The Nation Newspaper

Tag: withdraws

  • Judge withdraws from Oni’s suit to unseat Fayemi

    Former Ekiti State Governor Segun Oni suffered a major setback yesterday in his bid to unseat Governor Kayode Fayemi.

    Justice Babatunde Quadri of the Federal High Court, Abuja, withdrew from the hearing of a suit filed by Oni in which the former governor queried Fayemi’s eligibility to participate in the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary, which he won as the party’s candidate for the last governorship election.

    The judge, who had asked parties whether it was not ideal to have the case decided by a Federal High Court in Ekiti, suddenly announced the transfer of the suit yesterday.

    Justice Quadri, on October 29 when the matter last came up, adjourned till November 19 for hearing.

    The parties had arrived court early as they expected hearing in the morning; but the court did not sit until afternoon.

    When the matter came up, the judge said he would prefer to transfer the suit to the court’s division in Ekiti for determination.

    The judge said he would not be able to hear and write judgment on the matter within the stipulated time.

    He assured parties that he would facilitate the transfer of the case file by the court’s Registry to Ekiti State because of its urgency.

    Justice Quadri adjourned the matter till November 26 for mention before the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti.

    Oni is, by the suit, challenging the outcome of the primary that produced Fayemi as APC candidate.

    Oni, who came second, is praying the court to make him the winner.

    He also prayeded the court to, among others, disqualify Fayemi on the ground that he allegedly did not resign his ministerial appointment, as required by law before standing for the primary.

  • Judge withdraws from suit on Ogun PDP crisis

    Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos has withdrawn from adjudicating on a suit involving two factions of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State.

    He recused himself after the defendants accused him of being biased.

    The suit, numbered FHC/L/CS/1581/2018, was filed by Prince Segun Seriki, Chief Tuke Omotara, Hon. Nosiru Isiaka Giwa, Chief Remix Bakare, Apostle Abiodun Sanyaolu, Chief Kola Soriola and Chief Oyede Elijah through their lawyer Ajibola Oluyede.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), PDP and its chairman Prince Uche Secondus, Senator Ibrahim Tsauri, Elder Yemi Akinwonmi, Sikirulai Ogundele, Bode Bankole, Waliu Oladipupo and Tunde Alekuwodo are the defendants.

    The plaintiffs, in their originating summons, prayed for an order replacing Akinwonmi with Seriki as the party’s Deputy National Chairman (South).

    They urged the court to compel PDP national leadership to recognise Chief Adebayo Dayo-led faction as the authentic Executive Committee in Ogun State.

    But, the defendants, in their preliminary objection filed by through their lawyers led by Emeka Etiaba (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the suit for being incompetent and an abuse of court processes.

    Defence counsel asked Justice Aneke to withdraw from the suit for allegedly showing bias.

    But, Oluyede urged the judge to not to withdraw from the case, saying: “I ask the court to discountenance the application particularly by Etiaba asking my Lord to recuse himself of this matter.”

    Ruling, Justice Aneke recused himself since, according to him, the defendants no longer had confidence in him.

    “The case file shall be remitted to the Chief Judge for reassignment,” the judge added.

    Before the court sat, Ogun State PDP Youth Leader Comrade Segun Okeowo, led a protest, demanding that the judge withdrew from the case.

    In a petition to the Chief Judge, signed by Comrade Waliu Oladipupo, the defendants said they no longer had confidence in Justice Aneke.

    After citing instances of alleged bias against the judge in the course of proceedings, they urged the CJ to re-assign the case to another judge and to transfer it to Ogun State to save the parties the inconveniences of travel risks and costs.

    They wrote: “It is pertinent to state here that as the leading opposition party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has witnessed untold persecution, harassments and wanton intimidation orchestrated by some expelled individuals marauding themselves as members of PDP led by Senator Buruji Kashamu.

    “These are often perpetrated by obtaining court orders, either interlocutory or ex-parte, most often through the heinous means; abuse of court process as well as proceedings shrouded in secrecy.

    “The latest is the above captioned matter, which the claimants therein claimed to have caused to be served on the defendants. Dubious proof of service was smuggled to the court’s file, but upon our discovery, we deployed our team of lawyers to appear before the trial on the 11th October, 2018.

    “Surprisingly, in spite of the complaints by our lawyers of non-service of the originating processes, the trial Judge, Justice N. Aneke, heckled down on our lawyers and stampeded them by allowing our lawyers only one working day to file their defense in a matter that involved hundreds of pages of pleading and copious exhibits.

    “This attitude of the trial judge depicts a complete lack of fair hearing and sends wrong signals of partiality.”

  • Ben Bruce withdraws from senatorial race

    Senator Ben Murray Bruce has withdrawn his ambition to return to the Senate for a second term in 2019.

    The Senator abandoned his ambition to represent the Bayelsa East Senatorial District following widespread rejection of his candidature by the stakeholders of the district.

    In a letter written on the eve of the senatorial primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bruce thanked his district for giving him the opportunity to serve.

    The letter said: “I thank God and the good people of Brass, Bayelsa East Senatorial District who offered me the golden opportunity four years ago to represent them and the state in the Senate, Nigeria’s highest lawmaking chamber.

    “It is without doubt that I have tried to discharge my duties as a legislator and representative of my people creditably to the best of my ability so far.

    “My voice has been very loud on the issues that matter to our people and our country at all time.

    “My support to our party, my people and state government is unquestionable. I am humbled that the national leadership of my party supported by the State chapter in appreciation of my efforts offered to support my reelection to the senate to continue my service.

    “I have also intensified consultations in the last couple of week in the course of which I have come to realise an existing local rotational arrangement of over 20 years beginning with the late Great Chief Melford Okilo, by which arrangement the Senatorial seat rotates per local government area among the three councils for four years in the Senatorial District.

    “Even with the support of my party at the national and state levels with the full backing of my state government and leadership, as a man of honour interested in the well being of my people, I hereby announce my withdrawal from the Senatorial race.

    “I do not want whatever reason to appear to have used my privileged position and influence to do anything that other than the well-being and the stability and the good of the people.

    “I am in all of these for the people, not for my self.”

  • Governorship aspirant withdraws

    A PEOPLES Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspirant in Kwara State, Femi Sanni, has dropped his ambition.

    Sanni said his decision to withdraw from the governorship contest was borne out of personal reasons and “a sacrifice, which I believe is in the interest of my political areer patiently built for several years.”

    Sanni, who spoke through the spokesman of the Femi Sanni 2019 campaign office’s, Olayinka Yusuf, said: “It is pertinent to state that my decision to withdraw from the contest was not because of any intimidation or threat from any forces, individual or political party, as my decision has passed through several stages of reconsideration and consultations before reaching this conclusion.

    “Democracy is about bettering people’s lives, communities and those of the constituents. To this end, I implore those who will become our representatives to remain resolute and be driven by a common development goal…”

  • Midwifery School withdraws 50 students

    The School of Midwifery in Minna, Niger, has rusticated 50 students during the 2016/2017 session as a result of academic incompetence.

    The Provost of the school, Mrs Aisha Maikudi, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna yesterday.

    She said the students were withdrawn because they were not academically competent to cope with the academic and professional standard of the institution.

    Maikudi however noted that the action did not go down well with some parents and guardians ýas they claimed that their wards finished from the best schools in the country.

    she said:”We want parents, guardians and the general public to understand that we cannot cope with incompetence in the midwifery professioný as that will be catastrophic. Many a time they bombard us with different questions on why should we admit students and withdraw them within a short time.

    ”It is a situation we cannot help, it is better that we keep complaining that we do not have midwives than to have midwives that do not know their jobs.

    “Some of them that were withdrawn could not even read temperature. How can we keep such students, that would be against the ethics of midwifery profession and humanity will not forgive us. We want the general public to understand that midwifery school is a professional training institutioný and we are dealing with lives.

    “Pregnant women can be carrying multiple pregnancies, any mistake will be multiple tragedy. That is why we will not compromise in our standard by keeping students that are not competent.”

    The provost said the internal screening of students by withdrawing the incompetent ones had helped the school in achieving a success rate of 98 and 100 per cent, respectively.

    “As I speak with you 51 students that were presented for the external examination passed, and 21 students that were also presented for the same examination all passed,” she said.

    She said the measure they were taking to withdraw incompetent students had helped a lot in charting a better part for the students, school and the state.

    According to her, mass failure at the external examination will have been catastrophic for the school and the state but for the internal screening via the internal examination.

  • Judge withdraws from case

    Judge withdraws from case

    Justice Bola Ademola of the Ondo State High Court yesterday announced his withdrawal from the alleged fraud case involving the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Prof. Adebiyi Daramola and the Registrar, Ayodeji Oresegun.
    Daramola, whose tenure ends in a few weeks, and Oresegun were first arraigned on February 14 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged N156.9million fraud.
    The judge said he was transferring the case due to a petition against him by FUTA Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
    He told the court that the matter has been transferred to Court Three Criminal Division of the state High Court.
    The judge noted that he transferred the case because of his integrity which will be at stake if he insisted on taking the matter.
    NASU Chairman Bayo Aladetohun said the unions petitioned the chief judge due to Justice Ademola’s perceived bias.
    He said the union believed that the oral application for the VC’s bail, granted by the judge, was unethical.
    According to him, the unions have lost confidence in Justice Ademola.
    The matter was adjourned till March 30.

  • INEC withdraws Certificate of Return from Edo lawmaker

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has withdrawn the Certificate of Return issued to Sunday Aghedo representing Ovia South West Constituency in the House of Assembly.

    It issued a new Certificate of Return to Mr. Godwin Adenomo in compliance with the Court of Appeal judgment sacking Aghedo.

    The appellate court, last week, sacked Aghedo and declared Adenomo the duly elected member to represent  Ovia South West Constituency.

    It ordered that Adenomo been sworn in immediately.

    After collecting the certificate, Adenomo stormed the House of Assembly with his supporters to submit it to the Speaker Justin Okonoboh.

    He vowed to use legal means to ensure that the sacked lawmaker refunded all funds he collected.

    Adenomo said: “Today I presented  myself before the State House  of Assembly and presented my Certificate of Return. I have done everything within time limit and I expect speeding action towards a speedy swearing in”

    “By law the former House of Assembly member does not have the locus to seat as the member representing the constituency any longer. What entitles him to seat, the certificate of return has been withdrawn. What is important is that as we speak the former member cannot legally seat at the State House of Assembly.

    “I am very happy, though Justice was delay but it was never denied . The judgment says the former member should return every paraphernalia and penny he had collected so far to me. So, when we finish this process, I will approach court for enforcement but as for swearing in, I will depend on my party for that. It is a family matter I don’t have problem with anybody.”

  • Ex-NIMASA chief withdraws plea bargain proposal

    Ex-NIMASA chief withdraws plea bargain proposal

    A former Acting Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Haruna Jauro, has withdrawn his proposal to enter a plea bargain agreement with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
    The commission arraigned him at the Federal High Court in Lagos for alleged N304.1million fraud.
    Jauro’s lead counsel Babajide Koku (SAN) had told the court on October 23 that his client would explore plea bargain with the prosecution.
    Justice Mojisola Olatoregun-Ishola urged the parties to reach an agreement without delay.
    But yesterday, another defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, informed the court that the plea bargain talks had broken down and that Jauro was ready to proceed with the trial.
    It was learnt from a reliable source that Jauro changed his mind about the plea bargain proposal.
    When EFCC’s lawyer Nkereuwem Anana attempted to lead the agency’s operative, Orji Chukwuma, in evidence, Ojo objected.
    He said the prosecution did not serve his client with the witness statement as required by the law prior to commencement of trial.
    Anana admitted that the Chukwuma’s statement was not served on the defence, saying it was due to an “oversight”.
    “It may have been due to the oversight of the person, who filed the processes. We’ll ask for a short adjournment to put our house in order,” he said.
    Justice Mojisola-Olatoregun held that the charge substantially complied with law since it contained the basic information regarding the allegations, including name of the defendant, date of offence and place and particulars of laws violated.
    She added: “However, in view of the fact that the statement of all other witnesses were given to the defence, except the one of this witness, which the prosecution counsel described as an oversight, I don’t have much to say other than to say that the statement be made available to them (defence) even in the face of my view that there was substantial compliance within the constitutional requirements of what should be given to the defence. In the circumstance, this matter will be adjourned.”
    Jauro is among four former NIMASA chiefs charged with corruption-related offences. The others are Patrick Akpobolokemi, Calistus Obi and Temisan Omatseye, who was convicted.
    Obi, ex-NIMASA’s Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Service, took over from Akpobolokemi, who is facing five separate fraud charges.
    Obi was relieved of his duties less than a week later and replaced by Jauro, who was Executive Director, Finance and Administration.
    Jauro was charged with Dr. Dauda Bawa and Thlumbau Enterprises Limited on 19 counts of converting N304.1 million belonging to NIMASA.
    EFCC said they conspired on January 6, 2014, to convert N156, 477,500 belonging to NIMASA, knowing the money was stolen.
    They also allegedly converted N38,170,000 between June 3 and September 1, 2014, “knowing that the sums were proceeds of stealing, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 15 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) (Amendment) Act, 2012 and punishable under Section 15(3).”
    EFCC said on May 30 and August 14, 2014, they converted N8, 500,000, property of NIMASA. The prosecution said they did so “knowing that the sums were proceeds of bribery”.
    The defendants had pleaded not guilty to all counts when they were arraigned, with EFCC opening its case.
    Justice Mojisola-Olatoregun adjourned until January for trial.

  • FUT MINNA withdraws 28 students

    The Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna has withdrawn 28 students for poor performance and being absent for two semester examinations.

    The approval for the withdrawal of the students was given during the 398th meeting of the university Senate.

    A breakdown of the withdrawn students shows that eight of the students were from the Department of Risk Management and Development Studies; 15 were from the faculty of Engineering, two were from department of Animal Production, one student each from department of Geology, Estate Management and Valuation and Biochemistry.

    One of the students was withdrawn due to overstayed studentship of maximum allowable periods of semesters; four were given voluntary withdrawal due to their absence in the first and second semester examination without official permission; while 23 were withdrawn due to poor academic performance.

    The withdrawal of the students was contained in a statement issued by the office of the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the institution.

     

  • AIG withdraws policemen from politicians

    The Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), Zone 6, Tunde Ogunsakin, has ordered the withdrawal of policemen from politicians in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Ebonyi states.

    Ogunsakin said the men are needed to protect the larger society, adding that any politician in need of security should reapply and the application would be considered on merit.

    He gave the directive after a meeting with the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Dan Bature, and other officers in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

    The meeting deliberated on the allegations against a special unit of the Rivers police, C41, which its commandant denied. The unit was accused by the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of favouring the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    A statement at the end of the meeting said Ogunsakin ordered the C41 to report its daily activities to Bature.

    He also directed that it should concentrate on its mandate of stopping kidnapping only.

    The statement reads: “The zonal command has received serious reports of allegations against the C4I Unit of the Department of Operations of the Rivers State Police Command. Thus, it has become necessary to make this press statement. The allegations were hinged on the suppositon that the C4I Unit was being used by a political party against members of another political party. The allegations further hold that there were plans to frame some individuals of conniving with the C4I Unit.

    “In response to these, the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 6 Command Headquarters, Calabar, AIG. Tunde Ogunsakin, had a meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command and some other senior police officers at the State Police Headquarters, Rivers State. Also at the meeting was the expatriate supervisor of the C4I Unit, who denied all the allegations against the outfit.

    “In the course of the meeting, the assistant inspector-general of Police, Zone 6 Command Headquarters, Calabar, gave the following directives: The Police officer, who heads the C4I Unit, SP Cashmir Ihiezu, must give daily situation report to the commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command every morning; the C4I Unit of the Department of Operations must continue to operate as a formation of the Rivers State Police Command and in that light must not take any action or make any deployment without the knowledge of the commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command; the commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command and other commissioners of Police in-charge of Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Ebonyi to withdraw all officers attached to political appointees in line with the directive by the inspector-general of Police. This is premised on the fact that the inspector-general of Police has withdrawn all previous approvals by him as more men are needed by the police commands during this electioneering period. Anyone desirous of police security should reapply to the commissioner of Police for a re-consideration based on the merit of his application and the need for deployment of policemen during the elections; the C4I Unit of the Department of Operations should on, no account, post its officers to any political appointee or VIP; the deputy commissioner of Police, Department of Operations and the Officer-in Special Protection Unit (SPU) to take over all guard duties where the C4I unit was hitherto involved.”

    Other directives issued after the meeting are: “ The C4I unit should stop featuring in political campaigns; the commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command and other commissioners of Police of Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Ebonyi to enforce the ban on the use of tinted vehicles and vehicles with sirens in line with the directive by the inspector-general of Police. A Special Monitoring Unit has been set up by the Zone 6 Police Headquarters to assess compliance with the order and instructions in the four states; the commissioner of Police, Rivers State Police Command and other commissioners of Police in Akwa Ibom, Cross River and Ebonyi states to embark on intensive stop-and-search operations of vehicles without exception and raiding of black spots and criminal hideoutsm, with a view to recovering arms, explosives and other incriminating items.”