The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Petition

  • My wife adulterous, claims Super Eagles star in court petition

    My wife adulterous, claims Super Eagles star in court petition

    • Demands N1b damages from alleged London-based pastor lover
    • Day my husband brought home fetish objects, wife tells court

    Turkey-Based Nigerian footballer, Mr. Olanrewaju Kayode, has accused his wife, Ezinne, of having an adulterous relationship with a UK-based Nigerian pastor.

    In a cross-petition he filed against Ezinne at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, the Super Eagles player named Pastor Tobi Adegboyega as a co-respondent.

    In a petition she had earlier filed at the Abuja court, Ezinne accused her husband of being abusive and going about with fetish objects.

    Mrs. Kayode said her husband once brought home a box which she opened and “discovered some fetish objects including a padlock sitting in a black powdery substance, and another object wrapped in pepper-red material, amongst others.”

    The estranged wife said she was convinced that the fetish objects were meant to harm her and frighten her into abandoning her matrimonial home for fear of her life.

    Mrs. Kayode, a lawyer, who claimed to have acted as her husband’s manager without being properly paid, said she was tired of their union and wanted a divorce.

    She stated these in a petition by her lawyer, Chuks Udo-Kalu, before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

    In the petition marked PET/304/2024, Mrs. Kayode wants the court to issue an order for the dissolution of their marriage and to grant her the custody of the three children who are products of the union.

    She equally wants an order restraining her husband “from coming to harass, intimidate, assault and abuse the petitioner (her) at House F4, Tullp Road, Pinnock Beach Estate, Lekki, Lagos State or at all.”

    The petitioner also wants the court to order her husband to “pay monthly – maintenance allowance for the upkeep of the children” as may be determined by the court.

    On why she wants separation, Mrs. Kayode said their union has broken down irretrievably and they have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years.

    She added that since they got married on July 18, 2013, her husband has behaved in such a way that she cannot reasonably be expected to live with him.

    Mrs. Kayode stated that “the respondent’s (Mr. kayode’s) character started changing as he became more successful in his career and life.

    “In consideration of the marital union, the petitioner (Mrs. Kayode) did not receive or insist on being paid appropriate wages or entitlements for her role as respondent’s agent/manager or at all till date.

    “In deference to the marriage, the petitioner opted to invest in the respondent as a couple, including registering De J.S Concept Limited and acquiring the property at House F4, Tulip Road, Pinnock Beach Estate, Lekki, Lagos State, amongst others.

    “The respondent became progressively abusive, suspicious and distrustful of the petitioner, with constant threats of divorce.

    “The petitioner eventually relocated to Nigeria to raise their three sons in peace and shield them from the emotional turmoil.

    “The respondent, at the material time, was playing with Gencelerbirligi SK of Turkey and developed the habit of calling the petitioner on phone to vacate ‘his’ house and hand over ‘his’ car keys before he arrives Nigeria and to ensure the petitioner’s mother, who he called a witch, was nowhere near ‘his’ house.

    “Up till early 2024, the respondent’s verbal assault continued unabated, and the petitioner and her mother lived in constant fear of the unknown.

    “On the 16th day of March, 2024 the respondent finally came to the house at House F4, Tulip Road, Pinnock Beach Estate, Lekki, Lagos and acted out his threats of violence.

    “Upon arriving from Turkey personally and without prior notice to his wife or children, the respondent rained abuses on the petitioner and her mother, making baseless accusations of infidelity and witchcraft and trying to force the petitioner out of her matrimonial home.

    “In the process, the respondent smashed the Petitioner’s iPhone 15 pro Max beyond repairs.

    “That the Respondent did not mind his status as a Europe-based footballer or the presence of his children and mother-in-law.

    “The respondent’s conduct on the said day was witnessed by his children, the petitioner’s mother, Mrs. Nnenna Okoro, who all witnessed as the respondent accosted the petitioner in the kitchen and hit her on her chest, head, arms and other parts of her body, and causing bruises on these parts.

    “Upon checking the respondent’s box, which he brought home, the petitioner discovered some fetish objects including a padlock, sitting in a black powdery substance and another object wrapped in pepper-red material, amongst others.

    “The petitioner believes the purpose of those fetish objects was to harm her and frighten her into abandoning her matrimonial home for fear of her life.”

    But Mr. Kayode, in his response via a cross-petition, raised sundry allegations against his wife.

    While the petitioner listed the footballer as the sole respondent in her petition, Mr. Kayode named Pastor Adegboyega as a co-respondent in his cross-petition.

    In his cross-petition filed by his lawyer, Akinpelu Ogunbona, the footballer admitted that they both married at the Marriage Registry in Ibadan South West Local Government, Oyo State on July 18, 2013 in accordance with the provisions of the Marriage Act.

    Mr. Kayode, however, doubted his wife’s actual date of birth, stating that he was born in Ibadan, Oyo State on 8th May, 1993 “whilst the exact date of birth of the respondent (Mrs. Kayode) is unknown as her immediate younger sister was born 20th January, 1981 and she also has two different birth certificates – one indicating the date of birth as 03/12/86 and the other indicating 03/12/83.”

    He agreed to the dissolution of the marriage, but attributed it to the alleged adulterous conduct of his wife, which he blamed on the co-respondent.

    “Since the marriage, the respondent/petitioner has committed adultery with the co-respondent and other men and the cross petitioner (Mr. Kayode) finds it intolerable to live with the respondent,” he said.

    Mr. Kayode alleged that his wife intentionally cut off the CCTV camera in their matrimonial home with the aim of concealing her adulterous acts.

    Read Also: Ali Ndume, the rant of an expert in grandstanding, by Daniel Bwala 

    He explained that sometime in 2017, after the arrival of the last child of the marriage, they both agreed to relocate the children of the marriage back to Nigeria for their educational stability.

    “Unknown to the cross petitioner (Mr. Kayode), that decision is to pave way and give total freedom to the Respondent to showcase her promiscuity and infidelity.

    “Unknown to the cross petitioner, the respondent is in the habit of participating in abusing alcohol and attending late night party with different ladies and men during the subsistence of the marriage and whilst the cross petitioner was away plying his football trade abroad.”

    Mr. Kayode said in his bid to have a lifetime investment in Nigeria, he sometime in 2019 incorporated a company, D-E J-S Concept Ltd., as a vehicle for his investments in Nigeria, and made his wife a shareholder and director.

    He claimed to have also bought many properties from one realtor, Ugochukwu Igboanugo of Ziloc Constructions Limited, who was initially introduced to him by his wife, but whom he later discovered was his wife’s ex-lover.

    Mr. Kayode added that unknown to him, his wife allegedly “connived with the said Ugochukwu Igboanugo and collected all the property documents and has been solely and personally collecting rent proceeds from the properties, expending same on her amorous relationship with the co-respondent to the cross petition.

    “The respondent (his wife) has been spending lavishly to foster the amorous relationship between her and the co-respondent to cross petition and indeed was in a bid to start selling off the cross petitioner’s choice properties with the aim of spending the proceeds of same on her adulterous lifestyle.

    “The adulterous relationship between the respondent and co-respondent to cross petition was even not hidden to the children of the marriage as the respondent often have her amorous phone conversations in the presence of the children of the marriage.

    “The cross petitioner shall at the trial of this suit rely on several evidence of adulterous relationship between the respondent and co-respondent to cross petition.

    “Indeed, the respondent and the co-respondent to cross petition are not even discreet with their illicit affairs as they even attended party together and danced together while spraying monies on the musician.

    “In order to continue to keep the cross petitioner in the dark regarding the amorous affairs between the respondent and co-respondent to cross petition, the respondent intentionally cut off the CCTV camera in the matrimonial home,” he said

    Mr. Kayode said he later returned to the country unannounced “in order to get further information regarding the atrocities of the respondent and co-respondent.”

    He said on arriving the country in March this year, he confronted his wife “about her adulterous relationship with the co-respondent, but the respondent, rather than address the allegation, became angry and started assaulting and bullying the cross petitioner.

    “The adulterous relationship between the respondent and co-respondent has caused the cross petitioner a lot of physical and emotional trauma to the extent that the cross petitioner cannot participate well in his football club.”

    He added that he has been made to suffer huge financial loss as a result of the amorous relationship the co-respondent is allegedly having with the his wife, which informed why he  had to abruptly terminate his football contract with his club Gencelerbidigi SK of Turkey.

    The co-respondent to the cross petition had, however, not responded at the time of filing this report.

    Enquiry at the High of the FCT’s Registry as at yesterday revealed that Mr. Adegboyega was yet to file any process.

    Meanwhile, the case, now assigned to the court of Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi, has been scheduled for hearing on September 24.

    On Thursday, Kayode, who had remained in the shadow, came into the open for the first time to grant a face-to-face interview.

    Using his Instagram handle for the live interview, he boldly reaffirmed his accusations against his estranged wife. He said he had more than enough proof that his estranged wife dated Pastor Adegboyega.

    He also explained the part that on air personality Daddy Freeze played in the alleged love story of his ex-wife and the clergy. 

    During the live session, the footballer noted that he had proof that the clergy was having an affair with his ex-wife.

    Kayode noted that he was not aware that his wife was having any business dealing with the clergy. He said Dora once told him that she wanted to go to London on holiday, and he paid all the expenses for her and his children.

    According to him, it was while she was in London that she started making moves to see the clergyman.

    He said: “I don’t know anything about Tobi as a business partner. All I know is that Tobi took her to a dinner in London, and I am 150 per cent sure that they are having a dinner. I have the pictures and it would be online soon.

    “I used my money to send them on vacation in London, she and the children, and she used the opportunity to meet with Tobi. Tobi’s wife even knew everything that was going on.”

    Kayode said he begged Dora despite having proof of her infidelity, as he wanted to make peace with her for the sake of their children.

    The footballer alleged that his wife’s relationship with clergyman had not been discreet, with the pair seen openly attending parties and sharing intimate moments in public.

    He further accused his estranged wife of undermining their joint business ventures.

    “I incorporated DE-J-S Concept Ltd, intending it to be a vehicle for our investments, but Ezinne (Dora) exploited this opportunity to siphon funds and benefit from the company’s assets, facilitated by her ties with Ugochukwu Igboanugo.”

    Addressing the issue concerning his children’s DNA, in which some publications claimed that none of them was his, Kayode said it was a diversionary tactics deployed by his wife to shift focus from the real issue. He refuted the claim while informing that he does not have paternity problem with his children.                   

    “How is it possible that I will come to Nigeria and do a DNA for my children that I’ve not seen for months now? They have to tell me the hospital where I did the DNA and when I took my children there.

    “Even the blog guys that used the story, I’ve been in touch with them and they apologised, saying they just received the story from someone.

    “I threatened to take them to court and they have apologised.

    “I don’t have any doubt that these children are my boys and I don’t have any issue with that. I still have their pictures in my house and I don’t have any reason to do DNA.

    “And I want to say it again they are my boys. There is no doubt about that. This DNA story did not emanate from me.” 

    A friend of the family, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Kayode’s family members are solidly behind their son.

    “Kayode’s family members kicked against their son marrying her (Dora) but he was in love with her and overlooked a lot of things to keep his home.

    “I have to add that his mother and siblings are suffering because he’s doing everything in conjunction with his wife.”

  • Osun PDP files petition against Oyetola’s election victory

    •PDP: police collude with APC to stop Adeleke’s petition

    •Leave us out of the problem, says ruling party

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State yesterday filed a petition against the victory of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Isiaka Adegboyega Oyetola.

    PDP’s candidate in the just concluded Osun governorship election, Senator Ademola Adeleke, filed the petition at the State Election Petition Tribunal against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC.

    Osun PDP Chairman Soji Adagunodo and chieftains of the party, including Niyi Owolade, submitted the petition to the tribunal at the State High Court, Osogbo, the state capital.

    The opposition is challenging the declaration of Oyetola as the winner of the September 22 election and the September 27 rerun by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The PDP is alleging irregularities during the elections.

    Adagunodo, who addressed reporters, insisted that the party and Adeleke have valid grounds to challenge the victory of the APC candidate.

    According to him, the party filed the process as late as 5.30 p.m yesterday because “we have the intelligence report that some people were planning to cause violence in the state and thus prevent us from filing its petition”.

    He described as diversionary the case of certificate forgery filed against Adeleke at an Abuja High Court.

    Senator Adeleke, has said the case the police reportedly filed against him at an Abuja Federal High Court is to prevent him from retrieving his mandate.

    In a statement on Monday by his spokesperson Olawale Rasheed, the PDP candidate said: “The police are in collusion with the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a plot to implicate me on trumped-up charges as a way of disrupting the commencement of our petitions before the Election Petition Tribunal.

    “Their plan was originally to arrest me before the election so that I would not be able to effectively participate in the governorship election, but a court order and interventions stopped the evil agenda. Now that the APC know the game is up and the stolen mandate is about to be retrieved, the party, in collusion with the police, has perfected a fresh plot to distract, harass and intimidate me.

    “No amount of intimidation will distract me from my undiluted determination to retrieve the stolen mandate. I will leave no stone unturned to ensure that the will of Osun people, as expressed at the last poll, is realised.

    “Nigerians are aware that the so-called examination case is politically motivated. The public is aware of the many intimidation and attacks I have been subjected to before, during and now, after the election. We stand by the people and we will not surrender their mandate to anti-democratic forces.

    “Let me use this medium to reassure the people of Osun State that our lawyers are on top of the situation. All necessary legal actions are being taken to stop these illegalities from standing. We are equally proceeding to begin our legal action to redress the electoral injustice of the last poll.”

    But the Osun APC advised Adeleke to face his “problem squarely and stop looking for props and excuses to justify his inadequacies”.

    In a statement by its spokesperson Kunle Oyatomi, the party said it did not ask the PDP governorship candidate to commit “an examination fraud”.

    The statement reads: “This is a matter for the police. And we are not police prosecutors. If he has been taken to court by the police, how is that the business of the APC?

    “He was the one who went to the tribunal and he has a responsibility to diligently prosecute his case at the tribunal. We cannot stop the tribunal from working, not even Ademola himself can stop the tribunal. So, it is immature, pedestrian and patently wrong for Ademola to accuse the APC and the police of conspiring to deprive him of the ability to prosecute his own case.”

    “Perhaps the PDP candidate is too much engrossed in entertainment to find the time to understand how the tribunal and the court processes work. He should try and update himself to know what to do, rather than embarrass himself and his party.”

     

     

     

  • Amnesty beneficiaries disown petition against Dokubo

    •No funds misappropriated-Amnesty boss

    Alleged victims of a purported fraud in the Amnesty Programme under the aegis of Niger Delta Ex-Agitators Forum (NDEF) have disowned a petition they reportedly submitted to Speaker Yakubu Dogara against the programme’s coordinator, Prof. Charles Dokubo.

    A Warri-based law firm had on behalf of some unidentified persons acting under the aegis of NDEF petitioned the National Assembly, alleging refusal of the Amnesty Office to pay monthly stipends and diversion of funds meant for training and empowerment of ex-agitators.

    The petitioners attached a list of 61 persons said to be victims of the alleged fraud.

    A statement at the weekend by Special Assistant (Media) Dokubo, Murphy Ganagana, explained the coordinator immediately directed investigation into the allegations as soon as he received the petition.

    “However, checks at the Amnesty Office on the list of 61 persons attached to the petition indicated that it comprised 40 beneficiaries enlisted into the Amnesty Programme under Phase One, 20 beneficiaries under Phase Two, and a person from Akwa Ibom State not enlisted in the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

    “Interestingly, out of the 60 persons on the list which were verified as beneficiaries of the Amnesty Programme, 33 had already been trained in various areas awaiting empowerment, while the rest are on queue to undergo training soon.

    “Contrary to allegations of misappropriation of funds by officials of the Amnesty Office and denial of the N65, 000 monthly stipends, records at the Amnesty Office indicated that all the 60 beneficiaries had not been receiving stipends since the inception of the programme in 2009.”

    He added: “When contacted on the development, some of the 60 persons listed on the petition denied involvement in the allegations by the purported group, describing it as the handiwork of some unscrupulous individuals with sinister motive.

    “Among those on the list who disowned the petition are Amatelemowei, Otutufegha Mike Waibode and Simeon Emmanuel, all of whom said they had completed their training programmes and were awaiting empowerment.

    “Confirming he had not been paid stipend since the inception of the programme in 2009, Amateleowei, a beneficiary under Phase One, disclosed that he did not partake in the disarmament exercise due to ill-health. He said he therefore never bothered over none receipt of monthly stipends till date.”

    Ganagana dismissed the allegations as laughable, saying it was unthinkable for someone of Dokubo’s pedigree to be accused of diversion of monthly stipends for beneficiaries of Amnesty Programme or refusal to enlist them on training.

    “While I can neither deny nor confirm that some unwholesome practices might have occurred in the past at the Amnesty Office, it is pertinent to note that all the issues raised in the petition had been there since 2009 when the Amnesty Programme started.

    “If successive managers of the programme were not able to address some of the complaints of the 60 beneficiaries listed in the petition due to the fact that the allegations were acts of commission or omission by the beneficiaries, you cannot now turn around and blame Prof. Dokubo who assumed duties barely four months ago.

    “Let me emphasise that since Prof. Charles Dokubo assumed office in March 2018, no beneficiary of the Amnesty Programme entitled to payment of monthly stipends has been denied his/her financial entitlement.

    “In fact, he has ensured consistent and prompt payment of stipends up to date.”

     

  • Ekiti poll: Olusola’s petition’d strengthen democracy, says Fayemi

    •’He can’t get backdoor victory’

    Ekiti State Governor-elect, Dr Kayode Fayemi, has hailed the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP)’s candidate in the July 14, 2018 governorship election, Prof Kolapo Olusola, for ventilating his grievances at the Election Petition Tribunal.

    Olusola on Friday filed a petition of over 700 pages at the registry, urging the Tribunal to declare him winner of the governorship poll claiming to have scored the highest number of lawful votes cast.

    But Fayemi in a statement yesterday by Director of Media and Publicity of his Campaign Office, Wole Olujobi, said the action was a welcome development to strengthen democratic practice.

    It noted it is a constitutional right of the petitioner as enshrined in the Electoral Act to do so.

    “Even though it is the petitioner’s right to seek legal redress in his complaint, it is a fact that the July 14 governorship election that returned Dr Kayode Fayemi is one of the best elections conducted by INEC in this country in which the will of the people was freely expressed through the ballot box.

    “For this reason, Fayemi won one of the best, freest and fairest elections in Nigeria as attested to by the elite election monitoring group, Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), which rattled Governor Ayodele Fayose, who thereafter assembled fake observers group populated by PDP members who tried to discredit the exercise.

    “We won the election in a very free and fair manner and we have no doubt that the tribunal will find this to be the case too in theirfinal judgment.

    “Judgment on the petition will be in accordance to the law and not to the terms of the petitioner, and so Eleka cannot be a judge in this case as he sought to do in his petition.

    “Now that he has filed his petition, he should leave the tribunal to decide if he won or not and not to prejudge, as the petitioner tried to do in his complaint to the tribunal.”

    The Deputy Director General of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Council, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi, has described Olusola’s filing of petition against Fayemi’s victory as an “exercise in futility.”

    Faparusi maintained that the election of Fayemi reflected the will of Ekiti people and that not even the petition filed by Olusola or any other party can upturn the verdict.

    The former House of Representatives member added that the party will assemble highly experienced legal team that would confront the PDP and its candidate and prevent them from getting victory through the backdoor.

     

  • IGP gets petition on land dispute

    Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris has been urged to intervene in an alleged threat to life following a court’s verdict in a land dispute in Ondo town.

    The Adetokunbo family, in a petition by their lawyers, Uroko Agada and Adejumola Ajayi, sent to the IGP and Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) Zone 11, accused Mrs. Folake Adepetun and five others of threatening their members, following a High Court judgment in their favour.

    The petition, attached to the judgment of an Ondo High Court, reads: “Complaints of threat to life, criminal trespass, assault occasioning harm, unlawful possession of firearms, hostage taking/kidnapping, attempted murder and conduct likely to cause breach of the peace in the community.

    “Our client’s family (Adetokunbo family) are the bona fide owners of the land situated at Italurowo-Ondo according to the Ondo High Court judgment delivered by Justice Bode Adegbehingbe on June 6, 2017.

    “On April 12, our client had a case in court with the Alasin family and the matter was adjourned till April 24. As soon as the Alasin family left the court premises, they went to the land with hoodlums, who armed themselves with weapons.

    “The hoodlums stormed the land and manhandled the bricklayers and other workers. Two of our clients were tortured, while they stole a gold necklace, worth about N150,000.”

     

     

     

     

     

  • Villagers petition Obasanjo over land row with aide

    Villagers petition Obasanjo over land row with aide

    An aide to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Sheu Oladunjoye, and residents of Akinbiye, Ikalugbase and Ikereku in Ogun State are fighting over 53 acres Oladunjoye allegedly bought from them.

    The residents have written to Obasanjo.

    Oladunjoye said Obasanjo informed him about their letter, saying that the villagers misrepresented and defamed him in the letter.

    The aide added that the petition, signed by a lawyer, Innocent Okoihue, and dated December 11, accused him of fraud.

    The petitioners, according to him, claimed that efforts to stop work on the land failed.

    According to him, he (Oladunjoye) drove them away and deprived them “rights of access to their family land”.

    Although Okoihue admitted that the petitioners (villagers) were given N3 million “for transport” during a visit to Oladunjoye to discuss the land, they want Obasanjo to intervene.

    Addressing reporters and residents in Abeokuta, the capital, at the weekend, Oladunjoye threatened to sue the villagers, if they failed to retract “defamatory materials” in their petition.

    He claimed to have paid N5 million to their representatives for the land, valued at N10.6 million, pending a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) before the balance would be paid.

    Oladunjoye wondered how that became an issue.

    He added that some of them, including Chief Aremu Makinde and Moruf Muritala (representing Fatoki family), were paid for a section of Ikalugbase  land while Mr Semiu Babalola reportedly received part-payment for the portion at Ikereku-Onigbongbo.

    According to him, he moved started work on the land because buyer and sellers hailed from the same area.

    Oladunjoye hoped that once the MoU is signed, the balance will be paid.

    On behalf of the villages, Semiu Babalola, who was in company of 13 other residents, admitted that they collected N5 million from Oladunjoye.

    Babalola denied knowledge of how the petition to Obasanjo against Oladunjoye came about, but pledged that the matter will be resolved.

  • Over 400 DDs petition Buhari, NA over alleged promotion denial

    No fewer that 400 serving Deputy Directors in the Federal Civil Service have petitioned the Presidency and the National Assembly, alleging that they have been denied promotion to the next rank.

    The aggrieved officials, under the aegis of Concerned Deputy Directors, (Administration), solicited the intervention of relevant bodies in getting their entitlements paid.

    The union, in a protest letter to the Presidency, the National Assembly, Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) and the Secretary, Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries (CORFEPS), said the “Deputy Directors (Administration)  were promoted last in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and are matured to be considered for promotion to the post of Directors (Administration) in years 2015, 2016 and 2017. But have not been given the opportunity to sit for the examination,” they wrote.

    The affected public servants, who denied knowledge of the litigation filed by six petitioners, who dragged the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Civil Service Commission before the National Industrial Court, Abuja, noted that most of the aggrieved officers have retired from the Federal Civil Service.

    Deputy Director, Press, in the Federal Civil Service Commission, Dr. Joel Oruche, confirmed the development. He said the matter was before a court of competent jurisdiction and that he could not comment on it.

  • On Andy Uba’s petition

    SIR: The petition written by Senator Andy Uba, addressed to the Anambra State Governorship primaries appeal committee of the APC refers.

    In the petition, Senator Andy Uba accused Dr Tony Nwoye of bringing thugs/NANS members into the accreditation venue to chase away delegates. This is not true as the accreditation was conducted peacefully. Delegates were identified through the following means- Permanent voters’ card (PVC) National ID card, driver’s license or international passport. They also came with their party membership slip with photograph issued to them by the party during registration.

    The party had already made the delegates list available to all aspirants, two weeks before the primaries. With the delegates known, there was little room for manipulation.

    The Nigerian Police Force led by Anambra State police commissioner, Umar Garba, the DSS and other security agencies provided adequate security at the accreditation venue, making it nearly impossible for the venue to be infiltrated by thugs. Our dear Senator Andy Uba even attested to this during his interview with pressmen at the accreditation venue.

    The allegation that delegates were swapped is simply laughable. After accreditation, delegates were conveyed to the voting centre on marked buses with full police escort. There was no room for any manoeuvre as the delegates had no physical contacts with outsiders.

    The road leading to the voting venue was not even accessible to commuters and other road users, as it was cordoned off by security agencies, making it impossible for any non-accredited person to gain entrance to the venue.

    Most importantly, during voting proper, once a local government is called, the various ward chairmen are called to vote first, and then line up in front of the hall to identify delegates from their ward who then proceeded to cast votes.    The allegation of presence of thugs at the venue is untrue, except if Senator Andy Uba is now referring to genuine APC members as thugs simply because they did not vote for him.

    Senator Uba also alleged that some delegates have gone to court to depose affidavits on what transpired. The party should note that this is their usual tactics of scuttling elections once it doesn’t go their way.  Party leaders should note that this tactics was used in 2013 to scuttle the ambitions of the same Tony Nwoye after he defeated the same people in primaries televised live on national TV.  The litigation went all the way to the Supreme Court and by the time judgment was delivered Dr Tony Nwoye had just 10 days to campaign. Despite the short time left for him to campaign, he still finished second in the General elections.

    If Senator Andy Uba’s capacity could not win him the APC primaries, he does not have the capacity to win the November 18 elections in which votes are expected to count. I urge the distinguished senator to stop embarrassing himself and work for the party as earlier pledged.  His actions are being seen by Anambra State members as anti-party and our national leadership should not fail to wield the big stick when necessary.

     

    • Barrister Nonso Madu,

    <nonso4governor@gmail.com>

  • How false petition led to Nigeria’s suspension

    How false petition led to Nigeria’s suspension

    Fresh facts emerged yesterday that a false petition by a former director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU)  to the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units led to the suspension of the country from the body.

    The ex-director, who was removed during the administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, has been fighting back.

    It was learnt that the suspension has nothing to do with the rating of the anti-corruption agenda of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    It was also gathered that the Egmont Group was only demanding greater autonomy for the nation’s NFIU.

    NFIU was suspended on July 5 at the plenary of the Heads of FIUs which took place in Macao

    Investigation revealed that the suspension of NFIU had more to do with vested interests than any challenge with the anti-corruption war.

    A top government source said: “What Nigeria is facing today may have been self- inflicted as certain citizens with vested interests in the running of the NFIU are known to regularly feed the world body of FIUs with false information regarding the situation in Nigeria.

    “The issues that culminated in the recent suspension of Nigeria were predicated on a false petition by a former director of the NFIU who, embittered by the manner of dismissal from service, painted a false imagery of siege on the NFIU with the objective to compromise information from the Egmont Secure Website.

    “Though this allegation was investigated and proven to be false by the Egmont Group, it triggered the placement of the NFIU on the Egmont Group support and compliance process, which necessitate a review of the entire compliance requirement of the NFIU.

    “It is noteworthy that the Egmont Group recognizes that that an FIU can be located or domiciled in any larger entity, but that there must be a clear cut dichotomy of its functions and operations in the larger entity.”

    The source added: “The suspension of Nigeria was a carryover of the problem in NFIU since 2013.

    “The challenge predate this administration. No one can blame the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Acting Chairman of EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu or the Minister of Interior, Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau.”

    The highly-placed source also clarified what the Egmont Group wanted from Nigeria in the last three to four years.

    The source added: ”It is only demanding for greater autonomy for the NFIU in terms of having its funds and control over its staff”

    “What is happening to NFIU is not strange or peculiar to Nigeria. Germany suffered a similar fate when its FIU was placed on suspension after it was moved from the German Police where it had been domiciled, to the Custom.

    “The Egmont Group is not averse to having FIUs domiciled in law enforcement organizations. Most FIUs are indeed domiciled within existing law enforcement organizations except for a few that are stand alone.”

  • Families petition NJC, Presidency over trial ‘manipulation’

    The Integrity Leadership Organisation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has petitioned the National Judicial Council (NJC) over alleged manipulation of the trial of suspects arrested in the alleged murder of a World Bank consultant, Dr Ayodeji Daramola, and the late Tunde Omojola.

    The duo were allegedly murdered between 2005 and 2006 in Ekiti State.

    Daramola was reportedly murdered at Ijan-Ekiti on August 14, 2006 while Omojola was killed during 2005 councillorship election crisis at Ifaki-Ekiti.

    In a petition, dated June 16, by its Ekiti State Coordinator, Lekan Oyediran, and received in the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, on June 23, the group said it was writing on behalf of the families of the deceased.

    The deaths occurred during political crises arising from the governorship and councillorship elections.

    It pointed NJC’s attention to reports of alleged manipulation in the consolidated murder trial of Daramola and Omojola in the Ekiti State High Court, Ado-Ekiti, in an alleged connivance of the governor with a section of the Judiciary to save the suspects in the murder.

    The petition was also copied to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo; Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ibrahim Idris, Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Lawal Daura and the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, Mr Justice Ayodeji Daramola.

    The petitioners claimed that 11 “fake” witnesses were listed from Ifaki-Ekiti home country of Omojola while six were listed to come from Ijan-Ekiti, Daramola’s home town.

    It averred that following investigations at Ijan-Ekiti and Ifaki-Ekiti, it was discovered none of the witnesses was aware of any hearing of the murder case in court.

    The petition reads: “In Ijan-Ekiti, there was nobody called Kehinde Femi at 6, Ikota Street, as the house was fully rented out to strangers, according to the online publication.

    “It also reported that there was nobody called Edward Kehinde in Dr Daramola’s house, adjacent to Ujilogun Grammar School, as the house had been rented out to a sports club called Phoenix Athletic Sports Club and a football academy that conducts football coaching for Ekiti youths.

    “In Ifaki-Ekiti, Suleiman Bakare, Omojola’s brother-in-law and a banker living in Lagos, who is the authentic author of the petition on the murder of Omojola and who is also a purported witness listed as living at P7, Ona Oja St, Ifaki-Ekiti, said he was not aware that he was a witness in the trial.

    “It is the same denial by another purported witness, Sule Aliru Olatunji, who was put in a newspaper report in 2007 with his photograph by alleged Fayose’s men as having disowned his earlier statement to exonerate the governor only for Aliru to renounce the publication as a fraud to save the suspects in the murder case.

    “It was also discovered in Ifaki that witness Number Four in the alleged witness list, Suleiman Labaika of Ilero Quarters, Ifaki-Ekiti, was Suleiman Bakare’s brother and in fact was the councillorship candidate in the ill-fated election. Labaika knew nothing about the list and in fact he was not aware that a trial is ongoing in Omojola’s murder.

    “The same with Osenatu Suleiman, mother of both Bakare and Labaika, who knew nothing about the ongoing trial, while Ogunleye Akeem, Suleiman Bakare’s nephew, would be hearing about the trial for the first time.”

    The petitions also pointed the attention of the NJC to the alleged travesty of justice in a murder trial in which the chief suspect is said to be the chief prosecutor in a trial that the families of the deceased, who are also the chief complainants and petitioners, were kept in the dark.