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Tag: appeals

  • Industrialist appeals ruling in suit against Senator Obiora

    Industrialist appeals ruling in suit against Senator Obiora

    An industrialist, Chief Louis Onwugbenu, has filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Lagos against a ruling by Justice Folasade Bankole-Oki of the Lagos State High Court over a property on 6, Okotie-Eboh Street, Ikoyi.

    The judge, on June 5, vacated an order stopping a former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Housing, Senator Ikechukwu Obiora, from developing the property.

    In a notice of appeal, Onwugbenu said the judge erred in law when she dismissed his motion on notice for interlocutory injunction dated August 12, 2013, as lacking in merit.

    He sought an order setting aside the lower court’s decision, and an order granting his reliefs in the motion on notice.

    The claimant had prayed the court to restrain the defendants from developing, advertising or selling properties in Ikoyi including Thompson Street; 4, Olumegbon Street; 1 Rumens Street; 3 Rumens Street; 1B Alagbon Close; 35 Lugard Avenue; 6, Olawale Dawoo Street; and 6, Okotie-Eboh, pending  the determination of his suit.

    Onwugbenu claimed that sometime in 2009, he gave Senator Obiora N1.4billion to buy the properties. According to him, the senator bought the properties, but has failed to deliver the certificates of occupancy to him or pay back the sum.

    In his claims, he asked for a return of the properties with the accompanying documents, or a refund of the N1.4billion with interest.

    He prayed the court to hold that he is the rightful owner of 6, Okotie-Eboh and is entitled to be granted the Certificate of Occupancy.

    Onwugbenu also prayed the court to direct the defendants, including Corporate Ideals Properties Limited and A.B.C. Orjiako, to return the original title documents perfected in his name.

    But Senator Obiora denied owing Onwugbenu any money. He said the claimant gave him money to invest in properties in Abuja, but that he rejected them and demanded for those in Lagos.

    Obiora said he has repaid what he owes Onwugbenu, adding: “The outstanding amount of N800million has been paid to the claimant upon conclusion of the sale of the property at 6, Okotie-Eboh, Ikoyi.”

  • ThisDay bombing convict appeals life sentence

    ThisDay bombing convict appeals life sentence

    Umar Mustapha, the Boko Haram member sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the bombing of media houses in Kaduna State, has appealed his conviction.

    In a notice of appeal filed before the Court of Appeal, Abuja, by his lawyer, Nureni Sulyman, the convict is seeking, among others, to void his conviction.

    In the notice of appeal on February 6 but filed on February 11, Umar raised six grounds of appeal and promised to add more.

    Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, in a November 15 judgment, found Umar guilty in the April 26, 2012, bombing of SOJ Plaza, a building on Sabon Gari Road, Kaduna, housing the offices of three newspapers – ThisDay, The Sun and The Moment.

    He allegedly drove a white Honda Academy car with registration number AL 306 MKA, laden with improvised explosives devices (IEDs), into the premises.

    The convict later reportedly exploded the devices, killing three persons and injuring several others.

    The judge found him guilty of the charges against him and sentenced him to life imprisonment with hard labour.

    But Umar, among others, argued that the judge erred when he held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

    He argued that evidence by the prosecution witnesses were contradictory and unreliable.

    The terror convict argued that the judge was wrong to have convicted him on the strength of evidence by non-existing witnesses, who were not only masked but also failed to disclose their identities.

    He argued that the judge also erred by convicting him because he was denied fair trial conducted in secret and under the watch of “armed and fierce looking men of the Nigeria Police Force.”

    Umar said his witnesses could not access the court because the trial was in secret and their movement allegedly restricted by the police and the State Security Service (SSS).

    He accused the judge of not subjecting his testimony to holistic evaluation and thereby caused a miscarriage of justice to him.

    Umar argued that the judge failed to take into account the fact that he had been in custody before the judgment, when he sentenced him to life imprisonment with hard labour.

    He prayed the appellate court to set aside the judgment, discharge and acquit him.

     

     

  • Lawyer appeals ruling on girl in Etsu Nupe’s palace

    Lawyer appeals ruling on girl in Etsu Nupe’s palace

    Barring any last- minute change, legal fireworks will begin in the bid of a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) pastor, Raymond Uzoechina, to challenge the ruling of a Sharia Court sitting in Bida, which gave the custody of his daughter, Charity, to the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar.

    She has been at the palace of the Etsu Nupe since March, allegedly on her own volition after converting to Islam and changing her name to Aisha.

    The 24-year-old, who was a National Diploma student of the Polytechnic, Bida, now dresses like a woman in purdah, wearing hijab, The Nation learnt.

    Pastor Uzoechina’s lawyer, Anthony Agbonlahor, said he would soon appeal the Sharia Court ruling to free Miss Uzoechina from the palace and return her home to her parents. Agbonlahor, in a petition to the Chief Judge of Niger State, complained about the conduct of the judge of the Sharia Court 1, Justice Abdulkadir Idris. He said the court had no right to take custody of the girl.

    The lawyer intends to prove to the court that the ruling giving the girl’s custody to the emir is null and void because fair hearing was abandoned.

    He said: “Contrary to the principle of natural justice vis- a-vis fair hearing, our client was not served either with the court summons/processes or hearing notice. The case was filed on March 4; the case was heard March 4 and judgment delivered on the same day. In fact, judgment was also executed on the same date. The question is: why the urgency?”

    Agbonlahor was urged by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to appeal the decision of the Sharia Court, which he sees as a travesty of justice.

    He plans to prove to the court that since the defendant in the case is a Christian, the Sharia Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear it.

    As the legal battle is being awaited, the row over the girl’s fate continues, with the Northern Christian Youth Solidarity and Emancipation Movement for Justice and Self-Determination (NCYSEM), faulting the alleged forceful abduction of the 24-year-old.

    The organisation condemned the comment by the Acting Director of Publicity for the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Muhammed Kabir Kassim, which asked the government to call the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, to order for criticising the action of the Etsu Nupe.

    The NCYSEM, in a statement by its Director of Publicity, Mr James Gani, said Pastor Oritsejafor’s condemnation of the Etsu Nupe’s action was the reaction of the Christian community in Nigeria.

    He said: “For the benefit of those not aware or conversant with the facts of the matter, Miss Charity Raymond Uzoechina is a Nigerian and a daughter of Pastor Raymond Uzoechina, who was forcefully abducted by some Muslim fanatics and since then, had been kept out of the reach of her parents under the so-called ‘protective custody’ of the Etsu Nupe.

    “We would like to call on the Federal Government to take a critical look at the issue of abducting Christian girls into forceful Islamic marriages with impunity by some influential Muslims, particularly in the North, with a view to invoking the relevant laws that deal with crimes of this nature on them. This case should be seriously viewed as such.

    “Why should an Emir of the status of the Etsu Nupe be as insensitive to his responsibility as a royal father to the extent of abducting and keeping someone under a ‘protective custody’? Does he have such powers? Against whom is he protecting the lady?”

    “Whereas, we appreciate the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999 as amended) that provides for the freedom of worship and choice of religion, we do not believe and cannot be deceived that the case under reference has to do with the choice of religion and or wilful conversion.”

    Pastor Uzoechina does not believe that his 24-year-old daughter willingly traded Christianity for Islam.

    He said he got a call from an aide of the emir on March 1, asking him to come to the palace.

    He said: “He repeated the call on March 2. Overwhelmed by the call, I had to travel to Bida to ascertain what was wrong.

    “At the man’s office, I met my daughter with two other women. The man said these women brought my daughter to the palace, that she has embraced Islam and she has also been withdrawn from school… I demanded that I am going home with her. But the man declined, saying only the emir has the power to allow the girl go with me. They took me to the emir but the emir refused my plea, saying I should come back next week.”

    Pastor Uzoechina said on March 4, two people, who claimed to be from the Bida Sharia Court, “emerged with my daughter with a folded paper and said ‘sign, sign’ but I refused”.

    When he tried to take his daughter, said the pastor, he was told she was now under the custody of the Sharia Court.

    The Sharia judge said: “This honourable court hereby orders that the custody of the plaintiff be entrusted in the hand of Etsu Nupe for the time being and the Etsu Nupe should employ a qualified Islamic scholar who will be teaching her and showing her how the Islamic customs is all about and the plaintiff can even be watching and selecting a man of her choice whom she will want to marry as her partner.”

    Pastor Uzoechina said the girl was not brought to court for cross-examination.

    He said: “They refused to bring the girl to the court for cross examination, knowing that they were the writer of all they purported my daughter had written.”

    Pastor Oritsejafor, at a news conference after his re-election as CAN President, said: “The Emir of Bida must understand that Christianity and Islam must stand side by side. So, we are using this occasion to say: ‘Release our daughter for us!’”

    The Bida Emirate, in a statement, said the Etsu Nupe should not be blamed for the girl’s alleged voluntary decision.

    The statement said Miss Uzoechina approached the monarch for protection following her change of faith from Christianity to Islam on February 15.

  • Court dismisses appeals against Wada’s election

    The Court of Appeal, Abuja, yesterday dismissed two appeals challenging the election of Kogi State Governor Idris Wada.

    In a unanimous judgment, the court declined jurisdiction and held that since the issues raised in both appeals related to election matters, the proper forum for them was the election tribunal.

    The judgment was on the appeals by the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) governorship candidate, James Ocholi (SAN) and the All Nigerian People Party (ANPP).

    The court, in an earlier decision, refused a similar appeal by Jilbrin Isah (Echocho), a member of Wada’s party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Justice I. T. A. George-Mbama, in the lead judgment, yesterday upheld an earlier decision of the Federal High Court on the grounds that the trial court was right in dismissing the suit jointly filed by the appellant, from which the appeal was raised.

    The judge frowned at the decision of the two appellants to file two separate appeals when they jointly filed the case as plaintiffs at the court.

    He said: “The second appeal is similar to the one earlier decided. The parties are the same. At the lower court, they were together. They have similar interest. They still have the same interest, even in the appeal.

    “It is, therefore, surprising to see them file different appeals. This is an unwholesome practice, as it has overburdened the court…”

  • Community appeals to Amaechi over kidnap victim

    Two months after their son, Mr. Joseph Sokolo, a businessman, was kidnapped, the people of Abua in Abua/Odual Local Government Area of Rivers State want the state government to ensure his release.

    Sokolo was abducted two months ago on his way to his hometown.

    President, Edouh Abuan Development Association (EADA), Dr. Ela George, who spoke on behalf of the community, said the Abua people were no longer comfortable with the continued hostage of the businessman.

    He said EADA, as the voice of Abua community, had constituted a committee to visit Governor Rotimi Amaechi over the matter.

    Ela said: “After several efforts made by the community to ensure the freedom of our brother, we in EADA have decided to meet with the governor and brief him on our predicament over the abduction of Mr. Joseph Sokolo.

    “His continued stay in the hands of his abductors is dangerous to his health; that is why we want the governor to do something fast to see if he could regain his freedom.”

  • NWBF appeals to South African High Commission on visas

    NWBF appeals to South African High Commission on visas

    The Nigeria Wheelchair Basketball Federation (NWBF) has appealed to the South African High Commission in Lagos to waive some visa conditions for its athletes and officials travelling to South Africa.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the federation’s 12 players and five officials had since Feb. 2 filed their passports for visas for the U-23 championship in South Africa.

    The federation’s Secretary, Victor Anusa, told NAN on Thursday in Lagos that the four-day competition would hold from March 29 to April 3. Anusa added that they planned to depart Nigeria on March 26, to enable them acclimatise ahead of the tournament.

    “The High Commission’s delays in processing visas is threatening our South Africa trip. The delay from the High Commission is no longer healthy to our plans, considering the short time left. We passed through a rigorous time of scrutiny at the High Commission, which is consuming our precious time in preparation for the competition. The rigours we have been going through in the last five weeks is frustrating and deliberately time-wasting,” he said.

    The secretary said that the High Commission gave some conditions for processing visas, which, he said, the federation had satisfied some.

    “The conditions are many and are not easy to come by, so the High Commission should waive the rest, because this is not the first time we will be in South Africa for competitions,” he said.

    The secretary appealed to the High Commission to consider the physical conditions of the athletes, saying that it had been difficult for the federation to transport them to the High Commission’s office in Ikeja in the last five weeks.

  • NANS appeals to Plateau lecturers, govt

    NANS appeals to Plateau lecturers, govt

    The Plateau State axis of the Joint Campus Committee (JCC), an arm of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), has called on the striking lecturers in state-owned tertiary institutions to accept the offer made by the government and return to work. The call came as the state awaits the court judgment on “no work, no pay” labour law.

    The JCC made the call during a press briefing in Jos, following the decision of the state lecturers to resume strike action due to non implementation of the demands already granted the union by the state government.

    In a press statement jointly signed by the NANS Zone C co-ordinator, Henry Pam, and president, National Association of Plateau State Students (NAPSS), Promise Yatu, the student body called on the government to speed up the implementation process while appealing to the lecturers to reconsider their position and return to their campuses.

    The JCC said having cautiously assessed the issues at stake and the demands placed before government by the lecturers, it urged both parties to consider students, whose future was being affected by the strike.

    The statement reads: “We are aware that the three months salary and other underpaid arrears are the first two demands by the tertiary staff. These demands are now affected by the legal framework of ‘no work, no pay’. The court’s decision should be the final for both parties. Furthermore, the centralisation of salaries of all workers in the state is to correct anomalies caused by ghost workers. Opposition of lecturers to this cannot be a ground for protest. We urge them to support the government’s effort in sanitising public sector and protect public funds.”

    Since some of the demands of the lecturers union have been consented to by the government, the student body urged the teachers to get back to work.

    “This is a nation governed by the rule of law. We believe that National Industrial Court’s decision shall be binding on both government and striking workers. Neither government nor workers will overrule the decision of the court.”

    The Committee also called on the students to remain calm and resist attempts by anyone or group to use their plight for evil motive. “We caution all those that want to incite students into acts of violence to desist from such evil machinations; they should deploy their energies for the good of our state,” the NANS said.

     

  • Group appeals to Aregbesola on vacant stool

    A group, the Concerned Orile Owu Elite, has urged Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola to show interest in the vacant stool of Olowu of Orile-Owu.

    In a statement by Dr Isaac Aderibigbe, its coordinator and Wahab Akinola, secretary, the group said the people had never used any declaration to select their Oba in the past; but through contests among the ruling houses and important personalities.

    The group expressed displeasure with the report of a peace committee set up to mediate the lingering crisis over the stool, adding that the genuine six ruling houses and stakeholders were not represented in the panel.

    “We wish to urge the government of Osun State to jettison any report from this committee as it does not represent the interest of any quarter in the town,” the group urged.

    It further urged the government to set up a neutral body to facilitate the appointment of a new Olowu, saying: “We are not interested in any litigation, that is why we have not approached any court for settlement.”

    The group which comprises representatives of six ruling houses, religious group, youths and a transport union, said: “The resolution is imperative to save our town from hijackers and the retrogressives who are interested in causing confusion by distorting the words of the gods and throw into dust bin, the consultations carried out, a move which will not, in anyway, benefit the town.”

    The stool has been vacant since the death of the Olowu, Oba Moses Adejobi of the Afelele Ruling House, about two years ago.

  • King’s College appeals to LAWMA

    The Parents/Teachers Association (PTA) of King’s College has appealed to the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) to increase the number of contractors evacuating wastes from schools on Lagos Island.

    The executive told reporters on Saturday, that waste evacuation was slow because only one contractor was handling refuse disposal for the schools.

    The said a pile of rubbish is defacing the school, which is behind the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS). It appealed to the agency to give way to other contractors or allow the school to clear the waste.

    “The challenge we have is that LAWMA has only one contractor evacuating dirt for all schools on Lagos Island and the rate of evacuation is slow. If LAWMA can assist us to increase the number of contractors that evacuates the dirt, we won’t have this problem. If we have a way of doing it ourselves, we will do,” said Pastor Timi Ajayi, the association’s treasurer.

    The PTA Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Oriakhi, said the association would get a container large enough to accommodate the refuse to keep the area which overlooks part of the administrative building of the 104-year-old college tidy.

    “In two weeks, we will get something to pack the rubbish. We were planning an incinerator but we will get something that anyone who wants to dispose of rubbish will have to climb up to empty it into the place,” he said.

  • Ondo CPC appeals tribunal’s judgment

    The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Ondo State and its candidate in last October’s governorship election, Prince Soji Ehinlanwo, yesterday appealed the judgment of the Election Petition Tribunal, which struck out their petition.

    Last week, the three-man panel struck out the petition filed by the party and its candidate.

    Their petition was challenging the declaration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko as the winner of the election.

    In the suit filed by their lawyer, Mr. Segun Ogodo, CPC and Ehinlanwo urged the Appeal Court to nullify the tribunal’s judgment. They said the judgment was based upon a “faulty and untenable” premise.

    CPC and Ehinlanwo urged their supporters not to be discouraged by the tribunal’s judgment, stressing that they remain resolute in the struggle to rid the state of “reckless and unpopular government”.

    CPC debunked a media report in which Mr. Tony Obaoye and Mr. Olujimi Lomowo claimed to be the party’s secretary and chairman

    CPC Publicity Secretary Olufisayo Falarungbon said: “These two individuals are being used by the Labour Party (LP) to destabilise our party.

    “They are out to weaken the resolve of CPC members to prove that the election was marred by irregularities. They have been suspended by the state executive committee for anti-party activities.

    “We were not surprised by the commendation they got from the commissioner for information on the role they played in ensuring that the tribunal struck out our case.

    “We urge the public to disregard the activities of these men, who are only acting the script of the LP.”

    The party, which is chaired by Mr. Olalekan Obolo, said: “Rather than dissipating time and effort on engaging individuals, who are easily compromised, to undermine the push for change by the opposition, the LP administration should focus on formulating and implementing meaningful programmes that would benefit the masses.”