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Tag: Court of Appeal

  • Asset declaration: Appeal Court quashes Saraki’ acquittal by CCT

    Asset declaration: Appeal Court quashes Saraki’ acquittal by CCT

     

    … Senate president to lose seat if convicted

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to return to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for his false asset declaration trial.

    A three-man panel of the appellate court led by Justice Tinuade Akomolafe Wilson held that the prosecution was able to establish a prima facie case against Saraki in three of the 18 charges brought against him and subsequently quashed the remaining 15.

    The charges are on count 4, 5 and 6 and bordered on his alleged failure to declare houses he acquired in Abuja and Lagos.

    The court ordered that the case be remitted back to the tribunal for the Senate president to enter his defence.

    If convicted by the CCT, the Senate president may be banned from holding public office for years as the tribunal is not empowered by the constitution to jail erring public officers.

    The CCT had on June 14 upheld Saraki’s no-case submission and acquitted him on the false assets declaration charges.

    The charges:

    Count 4 – That you, DR. Olubukola Abubakar Saraki on or about 3rd June, 2011 within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Tribunal did make a false declaration in the Assets Declaration Form for Public Officers at the end of your tenure of office as Governor of Kwara State in 2011 by your refusal to declare Plot 37A, Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos which you acquired between2007 and 2008 through your company Carlisle Properties Limited from the Implementation Committee on Federal Government Landed Properties for a total sum of N325, 000,000.00 (Three Hundred and Twenty-Five Million Naira) and you thereby committed an offence under section 15 (1) & (2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Cap. C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and as incorporated under paragraphs 11 (1), & (2) of part l, Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and punishable under Section 23 (2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act and as incorporated under paragraph 18 of Part l, Fifth Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

    Count 5 – That you, Dr. Olubukola Abubakar Saraki, while being the executive governor of Kwara State on or about 18th September, 2003 within the jurisdiction of this honourable tribunal do make a false declaration in the assets declaration form for public officers on the assumption of office as governor of Kwara State by your refusal to declare No. 1  Tagus Street, Maitama, Abuja, otherwise known as Plot 2482 Cadastral Zone, Abuja, which you claimed in your end of tenure asset declaration form in 2011 to have acquired in November 1999 from one David Baba Akawu and thereby committed an offence under section 15 (1) and (2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act,  Cap C15  Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and is incorporated under paragraphs (1) (1) and (2) of Part I. Fifth Schedule to 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended.

    Count 6 – That you, Dr. Olubukola Abubakar Saraki, on or about 16th September, 2003 within the jurisdiction of this honourable tribunal do make a false declaration in the assets declaration form for public officers upon assumption of office in the year 2003 as governor of Kwara State by your refusal to declare No. 3 Tagus Street, Maitama, Abuja, otherwise known as Plot 2481 Cadastral Zone, Abuja, which you acquired through your company Carlisle Properties Limited from one Alhaji Attahiru Adamu before your assumption of office and you thereby committed an offence under Section 15 (1) and (2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Cap C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

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  • Oando asks Court of Appeal to lift suspension of shares by SEC

    Oando asks Court of Appeal to lift suspension of shares by SEC

    Oando Plc has filed an application before the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, seeking the order of the court to lift the technical suspension imposed on its shares on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

    The company,  through its lawyer, Mr. Seyi Sowemimo (SAN), went before the Court of Appeal seeking the reversal of Justice Rilwan Aikawa’s ruling..

    Oando had earlier approached the Federal High Court in Lagos to challenge SEC’s suspension of its shares and an audit of its business activities by forensic experts hired by SEC.

    Though Justice Aikawa of the Federal High Court earlier granted an interim injunction restraining SEC from carrying out the audit, the same judge, in a ruling on November 23, 2017, struck out Oando’s suit, saying he had no jurisdiction to entertain it.

    The judge said the appropriate forum to ventilate the issue was the Investment and Securities Tribunal.

    But displeased with the decision, Oando, through its lawyer, Sowemimo (SAN), went before the Court of Appeal seeking to an order of the court reversing the lower court’s  ruling.

    Sowemimo had insisted that the Federal High Court rather than the IST was the appropriate forum to hear the case.

    Sowemimo argued that the judge erred in law to decline jurisdiction because “the suit touched and concerned the operation of a company incorporated under the Companies and Allied Matters Act”.

    He said: “By virtue of Section 251(i)(e) of the Constitution, the Federal High Court is empowered to entertain CAMA-related cases”.

    He is, therefore, urging the Court of Appeal to make an order “reversing the (Justice Aikawa’s) order striking out the suit and restoring the matter to the cause list of the Federal High Court for accelerated hearing”.

    At resumed proceedings yesterday, Sowemimo informed the court about the appeal and urged the trial judge to make an order “preserving the res to prevent the appeal from being rendered nugatory”.

    But counsel for SEC and the Nigerian Stock Exchange, which was joined as the second defendant, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), opposed Sowemimo’s application for the preservation of res.

    Idigbe argued that the issues canvassed by Oando in its appeal “are not substantial in law.”

    He contended that it was in the best interest of investors, shareholders and members of the public that SEC placed Oando’s shares under technical suspension.

    He said the technical suspension was to prevent panic and dumping of Oando’s shares by investors and members of the public.

    Idigbe told the court that the technical suspension was temporary and was imposed to allow for an independent forensic audit of Oando’s business activities, emphasising that there was no need for Justice Aikawa to make any order preserving the res.

    This, according to him was because “the suspension of the trading of the plaintiff’s shares in the Nigerian Stock Exchange has already been completed”.

    “The forensic examination of the plaintiff’s business activities has already commenced and the parties are waiting for the report of the said investigation.

    “The temporary suspension of trading of the shares is not a punitive action against the plaintiff but a device to protect the shares of the plaintiff from further decline because of the investigation.

    “The undertaking of the forensic examination of the plaintiff by independent experts will not prevent a return to status quo if the appeal succeeds,” Idigbe added.

    Sowemimo prayed for time to file a reply to Idigbe’s counter-affidavit.

    Justice Aikawa adjourned further proceedings in the case till tomorrow.

  • Court of Appeal affirms recall of 181 NSCDC staff

    Court of Appeal affirms recall of 181 NSCDC staff

    The Court of Appeal, Abuja division, on Wednesday dismissed a motion seeking leave to restore a dismissed appeal meant to invalidate its judgment that affirmed recall of 181 sacked Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) staff.

    Justice Teni Hassan held that such move could hurt the judiciary, adding that the court would not overrule itself.

    Hassan said the court, having gone through all the issues raised in the application, was left with the only option to dismiss it.

    “This motion filed by NSCDC with intent to restore a dismissed appeal is simply academic. The motion lacks merit and hereby dismissed.

    “This court’s judgment on this matter delivered on July 18, 2016 stands,’’ she held.

    The other appellants were the Immigration and Prisons Service Board.

    The lost appeal was filed NSCDC against the judgment by the National Industrial Court (NIC), reinstating 181 of its staff who were wrongly dismissed.

    NIC had, in a judgment on March 19, 2015, ordered the NSCDC to reinstate the sacked staff with their full emoluments from the time they were illegally dismissed.

    Read also: NCC, NSCDC sign MoU to protect telecom infrastructure

    NIC had ordered NSCDC to return the employment letters to the affected 181 personnel and pay all arrears of their salaries amounting to about N1.2 billion.

    The court also restrained the NSCDC from further tampering with the employment of the affected personnel.

    Dissatisfied with the judgment, the NSCDC, and Immigration and Prisons Service Board (who were respondents at the NIC) appealed the judgment, but failed to diligently prosecute it.

    A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Moore Adumein, in a ruling, on July 18, 2016, upheld the respondents’ request and dismissed the appeal for lack of diligent prosecution.

    Obono Musa and 180 others had sued the Commandant-General, NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolurin, alleging unlawful termination of their employments.

    They prayed the court to declare that the verbal and oral suspension of the claimants by the NSCDC was null, void and of no effect.

    The claimants also sought an order directing the defendants to recall all the claimants to work and to also release the original copies of their letters of employment to them.

    They also asked for an order of the court directing the defendants to immediately pay them all arrears of salaries from 2007 till date.

    NAN

  • Osinbajo, Sultan, hail North’s first SAN at 90

    Osinbajo, Sultan, hail North’s first SAN at 90

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III and state governors were among dignitaries who paid tribute to Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Folorunsho Abdul-Razak, the first lawyer from the North, as he turned 90 years

    It has been a harvest of goodwill messages from statesmen and women, family, associations and friends across the country since Alhaji Abdul-Ganiyu Folorunsho Abdul-Razaq, SAN, OFR, celebrated his 90th birthday on November 13, 2017.

    Apart from glittering birthday adverts in major newspapers sponsored by associates, family and the children of the first Northerner to become a lawyer and also a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the family also hosted friends of the nonagenarian to a special prayer reception at his Ilorin family house on November 10, 2017.

    Speakers at the event including the cream of society were Professor Saka Nuru, Professor Isiaq Oloyede, Registrar of JAMB, Professor Abdulganiyu Ambali, former Vice Chancellor University of Ilorin, and, Engr Lanre Shagaya, the Zanna of Ilorin.

    Other were His Royal Highness Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Zulu Gambari CON, who was the royal father of the day, the Makama of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Oniye as well as the Balogun Alanamu and Balogun Fulani. The leaders and speakers all extolled a life that has been spent meritoriously in the service of the country since pre-independence including his contribution to Kwara State where he was the founding Commissioner of Finance in 1967, his Ilorin Community, the legal profession where he has put in more than 6 decades and Corporate Nigeria where he served as the President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

    The D-day, which was November 13, was a private event at his Aso Villa Area  residence in Abuja where all his children, grandchildren, political associates and extended family members joined him to celebrate his special day.

    Leading the list of distinguished persons who sent goodwill messages to Alhaji Abdul-Razaq who had been described as an aristocratic lawyer with uncommon ability to mix with the under-privileged in the society, was Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who hailed his giant contribution to the legal profession and the nation.

    “I rejoice with you on this great milestone and give glory to Almighty God for His grace that has kept you in such good health. It is also an appropriate occasion to recognise your various contributions to the legal profession and our dear nation. The lord will continue to keep you in good and grant you more years to celebrate.”

    In his own eulogy to a man who served as the Minister of Railways in the Tafawa Balewa government and member of the Parliament from 1964-66, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha wrote, “in the last sixty years, you have meaningfully, contributed to the Nigerian nation, the Legal Profession, the Diplomatic Community and, indeed to governance in general. You diligently served Nigeria at home and abroad, as parliamentarian, a Diplomat and as a Cabinet Minister, without any blemish.’’

    The 16 governors of the Northern States of Nigeria as well as Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, and Hon Khadija Bukar A. Ibrahim, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs sent their felicitations to the celebrant on the special occasion.

    In his goodwill message, his Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji M Sa’ad Abubakar III, said of the celebrant, “you have served every community you lived in selflessly and diligently thus rightfully earning the Traditional Royal Court Titles of Tafidan Zazzau (Zaria) and Mutawalin Ilorin.”

    The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, the association of Senior Lawyers in Nigeria while felicitating with Alhaji Abdul-Razaq SAN on his momentous occasion paid tribute to his outstanding career as a lawyer and a public servant.

    In the letter signed by the Secretary, Mr. Seyi Sowemimo, SAN the body said, “It is with much pleasure that I am writing on behalf of the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria to congratulate you on your attainment of 90 years of age. Anyone who is aware of your achievements over these many years cannot but marvel at your enormous contribution to the progress of legal profession and to the nation.

    “To cap all these laudable achievements you were elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria in 1984. Your achievements attest to a versatile professional life which is further underscored by your legal publications which include DAN ADAN DA SHARI {A treatise on Law in Hausa Language 1957} and DEMOKRATIYA- How to Govern a Modern State { A treatise on Constitutional Law in English, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo Languages, 2002}. Considering these laudable achievements, we wish you a very joyous celebration and continued good health with all gratitude to the Almighty.”

    Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alpha Belgore, described AGF Abdul-Razaq as a patriot, “Abdul-Razaq is an all-Nigerian person, as he speaks the three major Nigerian languages: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, very fluently. He is very simple and straight-forward. Despite the fact that he is a legal man, he speaks quietly, and on issues before him. Although it is very difficult to practice in Nigeria, he never allowed political practice to affect his professional conduct. Because of his honesty and conduct, as a person who would not allow political principle to destroy what he believed in, he was not made Attorney-General of Northern Nigeria. He was neither aggressive about contesting elections nor holding political office. Despite this, political leaders in the North respected him for his honesty, as a result of which the then Premier of Northern Nigeria, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto insisted he must be appointed a diplomat. And so he was appointed ambassador to Ivory Coast.”

    Chief Afe Babalola, SAN, OFR, a leading legal luminary, praised the celebrant for his professional excellence, “I am happy about his achievements at the Bar which include his being the first lawyer from the North and the First Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, from Ilorin. His brilliance and the very professional ways he conducts himself both at the Bar and outside of it will remain indelible in our psyche. As a practising lawyer, he believes fervently in the rules and keeps such Rules to the letter. He has mentored not a few who are today clear leaders and high flyers in various callings, no wonder the Mutawali of Ilorin is loved by many”.

    Hon. Justice Muhammed Mustapha Adebayo Akanbi, a former President, Court of Appeal and pioneer Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), recalled his personal relationship with the Mutawalli of Ilorin in his tribute,  “My memory of AGF Abdul-Razaq goes to the early 1960s. I first met him when he was in private legal practice in Zaria, while I was then a state counsel in Kaduna. We have both related very well, ever since. Following his return from a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia in 1963, his wife, Raliat hosted a party for the husband, to which I was invited, necessitating my travelling to Zaria from Kaduna where I was based.

    Although we both belong to the same legal profession, he is by far my senior, whom we defer to as a senior brother and a distinguished political leader; who later became a Minster in Tafawa Balewa’s cabinet, before the termination of Nigeria’s First Republic by the military. Abdul-Razaq is a legal icon who epitomizes simplicity, humility, humanity and integrity.”

    Alhaji Salihu Abubakar Tanko Yakasai, OFR, first Republic politician who served as acting party secretary of the defunct Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and a former Presidential Special Adviser on National Assembly Matters (1979-1983) under the Second Republic President Shehu Shagari traced the history of his friendship with AGF Abdul-Razaq to 1955 on his return to Nigeria after his law education and described him as a man who played politics without bitterness and a lawyer well-loved across Nigeria especially among the people of the then Northern Region.

    Alhaji Yakassai said of his friend of more than 60 years, “My first knowledge of Abdul-Razaq was in 1955, when he back from the United Kingdom after his studies abroad and qualifying as a lawyer. We became friends shortly thereafter, and we have been closely associated since then. Not long after his arrival, he emerged a leading official of the ruling party then, while I was a national officer of the main opposition party. I was the Acting General Secretary of Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), the main opposition party in Northern Nigeria during the country’s First Republic. I was also the Hausa Editor of Daily Comet, the official NCNC/NEPU newspaper, when Anthony Enahoro was the editor. Although Abdul-Razaq was in the Northern People’s Congress (NPC), and we were seen as political rivals in our days in the First Republic, our political differences never affected our relationship. His personification of politics without bitterness was quite apparent. He was highly celebrated as the first Northern Nigerian lawyer. He was greatly admired and well-known all over the north.”

    Commending him for his service to the Northern Nigeria, Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) described the Tafida of Zazzau, Zaria who was called to the Bar in 1955 as humble and selfless.

    “ACF appreciates your humility and selfless service to Nigeria in various capacities in the first Republic and also at the state level in Kwara when it was created in 1967,” the Pan-Northern socio-political group said in statement signed by Anthony NZ Sani, General-Secretary and Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim (Danmasanin Biu), National Publicity Secretary.

    As part of the 90th birthday celebration, his authorized biography entitled “AGF Abdul-Razaq SAN: the Adventures of Northern Nigeria’s Pioneer Lawyer”, authored by Prof SA Ajayi will soon be presented to honour the statesman and legal icon by family and associates.

     

     

  • FJSC, Court of Appeal’s controversial repudiation of standards

    FJSC, Court of Appeal’s controversial repudiation of standards

    IN January when the then Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, announced a paradigm shift in the appointment of appellate justices, this column, after observing arguments on the subject, was satisfied enough some two months later, to offer unsolicited advice. That advice, which sadly fell on deaf ears, is reproduced in the essay above today more or less to mock Nigeria’s judicial hierarchies about their lack of discipline and integrity in both the appointment of judges, including and especially appellate justices, and apparently their appalling sense of history and lack of farsightedness.

    Now, after many months of dilly-dallying, couched in what they controversially describe as a painstaking nomination process, 14 justices have been nominated to complement the 76 already functioning as Appeal Court justices. The law stipulates the appointment of 90 justices, according to Section 2 of Court Appeal (Amendment) Act, 2013. The priority list, which the National Judicial Council (NJC) in their typical obfuscation described as still undergoing processing, contains a rather lengthy addendum of another 14 justices supposedly included as the reserved list in case some of the names on the priority list do not pass muster. When in January Justice Onnoghen spoke inspiringly of instituting conditions that would lead to the appointment of great and knowledgeable jurists, and most people believed him, he did not give the impression that the list would end up as anticlimactically as his own appointment which the federal government had clumsily attempted to sabotage.

    Everybody believed the CJN in January, including this column. At any rate, the Nigerian Bar Association was chief among the converts to Justice Onnoghen’s proselytising talk. Eager and trusting that change was afoot, the NBA had assembled about 187 nominations, out of which some 12 were finally shortlisted and forwarded to the relevant quarters. In the NBA list were some of the brightest and most enterprising legal minds the country could boast of. If any of the 12 was finally considered at all Court of Appeal and the FJSC, there was no indication of that anticipated thoroughness or fidelity to judicial reformation in both the priority and reserved lists. The list, in effect, reads more like a sop to judicial dynasties than to legal proficiency, and a disingenuous abdication to wholesale quota rather than merit. The CJN promised that, as a first step to fostering a favourable perception of the appellate courts, wholly different considerations that would lead to the appointment of brilliant and qualified jurists would be enthroned. Nothing of that nature was apparently either truly intended or accomplished. Had the judicial authorities planned a 60:40 ratio in favour of merit, the outcome would not have been as lamentable as it is.

    Every Nigerian, including the CJN himself, knows that the quality of judgements coming from Nigerian courts has declined considerably. Indeed, in acknowledgement of that realisation, as demonstrated in the piece above, the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, himself a law professor, made reference to how judges were appointed in the United Kingdom, including subjecting the nominees to about 17 different tests before appointment. But perhaps the CJN and the NJC had no hands whatsoever in the compilation of the Court of Appeal list, just as the matter was squarely between the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) and the Appeal Court. It is however difficult to believe that both the CJN and the NJC would wholly surrender the process to the Court of Appeal and shirk their own supervisory and regulatory responsibilities to the entire judiciary.

    The NJC should be disturbed that increasingly the intellectual gap between the bar and the bench is widening, with many lawyers of world standard being produced in Nigeria, and jurists of global standard — in character and learning — remaining in abysmal short supply. If the NJC knew the exercise would be restricted to quota rather than merit, as its diversionary argument of lopsided nominations indicated last week, it should have limited the nominations to those states that were unable to fill their quotas. By opening up the nominations to both the bar and the academia, instead of only the bench, and yet recommending only members of the bench for appointment, the approving authorities obviously acted in bad faith, though they now feign ignorance.

    A few decades ago, Nigeria was producing jurists of international repute: the Eliases, Udomas, Agudas, etc. Now the appellate courts, as the Kogi governorship case proved without a shadow of doubt, can hardly give judgements worthy of being quoted as precedence within and outside Nigeria. If the list of nominations in circulation is the best the NJC is willing to vouchsafe when it meets in two weeks, though the list comes through the FJSC, and regardless of whether it is still undergoing processing or not, then clearly what motivates the judicial authorities is anything but a need to reform and transform the judiciary. In fact, what is being enthroned is not just a conservative judiciary but a reactionary judiciary. The NJC should stop defending the indefensible, and condoning the dismal reasoning of both the Court of Appeal and the FJSC. It must ask itself why the entire exercise should not be redone, for the issue is not really about lopsidedness but about quality of jurists. And it must persuade itself and the hugely sceptical public that the present justices of the appellate courts can by their intellect and character salvage the dwindling reputation of the judiciary.

  • Appeal Court declares Albert winner of PDP senatorial primary election in A/Ibom

    Appeal Court declares Albert winner of PDP senatorial primary election in A/Ibom

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, on Thursday overturned the judgment of the Federal High Court in Uyo and declared Senator Bassey Albert of the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP ) as the winner of the party’s primary election that held in December 2014.

    In February this year, the Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, had sacked Albert, who is the incumbent Senator representing Akwa Ibom North East Senatorial District.

    One Mr Bassey Etim, who claimed he was the real winner of the party’s primary election, and was wrongly substituted with the Albert, had dragged incumbent senator to court.

    In delivering the judgment, Justice Fatun Riman of the Federal High Court in Uyo, had ordered Albert to refund all salaries and entitlements so far collected as Senator, as well as asked the Independent National Electoral Commission to issue the certificate of return to Etim as Senator representing the district.

    Albert had challenged the decision in the Court of Appeal in Calabar, and delivering judgment Thursday, the Presiding Judge, Justice S. J. Adah, with Justices Iheme Nwosu and J. O. K. Oyewole, declared that he was the winner, as his challenger Etim, lacked evidence to support his claim.

    Mr Mba Okweni, SAN, who represented Etim, hinted they would be heading to the Supreme Court to challenge the decision.

    The lawyer said, “They have nullified the judgment of the Federal High Court which declared Bassey Etim as the actual winner of the PDP primaries that was conducted on the 7th day of December 2014, and then that Albert was properly the candidate of the party.

    “Incidentally, Albert is still sitting in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, so he will continue until we test it further and know what the position of the Supreme Court will be. Sincerely within me, I feel that the judgment should be tested further until the Supreme Court makes a pronouncement one way or the other on the issue and some of the points that have been raised, which we feel are not properly placed. Then we can have a final statement on it. We believe strongly that if things continue the way they are going, impunity in our political parties would continue. A situation where elections were properly conducted and because somebody has the strength and government behind him, they sit down in government house and fill another result and remove the name of the winner cannot be allowed to remain like that. So we feel that until the Supreme Court, which is the apex court and final court in the land, review the evidence and take a position on it. The matter has not yet been laid to rest. We thank the Justices of the Court of Appeal for being able to come up with the decision early enough,” Okweni said.

    Albert’s lawyer, Oba Folaho Ojibara, said they had overwhelming evidence that his client was the legitimate winner of the primary election that eventually led to the 2015 general elections, which he won.

    “The issues before the before the Justices of the Court of Appeal were very clearly narrowed down. The kind of evidence that the appellant presented before the lower court was so overwhelming and the Justices of the Court of Appeal latched on to these bits of evidences. You must recall that the first respondent here Bassey Etim was the plaintiff at the lower court and law requires that he who has asked must prove and he was the one coming to court saying that he won the primaries and unfortunately for him, he had nothing to support his claims and that is what their Lordships of the Court of Appeal hammered on very strongly. Their Lordships were guided by their records and they looked at the avalanche of documents that the appellant presented in his matter. You must also remember that the appellant was a defendant and so the burden of was not on him, but he came to court, before the Federal High Court in Uyo and presented documents after documents, facts after facts, witnesses after witnesses, all to establish the incontrovertible fact that he won the primaries that led to the general election which he also won. So their Lordships of the Court of Appeal have affirmed the mandate of the people of that Senatorial District.

    “They overturned the decision of the Federal High Court and in so doing, they held very clearly that the decision of the Federal High Court was perverse because the decision was against the weight of evidence that was before the Federal High Court and that is what we are confronted with today. So it is a celebration for justice and something every Nigerian should be happy about,” he said.

    Akwa Ibom State legal adviser of PDP, Godwin Umoh, also said, “It shows clearly like the Justices of the Supreme Court had said that a political party is supreme. The decision of the party in relation to nomination and primaries, that decision is supreme and final. And we as a party had nominated Bassey Albert and we showed by credible evidence. I thank the court for doing a wonderful job. They were meticulous.”

  • Appeal Court reserves judgment in appeal against Saraki’s acquittal

    Appeal Court reserves judgment in appeal against Saraki’s acquittal

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has reserved judgment in the appeal by the Federal Government asking it to set aside the acquittal of Senate President, Bukola Saraki on charges of false assets declaration.

    A three-man panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Tinuade Akomolafe Wilson told parties, after they adopted their briefs of argument Tuesday, that the court would inform them when judgment was ready.

    The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), in a ruling on June 14 this year, discharged and acquitted Saraki on the 18-count charge of false assets declaration, among others, brought against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

    In his lead ruling on June 14, CCT;s Chairman, Danladi Umar upheld Saraki’s no-case submission and held that the prosecution was unable to prove it’s allegations against the defendant.

    Dissatisfied with the CCT’s decision, the Federal Government, through the CCB approached the Court of Appeal and sought among others, the voiding of the tribunal’s ruling.

    Details later…

  • Updated: Court orders DSS to produce Dasuki in Metuh’s trial

    Updated: Court orders DSS to produce Dasuki in Metuh’s trial

    The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS) to produce former National Security Adviser (NSA), Sambo Dasuki in the trial of ex-spokesman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh.

    Dasuki, considered by the appellate court as a relevant and compellable witness in the case, is expected to testify as Metuh’s witness.

    The Court of Appeal also ordered the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court to promptly sign a witness summons/subpoena, applied for by Metuh since December 2016, for Dasuki to appear and testify as his witness.

    The court equally ordered that proceedings in the case should immediately resume before the trial judge at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

    The appellate court gave the orders in a unanimous judgment of a three-man panel, delivered on Friday in an appeal filed by Metuh.

    Metuh’s appeal was against the ruling by Justice Abang in March this year, refusing his (Metuh’s) application for among others, an order directing the DSS’ DG to produce Dasuki (who is being held in DSS custody) to testify as his (Metuh’s) witness.

    Metuh is being tried with his company, Destra Investment, before the Federal High Court, Abuja on a seven-count amended charge in which they were alleged to have unlawfully received N400m from Dasuki, whille in office.

    Metuh, who is now conducting his defence, had in December 2016 applied for a subpoenaed to be issued on Dasuki, which the trial judge refused to sign.

    He again filed an application, seeking among others, to direct the DSS to produce Dasuki to testify as a defence witness. The trial judge also refused the application on the ground that Dasuki was not a necessary and compellable witness.

    In the lead judgment read by Justice Peter Olabisi Ige, the Court of Appeal resolved the four issues identified for determination in Metuh’s favour.

    The court allowed Metuh’s appeal; set aside Justice Abang’s ruling and held that it was not for the trial judge to decide for the defence which witness is relevant.

    On the first issue, the court held that it was wrong for the trial court to have held that Dasuki, whose name featured prominently in the charge against Metuh and his firm, was not a necessary and compellable witness on who a subpoena could be issued.

    The court said any person was a compellable witness in court proceedings.

    It identified non-compellable witnesses to include those covered by immunity under Section 308 of the Constitution and individuals certified to be of unsound mind, with no useful contribution to the proceedings.

    On the second issue, the court held that, as against the conclusion of the trial judge, the appellant was not required to disclose to the trial court the efforts he made without success, to bring the intended witness to court.

    On the third issue, the appellate court held that the trial judge wrongly applied the provision of Section 241(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA).

    It added that the use of the word ‘may’ in the provision did not give the trial judge the power to decide for a party what constitutes a relevant or necessary witness.

    On the fourth issue, the court held that the trial judge was at error to have concluded that the application to call Metuh was intended to delay proceedings.

    The appellate judge further held that the trial judge was wrong to have hinged his refusal of Metuh’s application on the provision of Section 396(4) of the ACJA, when Section 256 of the same law provides allowances on which parties in criminal proceeding could manoeuvre.

    The court also held that there is provision in the ACJA for the recall of witnesses or additional witnesses.

    It added that the finding of the trial judge, to the effect that the application to call Dasuki was a ploy to delay proceedings, violated the right of the appellant to ensure that the conduct of his case as he desires.

    Justice Ige said, in the lead judgement, that “there is no doubt that Col. Dasuki, who was mentioned in counts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 of the charge, was an essential witness in the case.”

    He noted that, since the prosecution, which filed the charge, failed to call him, the defendant, who felt he (Dasuki) was necessary to its case, should not be prevented from calling him.

    Other members of the appellate court panel that sat on the appeal are Justices Emmanuel Akomaye Agim and Mohammad Mustapha.

    The trial is expected to resume before Justice Abang on October 23.

    Meanwhile, two appeals by Metuh and his firm are still pending before the Supreme Court.

    The first is that filed by Metuh against the decision of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the trial court’s ruling, refusing his no-case submission.

    The second is that filed by Destra against the judgment of the Appeal Court, upholding the ruling by the trial court, that counts one and two of the charge were not strictly about contract, on which the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction.

    The Supreme Court has not given dates for the hearing of both appeals.

  • Pupil Tax: Appeal court adjourns church case against Ekiti

    Pupil Tax: Appeal court adjourns church case against Ekiti

    The Court of Appeal sitting in Ado-Ekiti on Wednesday adjourned the suit between Incorporated Trustees of the Ekiti Diocese of Catholic Church and Ekiti State government on the imposition of education tax on pupils.

    The Catholic Church had on 22nd April 2016 approached the State High Court on the imposition of development levies on pupils and students of private schools by the state government.

    Dissatisfied with the judgment of the lower court which favoured the state government, the Catholic Mission approached the appellate court to appeal the judgment delivered on 13th October 2016.

    At the resume hearing of the case at the Ado-Ekiti Division of the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, counsel to the Catholic Church, Chief Anthony Adeniyi told the panel expressed dismay with the filing of a motion for the amendment of government’s respondent brief.

    Adeniyi prayed the court to grant him adjournment to enable him study the fresh preliminary objection.

    The state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Kola Kolade, had earlier filed an application to amend the brief of the respondents.

    Presiding judge, Justice Olanrewaju Belgore, consequently adjourned the case till 16th October 2017 for definite hearing of the appeal.

  • Appeal Court urged to hear case against Reps member, Wayo

    Appeal Court urged to hear case against Reps member, Wayo

    …Appellant seeks hearing of appeal on his brief alone

     

    The Court of Appeal in Makurdi has been asked to hear an appeal pending against a House of Representatives member, Benjamin Wayo (representing Kwande/Ushango Federal Constituency of Benue State).

    The request is contained in a fresh motion filed by the appellant, Engr. George Nduul, who is challenging Wayo’s claim to being the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the 2015 legislative election.

    Nduul, in the motion filed by his lawyer, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), wants the court to hear the appeal he filed based on his brief alone, the respondents having failed to file their respondents’ briefs within the 30 days period allowed by the court’s rules.

    Listed as respondents in the appeal marked: CA/MK/16/2016 are Wayo, APC and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He said his brief of argument was filed on February 29, 2016; the 1st respondents (Wayo) served, for the third time, on July 3, 2017, while the 2nd and 3rd respondents were served on June 12, 2017.

    Nduul’s appeal is against the December 10, 2015 judgment by Justice Binta Nyako (then of the Federal High Court, Makurdi), in which Nduul’s suit, challenging Wayo’s qualification to participate in APC’s primary, was dismissed on grounds that it lacked merit.

    Nduul had alleged, in his suit, that Wayo did not comply with the APC’s guidelines by not paying necessary fees, the mandatory N2m, and was not issued with the required clearance certificate by the party’s screening committee to participate in the primary.

    He stated that upon enquiry, he discovered that Wayo’s appointment as Magistrate 11 was terminated by the Benue State Judicial Service Commission (BSJSC) for being of “doubtful integrity,” for “violating the code of conduct relating to judicial officers.”

    Nduul said, upon discovering that Wayo did not comply with the party’s guidelines, he appealed to the APC’s Appeal Committee for National Assembly primaries in Benue State, which allegedly voided Wayo’s candidacy and directed that he, having emerged second at the primary, be made the party’s candidate.

    He added that APC’s National Working Committee (NWC), acting on behalf of the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC), accepted the Appeal Committee’s report, approved his candidacy and directed that he should be issued with the necessary INEC forms as the party’s duly nominate candidate.

    Nduul said despite these development, some leaders of APC in Benue still proceeded to submit Wayo’s name to INEC as APC’s candidate, prompting him to sue at the Federal High Court, Makurdi.

    In his appeal, Nduul faulted the judgment of the Federal High Court, delivered on December 10, 2016, in which the court held that he failed to prove his allegations that Wayo was not qualified to stand for the election.

    Nduul, who raised about 11 grounds of appeal, argued that the trial court failed to consider all evidence he placed before it and allegedly went out of its way to fish for evidence on its own.

    He contended that “it is the law that the duty of a trial court is strictly limited and confined to the issues arising from the pleading.

    “A trial court is not allowed to go on a wild goose chase or embark on academic exercise in which all sort of questions are discussed at will without reference to pleading of parties, the evidence laid, the issues and admissibility and relevance of the evidence before the court.”

    Nduul urged the appellate court to, among others, set aside the judgement of the trial court, order Wayo’s sack and uphold the APC’s NWC’s decision, recognising him as the true candidate of the party.