The Nation Newspaper

Tag: interference

  • Kogi ACN faults ex-governor’s ‘interference’

    Kogi ACN faults ex-governor’s ‘interference’

    •Allegation is malicious, says Wada’s aide

    Kogi State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Chairman, Alhaji Haddy Ametuo, yesterday said the interference of former Governor Ibrahim Idris in the state was affecting the performance of the Idris Wada administration.

    The opposition party’s chairman, however, said he was not surprised by the turn of events in the state.

    Addressing reporters in Lokoja, the state capital, Ametuo noted that Kogi State would only move forward, if the former governor stopped interfering in the affairs of the state.

    The party chairman alleged that Idris was still calling the shots and churning out directives to the incumbent on the running of the state.

    He described the development as “most unfortunate”.

    According to him, no meaningful achievement can be recorded by the present administration in the state unless the former governor allows Wada to fully take charge of the affairs of the state.

    Ametuo wondered how the present government would perform when, 15 months after it assumed office, the settlement of election expenses and the Judiciary had not been resolved.

    The ACN chairman said the development was a setback to Kogi State.

    He berated the state government for distributing stipends, which it called “handouts”, to victims of last year’s floods in the state. The politician stressed that the victims were being short-changed.

    Ametuo noted that the payment of N3,000 to each flood victim was ridiculous, adding that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration in the state needed to assist them to overcome the hardship they experienced through the disaster.

    But Wada, through his Special Adviser on Media and Strategy, Mr. Jacob Edi, said the ACN allegation was malicious.

    He said the opposition should be concerned with how to resolve its leadership crisis rather than run “a progressive” government down.

    Edi said the Wada administration was too focused to be distracted by the “incurable ranting of the opposition”.

    The governor’s aide said the present administration would not allow itself to be drawn backwards by those he called “retrogressive elements”.

    He said the present administration has blazed the trail in the last 15 months, adding that the government did not only have a road map but also a take-off and landing plan.

  • APGA petitions CJN on Enugu CJ’s alleged interference

    The United States chapter of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA-USA) has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar, to prevail on the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Azubike Umezulike, to hands off the case between Ichie Jude Okoli and Sir Victor Umeh, the party’s National ChairmaThe petition was also sent to the American Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

    It urged the authorities to examine the position of the CJ on the matter. The party alleged that Umezulike might have used autocratic judicial acts in handling the matter.

    In a 16-page document by Mr. Okwukwe Ibiam, the General Secretary of APGA-USA, the party called the attention of various authorities to the ex parte order and the interlocutory injunction by the CJ against APGA National Chairman.

    The party noted that the action of the Chief Judge would disrupt the activities of the party.

    “Chief Justice Innocent Azubike Umezulike refused to vacate the same interim order after its term lapsed on Tuesday, July 31. Justice Umezulike rather extended the same interim order on August 1, to September 16, when he said he would declare a ruling, after a hearing on an application from the National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Sir Victor Umeh, to vacate same order,” Ibiam said.

    The party noted that in his ruling on September 16, Justice Umezulike said his interim order would “endure”, because a “…reflection of these cases is of course demanded”.

    APGA-USA expressed worry that the Chief Justice, on September 24, extended the ex parte order initiated on June 25 and withheld judgment pending the review of an application before the Federal Court of Appeal, Nigeria.

    It added: “The judge, however, made a volte face and delivered judgment on October 8, in the same matter, without waiting for the ruling from the Federal High Court.”

    The party noted that the actions contravene Rule 2 (2), and Rule 2 A (6) of the Code of Conduct for Judicial officers in Nigeria on the issuance and use of interim injunction, ex parte.

    Rule 2 (2), states: “We, at the APGA, cannot but conclude that the use and grant of the ex parte motion and subsequently an interlocutory injunction was with bias”.

    APGA-USA said an extension of the same order could entail gradual denial of justice.

    It alleged that Justice Umezulike could have used the judicial process and legal procedures to slowly but surely choke the life out of the office of the party’s National Chairman.

    “We ask you to use your good offices to bring this matter to closure as the business of political activity is the daily business of the people and requires daily attention, which the APGA constitution requires our National Chairman to daily supervise,” it added.

     

     

  • I won’t allow interference in Judiciary, says CJN

    I won’t allow interference in Judiciary, says CJN

    •Falana, Jacobs, Ananaba, Mogaji, others now SANs

    Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar yesterday promised progressive revolution in the judiciary.

    She also vowed to resist interference from other arms of government by upholding the rule of law and strict adherence to the Constitution.

    The CJN spoke in Abuja at the Special Court Session to mark the beginning of the 2012/2013 legal year, and the swearing-in of 25 new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN).

    She said the judiciary would continue “to retain its place as the last bastion of what is good, decent and Godly about humanity.”

    Besides, she said, the judiciary under her leadership will serve as a check on other arms of the government by interpreting the Constitution to determine their “extent and scope of powers and whether any action of any arm of government transgresses such limits.

    “It is the judiciary which has to ensure that the law is observed and that there is compliance with the requirements of law on the part of the government. Our courts should be Independent and subject only to the Constitution and the law, which they apply impartially, without fear, favour and prejudice. Without judicial independence, there can be no preservation of democratic values.”

    The new SANs are Human Rights Activist Femi Falana; former Dean of Faculty of Law Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Professor Yemi Akinseye-George; Ekiti State Attorney General Akinlaja Dayo Moses; Rotimi Oluseyi Oguneso and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs.

    Others are former Plateau State Attorney General, Professor Dakas James Dakas, Mrs. Joy Adesina, Mrs. Connie-Jean Aremu, Adekunle Theophilus Oyesanya, Henry Ogbodu, Paul Ananaba, Solicitor of Babcock University, Ilishan, Remo, Ogun State; Francis Chuka Agbu, and Ahmed Raji.

    There are also Ogwu James Onoja, Mahmud Abubakar Magaji, Selekeowei Larry, Aliyu Umar, Illo Katune Sanusi, Oluseye Samuel Opansanya, Garba Tetengi, Abeni O. Mohammed, Aduroja Oluwamuyiwa, Charles Obishai, Ndukwe Nnawuchi and Luke Chukwudi Ilogu.

    Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Isiaka Ajimobi (Oyo); former CJN S.M.A Belgore and deputy Governor of Delta State, Prof. Amos Utuama among others, attended the ceremony.

    Lamenting that there are an estimated 40,000 prisoners in Nigeria with about two-thirds of them not convicted, the CJN said the judiciary alone cannot ensure speedy trial without the prosecuting agencies playing their role.

    “The court cannot on its own prosecute criminal cases, there must be the willingness of all prosecuting agencies to prosecute cases brought before our courts especially high profile cases of corruption and all others”, she added.

    The CJN commended states that have introduced alternative punitive measures like community service, non- custodian sentences and probation, to decongest the prisons.

    “Implementation of these policies will no doubt be of great benefit to the government and the society at large,” she said.

    The CJN who promised speedy dispensation of justice in this legal year, also identified inadequate funding as one of the major problems confronting administration of justice.

    She regretted that the situation leaves judges at the mercy of state executives and politicians.

    “Unlike the federal judiciary that enjoys 90% of financial independence, inadequate funding and inaccessibility to funds appropriated to states’ judiciary in the budget, is a bane of administration of justice.

    “This situation calls for mutual and progressive partnership with the executive with a hope to finding a lasting solution to this lingering menace,” Justice Mukhtar stated.

    The CJN urged the new SANs to conduct themselves in line with the principles of the rule of law firmly anchored on the fundamental values of society.

    Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Okey Wali (SAN) called for a review of the criteria for the selection of new SANs.

    He said the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) should include the NBA President as a member.

    Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), commended the apex court for “profound judgments and rich jurisprudence”.