The Nation Newspaper

Tag: appeals

  • Ikeja Electric appeals to customers

    Ikeja Electric appeals to customers

    Ikeja Electric has appealed to customers in Ejigbo, Oke Afa, Ikotun Egbe, Egan, Igando, Arepo, Warewa and Channels Television axis on  power outage.

    Head, Corporate Communications Officer of the company, Felix Ofulue, said the management regretted the prolonged outage witnessed by its customers in and around the affected areas, adding that the outages were due to a faulty 100MVA transformer at Ejigbo Transmission Station, coupled with  other multiple faults along the network of that area.

    The Transmission company, Ayeni said, has commenced repairs on the faulty transformer. However, in the interim, customers will be temporarily back fed through alternative sources to mitigate the current blackout pending the completion of the repair.

    In a related development, the recent damage of the 33KV Electric Towers along Abeokuta Expressway, by a truck has resulted in power outage at Millennium Estate, LSDPC Estate Ojokoro, Agbado, Aboru, Jankara and other parts of Abeokuta environs.

    Technical teams have started effecting repairs, though restoration of power to affected areas, the company said, may take about a week.

    “Ikeja Electric deeply regrets all inconveniences caused our esteemed customers,” he added.

  • Omatseye files appeals against conviction

    Omatseye files appeals against conviction

    Former Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director General Raymond Temisan Omatseye has appealed against the five years jail term a Federal High Court sitting at Ikoyi, Lagos slammed on him.

    Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, pointing to approval above Omatseye’s threshold of N2.5million, sentenced him to five years imprisonment without an option of fine.

    She also sacked the ex-NIMASA director general from NIMASA.

    Arguing that his client was being persecuted and not prosecuted, Omatseye’s lawyer Mr. Edoka Onyeke said contract splitting exists in the law, “but approval above threshold does not exist”.

    Ofili-Ajumogobia, in her judgment, noted that Omatseye, who faced a 27-count bordering on bid rigging and contract splitting worth N271 million while he was the boss of the maritime regulatory agency, was on suspension.

    The lawyer alleged that the judge, who had been transferred to the Kwara State jurisdiction of the court, threw out a January 23, 2013, letter from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), which cleared Omatseye of any wrong doing while in the agency.

    Onyeke added that the letter, addressed to former President Goodluck Jonathan and signed by former BPP Director General Emeka Ezeh, informed the president that after a scrutiny of the case, the bureau was of the view that the 27-count were breaches brought under sections of the Procurement Act that deals with administrative breaches rather than real offences under the Act that could attract conviction or sanctions from the regular courts.

  • APC senatorial candidate appeals Akpabio’s tribunal victory

    APC senatorial candidate appeals Akpabio’s tribunal victory

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate in Akwa Ibom Northwest, Mr. Inibehe Okori, has appealed the decisions of Akwa Ibom State National and State Houses of Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

    Okori is challenging the tribunal’s verdict for upholding the March 28 election of Akpabio.

    A statement yesterday in Uyo, the state capital, by Okori’s media adviser, Mr. Daniel Etokiden, said it was regrettable that despite the alleged cases of over-voting, the tribunal still ruled that Akpabio’s election was done in substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

    According to him, the judgment, which was greeted with outrage, was widely condemned by legal experts, who described it as a miscarriage of justice.

    In a notice of appeal before the Court of Appeal, the appellant submitted that being dissatisfied with the decision of the Justice Goddy Anunihu-led tribunal on October 14, he sought to appeal the judgment of the tribunal on seven grounds.

    According to him, the grounds include the decision that the first respondent was qualified to contest and duly contested the Akwa Ibom Northwest Senatorial District’s election into the National Assembly on the March 28.

    The statement alleged that the learned justices of the trial tribunal erred in law by holding that the third respondent sponsored the first respondent for the National Assembly election in Akwa Ibom Northwest Senatorial District.

    The statement reads: “That the learned justices of the trial tribunal erred in law when they found and held that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had the power to, on its own, normalise any anomaly in Akpabio’s nomination form by resorting to his personal particulars to determine his appropriate constituency.

    “That the learned justices of the trial tribunal erred in law when they found and held the first ground of the petition is based on a technical error in the nomination documents of the third respondent and does not affect the substance of Akpabio’s nomination to contest the election.

    “That the learned justices of the trial tribunal exhibited double standards in resolving the issues placed by the parties before them and, therefore, erred in law.

    “That the learned justices of the trial tribunal erred in law when they found and held that exhibit P.19 (card reader report) is inadmissible and proceeded to expunge same from the records…’’

     

  • APC appeals Akwa Ibom State governorship tribunal judgement

    APC appeals Akwa Ibom State governorship tribunal judgement

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has appealed against the recent  decision of the Akwa Ibom State Governorship Election Tribunal that  fresh elections be conducted in 18 local government areas of the  state.

    In the suit filed by its lead counsel, Tayo Oyetibo (SAN), at the Court of Appeal on Thursday, the party is seeking a reversal of the verdict of the three man tribunal made up of  Justices A. S. Umar, K.O.M Dawodu and P.T. Kwahar.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has also filed its own appeal against the tribunal’s decision.

    The respondents in the PDP appeal are the APC candidate, Umana Okon Umana, APC, Governor Udom Emmanuel, INEC, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) and the Nigeria police.

    The APC appeal is based on 20 grounds and is seeking two reliefs from the appellate court.

    The APC is praying the court for an order to allow its 20 ground appeal and also for an order setting aside the part of the decision of the tribunal ordering re-run election in 18 LGA which it complained of.

    The APC submitted that the decision of the tribunal to nullify the results declared by INEC in the petition and order re-run elections is against the weight of evidence.

    It said that the tribunal erred in law when it held that ground one of the petition which alleges that “the election (of the first respondent) was invalid by reasons of corrupt practices and or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act is not incompetent.

    The party submitted for instance that the tribunal erred in law when it nullified the results of the election in the affected 18 Local Government Areas.

    It argued that the evidence relied upon by the tribunal in nullifying the results for Onna for instance was that of a witness who claimed to be a registered voter and evidence from? other polling units which it contended are inadmissible hearsay evidence.

    The party disagreed with the reason adduced by the tribunal for nullifying the results declared for Ikono Local Government area.

     

  • Community leader appeals to Amosun over land grabbers’ attack

    A community leader in _lage in Ado-Odo Ota Local Government of Ogun State Chief Peter Fagbenro has appealed to Governor Ibikunle Amosun to save them from land grabbers and hoodlums terrorizing his_ village.

    Chief Fagbenro made this appeal during the week after a group of hoodlums sponsored by some land grabbers in the community swooped on the village on Monday with guns and cutlasses shooting sporadically into the air.

    According to the community leader, the hoodlums robbed and raped some women in the village and made away with three motorcycles, money, handsets and other items after shooting sporadically into the air to scare us away.

    The three members of the community whose motorcycles were stolen include: Kola Adebakin, Ayo Ogundeyi and Samson Arikusa.

    Kola Adebakin, while narrating his ordeal said, “at first, we did not take the commotion going on in the _ßvillage that day as something serious not until we heard gunshots several times. Immediately we heard these gunshots, we parked our O_kada and ran for our lives but after the commotion, when we went back to where we parked out okadas, they have disappeared”.

    The land grabbers claimed they have a judgment from an Ota Grade I Customary Court but the Ota High Court in Suit No. MT/85/13 presided over by Justice A.A Babawale on 14th November, 2013 ruled that the Balogun Popoola Oliyide Olaore Olanipekun Family is not a party in the said suit.

     

     

    A

  • Community appeals for installation of transformer

    Residents of Agbado/Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) have appealed to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) for the installation of a 500KVA transformer.

    The residents under Temidire Community Development Association (CDA) said the transformer was given to the community by the council.

    Its chairman Alhaji Oladipupo Taiwo, said the community has been on the neck of IKEDC for four years for the installation.

    “It is over four years today that we have being appealing but all we get is we are coming to do it. The appropriate department in Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company came here for inspection of the site and location where the transformer will be placed severally and since then, we have not seen any action.

    “The current transformer located at Alhaji Oremeji/Adenipoko junction has been serving us for a long time and has been over loaded due to the high populated environment,” Taiwo said.

  • NCC appeals judgment

    NCC appeals judgment

    THE counsel to the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Paul  Usoro (SAN), yesterday  filed an appeal against  the judgment. NCC, in a statement, said it filed the appeal through its counsel  on eight grounds.

    Usoro  contended that the learned judge misdirected itself in law and on facts when it awarded N500 million as damages and compensation to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The lawyer averred that the judge erred in law when he dismissed the appellant’s Notice of Preliminary Objection of March 2, 2015, which challenged the competence of the suit on the grounds that same was unmeritorious.

    He added that the judge was wrong when he held that the suit of  the first respondent disclosed cause of action against the applicant.

    Usoro, in the notice of appeal, noted that the court misdirected itself in law and facts when it held that the suit, as constituted, fell under the context of Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution as amended and not rooted in contract.

    He explained that the court erred in law and occasioned grave miscarriage of justice when it held that the first respondent seemingly complained of discrimination by the appellant.

    The notice of appeal also said the learned judge erred in law when he held that the appellant indeed discriminated against the 1st respondent when it granted the Goodluck/Sambo Presidential Campaign Organisation in 2011, the right to use short codes and did not allow the first respondent same right in 2015.

    Another ground was that the judge erred in law when it invalidated the appellants’ directive contained in its letter of January 19, 2015.

     

     

  • Okorocha appeals reinstatement of ‘monarch’

    Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has filed a fresh appeal at the Supreme Court against the decision of the Court of Appeal reinstating the sacked Chairman of Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, Cletus Ilomuanya.

    Okorocha had, in his maiden broadcast on June 6, 2011, dissolved the Imo State Council of Ndi Eze. Ilomuanya challenged the governor’s decision in the court.The High Court decided the case against him, prompting him to appeal at the Court of Appeal, which reinstated him.

    Okorocha, who was dissatisfied with the Court of Appeal’s decision, appealed to Supreme Court.

    Last Thursday, when the case was called at the Supreme Court, Justice John Fabiyi (who presided) struck out the suit on the ground that the appellant failed to first obtain the court’s leave as required.

    Imo State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume (SAN), who represented Okorocha, restated the case by filing a fresh one marked: SC9/ 2015.

    Okorocha wants the apex court to hold that the five-year tenure of Ilumounya had elapsed on January 28, this year, having  been appointed on January 28, 2010 by the state’s former governor, Ikedi Ohakim.

    Okorocha also filed a motion for a stay of execution of the Court of Appeal judgment pending the determination of his fresh appeal.

    Relying on the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja and the Independent National Electoral  Commission (INEC), Okorocha argued that Ilumounya’s tenure could not be extended.

    The state’s Attorney General has, however, petitioned the Inspector-General of Police Suleiman Abba over the alleged attempt by Ilumounya to mislead the public on the appeal which is still pending.

    Copies of the petition were also sent to the Imo state Police Commissioner and the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal.

  • NFF electoral c’ttee receives appeals rulings

    NFF electoral c’ttee receives appeals rulings

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) electoral committee has disclosed it received the authentic report of the NFF electoral appeals committee.

    Chairman of the electoral committee Samson Ebomhe told AfricanFootball.com:“We have received the report of the appeals committee and as I talk to you I am presently studying the rulings.

    “I have sent the copies to my committee members across the country and they should be studying it too. We will have to meet and take the next line of action.

    “We would abide by the verdict of the appeals committee as properly constituted.”

    On whether seven days was enough to conduct bye-elections into the vacant offices, Ebomhe said: “Nothing is cast in stone. If we envisage that seven days would not be enough we will get back to the appeals committee and seek for more time.”

  • Nasarawa clash: Al-Makura appeals for calm

    Nasarawa clash: Al-Makura appeals for calm

    Nasarawa State government yesterday appealed for calm. It admitted that people died in the recent crisis.

    About 60 persons were reported to have died in the crisis between the Fulani and Eggon villagers, who accused the former of cattle rustling at Tudun Adabu, a few kilometres from Lafia, the state capital.

    Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura said in a broadcast yesterday that inestimable property were destroyed and people were displaced.

    He described the incident as unfortunate.

    Al-Makura said: “At this juncture, let me, on behalf of the government and people of the state, console the bereaved families. I pray that God will heal those who sustained injuries and replenish those who lost valuables.  “Government will do everything to take care of the displaced people.”   He urged the people to give peace a chance, to ensure development.