr Onyeachi Ikpeazu (SAN), counsel to Metuh,said his team would prefer to rest during the vacation.

    He said that they could not appear in court on July 7 because of the public holiday and that the day was already far spent.

    He said that they were willing to take a new date adding that the parties were,however, willing to comply with the directive of the court

    But the prosecuting counsel, Mr Sylvanus Tahir, said that the prosecution was willing to continue the matter during the vacation.

    Tahir said that the argument that the case could not hold on July 7, which was the actual date it was adjourned to and so should be adjourned again, was not tenable.

    “If a farmer was to go to the farm yesterday and it rained that won’t stop him from going to the farm the next day.

    “Even though the court has been sitting all day, the defendants have expressed their desire to go on with the case.

    “So, saying that because the matter was not heard on the actual day it was adjourned to because of the public holiday and so it should not go on today is not a good reason.”

    Mr Tochukwu Onwubufo (SAN), a member of the defence team swiftly asked the court to discountenance the farmer argument canvassed by Tahir as to why the matter should not be adjourned.

    Onwubufo said this was because the farmer was not bound by rules while the court had rules regulating its conduct.

    “This farmer logic does not apply here as this court is guided by rules and regulations and so it is wrong to tell the court to disregard the point that July 7 was a public holiday.

    “The declaration of the public holiday was a statement recognised by law,” he said.

    Abang adjourned the matter till Oct. 27 and Oct. 30 for continuation of hearing of the defence’s case.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the court would commence its vacation on July 11 to Sept. 12.

     

  • Investment for Green Card seminar holds in Lagos , Abuja

    Do you have $500,000 that you will like to invest in the United States of America?

    A seminar will hold in Lagos and Abuja to educate Nigerians on how to invest their money and get Green Card and other benefits.

    A statement by the organisers reads: “With the aim of providing the best choices of livelihood to residents in Nigeria who seek for laudable opportunities to enact a formidable transformation in their future, American company, EB-5, has decided to bring the EB-5 Investment for Green Card programme to Lagos and Abuja.

    “The free workshop is targeting high network Investors willing to diversify their portfolio by investing the sum of 500,000 dollars in the markets of the USA, which includes real estate, hotels, farming and other great investment areas.

    “Apart from the fact that it gives you directional purpose in a land full of immeasurable opportunities, your decision to make this investment gives you laudable benefits, of which the most alluring is that you get to receive Green Cards/Citizenship for yourself  and all members of your household.

    “While the foreign investors get the income from their investments, their children also get to attend American schools like residents and be eligible for scholarships and grants like American citizens. The business person will also be eligible to build business credit and get loans from America at ridiculous rates over time.

    “EB-5 Investment for Green Card seminar would be holding in Lagos on Thursday 7th July, at Oriental Hotel and Sheraton Hotel on Thursday, 14th July, for the Abuja seminar.

    “The facilitators that feature Jessica Carrello, Director of EB-5 Relations from Chicago, as the keynote speaker, will go over the details of this program in the way that opens your mind more to the opportunity that awaits you. Dr Ope Banwo, would also be explaining the legal issues and how to navigate the programme successfully. To participate, visit www.greencardseminars.com.”

  • Transcorp Abuja begins $100m renovation

    Transcorp Abuja begins $100m renovation

    Transcorp Hilton Abuja  said it has commenced a major renovation that would upgrade the five-Star Transcorp Hilton Abuja guest experience in every aspect.

    The upgrade, estimated to gulp about $100million, is the first of its kind in the 30-year history of the hotel, the firm said in a statement, saying  it underpins its commitment to deliver an experience that cannot be duplicated by any other hotel.

    When completed, the iconic Transcorp Hilton Abuja would offer guests a brand new and ultramodern furnishing concept to rival other five-star hotels worldwide.

    All 670 guest rooms and suites have been redesigned, as well as  refurbishing of the Executive Lounge, elevators and elevator lobbies, meeting rooms, Congress Hall and the hotel lobby. The spa and restaurants will also be upgraded to reflect the standards of the modern traveller with high expectations, it said.

  • Court strikes out suit challenging Buhari’s certificate

    Court strikes out suit challenging Buhari’s certificate

    The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday struck out the suit challenging the academic credentials of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Justice Adeniyi Ademola struck out the suit following a notice of discontinuance filed by the plaintiff, Mr Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaiwe.

    Ademola had reserved ruling for Thursday on an application asking the court to stay execution of a judgment it earlier granted against the defendants.

    When the matter was mentioned, Mr Chikordi Okeorji, counsel to Nwokocha-Ahaiwe, informed the court that the plaintiff had filed a notice of discontinuance.

    Okeorji said the notice was pursuant to order 50 rule 2 (1) of the Federal High Court Rules, adding that the notice of discontinuance was filed on June 27.

    Defendant’s counsel Paul Ajiboye did not oppose the application, but complained that he was not served.

    Ademola then struck out the suit.

    Nwokocha-Ahaiwe, an Abuja-based lawyer, had filed an application asking the court to nullify the election of Buhari as president.

    He said that Buhari did not possess the minimum academic requirements needed to contest for the position of president.

    The plaintiff also alleged that Buhari did not sat for the Cambridge West African School Certificate (WASC) in 1961 as he had earlier claimed.

    But, Buhari raised a preliminary objection that he was not properly served.

    In his preliminary objection, the president challenged the mode of service of the originating summons on him.

    He insisted that he ought to have been served at an address in Kaduna instead of by substituted means at the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja.

    Ademola had dismissed the preliminary objection on the grounds that it was incompetent and upheld the service of the originating court processes on Buhari.

    The judge said that the service of the court’s processes on the president through the secretariat of the APC was proper.

    Buhari, who was not satisfied with the court’s ruling, took the matter to the Court of Appeal.

    He prayed the appellate court to set aside or discharge the ex parte order granted in favour of Nwokocha-Ahaiwe on Feb. 16, 2015, to serve him with the originating summons by substituted means.

    The president also sought the court to make an order setting aside Ahaiwe’s originating summons for being incompetent.

    Following the appeal, Ademola had adjourned the matter sine die.

    The judge, however, announced on Wednesday that he would deliver judgment on Thursday on the application to stay execution on his earlier ruling.

  • Plaintiff discontinues certificate case against Buhari

    • Court strikes suit out

    A lawyer, Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe  beat a retreat Thursday in the suit he filed before the before the Federal High Court, Abuja challenging the veracity of the academic credentials of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe, had by the suit, sought to disqualify Buhari from the 2015 presidential elections on the ground that he failed to exhibit his West African School Certificate (WASC) in the form he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    On Thursday, Chikodi Okey Orji, representing the plaintiff, moved a motion for discontinuance of the case. He was silent on the reason for his decision to discontinue the case.

    Following Orji’s application, Justice Adeniyi Ademola struck out the case.

    By virtue of “Section 50(2) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure Rules, this matter is hereby struck out,” the judge said.

    Justice Ademola had on June 16, adjourned further proceedings in the case indefinitely following the appeal filed against his ruling by lawyers representing Buhari.

    On June 15, Buhari had appealed against a previous ruling of the court dismissing the President’s preliminary objection and held that proper service of processes was effected on the President.

    It was the plaintiff’s main contention that Buhari was not qualified to run for president because he did not possess the minimum qualification to run for the office.

    He had alleged that Buhari did not sit for the Cambridge West African School Certificate WASC) in 1961.

  • Abuja to shut 556 illegal schools

    Worried by the increasing number of illegally-operated primary and secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the Department of Quality Assurance (QA) FCT Education Secretariat has commenced a sensitization exercise that will lead to the eventual closure of all unregistered schools in the territory.

    There are 556 such schools in Abuja, which the department has warned the public not to patronise.

    Aside the poor academic quality, the Director, QA, Mr Ayuba Didam, said the schools also posed physical and psychological dangers to the children.

    “No matter how bad a public school is, it is better than these private schools,” he said.

    Some of the schools on the list are Raphil Nursery and Primary School in Kado, Life Camp; Destiny Nursery and Primary International School, Karmo; Fountain of Peace Nursery and Primary School; Science and Wonders Academy; Winners Secondary School and Goodness Nursery and Primary Academy; all in Tundunwada village within the Federal Housing estate, Lugbe, Abuja.

    This reporter, who toured some of the schools with the QA department, observed that many of the schools were converted from churches; combined more than one class in a room; had poor toilet facilities; or were built on septic tanks.

    For example, at Raphil Nursery and Primary School, about 25-30 pupils were cramped into small classrooms with a very poorly ventilated toilet in a building still under construction; Destiny Nursery and Primary International School was also housed in an uncompleted structure built partly with mud and zinc, and without toilets. Its proprietor, Mr. Ebere Sunday, said: “we are planning to build the toilet in the next two weeks”.

    Mr Didam, said the schools cannot be approved and urged parents to patronise public schools.

    “‘The quality of these schools is poor. There is no way you can get approval for these type of schools because the environment is not conducive. In most of the places where you find these schools, not few kilometers away, there are public schools well provided for.  There are better personnel in the public schools.  When you put the students to test from our experience those from public schools have always excelled,” he stated.

    Proprietor of Science and Wonders Academy, Mr. Kayode Babalola, however claimed his school was not illegal.

    “We are registered with Department of Policy implementation (DPI). The first form we collected was N5, 000 and the other one is N35, 000. It is a process, we have our file here. We are not operating illegally here though we have not been accredited yet. We have been working since 2010,” he said.

  • PDP crisis: Makarfi, Sheriff camps disagree with court’s judgment

    PDP crisis: Makarfi, Sheriff camps disagree with court’s judgment

    The National Caretaker Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed satisfaction with Wednesday’s ruling of an Abuja High Court, which sacked Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as National Chairman of the party.

    The committee has, therefore, advised Sheriff to retrace his steps and join hands with others to move the party forward.

    But the Sheriff camp has said that the court did not sack the embattled chairman and that the judgement of was being misinterpreted.

    The court, presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi, nullified the 2014 PDP constitution‎ amendment upon which Sheriff was appointed PDP chairman.

    The court described the said amendment as illegal and a violation of the Electoral Act.

    Secretary of the Ahmed Makarfi -led caretaker committee, Senator Ben Obi, in an interview yesterday described the judgement as a welcome development.

    He said: “We expect more positive court rulings in the days ahead in favour of our party‎. It is time for them to face the truth and retrace their steps.”

    He called on Sheriff and his supporters to stop their hard line posture and cooperate with the caretaker committee to move the party forward.

    “We believe that truth must be upheld; we want all hands to be on deck to chart the way forward”, Obi added.

    Repudiating the judgment, the National Secretary of the Sheriff faction, Prof. Adewale Oladipo said in a statement yesterday that “this is completely false and a clear misrepresentation of the ruling of the court as it never gave any ruling ousting the national chairman.

    The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to reports circulating in the media that a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has ousted the National Chairman of the PDP, Sen. Ali-Modu Sheriff.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the court only heard and delivered judgment on a matter concerning certain amendments in the PDP constitution, which has nothing to do with the election of Senator Ali Modu Sheriff as the national chairman or even that of his predecessor, Alhaji Adamu Muazu.

    “Senator Ali Modu Sheriff was duly elected as the national chairman of the PDP. He still holds office as the national chairman and has not been removed by any court.

    “We therefore urge those misleading the media and the unsuspecting public to desist from such. The media are also urged to always crosscheck their facts before going to press”

  • Bayelsa election: Appeal Court tribunal to play key video evidence

    Bayelsa election: Appeal Court tribunal to play key video evidence

    Former Bayelsa State governor,Chief  Timipre Sylva got a major boost Friday in his challenge of the re-election of the incumbent Seriake Dickson.

    The Court of Appeal, Abuja, in a ruling  Friday, ordered the State Governorship Election Tribunal to play, in the open court, a digital video disc (DVD) recording of the announcement of the cancellation of the election in Southern Ijaw Local Government by the  Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).

    Sylva, who is contesting the declaration of Dickson as winner of the last governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), contends, in his petition, that INEC’s REC lacked the powers to cancel election.

    The ex-governor, whose lawyer, Sebastine Hon (SAN) had pleaded was denied the opportunity to play DVD when he applied to do so through a witness.

    However, the Court of Appeal Friday faulted the tribunal’s refusal to allow Sylva play the DVD. It directed the tribunal to play the DVD in the open court.

    Justice Onyeakachi Ottis, who read the court’s unanimous judgment on the interlocutory appeal by Sylva, set aside the tribunal’s ruling of May 10, 2016 rejecting the request by Sylva lawyer to have the DVD played.

    The court said that contrary to the decision of the Tribunal the appellant complied with the conditions precedence stipulated in Section 84 of the Evidence Act on the admissibility of electronically generated evidence.

    The appellate court held that it was wrong of the tribunal to have misapplied Section 84 to deny the appellant the right to play the DVD in the open court to justify his petition against the election of Governor Seriake Dickson.

    It said once the evidence had been admitted, having met all the conditions under Section 84 of the Evidence Act, there was no need for any certificate before any computer could be deployed to play the DVD in evidence.

    The court ordered the tribunal to recall the petitioner’s witness, through which he had sought to play it, to play the said DVD in the open court.

    It noted that the DVD was pleaded by the petitioner; it is relevant to the petition, and that it also the tendering also conforms to the law on electronically generated document.

    The court further noted that since it was admitted in evidence in line with Section 84 of Evidence Act; the foundation for its admission well laid, and the DVD well pleaded in the petition, “it is not the decision of the judiciary to supply any authority other than to follow the law in the circumstances.”

    The court said there ought not to be any inhibition to the playing of the DVD in the open court by the tribunal because all conditions prescribed by law have been fulfilled by the appellant.

    It held that the DVD ought to be played by the tribunal in the open court to demonstrate that it intended not to make it a sleeping exhibit.

    Reacting to the judgement, Hon described it as a milestone in the development of our laws and will go a long way in strengthening the laws.

    He said justice has been done to in his client’s case.

    Lawyer to Dickson, Emeka Etiaba (SAN) said his client would first study the judgment and then, decide on what next step to take.