The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Court

  • Teacher, driver docked for defiling minor

    An Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on Wednesday remanded a music teacher, Wisdom Akpoaereme, and a school bus driver, Ibrahim Umaru, following their arraignment for alleged defilement of an eight-year-old girl.

    Magistrate K. O. Doja-Ojo ordered that the case file be transferred to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice.

    She adjourned the case till May 9.

    Also Read: Court remands man for defiling minor

    According to the police, Akpoaereme, 33, and Umaru, 39, had unlawful carnal knowledge of the child, a pupil of Atlantic Bay Preparatory School in Lekki, Lagos.

    The defendants were arraigned on a two-count charge of sexual assault.

    Prosecuting police officer, Sgt. Peace Chukwudi, told the court that the duo committed the offences between September 2017 and March 16 and 19, on the school’s premises.

    Chukwudi said: “Sometime in September 2017, Umaru indecently assaulted the eight-year-old girl by forcing her to hold his sexual organ inside the school bus.

    “On March 16, the second defendant, Akpoaereme, had unlawfully carnal knowledge of the same child inside the school music room.”

    According to the prosecutor, the offences contravened Sections 135 (1) and 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 and punishable under same.

    Akpoaereme and Umaru pleaded not guilty to the charges.

  • Melaye, accusers get May 10 court date

    •How they were picked up, by Force spokesman

    THE Police said yesterday that Senator Dino Melaye and the four suspects rearrested for alleged conspiracy and unlawful possession of prohibited firearms will be arraigned at the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi on May 10.

    The Force said the suspects would be arraigned in court for prosecution after completion of investigation.

    Their escape led the Inspector General (IG), Ibrahim Idris, to remove the state Police Commissioner and also deploy personnel from special unit of the Force to investigate their escape.

    Explaining  how the suspects were rearrested, the Force spokesman, ACP Jimoh Moshood, in a statement yesterday, said the principal suspects, Kabiru Saidu (a.k.a Osama) was rearrested in Bauchi State and Nuhu Salisu (a.k.a Small) was rearrested in Ganaja Village, Lokoja.

    Other suspects, who also escaped and others who facilitated their escape have also been arrested by personnel of the Force, who were deployed to the state.

    Moshood said: “As a result of intense raids, cordon and search operations carried out by the police team in some identified criminal hideouts and black spots in some locations in Kogi State and other states and working on active intelligence gathered on the whereabouts of the fleeing suspects, they were rearrested.

    “Kabiru Saidu (a.k.a Osama) from Dekina LGA but based in Anyagba (leader of the gang) was rearrested in Tafa Balewa Local Government Area in Bauchi State and Nuhu Salisu a.k.a Small (a member of the gang) was rearrested in Ganaja Village, Lokoja State.”

    Moshood added that the suspects who played various criminal roles in the escape of the six suspects and their suspected criminal accomplices have also been arrested and will be prosecuted along with the principal suspects in court.

    He said: “Musa Mohammed (a.k.a Iko) and Emmanuel Audu are also escapees, who were rearrested for criminal conspiracy and armed robbery.”

    Highlighting the roles played by some of the suspects, Moshood said: “John Beneche carried four of the escaped suspects: Kabiru Saidu (a.k.a Osama), Nuhu Salisu (a.k.a Small), Musa Mohammed (a.k.a Iko) and Emmanuel Audu after their escape to their criminal hideout at Ganaja Village, Lokoja.”

    The Force spokesman said during police trail on the fleeing suspects, Atowoju was arrested in the process of relocating four of the escaped suspects: Saidu, Salisu, Mohammed and Audu from their criminal hideout at Ganaja Village, Lokoja to another location to escape police re-arrest.

    “Danjuma Yunusa a.k.a O2 accompanied the principal suspect, Kabiru Saidu (a.k.a Osama) to the house of one Egga Ochai by Waterside, Lokoja.

    He said: “Egga Ochai harboured Kabiru Saidu (a.k.a Osama) in his house for two days and thereafter went to the village of the principal suspect in Dekina Local Government and brought one Abbas Haruna (his Mallam) to Lokoja.

    “Abbas Haruna is the Mallam of Kabiru Saidu (a.k.a Osama). He also orchestrated his movement from Lokoja to his home town at Tafa Balewa Local Government Area in Bauchi State, where both of them were arrested.

    “Gloria Audu is the sister to Emmanuel Audu. She harboured him for some days to enable him escape police arrest.”

    Moshood warned that the police would not relent in its efforts to check activities of unscrupulous politicians, adding that they must play the game according to the rules.

    He hailed members of the public for giving the police timely information that aided the re-arrest of the suspects.

    The spokesman said the force’s fight against crimes and criminality remained unequivocal and unwavering.

    Seidu had confessed that Melaye handed over to him a bag containing one AK47 rifle, two Pump Action guns and N430,000.00 to share with his boys.

     

     

  • Milan Group asks court to stop bank’s ‘illegal’ deductions  

    A firm, Milan Industries Limited, has urged the Lagos High Court to restrain Skye Bank Ltd from levying “illegal” charges on its account.

    The firm is also seeking a Federal High Court order declaring Mr Kunle Ogunba’s appointment as receiver/manager for the bank following a loan dispute, as illegal.

    It made its claims in two suits marked FHC/L/CS/463/18 and LD/5014GCMW/2018.

    The suits follow a loan granted by the bank with which the Milan Group part financed the construction of its five-star Intercontinental Hotels on Victoria Island, which is managed by IHG.

    According to the firm, it has till 2021 to pay back the facility, but the bank obtained an interim order on March 14, 2017 to take over the management of the hotel.

    However, the firm averred that Justice Babs Kuewumi of the Federal High Court vacated the order and struck out the bank’s receivership suit “in its entirety” against it last March 20.

    It stated: “The implication of the order of the court striking out the above action is that the interim order of March 14, 2017 by which Mr. Kunle Ogunba was managing Intercontinental Hotels as receiver/manager is automatically discharged.

    “…Milan Industries Limited immediately took possession of the hotels as well as the management of the hotels on the said March 20, 2018 at about 4pm.”

    At the Federal High Court, the firm is challenging “the legality of the appointment and operations of the purported receiver/manager (Mr. Kunle Ogunba) who was allegedly ‘illegally’ appointed prior to the maturity of the subject loan, which was to reach maturity in September, 2021.”

    At the Lagos High Court, the firm averred that “Skye Bank used the proceeds from the hotel to liquidate all sums the claimant allegedly owed it during the period of its illegal receivership.”

    It also sought the following reliefs, among others:

    “A declaration that Skye Bank’s continued ‘illegal’ and excessive charges, fees, interests and deductions being levied or charged to the company’s account amounts to a breach of contract on the assets of the company.

    “An injunction against continued charges of interest on the account of the company among others.”

  • Court remands driver for alleged manslaughter

    An Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State has ordered the remand of a 32-year-old truck driver, Kayode Oyebamiji, in prison custody for alleged reckless driving and causing the death of another driver.

    Chief Magistrate T.O. Shomade did not take the plea of the defendant, but ordered that he be remanded at Kirikiri prison.

    He adjourned the case till April 20 for bail application.

    Oyebamiji, who lives at 1, Billingsway Road, Oregun, Ikeja, is standing trial for alleged reckless driving and manslaughter.

    Prosecutor Raji Akeem told the court that the offence was committed on February 14 on Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Ikeja.

    He said the defendant drove his truck, registered as FKJ 19XW, in a reckless and dangerous manner and hit a pick-up van at the roadside.

    “The driver, Dare Adeniran, who was inside his van when the accident occurred, hit his head on the door and blood gushed out.

    “He was taken to hospital, but he died a few weeks later,” Akeem said.

    The offence contravenes sections 27, 28 and 29 of the Road Traffic Law of Lagos State, 2012.

  • Court remands teacher for allegedly defiling pupil

    A Kasuwan Mama Upper Area Court has ordered that a teacher, Moses Danladi, 23, be remanded in prison for allegedly defiling a seven-year-old pupil.

    The Magistrate, H. Lawal, gave the order after Danladi, of Kisaghyip Federal Low Cost, Bassa Local Government of Plateau State was arraigned on a one-count charge of gross indecency.

    The accused, however, pleaded not guilty.

    Lawal adjourned the case till May 9 for hearing.

    Police prosecutor Mr. E.A. Inegbenoise told the court that the victim’s uncle, Cpl. Zakka Peter, of III Division, Maxwell Khobe Cantonement, reported the matter at Bassa Police Station on March 15.

    He said the complainant told the police that the victim told him that her teacher molested her.

    Inegbenoise said the offence contravened Section 285 of the Penal Code.

  • Court: Jonathan’s cousin has case to answer

    FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan’s cousin, Robert Azibaola, has been ordered to defend himself in a fraud allegation of $40 million levelled against him and his company, One Plus Holding Ltd, by the Federal Government.

    According to a Federal High Court, Abuja, Azibaola must defend himself on two out of the nine-count charge preferred against him by the government.

    He was to defend himself on the two counts bordering on being in possession of and converting the sum of $40 million received from the office of the former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd) to personal use.

    Justice Nnamdi Dimgba made the order yesterday while ruling on the no-case-submission filed by Azibaola and his wife, Stella.

    The court, however, discharged and acquitted Stella of all the nine-count charge levelled against her.

    Dimgba, in discharging Stella, held that being wife to Azibaola was not enough to charge her with the offence since criminal liability was personal and not vicarious.

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the prosecuting agency in the matter, in 2016 preferred a seven-count charge against Azibaola, his wife, Stella and their company.

    EFCC said they received $40 million worth of contract from Dasuki.

    They were subsequently arraigned on June 7, 2016 and were admitted to bail for N500 million each.

    They were re-arraigned on April 27, 2017, this time on a nine-count amended charge.

    In the cause of the trial, the prosecution called 10 witnesses and tendered 27 documented evidences against the three parties and closed its case.

    Mr. Chris Uche (SAN), counsel to Azibaola and his wife, however, filed a no-case-submission.

    Uche insisted that the government had failed to establish a prima-facie case that would warrant his clients to enter a defence and prayed the court to discharge and acquit his clients.

    Delivering the court’s ruling on the no-case-submission, the judge held that two of the defendants had some explanations to do with regards to counts two and three.

    “It was claimed that the $40 million released from the office of the former NSA to Azibaola and One Plus Holding Ltd was meant for the procurement of tactical communication kits.

    “Counts two and three are basically the same, the difference is that count two borders on possession of the sum of $40 million while count three was hinged on conversion of the said amount.

    “Having reviewed the oral and documentary evidence tendered by the prosecution through its witnesses, this court holds the view that there is good reason for Azibaola and the company to proceed with their defence,” the court ruled

    The court noted that there was no evidence to show that the said tactical communication kits were supplied.

    “In the absence of any evidence to show supply of the tactical communication kits, the 1st (Azibaola) and 3rd (One Plus Holding) defendants are in a position to explain what the fund was used for.

    “On the whole, there is sufficient prima-facie case made out by the prosecution against the 1st and 3rd defendants.

    “The no-case-submission in respect of these two counts is refused,” the court held.

    The court absolved Azibaola and his company of any wrongdoing in counts one, four, five, six, seven, eight and nine.

    The judge adjourned the matter until June 4 for Azibaola to open his defence.

     

  • Lagos Beauty pageant: Court orders status quo

    The Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered parties to maintain the status quo in the Africa Beauty Queen International Pageant scheduled for today at the Oriental Hotel.

    Justice Hadiza Rabiu-Shagari made the order following an interlocutory application by founder of “Beauty of Africa International Pageant”, Mr. Daniel Opuene.

    Roses and Rubbies International Ltd, Precious Ogarekpe, and the Lagos Oriental Hotel Ltd are respondents.

    Opuene, through the firm of Creative Legal, sought an order restraining the defendants from “staging any pageant on March 30, 2018, under the name of ‘Africa Beauty Queens International Pageant’ or any other similar name likely to suggest that the first and second defendants’ business is similar with the plaintiff’s.”

    The applicant also sought to restrain them from “reproducing, publishing or distributing the pictures belonging to the plaintiff in the said defendants’ beauty pageantry activities or any other business pending the final determination of the substantive suit.”

    The court, on March 22, ordered the plaintiff to put the defendants on notice and adjourned hearing of the motion on notice.

    The plaintiff’s counsel, Mr Justin Ige, told the court on Wednesday that the defendants had not responded despite being served with the processes.

    She adjourned till April 17  hearing of the substantive suit.

     

     

     

  • N1.7b alleged fraud: Court grants First Nation Airline MD bail

    Managing Director of First Nation Airlines Kayode Odukoya has been granted bail by an Ikeja special offences court .

    Odukoya was arraigned on March 16, 2018 before Justice Dada for alleged theft and forgery by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    His company, First Nation Airlines and Bellview Airlines, are joined in the suit as second and third defendants.

    He was arraigned on a four count charge of theft of N1.7 billion and forgery of Certificate of Occupancy issued by the Lagos State Government.

    Justice Mojisola Dada granted bail to the defendant after taking submissions of counsels to the parties in the matter.

    Justice Dada granted bail to Odukoya in the sum of N10 million and two sureties in like sum.

    The judge, however, ordered him to produce two sureties who are land owners in Lagos State and must deposit title documents with the court and tax clearance for three years.

    The court also granted Odukoya a temporary release provided  he is able to deposit his international passport immediately with the court.

    Odukoya has two weeks to perfect the bail condition, failure of which the defendant will be remanded in prison custody.

    Justice Dada based her decision to grant bail to the defendant on eight principles.

    The court considered the probability of the defendant jumping bail or not,  probability of committing the crime, character of the defendant, strength of evidence, seriousness of the prosecution among others.

    Defence counsels  Olawale Akoni (SAN) and John Odubela (SAN) applied for bail for the defendant, saying their application was already before the court.

    They urged the court to grant him bail in liberal terms.

    The prosecutor, Zainab Ettu, said she was  not opposed to bail for the defendant.

    The EFCC had alleged that the CEO of the airlines forged the Memorandum of Loss of Lagos State Certificate of Occupancy registered as No. 33 at page 33 volume 1011 at the Lagos State Land Registry, Alausa, Lagos, in order that the document be acted upon as genuine and that the forged document was in respect of a property located at No. 29, Oduduwa St., Ikeja GRA, Lagos.

    Odukoya is alleged by the EFCC to have used the false document and also gave false information on oath concerning the loss of the certificate of occupancy at the Lagos State Land Registry.

    The anti-graft commission also said that on October 7, 2016, Odukoya stole and dishonestly converted to his own use N1. 7 billion belonging to Skye Bank contrary to Sections 85, 86(1) 278(1)(b), 285, 361(1),(a) (b), 363 and 364(1) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.

    Further trial has been adjourned till May 7 and 10, 2018.

     

  • Court jails pupils for defiling minor

    An Upper Area Court 3 sitting in Kasuwan Nama, Jos, the Plateau State capital, has sentenced two pupils, Halidu Musa, 15 and Ayuba Shuaibu, 17, to six months’ imprisonment each for defiling a minor.

    The judge, Yahaya Mohammed, said the light sentence on the four-count charge was meant to act as a deterrent to others.

    Mohammed said for a crime of criminal conspiracy, the accused would serve one year imprisonment or pay N3000 each, for a crime of trespass, they would serve one year imprisonment or pay a fine of N3000 each, for abduction, six months without a fine and for rape, six months without a fine.

    The prosecutor, A. Edwin, had told the court that the case was reported on February 6 to the state CID by Idris Ladan of Bokkos.

    He said the accused broke into the house at night, abducted the 12-year-old girl, took her to the bush and forcefully had carnal knowledge of her.

    ‘’The victim’s father heard her scream, ran into her room and found it empty. The neighbourhood looked for the girl that night, but surprisingly she came back home around 6 a.m., “Edwin said.

    The accused pleaded guilty and begged for mercy.

     

     

  • Court stops Sierra Leone’s run-off election

    A Sierra Leone court in Freetown has granted a request by a member of the ruling party for an injunction to delay the presidential election run-off scheduled for Tuesday.

    The party member, Ibrahim Sorie Koroma, filed for the injunction on Thursday, saying there was evidence of electoral fraud that needed to be investigated before the poll could go ahead.

    No new date has been set, even as former President Goodluck Jonathan arrived the country for an observer mission.

    Jonathan, who is leading the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) Election Observation Mission, arrived Freetown on Friday.

    Jonathan also led EISA to the first round of the elections on March 7.

    In the elections, none of the candidates polled required 55 per cent of votes to win at the first ballot.

    EISA had declared the process of the March 7 general elections as peaceful and credible.

    Opposition leader Julius Maada Bio, of the Sierra Leone People’s Party – briefly a former military junta leader – will be running against Samura Kamara of the ruling All People’s Congress, after neither of the two front-runners secured an outright majority in the first round.

    The largely peaceful nature of the election, and the fact that outgoing President Ernest Bai Koroma is willingly stepping down, is seen as a sign of how far Sierra Leone has come since a 1990s civil war characterised by the mutilation of civilians, the sale of conflict diamonds and the widespread recruitment of children as militia fighters.

    But tensions over alleged fraud in some districts, and complaints of police harassment against the electoral commission, have marred the process.