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  • Dino Melaye: What manner of politician?

    Dino Melaye: What manner of politician?

    The Kogi State flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Dino Melaye, is a controversial politician. Despite the controversies surrounding him, he remains a popular figure in Nigerian politics. But, he appears to be more popular on social media, where he has a massive following. Following his dismal performance in last Saturday’s governorship election , where he never exercised the right to vote for himself, Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI catalogues some of the controversies that he has courted during his political career

    Not a few supporters and members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in last Saturday’s governorship in Kogi State, Senator Dino Melaye, were disappointed that he opted to stay away from his Polling Unit 04, Iluafon Quarters, Ayetoro Gbede, in Ijumu Local Government Area.

      A massive crowd of supporters, journalists and other independent election observers had gathered at the unit to observe the PDP flag bearer cast his ballot.

     But, according to reports, Melaye failed to show up between 8.30 am when voting commenced at the unit and 2.30 pm when accreditation of fresh voters ended. He thereby missed the opportunity to cast his ballot in an election where he was vying to govern the state. He claimed that there were massive protests at the unit, as voters refused to be accredited, insisting that the result sheets should be made available for the electoral area.

    The PDP candidate chose to indulge in a social media controversy, rather than adding to his tally by coming out to vote. He revealed in a short video that went viral on social media last Saturday as the off-season election was underway. He alleged: “The result sheets have been filled and tampered with already and people have refused to be accredited; people have refused to vote. They are insisting that the plain result sheets must be returned to agents in accordance with the electoral laws.”

    Not surprisingly, the PDP candidate came a distant third in the contest, with only 46,362 votes; trailing behind Usman Ododo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was declared of the most election with 446,237 votes and Murtala Ajaka of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who came second with 259,052 votes.

    Both Ajaka and Melaye rejected the declaration of Ododo as the winner of the election. The SDP candidate has however indicated that he would not approach the court to contest the outcome of the election because it would be an effort in futility. Melaye, on his part, has called for the annulment of the election due to extensive rigging allegedly facilitated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The PDP candidate who spoke at a press conference in Lokoja, the Kogi State capital, on Sunday, criticised the conduct of the entire exercise, characterizing it as “disgraceful and detrimental”.

    No stranger to controversy:

    Not many Nigerians were surprised at the behaviour of Melaye last Saturday because he is not a stranger to controversy. He once admonished Nigerians never to be afraid of controversy as it is the road to greatness. He had reportedly taken to his X handle (then known as Twitter) in March 2021 to urge Nigerians not to be afraid of being controversial.

    In April 2018, Melaye jumped out of a police van to try and escape custody. This landed him in hospital. The news was everywhere that he had jumped from a moving police van.

    The ex-lawmaker said no breakthrough or advancement had ever been made in science, politics or religion without controversy. He wrote: “No breakthrough or advancement has ever been made in science, politics, or religion, without controversy.”

    He would be remembered for a long time to come because of the series of controversies he has been involved in.

    He is well known for his social media antics and singing songs taunting his political rivals.

    He loves the finer things in life. His Instagram profile features pictures of him posing in designer boutiques wearing bright-coloured trainers and tight jeans, or in front of a row of luxury cars.

    A leopard and its spots:

    He came to the national limelight in 2007 after he was first elected into the National Assembly. Melaye had exchanged blows with two of his colleagues, barely four months after he was elected into the House of Representatives to represent Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency of Kogi State. This was at the time the then Speaker, Mrs Patricia Etteh, was accused of awarding an N628 million contract to renovate her official residence and that of her deputy, Babangida Nguroje, in Apo Legislators’ Quarters, Abuja.

    This happened on September 20, 2007, at a public sitting of the David Idoko-led panel that investigated the alleged contract award. At that hearing, Melaye, a first-time lawmaker went into physical combat with Emmanuel Jime (Benue) and Samuel Sejoro (Lagos); a development that forced the panel to adjourn sitting for that day. The disagreement escalated when Idoko invited Mrs Etteh to the witness box to explain her role in the contract saga.

    According to reports, as the Speaker moved to the box, Melaye who had a few weeks earlier appointed the chairman of the House Committee on Information and National Orientation and some other supporters cheered and clapped. However, Jime, a member of the self-styled ‘Integrity Group’ got enraged and shouted “ole, ole” (meaning thief, thief). This angered Melaye who jumped up and got engaged in a verbal exchange with Jime that later degenerated into fisticuffs.

    Read Also:BREAKING: Dino Melaye loses local government to APC in Kogi

    Spat with Senator Tinubu:

    Melaye had during a closed-door session in July 2016 threatened to beat up a female colleague, Oluremi Tinubu, on the floor of the Senate. At the time, Senator Tinubu, now First Lady, was the lawmaker representing Lagos Central Senatorial District in the upper legislative chamber. This was even though both of them were elected on the same APC platform. The two federal lawmakers clashed after the then Kogi West senator urged the Senate to deal with its members who had offered to serve as prosecution witnesses in the forgery case against the then Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

    Melaye had reportedly accused the senators of working for the Presidency to undermine the upper legislative chamber. He said: “You should go and tell those who sent you that nobody, no matter who he is, can control this Senate.”

    When Senator Tinubu rose to speak, according to reports, the Lagos Central lawmaker expressed disappointment with Melaye whom she accused of always threatening people. She added: “I think he needs to know that senators here represents their constituencies and that there is no need to threaten anyone. We are seeking and working towards reconciliation; yet, you are busy issuing threats.”

    At this point, the then Kogi lawmaker jumped up from his seat and charged towards Senator Tinubu, saying: “Look, this is not Bourdillon (referring to the Lagos residence of the Tinubus). I will beat up..”

    But, for the intervention of other lawmakers, particularly from the Southwest geo-political zone, Melaye could have physically and mentally attacked Mrs Tinubu.

    Melaye denied the claim. Mrs Tinubu later said she forgave Mr Melaye but added that she would not be intimidated by anybody.

    Later, Melaye came to Bourdillon. He walked through the street. In a video, he boasted that nobody can arrest or molest him.

    Unflinching support for Saraki:

    Senator Melaye will be remembered for his unflinching support for Senator Saraki during the 8th National Assembly. His diehard support for Saraki then pitched him against the APC, the Presidency and other powerful individuals in the country.

    He seconded Saraki’s nomination as a candidate for the office of President of the Senate following a nomination made by Senator Ahmad Sani Yerima.

    On the floor of the Senate, Melaye was known for his outspokenness and criticism of the then-Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government. He was a member of the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory and the Committee on Aviation, among others.

    The Kogi lawmaker was reported to have once assured his then-Kwara counterpart that he would be the last person to leave him.

    The following is what Melaye reportedly wrote on his Facebook page at the time: “My brother and friend, Sen. Bukola Saraki. if you have one trillion supporters, I’m one…..If you have one billion, I’m one; if you have one million, I’m one. If you have one thousand, I’m one; if you have 10, I’m one; if you have only one supporter, I’m one and if you have no single supporter, it means I’m dead. No shaking. Four years tooo sure.”

     Academic turmoil:

    In March 2017, Melaye was caught in another controversy of not graduating from Ahmadu University Zaria and Harvard University. The online newspaper, Sahara Reporters, reported that Melaye did not have a degree from Harvard University as he had previously claimed. He had only attended a week-long seminar at the elite US university.

    The ABU graduation claim was later cleared by the Vice Chancellor and for Harvard University; Melaye defended himself that anyone who had attended an institution and received a certificate was a graduate.

    Confrontation with Bello:

    In April 2017, Melaye accused Kogi State’s Governor Yahaya Bello of being responsible for a failed assassination attempt on his life. The Kogi governor and Melaye were both members of the APC then, but frequently clash in what many see as a struggle for control of the state.

    Melaye has posted videos on social media of himself singing songs taunting the Kogi governor, earning him the nickname of the “singing senator”.

    The Federal Government later took Melaye to court for allegedly providing false information about the alleged assassination attempt on his life.

    Attempted recall:

    Melaye fought to save his political future when his constituents sought to recall him from the National Assembly in 2017 by challenging the process of the attempted recall. The petition of almost 200,000 voters, submitted in July 2017 had demanded his dismissal. The petition cited his “poor performance”. It also accused the senator of being un-reachable, because he had distanced himself from his constituents.

    Melaye argued that the signatures were not from Kogi West voters. Following a verification exercise, INEC confirmed that only 5.34 per cent of the signatures were of registered voters in his Kogi West constituency.

    The threshold of verified signatures needed for a recall to be successful is 51 per cent.

    Drama with DSS:

    After he was forcefully moved from the Police Hospital in Abuja to the Department of State Security Services (DSS) medical facility still within Abuja, Melaye created a scene by refusing to enter the main building of the DSS centre. Instead, he took a position on the floor within the premises and demanded from the security operatives the reason for bringing him to the DSS medical facility. Melaye refused to enter the hospital and decided to stay put on the bare floor in the compound of the hospital.

    Melaye was taken from the Police Hospital in Abuja on Friday, January 11 to the DSS facility. However, the senator said he would not enter the facility until he was told why he was moved from the previous hospital.

    Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood said the senator was moved from the police clinic to the facility after he and the police disagreed over his fitness to face trial. Police had indicated that the lawmaker was fit to stand trial, but Melaye insisted he needed more time to recuperate after suffering an earlier asthma attack when he turned himself into the police.

    The police had wanted Melaye to stand trial over allegations of his culpability in the attack on an officer in July 2018.

    A ‘Nollywood’ figure:

    The embattled Melaye has a  penchant for comedy. In one of his dramatic video clips which he uploaded on YouTube, Melaye is seen saying: “You speak the truth, you die, and you refuse to speak the truth you die; I have chosen to speak the truth and die. In another clip, he led a group of PDP protesting chieftains to INEC headquarters where he invoked “Holy Ghost Fire” on the commission if they failed to conduct a free and fair election.

    He achieved a new milestone when in December 2021 he played a leading role in a film titled, “Lemonade”.

    The politician who has also featured in songs showed off his acting skills in the movie. He acted alongside established names like Mofe Duncan, Kunle Remi, Linda Osifo and others.

    Stylish royal regalia:

    His unique sartorial taste, usually in blue Aso-Oke, with an orange cap knitted with beads to the upper chamber is one unusual thing about Melaye that the Red Chamber will live to remember.

    Senators, including his rivals used to shout: “Babalawo”, “Kabiyesi” and “masquerade,” from all corners, whenever the singing senator walked into the upper legislative chamber. Senator Peter Nwaboshi (PDP, Delta North) once raised a point of order, saying Melaye was not properly dressed, “he dresses like Babalawo”.

    Groundnut hawker:

    Melaye’s picture hawking groundnut was once on the internet, which generated a lot of interest depicting him as a personality that likes drawing attention to himself. In the picture which also appeared on YouTube, he was seen hawking groundnuts on the streets, a scene that attracted public attention.

    Melaye was born on January 1, 1974, in Kano. He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Geography in 2000. He furthered his education by earning a Master’s degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the same institution in 2002.

    He is from Ayetoro Gbede in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

  • BREAKING: Dino Melaye loses local government to APC in Kogi

    BREAKING: Dino Melaye loses local government to APC in Kogi

    The candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP), Dino Melaye lost his Ijumu local government to Ahmed Ododo of the All Progressive Congress (APC).

    Read Also: Kogi guber: Low turnout mars voting in Dino Melaye’s hometown

    According to the result declared by the LG Returning officer, Dr Samuel Obasan, APC won the local government area with 10,524 votes followed by PDP with 6,909 votes while ADC came third with 1,898 votes and the SDP garnered 356 votes.

    Details later…

  • Kogi West: Melaye appeals verdict

    SENATOR Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has appealed the August 23 judgment of the Kogi State National and State Houses of Assembly Election Tribunal, which voided his election.

    The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election, Senator Smart Adeyemi, had petitioned the tribunal, challenging Melaye’s victory.

    The tribunal upheld the petition, nullified the election and ordered a fresh poll within 90 days.

    In the notice of appeal he filed, Melaye wants the Court of Appeal, Abuja, to set aside the judgment.

    He raised 23 grounds of appeal, in which the faulted the majority decision of the tribunal.

    Read Also: Tribunal sacks Dino Melaye as senator

    In the notice of appeal dated September 5, Melaye is also seeking an order of the court, allowing his appeal and an order sustaining his objection to the petition or dismissing the petition and confirming his electoral victory.

    The appeal, which was filed by Rickey Tarfa (SAN), has Senator Smart Adeyemi, APC, PDP and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as respondents.

    Among the grounds of appeal are: whether the person sued at the tribunal, being Senator Dino Melaye, is the same as the person who contested the poll and declared winner of the election as contained on Form CF001 – Melaye Daniel Dino.

    “The provision of the law is that the name as used in Form CF001 is the only valid name that can be used to challenge the election of the appellant.”

  • I’ll revive Kogi economy in four years – Melaye

    Senator Dino Melaye, representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly, on Wednesday, pledged to revive the state economy and bring it to an enviable height within four years.

    Melaye disclosed this at a media interactive organised by the Kogi State council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) for governorship aspirants, at the NUJ Press Centre, Lokoja.

    Melaye, a governorship aspirant under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said the state was blessed with abundant resources but regretted the pervading poverty and penury owing to maladministration and widespread corruption.

    While noting that countries now depended on ideas to revolutionise their economies, he promised that Kogi, under his watch, would not depend on handouts in form of monthly allocations from the Federation Account to survive.

    Melaye, who is the Senate committee chairman on aviation, said he would revolutionise agriculture and transform the abundant mineral resources in the state into tangible products that would earn the state good income.

    He said that through ideas, galvanised and harmonised by quality leadership, Singapore was transformed from a Third World country to an economically-advanced nation, while Dubai became a high income generating city in United Arab Emirate.

    Read Also: Melaye, Suleiman pick Kogi guber nomination forms

    “In four years, we will revive the economy of Kogi and the state will become the envy of others. I have gone round the world and I am sure that I have the necessary capacity and exposure to achieve this.

    “I am talking about Kogi State and the generations yet unborn. Let us have public nursery schools, develop education, health and other core sectors to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, and restore the middle class.

    “The paradox of Kogi is that in spite of our abundance, we are poor. Kogi is too rich to be poor. We have to prepare our youths for the future through ICT. Today, ideas have overtaken oil.

    “We are focused and intellectually mobile with vision and mission to drive the process.

    “I will operate Kogi like an independent country. Kogi occupies 30,354 square kilometres of land, with a population of about 4.7 million people,” he said.

    The senator, who disclosed that he would contest the presidency of Nigeria in the next eight years, stressed that his governorship aspiration was divine.

    “I am an emissary sent to emancipate the people of Kogi State from economic cowards and financial scavengers,” he declared.

    NAN

  • A burial to remember

    Keeping an eye all the time on the Rolls Royce, the Jaguar, the Bentley, the Maybach, the Lamborghini, the Alfa Romeo and the custom-built Mercedes Benz, the Cadillac and their lesser cousins, to say nothing of a collection of prizeless gold jewelry and the finest time pieces watches ever made, to say nothing of  proceeds from his money-spinning compilation on anti-corruption and his chart-bursting album, must be stress enough even for the zestful Senator Dino Melaye (PDP, Kogi West).

    To this vast acquisition, his fellow lawmakers, political associates, grateful contractors, diverse supplicants in one guise or another, and his teeming supporters, have now added 104 cows, their contribution, they said, to the burial expenses for his mother, Deaconess Comfort Melaye, who passed away recently.  I suspect the number will have since multiplied.

    Only a dozen or so of the cows are of local breed, I gather.  The rest are imports from Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Botswana and New Zealand, prized for their milk and their fecundity, and even more so their meat, always finger-lickin’ delicious whether boiled, roasted, fried or barbecued.

    But in most communities in Nigeria today, and certainly in Melaye’s constituency, cows are not exactly the most welcome of animals, no matter their pedigree or the culinary pleasures advertised for them.  A cow or two might be tolerated.  In larger numbers, they are considered a menace to agriculture, and a good many of their minders have given herders a very bad name.

    But don’t pity Dino.  And don’t blame the donors.

    From direct as well as incidental experience that, on an occasion of that kind, there would be tens of thousands of mouths to feed from near and far, for an entire week or longer.  Beef may have become a vanishing commodity in many a home, but the burial of a senator’s mother should serve as an occasion to remind the public of the good old days that would be brought back if only they would vote wisely in the next election.

    Still, there were formidable issues of logistics to resolve.  Where would the cows be kept until they were ready for slaughter?  You couldn’t slaughter all of them anyway, even if residents of the entire local government area descended on Aiyetoro Gbedde.  So, what would you do with the rest?  How do you ensure that they did not stray onto adjacent farms and devour all the crops?

    The gifts that poured into Aiyetoro Gbedde did not consist entirely in cows, as Melaye, who enjoys a reputation for transparency and full disclosure, will reveal at the appropriate time.  Hundreds of sacks of rice and beans and gari and yam flour and cans of cooking oil jostled for storage space with thousands of cartons of beer and crates of soft drinks and boxes of pasta.  Goats and sheep and turkeys and hens came in even richer profusion.

    How they ferried in all that stuff through some of the worst roads in Nigeria is a well-guarded secret.  Sorting that vast array without the benefit of a mainframe computer or a computerised warehouse would have fazed even the chief of logistics of any army at war.

    Not our Dino. He rose magnificently to the occasion, drawing on his vast experience in the National Assembly.

    Indeed, there is no greater attestation than the occasion of the respect, love, esteem and affection his people have been showering on the distinguished senator and best-selling author and composer.

    Those who are forever denigrating and vilifying him now know better.  If ever there was a man of the people, that man is Dino.

    And yet, it was not long ago that some misguided people were gullible enough to allow themselves to be recruited into a plot to recall him from the House of Representatives, alleging that he was incurably delinquent and lacking in all the parliamentary arts.   The plot failed miserably.  Now the joke is on the plotters.

    Ensuring that everyone in that vast assemblage of sympathisers ate and drank as much as they wished was no easy task.  But it was accomplished with nary a hitch.  There was no limit to the number of servings they could have, nor the quantity the usual suspects could take home by the bucketful.

    To ensure that there was no stampede, the type that could be expected in a parlous economy in which yesterday’s necessities have become luxuries, food service was decentralised.  I gather that the uncompleted stadium built by his predecessor Smart Adeyemi in Kabba, 13 miles away, served as one of the reception centres.  That is an uncommon instance of political reconciliation.

    From mobilisation to superb execution, one shrewd observer noted, the whole thing had about it the aspect of a Constituency Project, the controversial undertaking that the National Assembly has enshrined in its manual of operations. All that remains, the fellow said, is a joint resolution of the House and the Senate to accord the burial of a parent, wife or husband of a lawmaker the status of a Constituency Project. He says he is almost certain that it will enjoy the unanimous support of the entire Assembly.

    The querulous in our midst will kvetch as is their wont.  Let them chafe.  One day, they will finally grasp the elementary truth that those who sacrifice so much to make laws for the good governace of our country ought to have their every need met by society.

    In the countryside, churches are usually just one short step away from insolvency.  So, burials of well-connected notables are propitious events, more so since they occur infrequently. Church officials have learned how to mine them to the last Naira.

    I recall the burial of the mother of an officer from the most lucrative of the para-military services at a nondescript village church several years ago.  Colleagues of the bereaved officer descended on the village in numbers that practically overwhelmed it.  Inside the church, it was standing room only.  There were more people outside than inside.

    Crisp banknotes, sometimes bundles of them, filled the collection plates during the thanksgiving, only to be emptied into more commodious receptacles for a fresh collection.  At the invitation of the officiating priest, friends, relations, associates, former classmates, in-laws, former golf partners neighbours, anyone who could be linked to the bereaved, however tangentially, were invited, one group at a time, to head to the altar to give thanks.

    Then it was the turn of those who had come from Lagos, from the state capital, from Abuja and points in between, not forgetting those who had come from abroad and were expected to express their thanks in foreign currencies.

    When he had exhausted every possible combination and permutation of those in attendance (algorithms had not come into popular use back then), the officiating priest gently urged all those who wanted the work of the Lord to prosper to proceed to the altar with their offerings.

    I will be surprised if the commemoration service at Aiyetoro Gbedde, did not follow that pattern. Given the roll call of those attending, their status and their power and their wealth, and the sheer splendour of the occasion, the Apostolic Church of the Lord (Oke Ayo Assembly) and indeed the town will never be the same again.

    I can almost hear the reader asking:  What is going to happen to all the cows and sheep and goats and turkeys and hens that were not slaughtered, and to the food items that were not cooked?

    Dino said in one facetious moment that he might have to join the Myetti Allah Cow Breeders Association so as to profit from the Federal Government’s projected RUGA project.  Don’t believe him.  The future of the project is uncertain in any case.

    He has since decided to enter the impending race for governor of Kogi to take out the bumbling incumbent, rather than bide his time and win back the presidency for the PDP in 2022.

    The surplus from the burial could spell the difference between victory and defeat.

  • Melaye did not jump out of a moving vehicle – Witness tells court

    A Prosecution witness told an FCT High Court that Sen. Dino Melaye did not jump out of a moving vehicle on April 24, 2018

    A police driver with the Inspector-General of Police Special Tactical Squad, Inspector Abana Mallum, while testifying, said:”anyone who said Melaye jumped out through the window, is a liar.”

    Melaye, who represents Kogi West senatorial district in the National Assembly, is charged before Justice Sylvanus Oriji, sitting in Apo,, by the police with six counts bordering on attempted suicide, attempt to escape from custody and damage of police property.

    He was said to have committed the alleged offence on April 24, 2018 while being conveyed by the police to Lokoja, Kogi.

    The police alleged that Melaye sat on the ground, holding a substance in one hand, threatening to drink it to kill himself and implicate police officers.

    He was further alleged to have broken the windshield of the vehicle in which he was being conveyed to Lokoja with his elbow and caused damage to police property.

    The offence, the prosecution said contravened the provisions of sections 148,153,173,231, 326 and 327 of the Penal Code.

    The witness, made this known while being cross examined by counsel for Melaye, Benson Igbanoi, who held the brief of Dr Mike Ozekhome,SAN.

    He stated that the police team conveying Melaye to Lokoja took off from the Abattoir office of the IGP squad and was intercepted at the Area 1 roundabout in Abuja by a Hilux van.

    Read Also: Adeyemi sues Melaye over Kogi West election

    Mallum, who testified as the second prosecution witness (PW2), informed the court that the bus he was driving was blocked by an unknown van that someone in the bus forcefully opened the door.

    He said Melaye was seated in the second row on the left side of the vehicle.

    He said that there were six other policemen, including the team leader, ASP Sunday Ibrahim.

    The witness told the court that he did not see the senator holding a gun at the scene of interception by the Hilux van.

    Mallum, however told the court that Melaye held something in his hand but he could not identify what it was.

    ” I don’t know where he got the thing from,” he said.

    The police inspector further informed the court that the police team chased the Hilux van caught up with it at the Yar’Adua Centre.

    “We caught up with them near Yar’Adua Centre.

    “Some of them ran into the bush behind the National Mosque. Only one person was eventually arrested there.

    “I don’t know the name of that person. I don’t know if that person was charged to court for any offence. I don’t know how many of them escaped; I only know one was arrested.

    “Anyone who says three person were arrested, that person is telling lie,” Mallum told the court.

    Meanwhile, Justice Oriji has adjourned till May 28, for continuation of hearing.

    NAN

  • I heard Dino threatening to kill himself, implicate police – Witness

    A witness, Insp. Abama Mallum on Thursday told an FCT High Court that he heard Sen. Dino Melaye shouting that he would kill himself and put the police in trouble.

    The witness, Mallum, driver with the IGP Special Tactical Squad, said that he overheard Melaye, make the threat while attempting to escape for police custody.

    He made the allegation while testifying in the ongoing trial of Melaye for attempted suicide; attempt to escape from custody and damage to police property, filed against Melaye.

    Melaye, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District, is facing trial on six counts of attempted suicide; attempt to escape from custody and damage to police property.

    The witness informed the court that while on duty on April 24, 2018, Asp. Amos Boka, told him to convey Melaye and some police officers to Lokoja.

    “As we moved around 2 pm by Area I roundabout, a white Toyota Hilux blocked me, I applied the brakes. The vehicle knocked off my side-mirror.

    Read Also: Breaking: Masked policemen whisk away Senator Dino Melaye

    “I heard the Senator shouting at the officers. I then heard the sound of a glass breaking.

    ”All of a sudden, I Sen. Melaye jumped out of the vehicle, shouting that he would not go to Lokoja.”

    The witness alleged that Melaye had a sharp instrument in his hands and he was shouting: ”I will kill myself and put the police in trouble.

    “At this point, the police officers pleaded with the defendant to get back in the car but he refused.

    “A crowd had also started gathering in Area I. I was ordered to put the car in reverse and go back to the office,” he said.

    Mallum alleged that a white van blocked the car he was driving.

    Counsel to the defendant, Dr Alex Izinyon, SAN, requested the court go to the car park where the vehicles tendered as exhibits were kept so that the witness can identify the car.

    Justice Silvanus Oriji then adjourned the case to until May 27 for cross-examination.

    NAN

  • Alleged falsehood: Absence of prosecution stalls Dino Melaye‘s trial

     The trial of the Sen. Dino Melaye in an FCT High Court , Maitama was on Tuesday stalled due to the absence of the Prosecution Counsel, Mr Shuaibu Labaran.

    Melaye, the senator representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, is charged with two counts bordering on giving false information to the police.

    The Federal Government arraigned Melaye, alleging that he, sometime in April, 2017 deliberately gave false information to the police.

    At the resumed sitting, Mr Abubakar Mustapha who held brief for Labaran, told the court that the matter was for cross-examination of prosecution witness.

    He however pleaded with the court, saying the matter cannot proceed as there was a communication gap between him and the lead counsel, Labaran who was absent.

    He also informed the court of the prosecution witness was also not in court and that he was supposed to be cross-examined today by the defence counsel.

    He, therefore, prayed the court for an adjournment.

    The defence counsel, Mr Olusegun Jolaawo, opposed the application for adjournment and told the court that “On Jan. 18, this matter came up with the same excuse.

    Read Also: IGP Idris plans to arrest, inject me to death – Dino Melaye

    “The reason why the matter could not go on that day was that the same witness was absent in court and no tenable reason was given this is the second time on record as a witness who is in the box is absent from court.

    “The witness has an obligation to make himself available on every adjourned date, whether court sits or not until your lordship orders his discharge ,We could not carry out cross-examination majorly because he is absent from court” he said.

    Mr Jolaawo reminded the court that “Section 215 of the Evidence Act further clarifies on the issue of the order and direction of examination, by the following subsections:

    According to Mr Jolaawo, this section of Evidence Act gives them the right to cross-examine a witness.

    The judge, Justice Olasumbo Goodluck, after listening to Jolaawo’s submission adjourned until July 3, July 4 and July 10.

    Goodluck warned that this would be the last time she would be adjourning the matter.

    NAN

  • Adeyemi sues Melaye over Kogi West election

    A FORMER Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) President, Senator Smart Adeyemi has filed a petition against the election of Dino Melaye for Kogi West.

    Adeyemi, who had twice represented the senatorial district, said a lot of inflation of votes and over-voting were perpetrated at the polls and even at the collation centre.

    He also alleged that with the Certified True Copies of results at his disposal, it was evident that mutilated figures were announced in favour of Melaye.

    He said contrary to a ruling of the Federal High Court, obtained by Melaye, that the results for Kogi West District be collated in Kabba (the headquarters of the district), INEC for no other reasons moved the collation to Lokoja, which led to manipulation of results.

    He asked the Kogi State Election Petition Tribunal to cancel the results and order the conduct of a fresh senatorial poll for the senatorial district.

    He said: “That a lot of inflation of votes and over-voting were perpetrated at the polls and even at the collation centre to ensure that the 1st Respondent (Melaye) is declared as winner.

    Read also: Kogi West: Melaye returned, defeats Smart Adeyemi

    “The petitioner avers that the collation and declaration of the results of the election was done by INEC and its officers at Lokoja contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act.

    “In the circumstance, false and fabricated entries were made in the Forms EC8A in the various wards of the Kogi West Senatorial District and by this act invented well over 18,000 votes in favour of Melaye

    “That significant instances of substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Act and arbitrariness were perpetrated at the polling units by agents of the 2nd Respondent (the People’s Democratic Party) and INEC to effect the voting of Melaye by allowing manual voting and allowing unregistered voters and under-age to vote in six local government areas of the seven local government areas of Kogi West Senatorial District.”

    He sought a “declaration that the Certificate of Return issued by the INEC to Melaye as the  winner of senatorial election for Kogi West Senatorial District held on February 23, 2019 is null and void and of no effect whatsoever”.

    He asked for an order “cancelling the results of the six local governments in the district, namely Lokoja Local Government, Kabba/ Bunu LGA, Ijumu LGA, Yagba West LGA, Yagba East LGA and Mopa-Amuro LGA for non-compliance with the Electoral Act and for the 1st  respondent not being elected by majority of lawful votes due to over-voting”.

  • Melaye damaged 2 police vehicles while attempting to escape – Witness

    A prosecution witness on Friday, told an FCT High Court in Apo, Abuja that Sen. Dino Melaye, damaged two police vehicles in an attempt to escape from custody.

    The witness, ASP Dennis Agbi, member of the IGP Special Tactical Squad, made the allegation while testifying in the ongoing case of attempted suicide, attempt to escape from custody and damage to police property, filed against Melaye.

    Melaye, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District, is facing trial on a six counts of attempted suicide, attempt to escape from custody and damage to police property.

    The witness informed the court that while on duty on April 24, 2018, a white-coloured Toyota Hilux with Registration No. MKA 603 GY, was brought for him to record as exhibit.

    He further told the court that when he inspected the evidence, he discovered that the right headlight of the van and part of the vehicle bumper were damaged.

    Agbi told the court that he marked the Hilux as exhibit NO. CER/STS/11/2018A in his records.

    Read Also: Saraki, Melaye, Murray-Bruce urged to surrender

    The white-coloured Toyota Hilux with Registration No. MKA 603 GY brought to an FCT High Court

    He said that the second vehicle was a white Hiace bus with front right side mirror broken, and the left side back window glass, broken.

    The witness told the court that the bumper CER/STS/11/2018B in his records.

    After the inspection of the vehicles by the judge, they were admitted and marked as exhibits by the court.

    The Prosecution Counsel, Mr Jovi Oghojafor, said that the Certified True Copy of the records of exhibit was not available to be tendered in court.

    He further requested for an adjournment, to enable him to bring it at the next adjourned day.
    Justice Silvanus Oriji adjourned the case until May 16, May 27 and May 28.