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Tag: Appeal court

  • Appeal Court to hear Adeleke, PDP’s appeals May 8

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has scheduled hearing for May 8, this year, in the separate appeals by the People’s Democratic Party(PDP) and its candidate in the last governorship election in Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke.

    The PDP and Adeleke are challenging the April 2, 2019 judgment by Justice Othman Musa of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari.

    Justice Musa, in the judgment, held that Adeleke did not possess valid secondary school certificate for him to be eligible to stand for election for the seat of the Governor of Osun State.

    The judge noted that, while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered the secondary school in 1976, there was no record to show that he actually graduated as his name was not seen in the school’s register from 1980.

    Justice Musa equally noted that the result Adeleke attached to his form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was fake, as it was found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.

    The judgment was in the suit by Wahab Raheem and Adam Habeeb, who claimed that Adeleke was not qualified, under Section 177 of the Constitution to contest the governorship election.

    At the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, proceedings were stalled when owing to the absence of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the discovery by the court that the PDP has filed a separate appeal.

    Justice Abubakar Yahaya, who led the court’s three-man panel, said the court learnt the PDP filed a separate appeal on the same judgment and has elected to hear both together.

    Justice Yahaya also noted that INEC was absent and as not represented by a lawyer.

    Justice Yahaya said: “We are not going to consolidate the appeals, but it is only proper for us to hear all the appeals on similar subject matter on the same day.

    “We have seen that most of the processes have been exchanged,” the judge said, but added that the appeal by the PDP must be heard with the one filed by Adeleke, because they are on the same judgment.

    He adjourned till May 8 for the hearing of both appeal and directed that “hearing notice shall be served on INEC”.

    The appeal by Adeleke could also not be heard on April 25, this year, owing to improper service on the part of the appellant.

     

     

  • Appeal Court quashes Army General’s conviction

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the conviction of a former Chief of Transformation and Innovation at the Nigerian Army Headquarters, Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Sani, by a Special Military Court Martial.

    The appellate court, in a unanimous judgment by its three-man panel, led by Justice Abubakar Datti Yahaya, voided the proceedings leading to the conviction and sentence of the major-general.

    It held that Yahaya was denied fair hearing in the trial that led to his conviction.

    The judgment, delivered on April 18, is on an appeal which arose from four interlocutory rulings and the judgment by the Court Martial, which sat at the Army Headquarters Garrison, Mogadishu Cantonment, Asokoro, Abuja.

    The Special Military Court Martial, led by Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Gbum (NAF/1366), gave the rulings and judgment on July 11, 2016; November 1, 2016; April 25, 2017 and July 20, 2017.

    Allowing the appeal by Maj.-Gen. Sani, the Appeal Court said: “The proceedings and judgment of the special court martial in respect of the charge …filed before the lower Special Court Martial was set aside.

    “An order is made for the retrial of the charges against the appellant by another Special Court Martial.”

    Mahmud Magaji (SAN), who led the appellant’s legal team, said: “By this decision, setting aside the judgment of the Special Court Martial, the proceedings, conviction and sentence of the court never existed in the eyes of the law.

    “They are null and void. Therefore, the Nigerian Army is obligated to obey the judgment by restoring the appellant to his rank as a Major General with all his benefits and entitlements in the Nigerian Army.”

    Maj.-Gen. Sani was arraigned on July 4, 2016 on a nine-count charge bordering on service property, making of false documents and cheating, punishable under sections 56(2), 66(a), 90(a) and 113(3) of the Armed Forces Act (AFA), CAP A20, LFN, 2004.

    The charge was in relation to his alleged role in the management of a large parcel of land allocated to the Nigerian Army in Asokoro, Abuja.

    The Army officer pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and in the course of the arraignment, Count Nine was struck out for being a duplication of Count Three.

    At the close of the prosecution’s case, the appellant made a no-case submission to all the remaining eight counts.

    The Court Martial, in a ruling on the no-case submission, struck out Count Five on the ground that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case linking the appellant with the alleged act of cheating or unlawfully obtaining N15 million from Brigadier General Koko Essien.

    During the trial, the appellant made oral and formal interlocutory applications challenging the jurisdiction of the Special Court Martial on the premise that it contravened Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the competence of its President and a member, as well as other issues relating to the right to fair hearing, which the court rejected.

    Special Court Martial.”

     

  • Osun election dispute: Appeal Court fixes hearing for tomorrow

    THE Court of Appeal in Abuja has scheduled hearing for April 24 in the appeals filed by the Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), against the March 22 verdict of the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal.

    Information about the hearing date was contained in notices sent to parties by the court’s Registry, a copy of which The Nation sighted yesterday in Abuja.

    The tribunal, in a split decision of two-to-one, voided the victory of Oyetola and the APC in the election held on September 22, 2018, but was concluded with a rerun on September 27, 2018.

    Two members of the tribunal’s three-member panel upheld the petition filed by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, against the outcome of the election. Its chairman dismissed it for being unmeritorious.

    Justices Peter Obiorah and Adegboye Gbolagunte gave the majority decision, which replaced Oyetola and APC with Adeleke and PDP as winners of the election.

    Read also: Osun Guber: Appeal Court dismisses suit against Adeleke

    The tribunal chairman, Justice Muhammad Sirajo, in his dissenting judgment/minority decision, held otherwise.

    He dismissed the petition by Adeleke and PDP on the grounds that the petitioners failed to prove their claims.

    But, in the separate notices of appeal they filed against the tribunal’s majority judgment, Oyetola and the APC ripped the judgment apart, arguing that “it is perverse, replete with contradictions and against the weight of evidence”.

    They want the Court of Appeal to uphold their appeals, set aside the majority judgment and dismiss the October 16, 2018 petition by Adeleke and the PDP.

    Oyetola and the APC said they were contesting the entire majority judgment, except where it held that it lacked jurisdiction to set aside the INEC Guidelines used for the election; that the allegation of over voting was not proved; that the petitioners did not prove voided votes, and other parts of the judgment where it agreed with their arguments.

    They queried the validity of the judgment, which was authored and delivered by Justice Obiorah, who they noted, did not participate in all the sittings of the tribunal during the trial.

    The appellants are of the view that the entire majority judgment is a nullity, because it was written and delivered by Justice Obiorah “who did not participate in all the proceedings of the tribunal and who was not present when all the witnesses gave evidence.”

    They noted that Justice Obiorah was absent on February 6, 2019  when the respondents’ witnesses (RWs) 12 and 13 – Ayoola Soji and Oladejo Kazeem – testified and tendered exhibits, which the tribunal admitted in evidence.

    The appellants are contending that, having not attended the tribunal’s sitting on February 6, 2019, Justice Obiorah did not see the two witnesses and was unable to examine their demeanour, as required, and, therefore, it was unlawful for the judge to have authored a judgment in which he reviewed the evidence given by the witnesses.

    In the notice of appeal filed for Oyetola by his lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), it was argued that: “The writing of and or the participation of Justice P. C. Obiorah in the writing of the judgment of the lower tribunal of March 22, 2019 and delivery of same, vitiates the entire judgment.”

    Oyetola and the APC faulted the decision of the tribunal, in the majority judgment, to declare the rerun election unlawful and proceeded to set it aside.

    They also faulted the tribunal’s finding that the respondents did not deny the claim by the petitioners, through PW74, that the Returning Officer cancelled the election in the seven polling units and ordered a rerun.

    The appellants said: “The first and third respondents (INEC and APC), in their pleadings, did not admit that it was the Returning Officer that cancelled the result of the election in the seven polling units, but rather, that it was the 1st respondent that cancelled the election in the seven units as distinct from the units’ results.

    “Indeed, as pleaded at paragraphs 24, 25, 27 and 29 of the petition, it was the 1st respondent that cancelled the election in the seven units for the reasons alleged by the petitioners.

    “The tribunal ought to have held the petitioners bound by their pleadings that it was the 1st respondent that cancelled the election in the units and the fact that the 3rd respondent also pleaded that it was the 1st respondent that cancelled the election in the units.”

    They argued that even if it was any of the electoral officials that announced the cancellation and rerun election, in law, they acted as agents of the first respondent (INEC).

    The appellants noted that the petitioners did not only fail to tender results from the seven polling units to support their claim that the election actually held in the polling units and the results were cancelled;  they also failed to exhibit the votes scored  by the parties that participated in the election, if actually there was an election.

    Oyetayo and APC argued that rather than holding against the petitioners, for not supplying the necessary evidence, the tribunal wrongly relied on the evidence of PW74, which it had earlier expunged from the record for being hearsay.

     

  • Appeal Court affirms conviction of Congolese for money laundering

    The Court of Appeal in Lagos yesterday affirmed the conviction of a Congolese, Kutumisana Blaise, and the forfeiture of $551,225 to the Federal Government.

    In a unanimous judgment, three justices of the appellate court – Mohammed Garba, Tom Yakubu and Jamilu Tukur – upheld the July 7, 2015 verdict of Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

    The appellate court further concurred with the decision of the lower court over the forfeiture of the money, saying the said amount was properly forfeited to the Federal Government.

    On why the judgment of the lower court was affirmed, Justice Yakubu, who read the lead judgment, said: “I have myself perused the pieces of evidence proffered by the witnesses at the court below vis-a-vis the findings made by the learned trial judge, which ultimately culminated in the conviction of the appellant (Blaise).

    “I am satisfied that those findings are clearly borne out of the evidence placed before his lordship. The findings are, to my mind, unassailable. I have no reason whatsoever to tamper or interfere with them. I affirm them accordingly. In the end, I resolve the sole issue in this appeal against the appellant.”

    Read also: N115m ‘fraud’: Court frees suspended SEC DG, official

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had arraigned the convict on April 21, 2015 before Justice Buba.

    EFCC counsel Abba Muhammed urged Justice Buba to convict Mr Blaise, following his failure to declare the said $551,225 in his possession to the men of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) at the point of entry into Nigeria.

    According to Mr Abba, Blaise’s action is contrary to Section 2 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended by Act No 1 of 2012.

    In his judgement on July 7, 2015, Justice Buba upheld the argument of the EFCC’s lawyer and sentenced Mr Blaise accordingly.

    The judge further directed that the said $551,225, which Mr Blaise failed to declare, be forfeited to the Federal Government.

    Dissatisfied with the verdict of Justice Buba, the convict approached the Court of Appeal, Lagos, for intervention, asking the appellate court to set aside the judgment of the lower court.

     

  • Appeal Court sacks Akpatason as APC candidate for Akoko-Edo

    The Court of Appeal in Benin City, Edo State, has sacked Comrade Peter Akpatason as the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency.

    It declared Speaker of the House of Assembly Kabiru Adjoto as the party’s authentic candidate.

    The appellate court also nullified the APC National Assembly primaries appeals committee headed by former governor Oserheimen Osunbor.

    Delivering judgment on the appeal by Adjoto, Justice Moore Abraham-Adumein said the trial court ought to have heard the case brought before it since it is its duty to do so.

    He held that the Prof. Osunbor-led committee was not properly constituted because the committee contravenes Article 21 B of the APC guidelines, part of which says “no member of the five member appeals committee shall be from the state of assignment”.

    Justice Moore noted that referring the case back to the trial court would have been statute bared but that haven considered the evidences before the lower court which it did not consider, Adjoto won the primary election as the Returning Officer, Sufiyanu Igbafe, said Adjoto scored 7,034 votes as against his opponent, Peter Akpatason, who scored 5,606 votes.

    He said: “The trial court for reasons best known to it failed or neglected to make any pronouncement on the real issue before it. This appeal is hereby unanimously allowed and the prayers sought by the appellant in the trial court are hereby granted. The sum of N300,000 is also awarded as cost against the first and second respondents.”

    Justice Moore added that his colleagues – Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (presiding Justice) and Justice Tunde Efotoye – agreed with the judgment.

    Akpatason’s lawyer, Omoh-Ige Adebayo, said they would contest the judgment at the Supreme Court.

    Adjoto said: “The judiciary is not only the last hope of the common man, but also of the big man.” He promised represent his people more than he did in the House of Assembly.

     

  • Appeal Court strikes out motion setting aside gazette on approval of 48 Obas in Oyo

    The Court of Appeal in Ibadan on Thursday struck out a motion filed by Sen. Rashidi Ladoja, challenging the powers of Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State to gazette and approve “ beaded crowns and coronets” to 48 Obas across the state.

    Ajimobi appealed the Jan. 20, 2018 decision of Justice Olajumoke Aiki of the Oyo State High Court, which set aside recommendation of a committee of inquiry on the review of the 1957 Ibadan Chieftaincy declaration, which recommended crowning of 21 new Obas in Ibadanland.

    The three-man panel of judges headed by Justice Nonyerem Okoronkwo, held that the thrust of the relief sought was invoking the court to set aside the gazette which approved the crowing of the Obas.

    The court which has Justice A. Talba and Justice F. Ojo as members, held that the gazette which the motion seeks the court to set aside was not the subject matter at the lower court.

    Okoronkwo said dealing with such issue at this point may involve dwelling into the main appeal.

    “We refuse to entertain the issue and urged the appellant to incorporate it in the main appeal and the motion is hereby strike out,’’ Okoronkwo said.

    The judge adjourned the matter until May 27 for hearing of the main appeal.

    Read Also: Ekiti community seeks implementation of S’Court judgement

    Ajimobi set up a commission of inquiry headed by Justice Akintunde Boade, to review the 1957 Ibadan Chieftaincy declaration and to make recommendation.

    Osi Olubadan, Rashid Ladoja went to the Oyo state High Court to challenge the composition of the committee and to set aside their report and the lower court grants his request on Jan. 20,2018.

    The Governor on April 26, 2018 after the court ruling approved the beaded crowns and coronet for 48 Obas across Oyo State including the Ibadan’s recently crowned 21 Obas and other traditional rulers.

    The governor gazette the approval in line with section 28 (1) of the Chiefs Laws of Oyo State and with this gazette 26 Obas would wear beaded crowns while 22 would wear coronet.

  • Appeal Court reverses sack of Niger East Senator, Umaru

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reversed the judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which sacked Senator David Umaru as the All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) candidate for the Niger East senatorial seat.

    The Federal High Court had, in a February 7, 2019 judgment, declared Muhammed Sani Musa as the validly nominated candidate for the seat, a decision appealed by Umaru, the current Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters Committee.

    In a unanimous judgment of a three-man panel, the Court of Appeal upheld the appeal by Umaru and dismissed the objection filed by Musa.

    In the lead judgment by Justice Stephen Adah, the Court of Appeal voided the certificate of return issued to Musa by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The appellate court, in the judgment given on Monday, agreed with the appellant that the trial court erred in law to have assumed jurisdiction over the suit brought by Musa and granted the reliefs sought.

    READ ALSO: Breaking: Court sacks Sen Committee Chair, Umaru as APC candidate

    The Appeal Court held that the suit filed at the lower court was statute barred and caught up by section 285(9) of the 4th alteration Act of the 1999 constitution, therefore, the trial court lacked the requisite jurisdiction to have entertained it.

    The court also held that the suit was not filed within the mandatory 14 days period after the cause of action, as provided for by section 285 (9) of the 1999 constitution.

    “The suit was caught up by the prescribed constitutional time limit of 14 days having been predicated on the event that took place on the 2nd October, 2018. The originating summons was dated and filed on October 26, 2018 while the subject matter of the suit centred on the event of October 2, 2018,” Justice Adah held.

    Musa had, in his objection, challenged the appeal on the grounds that the appellant had no locus standi to have filed the appeal without the name of his political party, the APC.

    He equally argued that the appeal has become an academic exercise since the election had been conducted and a winner had emerged.

     

     

  • I’ll reclaim my mandate – Mohammed Sani Musa

    The Senator-elect for Niger East Senatorial district, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Musa has declared that he will reclaim his mandate at the Supreme Court after the Appeal Court judgment upheld the Appeal filed by Senator David Umaru against his nomination by the APC in the National Assembly elections.

    He expressed his readiness to see the case to a logical conclusion at the Supreme Court.

    The Appeal Court on Monday ruled that Senator David Umaru is the Senatorial candidate of the APC and should be recognised as such.

    In a press statement, Musa said that his mandate cannot be stolen because he polled the highest valid votes castes during the APC primaries held in the state.

    Read Also: Kalu denies nominating brother, cousin for minister

    He declared that the appeal court ruling cannot stand stating that it is an aberration of what justice entails.

    ”The appeal court ruling today cannot stand; it is a miscarriage of justice and a complete aberration to what justice entails.

    “I have no doubt in my mind that the apex court in the land will right the wrong temporarily done to my mandate by the lower court”, the senator-elect said.

  • Appeal Court has not voided my election, says Omo-Agege

    Senator representing Delta Central, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has dismissed insinuations that the Court of Appeal has voided his election and that of all candidates of the All Progressives Congress in the just concluded general elections, saying the court was yet to determine the appeal against the judgement of the Federal High Court in Asaba. Omo-Agege said Friday’s ruling of the Appeal Court merely states that only the APC can appeal the judgement of the lower and not individual candidates.

    The statement by his mead aide said Senator Omo-Agege had applied to the court to be joined in the appeal, a position which was rejected by the court in it’s ruling on Friday. The statement reads: “Following the  judgement delivered by Justice Toyin Adegoke of the Federal High Court, Asaba on the 18th of March,  2019 which was being misinterpreted in some quarters to have nullified the Delta State Executive Committee led by our able chairman, Prophet Jones Ode Erue and the candidacy of Chief Great Ovedje Ogboru, Distinguished Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and other candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Delta State, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Rev. Francis Waive filed an application seeking the leave of Court to join as parties to the Appeal, on behalf of themselves and other candidates of the APC, against the judgement of the Federal High Court sitting in Asaba.

    “It is instructive to note that the ruling delivered by the Court of Appeal today only struck out the application on the ground that Senator Omo-Agege and Rev. Waive cannot appeal the judgement as individuals since they are both members of APC who can appeal the judgement on their behalf. The APC has already filed an appeal against the said judgement. Furthermore, it is important to note that today’s ruling delivered by the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin has not and did not determine the appeal filed before it by the APC.

    “We reiterate that the Consent Judgement delivered by Justice A.I. Chikere of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja is still valid and subsisting and all the recent happenings in court have neither invalidated nor set aside the Consent Judgement. Therefore, the Prophet Jones Ode Erue led Exco remains the authentic and legitimate APC Executive Committee of Delta State, so also are all the candidates of APC in the just concluded 2019 general elections.”

    “It is important to note further that the recent judgement delivered by Justice U. A. Ogakwu of the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar made it succinctly clear in the case of Sir John Ochala & 5 ORS. VS. Hon. Godwin Etim John and 2 ORS that ” It is settled law that a court cannot make a finding that will prejudicial against a person that is neither before it nor a party to the case and cannot in the same vain grant a relief which will affect a person who is not a party in the suit: OKONKWO vs. OKAGBUE (1994) 9 NWLR (PT 368) 301. The effect of Order(s) made against persons not joined as a party is that such order is a nullity and of no effect”. The status of all the candidates of the APC in Delta State for the 2019 general election remains valid and legitimate.”

     

  • Jubilation in Ekiti over Fayemi’s Appeal Court victory

    The Court of Appeal victory of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has sparked celebrations and solidarity rallies by various interest groups on Friday.

    Interest groups celebrating Fayemi’s judicial victory include members of Organised Private Sector, Okada Riders’ Association, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), among others.

    They had marched around the major streets of Ado Ekiti before taking their procession to the Government House amidst drumming, singing and dancing thanking God for the governor’s victory.

    The appellate court in Abuja had on Thursday night upheld the victory of Fayemi, of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the July 14, 2018 governorship election dismissing the appeal of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Prof. Kolapo Olusola as lacking in merit.

    The Deputy Governor, Otunba Bisi Egbeyemi while addressing the crowd assured that the victory of Fayemi at the Appeal Court in Abuja would spur him to double its efforts at delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of the State.

    The Deputy Governor who was represented by his Special Assistant on Political Matters, Mr Tokunbo Adeparusi, maintained that there were various empowerment programmes for various groups and associations in the State.

    Egbeyemi assured that the APC government would continue to implement policies that will better the lives of the citizenry who gave their mandate.

    He said the court victory would serve as a motivation to use the mandate given at the last governorship poll to do more for the people.

    Egbeyemi revealed that the retirees in the State now enjoy a new lease of life as they are paid same time civil servants received their salaries.

    According to him; “Everyone would benefit from these government, those that did not get appointment will be empowered.

    You are all witness to the changes in the life of our retirees in the State, they now received their pensions same day salaries of workers are paid.

    “There is empowerment in different dimension for various groups in the State.”

    Speaking on behalf of the various group, the Chairman of Okada Riders Association, Mr Kunle Asaolu said the victory of Fayemi at the Appeal Court yesterday was a victory for all Ekitis.

    Asaolu explained that the judgement affirmed the choice of the people during the last gubernatorial election in the State.

    He expressed confidence in the ability of Fayemi to improve the status of the State and move it to an enviable position.

    Also in his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant on Mobilisation to the Governor of Ekiti State, Prince Tunji Ogunlola said the crowd was made up of various interest groups in the State who had come to identify with Fayemi’s victory at the Appeal Court Thursday night.

    Ogunlola revealed that the group had been on the street of Ado Ekiti celebrating before heading to the government house.

    The governor’s aide appealed to the crowd to maintain peace and shun any action that could provoke violence in the course of their jubilation.