The Nation Newspaper

Tag: suffers

  • ‘My husband suffers from erectile dysfunction’

    ‘My husband suffers from erectile dysfunction’

    A 32-year-old woman, Kate Ude, has prayed an FCT High Court in Jabi to dissolve her four-year-old marriage to Mr. Michael Ude, for alleged erectile dysfunction.

    Part of the petitioner’s prayers before Justice Vera Venda was to declare that there’s no longer love in the marriage.

    Kate alleged that Ude  suffers from erectile dysfunction, adding that anytime it became erect, he ejaculated within a few seconds, “which is not expected of a real man.”

    She said the man did not make known his health status before the consummation of the marriage in Calabar, Cross River, in 2014.

    The petitioner said during her traditional wedding, Michael did not show up, as he was represented by his younger brother.

    Kate said it was at the registry she got to know him well and implored the court to dissolve the union.

    Ude, who filed a cross-petition to divorce the woman, denied the allegations when cross-examined by the petitioner’s lawyer, Mr. Ishaka Awaliene.

    He said: “The non-erection of my manhood is not regular; it is just that I’m not always in the mood whenever she is in the mood. I don’t use enhancement drugs for sex as she alleged.’’

    Ude told the court that on June 28, 2014, Kate left their matrimonial home, saying she was no longer interested in the marriage.

    According to him, she returned and left again.

    He said his relations made efforts to reconcile them, but she refused and resorted to insulting them through text messages.

    Justice Venda adjourned the matter till February 6 for adoption of final written addresses.

  • Nigeria’s stocks suffers worst fall ahead of polls

    Nigeria’s stocks suffers worst fall ahead of polls

    The nation’s stocks experienced the worst shock in the world at the weekend as investors spurned Africa’s largest crude producer with political tensions rising five weeks before a key vote and as oil prices continued to slide. This is coming just as Jim O’Neill, former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management projected that President Goodluck Jonathan’s loss in next month’s polls will be a boost to foreign investment.

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index fell 0.9 percent by the close to extend its five-day decline to 13 percent (NGSEINDX), the most among 93 global indexes tracked by Bloomberg.

    The naira depreciated 1.4 percent to 181.50 per dollar and Brent crude dropped to $50.40 a barrel for a weekly retreat of 11 percent.

    The 55 percent decline since the end of June in crude, Nigeria’s biggest export, uncertainty over the outcome of the Feb. 14 election and rising attacks by Islamist militants are pushing investors out of Africa’s biggest economy. President Goodluck Jonathan and the ruling People’s Democratic Party are facing a challenge from a merger of Nigeria’s biggest opposition parties, the All Progressives Congress.

    “The risks around Nigeria have increased,” Joseph Rohm, a fund manager who helps oversee Investec Asset Management’s $2 billion Africa fund, said by phone from Cape Town. “It’s a combination of uncertainty ahead of the election, increased violence in the northeast driven by Boko Haram, and a collapse in oil prices.”

    According to O’Neill, a loss by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan in general elections next month may be viewed “positively” by foreign investors and probably won’t rattle markets.

    While Jonathan, 57, has presided over the sale of the nation’s mismanaged power utilities to private investors, his economic policies in the last four years “could have been better,” O’Neill said in an interview in the capital, Abuja. Firing central bank Governor Lamido Sanusi last year, who brought “a lot of credibility” to the government, sent out a negative signal, he said.

    “If he doesn’t get re-elected, and it’s because of Nigerian people wanting something different and something better, I think the markets would be happy with that,” said O’Neill. “Foreign investors are pretty negative about Nigeria, so I don’t dismiss the possibility that if he lost people actually might react positively.”

    O’Neill ranks Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, alongside Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey in his MINT group. The countries have four of the largest emerging-market populations outside the BRIC nations of Brazil, Russia, India and China, an acronym he coined at Goldman.

    Jonathan will slug it out with former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, 72, a Muslim northerner and candidate of the opposition All Progressives Congress in the Feb. 14 vote.

    The ruling People’s Democratic Party, which has won every contest since army rule ended in 1999, faces its stiffest challenge against the APC, a merger of Nigeria’s biggest opposition parties. Africa’s most populous nation of more than 170 million people is split between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.

    It isn’t clear what a Buhari victory would mean for investors because he hasn’t set out an economic policy, O’Neill said.

    “People would be a bit worried,” said O’Neill, who is also a Bloomberg View columnist. “But it depends on what would happen with the institutional framework and policies.”

    Buhari, characterised by supporters as having a tough stance against corruption, came to power in a 1983 army coup and ruled for 20 months before he was unseated by a rival military faction. Buhari lost the 2011 presidential vote to Jonathan and failed to win in 2007 and 2003 elections.

    The status of Africa’s largest economy as a prime frontier-market investment destination has been dented by oil prices that have fallen 52 percent over the past year, rising insurgency attacks in the country’s northeast and increasing political tensions ahead of next month’s elections.

    Jonathan also removed central bank Governor Sanusi in February last year after Sanusi alleged the state oil company hadn’t remitted about $20 billion in revenue to the government. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. denied the allegations. Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said in May auditors would take three to four months to clarify what had happened to the unaccounted oil receipts that stood at $10.8 billion.

    With crude accounting for about 70 percent of government funding and 95 percent of foreign exchange, lower prices have reduced revenue and increased pressure on the naira, which the central bank devalued in November. The naira has fallen 10 percent in the past three months, the second worst performer out of 24 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

    The lower oil price “exposes the lack of needed structural changes, that hopefully would still come,” O’Neill said. “Nigeria, like any country, shouldn’t be so dependent on the commodity cycle.”

  • Equity market suffers biggest loss since February

    Equity market suffers biggest loss since February

    The nation’s equity market extended losses into the ninth trading day, as the NSE ASI suffered the biggest daily loss since February, declining 201bps to 38,490.67 points just as the Index has so far shed 6.6per cent in October leaving the YTD performance at negative 6.9 per cent. Market capitalisation declined by an additional N260.1bn to N12.7tn.

    The decline was driven by broad selloffs in the market, particularly in Dangote Cement (2.3 per cent), Zenith (4.6 per cent) and Guaranty (3.6 per cent).

    Investors traded 525.2m units of shares valued at N7.7bn in 4,779 deals (a 24.8 per cent and 66.1 per cent increase in turnover and value).

    All sector indices within our coverage closed in negative territory today. The NSE Oil and Gas Index led the declines with 3.9 per cent, paring the YTD gain to 23.6 per cent.

    The decline was majorly driven by maximum losses in Forte Oil (5.0 per cent), OANDO (5.0 per cent) and Conoil (5.0 per cent). Impressive nine months result of Wema failed to lift the overall negative sentiment in banking stocks, as the index shed 3.6 per cent — pressured by sustained selloffs in Guaranty (3.6 per cent) and Zenith Bank (4.6 per cent).

    Similarly, the Industrial Goods Index shed 3.3 per cent as Cement Stocks retreated – Lafarge (5.0 per cent), CCNN (4.9 per cent), Dangote Cement (2.3 per cent) and Ashaka (2.3 per cent). The Insurance Index declined 0.4 per cent while Consumer Goods waned 0.1 per cent.

    Market Breadth as measured by the advancers/decliners ratio closed at 0.2x (11 gainers and 53 losers) significantly below par at 1.0x.

    At the close of trading, 7up (10.2 per cent), Cutix (4.8 per cent and Honeywell (4.3 per cent) led gainers, while Caverton (9.1 per cent), Forte Oil (5.0 per cent) and Lafarge (5.0 per cent) led losers.

  • UNIPORT Four: Suspects’ trial suffers another setback

    The trial of the 11 suspected killers of four undergraduates of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) at Umuokiri Aluu in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State last October has suffered another setback.

    The lack of legal representation for three of the accused-Ikechukwu Loius Amadi, Ellis Chinasa Opara and Ozioma- caused the setback.

    Ugonna Obuzor(18), Toku Lloyd (20), Chiadika Biringa(20) and Tekena Elkanah(21) were accused of stealing phones and laptops.

    They were attacked and lynched by a mob at Aluu, a community close to the University on October 5, last year.

    Eighteen persons, including the ruler of the community, Hassan Welewa, a woman, some students and a retired police sergeant, were arrested.

    A Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) report exonerated seven of them, and said the others, including the monarch, have a case to answer.

    When the matter came up in March, Justice T.S. Orji rejected the file, on the grounds of her relationship with both parties.

    According to her, she hails from Okrika, the hometown of two of the victims (Tekena Elkanah and Lloyd Mike Toku), she is married to Aluu the scene of crime.

    Besides the trio, the others were represented.

    Welewa was represented by a former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), OCJ Okocha. This is the third time he is changing his lawyer since the case began.

    The state’s Solicitor-General, Rufus N. Godwins, led other lawyers, including the DPP, Ibikiri Otorubio.

    Yesterday was supposed to be the formal arraignment and taking of plea of the accused, but for lack of legal representation.

    Justice L.L. Nyordee of the state High Court said the accused would be allowed to give their pleas when all of them get legal representation.

    He said the matter would be directed to the Legal Aid Council for assistance.

    Nyordee said: “Owing to the critical nature of the matter and the fact that the charge against the accused is capital in nature, and because some of the accused persons have no legal representation, especially the third, fourth and 10th accused persons, it is obvious that they do not have money to hire a lawyer to represent them.

    “Plea for all the accused persons will be delayed pending when they all get legal representation.

    “The attention of the Legal Aid Council will be drawn to this development, so they can assist by providing legal representation for the three accused persons.”

    The judge later enquired from them whether they would like to represent themselves or they would like a lawyer to represent them. Each of them expressed the desire to be represented by a lawyer.

    The case was adjourned till August 1.

    The father of one of the victims, Friday Elkanah, said the matter is unnecessarily delayed.

    He said: “The case has been delayed so much, this incident happened last year. Till now nothing seems to be happening. Let the government do well to facilitate the proceedings. All I want is justice.”

  • DYNAMO KIEV SESSION: Taye Taiwo suffers micro trauma

    DYNAMO KIEV SESSION: Taye Taiwo suffers micro trauma

    Nigeria’s Taye Taiwo was missing in Dynamo Kiev’s midweek training due to injury concern as the Ukraine Premier League outfit prepares for this weekend’s trip to Lutsk “Volyn”.

    The Nigeria international, who was in action in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with “Kryvbas”, could not feature in the day’s session that featured 21 field players and three goalkeepers on parade, due to a bout of micro trauma, the general term given to small injuries to the body,” a release from the club’s official website disclosed.

    Interestingly, due to the freezing condition in Kiev, Taiwo and mates were given an additional day rest to fully recover from last weekend’s fixture.

    However, Taiwo and Portuguese Miguel Veloso, who will miss the coming tie because of suspension, could not train with the rest of the gang that includes Nigeria’s duo of Brown Ideye and Lukmann Haruna.

  • Aneke suffers away defeat with Crewe

    Aneke suffers away defeat with Crewe

    Nigeria’s Chucks Aneke who’s on loan with League one side Crewe Alexandra was on duty for his team in the 3-0 away loss to Hartlepool on Tuesday night.

    Aneke who was handed a starting spot by Coach Davis was on duty for 71 minutes before being taken off for Clayton. His contribution on the night however was not enough to at least secure a point for Crewe to take with back home.

    The relegation threatened Hartlepool continued their upturn in form as they easily saw off Crewe to record their third consecutive win in their last five matches in the league.

    Jonathan Franks and Jack Baldwin combined to allow Charlie Wyke to put Pools ahead in the 27th minute before allowing Franks to double the lead, firing low past Steve Phillips 13 minutes later.

    The visitor’s goalie Phillips denied Wyke, James Poole and Evan Horwood with superb saves before Andy Monkhouse smashed in Hartlepool’s third on the 90 minute mark to earn his side the comfortable victory.

    The home side were dominant throughout and are now just six points from safety having appeared doomed to relegation in December.

     

  • Oni’s appeal suffers setback

    Oni’s appeal suffers setback

    Ousted Ekiti State “Governor” Segun Oni’s appeal against yesterday.

    The matter could not be heard because the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma-Mukhtar, observed that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its officers, who were joined as respondents, were not served the hearing notice.

    Oni’s counsel Chief Joe Kyari-Gadzama (SAN) told the court that INEC was a nominal party but deserved to be heard in the interest of fair hearing.

    He urged the court to grant a short adjournment because of the nature of the case.

    Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi’s counsel John Baiyeshea (SAN), who appeared with Femi Falana (SAN), did not oppose.

    Justice Mukthar adjourned the case till March 5.

    Oni is praying the court to set aside the Appeal Court judgment, which removed him from office and declared Fayemi governor.

    The Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division, gave the judgment on October 15, 2010.

    The appellants (Oni and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)) filed a motion on March 14, 2011, at the Court of Appeal, Ado- Ekiti Division, seeking to set aside the judgment.

    On February 27, the Court of Appeal dismissed the application.

    Dissatisfied, the appellants went to the apex court.

    Oni is challenging his removal on grounds that the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, who constituted and presided over the panel, and wrote the judgment sacked him, had close affinity with the National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu.

    Oni alleged that Salami was biased and favoured the ACN.

    In the brief submitted on behalf of Oni by Prof. Ben Nwabueze (SAN), he argued that bias was enough ground to set aside a judgment.

    He said: “Bias or likelihood of it makes a decision a nullity and is therefore a sufficient ground for the lower court to set aside its own judgment.”

    In a preliminary objection, Baiyashea said the Supreme Court does not have the jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

    He said: “This court has no jurisdiction to entertain this appeal, being an appeal emanating from the decision of the court below in the governorship election petition of Ekiti State arising from the 2007 governorship election, to which Section 246 (3) of the 1999 Constitution is applicable.

    “This application is not only frivolous and an abuse of court process, it is a subterfuge for an appeal in the governorship election petition of Ekiti State, from which no appeal lies to this court under the constitutional provision that was then applicable.

    “Furthermore, the issues formulated on the purported notice of appeal in the brief of argument of the appellants do not relate to the grounds of appeal, in that they are completely at variance with the purported grounds of appeal.

    “These are multiple errors and or blunders, which in our humble opinion, with due respect, have rendered this appeal incurably bad, grossly incompetent and liable to be dismissed.”

     

  • Airhiavbere’s appeal suffers setback

    An appeal filed by Maj.-Gen. Charles Airhiavbere, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the July 14th governorship election in Edo State, against a ruling of the lower tribunal, which stopped him from presenting additional witnesses, suffered a set-back yesterday.

    Airhiavbere is challenging the victory of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the election.

    A judgment of the appellate court yesterday would have determined whether Airhiavbere could call additional witnesses to testify at the tribunal.

    Airhiavbere’s attempt to call two witnesses to testify at the tribunal on Monday was rejected.

    There was confusion at the Court of Appeal when the suit was called.

    Oshiomhole’s counsel Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), ACN’s counsel Austin Alageh (SAN) and that of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Robert Emukperho, told the court that the suit number was strange to them.

    Olanipekun refused to take appearances after Airhiavbere’s counsel Efe Akpofure announced his appearance, saying he had no brief on suit number 320.

    He said the appeal listed for hearing was 320 but the one he had bore number 330.

    Olanipekun said: “I do not have 320 at all. I am still confused as to which appeal I am to appear for.”

    Akpofure told the court that the suit number for hearing was 330 and that the court registrar mistakenly recorded it as 320.

    He urged the court to take the appeal suit number 320 and applied that the appeal with suit 330 be changed to 320.

    Akpofure requested a short break to enable him sort out the differences in the suit number.

    He said: “Suit 320 was listed today. The petitioner’s case will close tomorrow at the tribunal. We should take the appeal on the suit listed on the cause list.

    “There is no confusion. All the parties filed their briefs to the appeal. The mistake is by the registrar.”

    Justice Helen Ogunwumiju later read out a letter written by the tribunal’s Secretary, Ms. Josephine Aliu, which stated that the petitioner perfected the condition of appeal and paid for two records of appeal, but requested for one record of appeal.

    Alageh said the appeal was unknown and that it would be better to adjourn to enable the appellant sort things out with the registrar.

    He opposed the oral application by Akpofure for temporary adjournment.

    Justice Ogunwumiju urged counsel to the respondents to announce appearances so that the confusion could be resolved.

    Olanipekun said the registrar should not be blamed for the confusion.

    He said: “We sympathise with them. You cannot use one record for two different appeals over a judgment delivered on two different days. The application to amend is totally incompetent.”

  • Bayelsa, Rivers Oil Wells Row: Jonathan’s fresh peace move suffers setback

    Bayelsa, Rivers Oil Wells Row: Jonathan’s fresh peace move suffers setback

    • Amaechi’s absence forces President to shift peace meeting
    • Rivers State gets N17.5b refund from two oil fields

     

    A fresh move by President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve the row between Bayelsa and Rivers states over the Soku/Oluasiri oil wells suffered a setback Friday due to the absence of Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

    The expanded peace session was expected to involve Amaechi, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State and all relevant parties to the dispute.

    While the two states bicker, a letter to the Accountant-General of the Federation by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has confirmed that about N17.5billion has been refunded to Rivers State being revenue due the state from Nda and Okwori oil fields from 2007 to date.

    The oil fields are part of the Soku/Oluasiri oil wells in dispute.

    The letter from RMAFC indicates that refund to any aggrieved state, including Bayelsa State, is a normal practice once a proper boundary demarcation has been established between disputing states by both the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation(OSGF).

    The Friday meeting was to be a follow-up to a similar audience which the President had with Kalabri leaders and the Rivers State Government penultimate Friday.

    It was, however, gathered that Amaechi, who had officially travelled out of the country, delegated his deputy, Mr. Tele Ikuru, and other stakeholders to attend.

    But the Presidency is insisting on the presence of Amaechi in order to ensure true reconciliation of the two parties

    As at press time, Governor Seriake Dickson was still hanging around in Abuja for his colleague from Rivers State to arrive.

    Reliable sources who spoke in confidence said the meeting was fixed for 6.00 pm on Friday with the President suspending some engagements to facilitate the peace talks.

    When it became obvious that Amaechi would not make it, the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Ogiadhome, wrote a letter to the governor shifting the session.

    A reliable Rivers State Government official said: “Governor Amaechi is interested in the resolution of the crisis. He actually travelled abroad for some engagements.

    “Apparently aware that the Rivers State governor was not in town, the Presidency on November 8 postponed the peace meeting scheduled for November 9. The government wanted Amaechi and Dickson to sit and resolve the dispute.

    “It is not true that Governor Amaechi avoided or shunned any meeting at the Villa. He has no basis to do so.

    “As a matter of fact, the President through the Chief of Staff, Ogiadhome, wrote a letter which was submitted at the Rivers Liaison Office in Abuja on November 8 for onward transmission to the governor. He said the President mandated him to shift the peace meeting slated for November 9.”

    “In the letter, the Chief of Staff also indicated that “a new date will be communicated.”

    A letter RMC/O &G/34/VOL. II/263 from RMAFC to the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. J.O. Otunla, confirmed the refund to Rivers State by seven oil producing states.

    Although the letter was dated January 17, 2012, it has thrown more insight into the crisis of confidence between the two states.

    The letter reads: “I write to inform you that the Rivers State Government in a letter Ref. No. COM/FIN/T/01 of 3rd October 2011 requested for the payment of all the 13 per cent derivation revenue due to the state from Nda and Okwori oil fields from 2007 to date.

    “The commission examined the request and confirmed that Okwori and Nda oil fields belong to Rivers State based on the Report of the Inter-Agency Committee on the attribution of offshore oilfields to Littoral states, 2008 and submissions by National Boundary Commission (NBC) and Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation(OSGF).

    “Furthermore, the 13 per cent derivation proceed from the two oil fields were shared amongst all the oil producing states from April 2009 to June 2010, while Akwa Ibom State exclusively enjoyed the proceed from Okwori oil field from July to August, 2010 and from July 2010 to January 2011 in the case of Nda oil field.

    “It is to be noted that the Rivers State Government has since September 2010 and February 2011 been receiving its due share of 13 per cent derivation proceed from Okwori and Nda fields respectively.

    “Consequently, the commission after considering the request from the Rivers State Government and the submission from both the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation(OSGF), approved that Rivers State should be refunded the sum of N17,566, 394,965.18b by all the oil producing states being accrued 13 per cent derivation fund from April 2009 to January 2011.

    “The amount to be refunded by each state is as follows: Abia (N226,253,896.74); Akwa Ibom (N9, 567,732,283.95); Bayelsa (N2 071, 164,678.46); Delta (N4, 142, 271,632.95); Edo ( N305,693,768.40); Imo (N260,733,722.65); Ondo (N952,544,973.05).”