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Tag: rejects

  • Court rejects Saraki’s fresh application against CCT

    Court rejects Saraki’s fresh application against CCT

    Justice Abdulkadir Abdulkafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has rejected Senate President Bukola Saraki’s application for an order of interim injunction stopping his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

    The judge refused Saraki’s prayer after listening to   his lawyer, Raphael Oluyede.

    The Nation sighted yesterday a certified true copy (CTC) of the Monday ruling.

    Instead, the judge ordered Saraki to serve the respondents.

    He directed them to appear before the court tomorrow to show cause why the reliefs sought by the applicant should not be granted.

    Saraki’s fresh application for interim injunction was filed with a new fundamental rights’ enforcement suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on November 6, the day Justice Ibrahim Buba (of the Lagos division) threw out a similar brought by him.

    Justice Buba said his court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case. He added that it should have been filed in Abuja where the cause of action took place. The judge noted that Saraki could not prove that his rights were about to be violated in Lagos.

    “He has to proffer reasons for the court to hold that his right is about to be violated in Lagos State. The key word is ‘state’,” the judge said.

    This suit is the third of such filed at the Federal High Court by Saraki.

    Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed, before who the first of such suits was filed, withdrew from the case on September 30 and returned the case file to the  Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta.

    Saraki sought to restrain the CCT, the Federal Ministry of Justice and others from proceeding with his trial on the alleged false assets declaration charge against him at the CCT.

    Justice Mohammed declined on September 17 to grant Saraki’s prayer for an order restraining the respondents.

    The Senate president had applied for the order via an ex-parte motion.

    The judge ordered that the respondents be put on notice and show cause on September 21, why Saraki’s prayers should not be granted.

    On September 21, the judge, after arguments from parties, elected to hear the substantive suit.

    When parties returned to court on September 30, Justice Mohammed withdrew from the case,  following publications in the social media, which portrayed him as being compromised.

    He said the publication cast doubt in his integrity as a judge hearing the case.

    Justice Mohammed said it was more honourable for him to hand the case file to the chief judge for reassignment.

    To avert a possible misrepresentation of the proceedings, the judge directed an official of the court to make the record of the proceedings available.

    It is, however, not clear why Saraki filed the fresh suit since the Supreme Court on November 12, directed the CCT to suspend proceedings in his trial pending the determination of his appeal.

    The apex court asked the CCT to “tarry awhile” and await its decision in Saraki’s appeal.

    The directive by a five-man panel, led by Justice John Fabiyi, followed an undertaking by the respondents’ lawyer, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), to  prevail on the CCT not to proceed with the trial since the Supreme Court will hear Saraki’s appeal speedily.

     

  • Ex-Ondo PDP chair Alabi rejects Mimiko’s appointment

    A former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)in Ondo State,Mr Ebenezer Alabi has rejected his recent appointment as one of the Senior Special Assistants(SSA)to Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

    He stated this in a letter he sent to the governor.

    In the letter dated October 7, 2015, the former Chairman of Ifedore Local Government Council appreciated Mimiko for counting him worthy of the appointment which he said he could not accept due to some personal exigencies.

    Part of the letter reads: “Regrettably sir, I will not be able to take up the appointment as I have set in motion business plans that now demand my attention. Pending the time the set-up stage will be scaled and surmounted, my presence must be sufficient in the day-to-day running of the business. For the above reason, I humbly plead you allow me turn down the offer.

    “I am also working on my professional practice which will commence soon. In  few months time, the office will be opened for business, which means in a few months to come, I shall have two businesses that will be competing simultaneously for my attention.

    “Your Excellency,let me assure you of my loyalty and that I shall continue to do my best for the PDP as one of its leaders in the state,thanking you for the honour and sincerely look forward to working with you sometimes very soon.”

    A PDP chieftain in the state, Mr. Biyi Poroye has applauded Alabi for taking such decision which he said would save his political career and benefit him in the future

    Poroye berated the governor for not taking good care of old PDP members in the state in the appointments.

    He said the appointment of Alabi as SSA to the governor was an embarrassment as it betrayed the agreement the governor had with the old PDP during his defection to the party in Abuja last year.

    According to him, Alabi as a symbol of the party, deserves a better appointment to make up for the sacrifice he made during Mimiko’s struggle to take over the leadership of the party after his defection.

    He said: “I want to applaud Alabi for taking such decision and courage to turn down the offer. The appointment was a complete embarrassment. It betrayed the agreement we had with the governor during his struggle to take over the leadership of the party in the state.

    It also contracted the agreement he made with us during his defection to the party in Abuja last year. Alabi as a symbol of the party, deserves a better appointment under Mimiko’s government. I will advise the governor to address this injustice in order  to save him and the party from further embarrassment.”

  • Sanusi rejects Saudi blame of African pilgrims

    Sanusi rejects Saudi blame of African pilgrims

    Nigeria’s Amir Ul Hajj, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, has disputed claims by the Saudi authorities that African pilgrims were largely responsible for the stampede that caused the death of 725 pilgrims in Mecca on Thursday.

    Sanusi who is also the Emir of Kano and a respected voice on Islamic affairs told the Saudi Arabia “not to apportion blame to the pilgrims” for the incident.

    The victims were crushed to death and more than 850 other injured when two groups of pilgrims arrived at crossroads on Street 204 at the tent city of Mina.

    Shortly after the incident, Saudi prince Khaled al-Faisal, head of the Central Hajj Committee, stirred outrage as he blamed African pilgrims for the deadly stampede.

    Al-Faial who is the Saudi Health Minister said:”The investigations into the incident of the stampede that took place today in Mina, which was perhaps because some pilgrims moved without following instructions by the relevant authorities, will be fast and will be announced as has happened in other incidents.”

    Emir Sanusi who attended the committee meeting said after the meeting that pilgrims who complete the ritual should not cross those who are approaching the holy site.

    “They should not cross each other. We are therefore urging the Saudi authorities not to apportion blame to the pilgrims for not obeying instruction,” he said in a statement.

    Iran,arch-enemy of the Saudi Royal Family,insisted that Riyadh “must accept responsibility for this.”

    “The unavoidable fact is that the Saudi government has been incompetent in this regard and with regard to the management of the Hajj pilgrimage, and Riyadh must accept responsibility for this,” spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Keyvan Khosravi, reportedly told the Iranian news agency,FARS.

    It said:“Sources revealed that the convoy of Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud caused panic among millions of pilgrims and started the stampede that has so far claimed the lives of 1,300 in Mina, near Mecca, on Thursday.

    “The large convoy of Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, the King’s son and deputy crown prince, that was escorted by over 3,500 security forces, including 200 army men and 150 policemen, sped up the road to go through the pilgrims that were moving towards the site of the ‘Stoning the Devil’ ritual, causing panic among millions of pilgrims who were on the move from the opposite direction and caused the stampede.”

    “That’s why the ruler of Mecca has distanced himself from the case, stressing that the issue should be studied and decided by the King.

    “No other source has yet confirmed the report, but observers said the revelation explains why two of the roads to the ‘Stoning the Devil’ site haves been closed.”

    The stampede was the worst incident to occur in Mecca during the hajj since 1990, when 1,426 pilgirms, many from Indonesia, Pakistan and Malaysia, were killed in a stampede in a pedestrian tunnel. Following another stampede in 2006, in which more than 300 people died, the Jamarat bridge and some pillars were demolished and reconstructed.

  • Ogun community rejects burial of slain suspected cultist

    Residents of Ogijo community in Sagamu Local Government of Ogun State penultimate Saturday prevented the burial of a suspected cultist, named simply as Raji, in the community.

    Raji was assassinated a day earlier in Fadeyi area of Lagos by suspected members of a rival cult group.

    He was said to be returning from a nightclub when he was ambushed and battered to death by his assailants.

    Our correspondent gathered that the late suspected cultist was a landlord in the community who allegedly terrorised residents of the community.

    He was said to have enjoyed the support of some political chieftains to perpetrate heinous crimes in the town.

    Impeccable sources told our correspondent that Raji had been on the wanted list of the police before his death.

    A source who spoke in confidence said: “He has been on police wanted list before his death and has also been charged to court many times but regained his freedom with the help of his political godfathers. There was even a time he was paraded among suspected robbers by Lagos State Police Command.”

    One of the sources told The Nation that residents quickly protested against the burial of Raji in the community when news came that his body was to be brought to the community for interment.

    A team comprising vigilance group members was also raised to prevent his body from being smuggled into the town for burial.

    “When it dawned on Raji’s family members that the community would not allow his burial in Ogijo, they took his body to the residence of his late father in Ijede, Ikorodu, Lagos, for interment,” said a source who asked not to be mentioned.

    A detachment of policemen was later stationed in Ogijo to maintain law and order as scores of residents celebrated the death of the cultist.

    The spokesman of Ogun State Police Command, Mr Muyiwa Adejobi was yet to reply to inquiries by our correspondent at press time.

  • Victor Anichebe rejects loan deal

    Victor Anichebe rejects loan deal

    Nigeria striker Victor Anichebe has rejected a loan deal to Bolton Wanderers as he opted to stay put and fight for a place at West Brom.

    The English Championship team enquired about the Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medalist, but were told that the former Everton striker wants to stay at ‘The Hawthorns’.

    Bolton’s manager Neil Lennon admitted attacking reinforcements are an absolute must ahead of ‘The Seagulls’ visit to the Macron Stadium on Saturday.

    “We simply don’t have enough options with Emile Heskey and Zach Clough out injured,” he said. “We’re trying our hardest to get something sorted but it isn’t as easy as you’d think sometimes.”

    Anichebe has played just a league game for ‘The Baggies’ this season as a 74th minute substitute for Rickie Lambert in 3-0 home loss to Manchester City on August 10.

  • Senate rejects motion to bring back tollgates

    The Senate yesterday rejected a motion to re-introduce tollgates in the country.

    The upper chamber, however, urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate and dualise of major highways and interstate roads across the country.

    It also asked the Federal Ministry of Works to explore additional ways to fund federal road rehabilitation projects.

    It mandated its Ad-hoc Committee on Works to audit all road projects, with a view to producing raw data for further legislative action.

    The Senate underscored the need to find lasting solution to road problems in the country in view of its negative impact on trade and commerce.

    The resolutions of the Senate followed a motion by Senator Dino Melaye, co-sponsored by 90 others.

    In his lead debate, Melaye lamented that trillions of naira had been spent on road re-construction and rehabilitation since the return to democracy with minimal or no impact.

    Senator Samuel Egwu (Ebonyi North), who supported the motion said there was no better time to reconstruct all federal roads than now that Nigeria was working towards diversification of the economy.

    Egwu noted that Federal roads in the Southeast had been in bad shape since the civil war despite the contributions of those from the region to the growth of the economy.

    He said: “The roads in the Southeast, particularly in Ebonyi State are death traps.

    “Ebonyi  State is one of the hubs of agriculture but the roads are in bad shape and that has made movement of goods and services  to other parts of the country difficult.’’

    The Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Biodun Olujimi, (Ekiti South) in her contribution, said with the paucity of funds in the country, relevant stakeholders ought to find means of raising funds to rehabilitate existing roads.

    Olujimi added that the Senate should ask its Ad-hoc Committee on Works to liaise with the Ministry of Works to find solution to funding of road projects.

    Senator Abdullahi Adamu (Nassarawa West) said the lifespan of most vehicles had been reduced owing due to poor condition of roads in the country.

    The former Nasarawa governor also lamented increasing traffic congestion on the Mararaba-Nyanaya-Keffi road linking more than 15 states.

    He called on the Federal Ministry of Works to create additional lanes on the road to ease traffic and reduce pressure on the road.

    He said: “I want to let the Senate know that the road that leads from AYA in Asokoro, Abuja to Masaka in Nassarawa State ordinarily takes few minutes.

    “With the congestion, however, it takes about three hours or more for commuters to get to their destinations depending on the time of the day.

    “There is need for something urgent to be done in this regard because of the negative effect on the economy.”

    Senator Abdulraham Abubakar (Kogi East), on his part, noted that to ensure adequate funding of road projects, tollgates should be re-introduced.

    Abubakar said “Re-introduction of tollgates is important. This is because the budget given to Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) and Ministry of Works is not adequate. The revenue from the tollgates would go a long way in maintaining federal roads.’’

    He called on the Federal Government to pay adequate attention to re-construction and maintenance of railroads.

    The suggestion for the reintroduction of tollgates was rejected by Senators when it was put to vote.

    Senate President Abubakar Bukola  Saraki, who summed the contributions said the poor state of roads had contributed negatively  to the development of the economy.

    Saraki decried the fact that roads in smaller countries in the region were in better shape than roads in Nigeria.

    He noted that “there is need for a concerted effort to ensure that factors responsible for poor condition of roads in the country are tackled.

    “For Nigeria to develop we must begin to look at why we find ourselves in this situation.

    “We must also look at the contribution of the private sector as well as the quality of contractors who handle road construction and rehabilitation’’

  • Nigeria rejects gay marriage

    Nigeria rejects gay marriage

    President Muhammadu Buhari has foreclosed a possible shift in Nigeria’s anti-gay stance. He told a joint session of the United States (U.S.) Senate and House Committees on Foreign Affairs that Nigeria’s law  abhors same-sex marriage.

    The President said sodomy is illegal and abhorrent to Nigeria’s culture.

    The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said his principal was “point blank” in declaring Nigeria’s position on gay marriage and rights.

    In statement, Mr. Adesina explained that the matter was not pushed at the session President Buhari had with President Barack Obama on Monday.

    “The issue of gay marriage came up here yesterday,” Mr. Adesina tweetedWednesday.

    “PMB was point blank. Sodomy is against the law in Nigeria, and abhorrent to our culture. Talks shifted to another matter once PMB emphatically stated Nigeria’s stand on same sex marriage. The issue was not pushed,” Adesina said.

    Besides Nigeria’s criminal laws which outlaw gay acts and union, the country in 2014, approved an anti-gay law with stringent penalties for homosexual relationships.

    Under the law, gay persons risk up to 14 years imprisonment if convicted.

    Also criminalised in Nigeria is the meeting of homosexuals; operating or attending a gay club, society or organisation.

    Anybody engaging in public shows of outlawed same-sex and intimate affection may be jailed for up to 10 years.

    Nigeria has been under intense pressure from the U.S. government which opposes the laws.

  • Juvenile home rejects boy

    A 17-year-old theft suspect, was returned to the Ikorodu Magistrate’s Court in Lagos  following his rejection at the Special Correctional Centre for Boys in Oregun. The Centre’s officials, it was learnt, felt he was older than his age.

    The suspect, who was arraigned on Tuesday with three other juvenile on a two-count charge of conspiracy to commit felony and stealing, was ordered remanded at the centre by Mrs. A.B. Olagbegi-Adelabu. The other boys were admitted to the Centre, formerly known as the ‘Boys Remand Home’.

    The magistrate had earlier on Tuesday granted them bail provided they were able to provide two responsible sureties, one of whom must be a blood relative, with proof of identification.

    “They said I was not 17,” the suspect, who had tattoos on his forehead, cheeks and arms, told The Nation yesterday.

    His counsel, O.M. Folami said efforts were underway to contact the suspect’s mother for his birth certificate. “He is now in police custody, but we’re optimistic that by tomorrow or Friday, his bail conditions will be met,” she added.

    The suspect and the other street kids were arrested on June 15, while sleeping at “a place near some Mallams”on Sagamu Road, by police officers from men of the Sagamu Road Police Station in Ikorodu.

    They were caught with N3000, a Nokia 110 phone with an Etisalat line valued at N5,000, belonging to the complainant, Yusuf Kazeem.

    They pleaded not guilty.

    The offences contravened Sections 409 and 278(b) of the Criminal Law.

  • Ekiti PDP chieftain rejects Fayose’s offer of appointment

    Ekiti PDP chieftain rejects Fayose’s offer of appointment

    A PROMINENT leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Chief Dayo Okondo, has faulted his appointment as a member of the Governing Council of the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti by Governor Ayo Fayose.

    Okondo, a former PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) member, said he was shocked to have heard his name on the radio as he was not consulted before the appointment was made.

    Addressing a press briefing on Friday in his Ikere country home, Okondo stressed that membership of the College of Education Governing Council won’t be beneficial to him as it falls short of his status in the party.

    The former Chairman of the State Local Government Service Commission emphasised that his appointment as a governing council member belittles his status as a founding father of the PDP and as a party leader that brought Fayose into the party.

    The PDP stalwart, who had been bedridden, said he had not been visited by Fayose, adding that the governor had not assisted him on his failing health.

    Okondo said he and his family were abandoned to their fate by the PDP, especially when his son, who served as a bodyguard to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, needed a medical treatment abroad.

    He revealed that the situation was so bad that he had to approach former Governor Kayode Fayemi for assistance and the latter sponsored his son’s medical trip to India.

    Okondo said: “Making me a board member falls short of what he should do. And if I have to take care of myself very well and take care of my health, I don’t know what membership of the college’s board would do for me.

    “I can’t see how somebody who had served as a PDP Board of Trustees member will now be appointed a college’s board member. I was shocked by the appointment with my status and level of work that I did.

    “I brought the party to the state and I brought Fayose into the party. I supported him wholeheartedly when others refused to support him and I ensured that he won the primaries and the election (in 2003).

    “He has not visited me and he has not done anything about my health. I have been trying to see him and talk to him about my health but I have not succeeded.

    “If I will reject it in totality, I want to see the governor first and I want him to reason with me that this appointment does not befit my status as a founding father of the party and as someone who contributed immensely to his political rise.

    “I have been abandoned by the party. One of my sons, Tope Okondo, who was Obasanjo’s bodyguard, fell sick in Abuja and the situation I met him was very terrible.

    “I tried to see if I could take him to India. I contacted (former Governor) Fayemi and he offered to assist. We took him to India where he spent two to three days and I thank him (Fayemi) for the gesture but he told me not to bother.

    “If my own party (PDP) can treat me like this, it is unfortunate”.

    Okondo, who was Chairman of Ikere Local Government Council in the Third Republic, urged his supporters in the PDP who are aggrieved by the treatment meted out to him to remain calm, urging them to remain patient.

    He explained that leaving the party is not the solution, adding that he would not want to leave a party he helped to build from the scratch despite his travail.

    Okondo said: “I advise them not to leave because the situation will not be like this forever. After some time, things will change and whatever they want will be available.”

  • Fayose rejects Mimiko as PDP Governors’ Forum chair

    Fayose rejects Mimiko as PDP Governors’ Forum chair

    A fresh crisis appears to be brewing in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose has rejected  Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko as chairman of the party’s Governors’ Forum.

    Fayose has rallied some other governors in the party to kick against Mimiko’s emergence.

    He has petitioned the national leadership of the party to intervene before the matter degenerates into a full blown crisis.

    A source at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja was quoted to have confirmed the receipt of the petition against Mimiko. The party’s National Working Committee (NWC) will be meeting the party’s governors today to ironing out the matter.

    The aggrieved governors were said to have protested that the choice of Mimiko did not follow due process on grounds that Mimiko defected to the PDP only last year.

    Mimiko emerged chairman of the Forum last week the governors’ meeting in Abuja, where only six of the party’s 13 governors and two deputies were present.

    Former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio is the pioneer chairman of the Forum, a position he relinquished at the expiration of his tenure on May 29.