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Tag: Keyamo

INEC right on PDP candidate, say Falana, Keyamo

Frontline lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has said the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)to recognise the candidate of the Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jimoh Ibrahim, is right.

Last Thursday, INEC endorsed Ibrahim’s candidacy after an Abuja High Court declared him the authentic PDP candidate.

The electoral umpire had earlier recognised the candidate of the Ahmed Markafi-led faction, Eyitayo Jegede.

Falana said: “INEC has merely obeyed a court order.

“INEC has obeyed an order of a court pursuant to a valid and subsisting judgment.

“You want INEC to disregard the judgment?”

He said it was wrong for the Markafi-led PDP to seek a restraining order from another court of equal status.

He said: “Once there’s an order, you can only go and set aside the existing one.

“You can’t go and start another one. That’s what causes conflicting court order.

“You can’t go and initiate a process that will set one court in collision with another. It’s primitive. It’s not done in any civilised society.

“If there’s a judgment against you, you go to that same court to set it aside.

“You don’t go and file a fresh action in another court, and thereby set the courts on collision course, which may result in conflicting court orders.”

He said since the Markafi faction had appealed the judgment, it should have waited for the party’s outcome.

“There’s an appeal against the judgment of the Abuja court.

“No other person can go to another court, a lower court, to set aside the judgment of a court of coordinate jurisdiction. It’s not done.

“And I don’t blame the judges, like the judge in Akure, because nothing happened to those who gave conflicting orders in the PDP leadership crisis the other day. That’s why this mess has continued.”

He urged Governor Olusegun Mimiko to discourage his supporters from protesting because he became a governor after a court pronouncement.

He added: “You can’t take any step that will subvert the rule of law. What do they expect INEC to do? To disregard the order of a court because of sentiment and rely on expatiate order? No responsible organisation does that.”

Festus Keyamo also supported Falana’s position, insisting that the electoral umpire followed the law.

“There are conflicting orders. There’s no amount of emotion or protests that can change that. It’s a purely legal matter.

“It doesn’t matter the presence of a political group. There are two conflicting orders. INEC is in complete order to effect any of the orders until the Supreme Court decides.”

October 31, 2016
It’s illegal for Ikpeazu to remain as Abia governor, says Keyamo

LAGOS lawyer Festus Keyamo has said the continued stay in office of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu as Abia State governor is illegal.

In a statement yesterday, Keyamo said the judgment of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, which nullified the nomination of Ikpeazu as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the 2015 governorship election in Abia State and his subsequent election as governor, ought to stand.

He said the court ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to Dr. Sampson Uchechukwu Ogah, who scored the second highest number of votes in the primary which produced Ikpeazu.

The statement reads: “A thorough scrutiny of the judgment of the court will reveal that, contrary to widespread opinion that Dr. Ogah’s case was that Dr. Ikpeazu presented forged tax papers to the INEC, his case was simply that Dr. Ikpeazu apparently rushed to pay all his backlog of taxes, just before the elections; yet, he swore to a false affidavit and supplied false information to the INEC that he paid his taxes as at when due. It was based on this false information that the court nullified his candidature.”

Analysing the development in Abia State, Keyamo said he had carefully listened to various arguments on the immediate issuance of a Certificate of Return to Ogah by the INEC in strict compliance with the judgment of the court.

According to him, contrary to opinions expressed in certain quarters, there was no judicial decision or statutory provision preventing the INEC from complying immediately with the orders of the Federal High Court.

He said: “The provision of Section 143(1) of the Electoral Act, Part VIII, which gives Dr. Ikpeazu (or any other office holder for that matter) 21 days within which to file an appeal against an adverse judgment (and to remain in office until the appeal is determined) applies only to post-election matters before election tribunals or the Court of Appeal and not pre-election matters, as in this case.

“In the circumstance, the INEC acted legally and correctly by instantly issuing a Certificate of Return to Dr. Ogah.”

The lawyer noted that it would have been permissible for Ikpeazu to continue in office as governor, pending the outcome of the appeal, despite the judgment of the Federal High Court (and the nullification of his Certificate of Return), if Ogah had not been issued a Certificate of Return instantly.

He averred that having been issued a Certificate of Return, it was constitutionally abnormal and legally paradoxical that a person with a validly issued Certificate of Return should not occupy that office immediately, and that the person with an invalidated Certificate of Return continued to occupy that office.

The statement added: “That is why the Interim Order restraining the Chief Judge of Abia State or any other judicial officer from swearing in Dr. Ogah is a non-sequitor as the judgment of Abang, J. has already been complied with by the INEC.

“The scenario we have now is that of a person, without any document entitling him to that office, occupying the office of Governor of Abia State, whilst a person who has both a valid court judgment and a valid Certificate of Return is unable to assume office as governor of the state. Let the world know today that Dr. Okezie Victor Ikpeazu is operating illegally as Governor of Abia State and all his actions, orders and anything done in that capacity are null, void and of no effect.”

July 14, 2016
Why Jonathan should be voted out, by Keyamo

Rights activist Festus Keyamo has said it would be wrong for Nigerians to re-elect President Goodluck Jonathan owing to his many failings.

He accused Jonathan of failing in security, economy and infrastructural development.

Keyamo, who questioned what he described as the conspiracy of silence among the elite, said the resort to ethnic and religious sentiments by the president and his campaigners would not help his cause.

Keyamo, in a statement yesterday, faulted the president’s claim to be fighting corruption, insecurity and to have improved the economy.

Keyamo, who is prosecuting the case of money laundering against former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode, wondered why Jonathan was comfortable among people, whose integrity was under question.

He argued that the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen Muhammadu Buhari, was a ready and better alternative to Jonathan.

His words: “We have a president, who has no single appetite to fight corruption – yes, none. Imagine a campaign that is dominated by the theme of corruption, yet the President has decided to appoint a person facing trial for money-laundering as his director of Media and Publicity.

“If nobody would say it, I will say it, because I am the one prosecuting the fellow in court and the case has been adjourned to February 23 and 24 for trial.

“Part of the lies told is that the fellow has been freed, whereas some of the counts in the charge were just struck out and the court held that he has a case to answer on some other counts. Yet, nobody is asking the president these hard questions.”

He added: “Before Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Boko Haram was nothing, but a rag-tag group of extremists living in enclaves like Sambisa, while our proud military boys patrolled the towns. Now, under Jonathan, the reverse is the case.

“One obvious flaw is that our president has lost control of the military and the top hierarchy of the military is merely feeding fat on this unfortunate situation and the president seems to be totally helpless in the face of this.

“The president is already sounding like a broken record. He says he has made the rails to function again. He mentioned this so much that you imagine that he was primarily elected to revive a few train lines. It sounds very funny when you hear such things, whereas the primary duty of government is the protection of lives and property.

“If that primary duty fails, then the government has failed. It is like an undergraduate hoping to be promoted to the next level by barely scraping through the ‘electives’ and failing the core courses. It will never happen. So, is the president providing train coaches to be transporting the dead bodies from the North to the South? Are the trains to be occupied by living human beings or dead human beings?

“All the personal attacks on the person of Buhari in the last few weeks have only convinced me that he is the best available option at this time. Anyone on the weaker side in any argument always resorts to personal abuses and attacks.

“Have you noticed that on corruption? The only accusation against Buhari is that he was too high-handed in fighting corruption in the past? In other words, nobody can/has accuse him of lacking the courage, zeal and will to fight corruption.

“On the other hand, the president eats, sleeps and wakes up with corruption.

“In one of his famous interviews, he did not even see stealing as corruption. That is why he does not see the point why he should not appoint a person standing trial for corruption as his director of Media and Publicity. He just does not care.

“So, Nigerians, we must decide what we want. When Buhari fought corruption and was supposedly high-handed, he was ruling with Decrees. Now, he has the constitution, the National Assembly and the judiciary without ouster clauses to guide him.

“It is, therefore, only an idiot that will believe the propaganda that he would throw everyone suspected of corruption into jail. I feel so sorry at times for the gullible masses of this country, who fall for such cheap propaganda. But it is his type of appetite and revulsion against corruption that we so dearly need at this time.

“You may say whatever you like about Buhari. But in terms of the character, the steel, the competence to lead the nation out of this period of insurgency, nobody can compare a Goodluck Jonathan to a General Buhari.

“Just imagine the service chiefs (who were probably in secondary school when Buhari and others fought the Civil War) sitting in front of Buhari to brief him about the situation in the Northeast, and attempting to mislead him about movements of artillery, brigades or troops and, the strategy against the enemy!”

January 19, 2015
El-Rufai, Keyamo probe $9.3m cash

Former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, raised yesterday posers on the $9.3million arms deal.

He said the botched arms procurement might not be for the purpose of national security.

El-Rufai alleged that the Boko Haram insurgency benefited President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The ex-minister, who spoke in a statement through his Media Adviser, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, asked the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, why his private jet was used for the arms errand.

Said he: “It is pertinent that we invite the Federal Government to reflect on its role in this episode. Our country needs to bolster its military and security forces with the material resources it needs to defeat insurgency and restore security. This will require arms imports.

“But should Nigeria violate the arms export regulations of other countries in this endeavour? Should the Federal Government recklessly impair and jeopardise diplomatic relations by conducting covert arms purchases in friendly countries without the consent of their governments?

“Such conduct invariably leads to suspicions that such covert arms procurement may not be for the purposes of national security.”

El-Rufai urged Nigerians to show more interest in the arms deal than the position of the Federal Government.

The statement added: “This instance of arms procurement outside official channels amid an escalating insurgency must concern every patriot.

“In his House of Commons statement last week, Mallam El-Rufai alluded to the clear implications of the likely link between governmental murkiness and the escalation in the insurgency.

“The government has tried to explain away its incompetence in upholding security by blaming insurgency on the major opposition party.”

The former FCT minister alleged that the Boko Haram insurgency was benefiting the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The statement said: “But it is becoming increasingly clear to many that this insurgency is benefiting the ruling party and the incumbent president by providing them a pretext to postpone elections and, at the minimum, disenfranchise large swathes of the population that have never supported the PDP or voted for Jonathan.

“Mallam Nasir El-Rufai urges every Nigerian to be vigilant in these troubled times. The tragedy of mindless terror should not be allowed to become an endless catastrophe because of narrow political calculations.”

The ex-minister tackled the CAN President, Pastor Oritsejafor, on the involvement of the cleric’s private jet in the botched arms deal.

The statement said: “Since abuse is not argument and is incapable of displacing fact, Oritsejafor may care to answer if the jet involved in the scandal is the same one that was “donated” to him in 2012?”

An activist-lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo and a group, Societal Rights Advancement and development Initiative (ASRADI), have described the Federal Government’s defence of the $9.3million (about N1.5billion) found on two Nigerians and an Israeli citizen in South Africa as “unjustifiable”.

Keyamo said the government’s claim that the cash was meant for the purchase of arms to fight insurgency and that the transaction was done by cash to ensure the speed of the transaction “is a cock and bull story.”

He said the government’s position was not only ludicrous, it was also laughable and untenable.

“The truth is, any transaction the world over that is done by cash, in a huge volume like this and in this manner, can only point to one thing: It is an illegal transaction or a transaction for an illegal purpose that is meant to be untraceable.”

ASRADI, in a statement by its Executive Director, Adeolu Oyinlola, demanded a full scale public inquiry into how a government department or agency would carry loads of cash in a private jet overseas, ostensibly to transact official business.

“While we do not intend to set an agenda for the proposed enquiry, ASRADI believes the following posers would assist in unravelling how the surreptitious trip to South Africa was hatched and embarked upon.

“How often does money get spirited out of Nigeria in this clandestine manner? How was the cash sourced? Was the money appropriated by the National Assembly? If, as we are assuming, the cash came from the Central Bank of Nigeria, how regularly does this happen?”

September 18, 2014
Fani-Kayode: Drama as court declares EFCC’s witness hostile

There was drama at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday as Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia declared an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) witness hostile.

The witness, Ojo Agbor, was testifying in the trial of a former Aviation Minister, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, for alleged money laundering when the prosecutor, Mr. Festus Keyamo, applied to the court to declare him a hostile witness.

Keyamo said Agbor’s testimony was totally different from what is in his statement to the EFCC.

The lawyer also alleged that the defence had “coached” the witness on what to say in court.

“He has been coached. That is why he has been running away despite different invitations to testify. We had to write his director to produce him this morning,” Keyamo said.

After the judge declare Agbor a hostile witness, Keyamo accused him of deliberately lying to the court.

He also alleged that the witness and Fani-Kayode had communicated through phone prior to Wednesday’s proceedings.

“Your phone record will show that you have called the accused person or the accused person has called you,” Keyamo said. The witness replied: “He has not called me.”

Keyamo said: “I want to put it to you that you’re here today to tell deliberate lies,” to which Agbor said “No.”

He also alleged that Fani-Kayode was giving the witness signals on what to say during proceedings.

When Fani-Kayode turned to gaze at Keyamo in a look of denial, Keyamo said: “The accused person is looking menacingly at me,” adding jovially: “The way he’s looking at me is like we’re dragging one girlfriend.”

The witness said the statement he made to the EFCC was not voluntary.

According to him, the commission’s officials asked him to lie otherwise he would be charged along with Fani-Kayode.

May 14, 2014
Amosun, Fayemi, Keyamo mourn Ajayi

Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and his Ekiti State counterpart, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, have sent their condolences to the legal community on the death of Chief Godwin Olusegun Kolawole Ajayi (SAN).

Amosun described the late Ajayi, popularly called G.O.K., as “consistent, forthright and famous”, noting that he “championed the cause of progressives” in several high profile cases.

He said: “I remember cases such as the 12 2/3 suit of Awolowo vs Shagari over the 1979 presidential election; the Abdul Rahman Shugaba vs Minister of Internal Affairs and the legal battle of the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, among others, which are still reference points till today.”

In a statement by his media aide, Mrs. Funmi Wakama, Amosun said he joins members of the bar and the bench, as well as other Nigerians, to mourn the passing of this “last colossus of the first generation of Nigerian lawyers”, adding: “He was a progressive lawyer and that explains his closeness to the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo. His death is a great loss to the legal community.”

Amosun urged the family, friends and associates of the late Ajayi to take solace in the fact that the deceased led a disciplined life and etched his footprints in the sands of time.

He prayed to God to grant the late Ajayi eternal rest and his family the fortitude to bear the loss.

Fayemi described Ajayi’s demise as “the end of a chapter that shaped the legal profession in Nigeria”.

In a statement by his media aide, Mr. Yinka Oyebode, he said Ajayi’s role in the evolution of democracy in Nigeria cannot be forgotten.

Describing Ajayi as a fearless lawyer and people’s advocate, Fayemi said the deceased chose to stay on the side of the people by defending the mandate given to the late Abiola in court at the risk of his life.

He said the late Ajayi was an inspiration to the late Abiola and other pro-democracy activists in the struggle to revalidate the result of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which is widely acknowledged as Nigeria’s freest and fairest poll.

Fayemi described the late Ajayi as “a legend of the legal profession”, whose contributions to human rights, advocacy and jurisprudence will remain indelible in the memory of Nigerians.

He said the deceased, through hard work, built one of the foremost law chambers in Nigeria, adding that his name was not tainted in his almost 60 years of active practice.

Fayemi urged the deceased’s family, friends and associates to take solace in the fact that their patriarch lived a fulfilled life and positively touched his generation.

Popular lawyer Festus Keyamo described Ajayi’s death as an “irreplaceable loss” to the legal profession.

Keyamo said: “He was one of the last of the finest breed of first generation lawyers in Nigeria. He was remarkable in his impeccable forensic advocacy, which he often delivered with a soft but piercing voice. In terms of the skills of advocacy, he was my personal hero.

“My sincere condolences go to his family, friends and the entire legal profession. The late Ajayi remains one of finest lawyers this country has ever produced.”

Historian and Chairman, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought, Chief Johnson Ayomike said: “The news of Chief Ajayi’s death came to me as a shock. As a leader in Ugborodo, Escravos, Warri Southwest Local Government Area, I had close contact with him when the community employed his services in the 1970s in some of our cases in court, which had to do with accountability of community funds.

“What attracted him to me was his humility, honesty, forthrightness and his uncanny knowledge of the law. His advocacy was unparallel. He could push through highly technical points of law in court with the simplicity of a teacher. There will be none like him.”

April 1, 2014
Legacy parties insist on Keyamo

The leaders of the legacy parties in Delta Central Senatorial District have reiterated their adoption of Festus Keyamo as their candidate in the expected by-election for the vacant senatorial seat.

This followed the announcement by the Southsouth leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC), rejecting Keyamo’s adoption.

The party’s National Vice-Chairman (Southsouth), Tom Ikimi, had rejected the adoption, describing the claim as false and unauthorised.

Ikimi said: “For the avoidance of doubt and the benefit of all Nigerians, the said reports and publications are neither true nor authorised. They should therefore be disregarded completely.”

The leadership of the legacy parties in the zone insisted that they stand by their adoption of Keyamo as the would-be candidate of the party.

Rising from an emergency meeting on Monday, the leaders declared their stand in a communiqué, which was made available to The Nation.

They argued that there was nothing wrong in their adoption of Keyamo. “We see nothing wrong in giving our support to one aspirant over another. “We are not saying this is the final outcome of the party primaries or selection process, but an internal political choice.”

The legacy parties are the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

September 18, 2013
Brief over guber candidate’s killing: Keyamo replies family

HUMAN rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo has blamed the family of slain governorship candidate of the Citizens Popular Party (CPP) in Delta State for his withdrawal from the case. Keyamo said the family went to hire another lawyer without informing his Chamber, adding that he got to read about the development in a national newspaper (not The Nation), despite handling the case free of charge. “We took up this case with all zeal and passion, even when all those who directly benefited from Onokpite ran away out of fear, and others who were elected into various positions refused to say anything publicly till today,” said Keyamo. It will be recalled that the Onokpite family spokesman, Chief Ogbe Onokpite, had alleged that the tempo which Keyamo started the case had stopped, prompting the family to seek the service of another lawyer. But Keyame countered the claim, saying: “The point of departure of our Chambers with the family was that on December 24, 2011, whilst we were still at the heat of exchange of correspondence with the Inspector-General of Police as to how and who to conduct investigation in order to bring the culprits to book, we woke up to read in the Vanguard newspaper of that day that the family had gone to another lawyer to file an action for the enforcement of fundamental right. “All lawyers know that the remedies for the enforcement of fundamental right are apology and compensation. The family took this step without the courtesy of informing us or seeking our opinion. Naturally, we felt slighted and humiliated by this action of the family. Our job and assistance to the family became a thankless one. “It was therefore unacceptable to us and inconceivable that we should be working at cross-purposes with the family who had decided to take another cause of action through another lawyer while we were still pursuing another remedy for the family. “This is matter is an attempt to distract me from my bold step to rescue Delta State from the hands of a small cabal. We believe that our kindness and magnanimity (by taking up a case free of charge) cannot be used as a source of attack against us.

August 24, 2013
Slain guber candidate’s family faults Keyamo on compensation claim

FAMILY of slain governorship candidate of the Citizens Popular Party CPP in Delta State,

Chief Ogbe Onokpite, has faulted the counsel to the family, Mr. Festus Keyamo over claims that the human rights lawyer withdrew from the case of Onokpite’s murder because the family wanted compensation.

Mr. Diemo Onokpite who spoke on behalf of the family told journalists that when Chief Ogbe Onokpite died, Keyamo stated on television that Chief Ogbe was murdered and that he would fight for justice and would not stop until he got justice, adding that the family of the slain politician was

very happy on hearing this.

Onokpite said the tempo which Keyamo started the case had stopped, prompting the family to seek the service of another lawyer. He said: “When I called Keyamo severally, concerning the case on the next line of action, he told me that he had written a petition to the Presidency and the Inspector-General of Police on the issue. We later observed that Keyamo was not doing anything about the case and we were not aware of the reasons behind his withdrawal.

“The family quickly hired another lawyer who then wrote fresh petitions via courier to Keyamo and notified him that he has written a fresh petition on the matter that he had sent it to him. Keyamo later received the fresh petition from the family lawyer and pictures of how Chief Ogbe was murdered which was a good evidence for the case. After waiting for Keyamo’s action on the issue without result, we directed the family lawyer to act on his own which he did and we are still on the case up till date. Chief Ogbe case file is currently with the attorney general awaiting his advice.”

Diemo pointed out that at no time did Onokpite family request for compensation on their murdered son and brother, adding that assuming they wanted compensation, they could have sued the police for compensation.

Diemo advised Urhobo people to assess very well aspirants jostling for elective positions before voting for such persons, adding that most of them are pretenders.

August 17, 2013
Court voids appointment of service chiefs

Justice Adamu Bello of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday voided the appointment of the nation’s three service chiefs.

The judge declared as illegal and unconstitutional, the appointment of the Chief of Air Staff, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Naval Staff by the President without “first seeking and obtaining the confirmation of the National Assembly.”

He granted an order restraining “the President from further appointing service chiefs for the country without first obtaining the confirmation of the National Assembly.”

The judgment was on a suit instituted in 2008 by rights activist, Festus Keyamo.

Keyamo had argued that the practice of side-stepping the constitutional requirement of National Assembly, in the appointment of service chiefs, began under former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

He stated that subsequent administrations have adopted the illegal practice.

By implication, it means that such appointments made before now without the confirmation of the National Assembly were unconstitutional.

Keyamo had in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/611/2008 sought a determination of the following questions:

* Whether by the combined interpretation of the provisions of Section 218 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 and Section 18 of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A.20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, the President can appoint the service chiefs of the federation without the confirmation of the National Assembly first sought and obtained.

* Whether Section 18 (1) and (2) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A.20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 is not in conformity with the provision of the 1999 Constitution so as to fall within the category of existing laws under Section 315 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, that the President, may, by order, modify its text, to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution.

He also sought the following orders:

* A declaration that the appointment of Service Chiefs for the Federal Republic of Nigeria by the President, without the confirmation of the National Assembly is illegal, unconstitutional and void.

*A declaration that Section 18 (1) & (2) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap. A.20, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, is in conformity with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution so as not to fall within the category of existing laws under Section 315 (2) – of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, that the President, may, by order, modify its text, to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Constitution.

July 1, 2013